Now the littlebébéwas dragging my bigbébétoward me. Her hips swayed as Darius had her move faster than the brass band.
“So.” She grinned. “You love Valentine’s Day enough to throw a party?”
“I don’t give a damn about anybody enjoying this party. I just had to show you off to the people I love—some of em? Just a little.” I measured with my fingers.
Tennessee shouted, “Dude used money to outdo me, Zuri!”
“Yeah, definitely in front of that one. Ten, you better loosen them cornrows! He thought since he saw you first, he might have dibs. Ain’t nobody got rights to you but me, Zuri,” I said, voice steady but rough around the edges. “I could’ve asked you anywhere. But here? With my family standing around. My roots. Where I can show you who I am and take off my mask.” I removed my mask and handed it to Darius, just like we practiced.
He fumbled with it. Least it wasn’t glass like Zuri’s. He snatched off his mask and threw it on the floor.
My head tilted.Little Dude?
“Oh, oh, I didn’t forget!” Darius held Brody high, tearing off the dinosaur’s mask.
“Hold up there,bébé,” I told him before he threw away what was underneath the mask. I removed the diamond ring from the tape, letting it fall onto my pinkie finger. “Now you know this part was his idea.” I handed the dinosaur back to him and helped her remove her mask. She held it to herself nervously.
“What are you doing, Montana?” Zuri’s gasp fluttered through her lips.
“My bad. Dinner was supposed to come first. But I saw you. Couldn’t wait for this part.” I dropped to a knee and held up the ring, the diamond on fire beneath all the light.
She whispered beneath her breath, still clinging to the mask like she had with those napkins when we first met. But then, she’d been trying to clean me up. Damn, she’d cleaned me up alright, changed my mindset when it came to women.Her.
“Say, bébé”—I winked—“I knew you were the one when you tried to undress me at the Hot Chicken & Peach Pit Maison. You ain’t care if little eyes saw you loving on me.”
That brought a tight chuckle. I was gonna open her up in every way that mattered, make her smile, laugh.
“You clowned me so bad, if I wasn’t Big Country, I would’ve developed a complex.”
“Even bigger than his ego,” Auntie Peaches chimed in.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “And I helped you get past those scary antics, turned you into the world’s funniest person.”
A voice cleared nearby.
Her brows shot up.
Yep.Nico Roman.
“But this ain’t the funny part in the story. It’s the part where the man wises up. He found a treasure he ain’t never letting go of. I value every part of you, Zuri. That protective mother in you reminds me of Momma. Makes me want to uplift and honor the stubborn in you. Love you. And your son. My son. You and Darius are my family.”
“Aww …” She chewed her lip, eyes looking like she couldn’t believe she won the lotto.
“Don’t overthink this,bébé.You’ll realize I get on your last nerve.”
Her hands, slender and quivering, covered her face as she laugh-cried. Man, she had never looked so beautiful to me.
“Coz if you think on it, you’ll realize you can do better than me. But Big Country? He gone flatline in these good shoes if you don’t say yes. So, say yes!”
She giggled softly, wiping tears from her face with her hands. “Yes, then! Because I don’t know if I can do CPR in this tight dress.”
Her mouth was soft as I pressed against those lips. Tasted of champagne and her own kinda sweetness. Woman kissed me like she meant to bring me back to life for good. I half expected her to step back and call it a successful resuscitation. Her laughter in my mouth was a final amen.
Acouple of hours later, Zuri’s naked body was a silhouette from the balcony doors as I lay in bed. She snuck closer toward the glass, then she gasped.
Lying propped in bed, I put my hands behind my head. “Relax, it’s dark in here. They can’t see you.”
“I know,” she whispered, then cleared her throat. “I just didn’t notice the million floating lanterns in the river. It’s so beautiful.”
