"Gigi," I huffed as she came back into the living room. "Did you tell Honor what happened?"
"Drink," she ordered, handing me a glass of water with a lemon wedge and a few mint leaves. "I didn't tell Honor anything. I called River because the boys weren't answering their phones. I hung up with her, and a few minutes later, she sent a text saying Honor and Wolfe were on their way."
"Gigi," I groaned.
"Was I not supposed to say anything?"
"She didn't want Honor to know," Chosyn answered for me.
"Since when can't Honor know what's going on with you?"
"He can. I just… didn't want him to." Bringing my glass to my lips, I took a sip to keep from having to explain further.
"You could have died, Navy! Why can't he know?"
"I wasn't going to die. They weren't even shooting at us," I scoffed. Chosyn and I sat near a window with the perfect street view. If someone wanted to hit us, they could've.
"Either way, someone was shooting, and y'all could've been hurt," Gigi complained. "I would never hear the end of it if I knew and didn't get word to your husband."
Kissing my teeth, I rolled my eyes. "I'm not married."
Gigi's brows furrowed as her eyes cut in my direction. "Since when?"
"Since Honor never asked me to be his wife."
"That never stopped you from claiming him as your husband before."
I shrugged because Gigi was right. No one could tell me Honor wasn't my husband. I used to have dreams of what our wedding would look like. Now I questioned everything that came out of his mouth and wondered if my place in his life was still permanent or just for the time being.
"Okay," Gigi clicked her tongue. "Someone better tell me what the hell is going on before I pull out ole leather and start putting belt to ass as you young kids say."
"Gigi, no one in our age group is saying that." Chosyn laughed. "That's more Kyree and Kysre's lane."
"I don't care whose lane it is. Someone better tell me something."
"There's nothing to tell," I told her. "Honor and I aren't husband and wife. And if I'm being honest, nobody outside of family even knows we're together forreal."
"And whose fault is that?" Gigi fired off. "I already told y'all to knock it off with this secrecy bullshit. Love that's hidden is a love that won't last."
"Are you saying my relationship is going to fail?"
Panic crept in fast. It was funny how quickly I went from not claiming my man to worrying about whether our relationship would fail.
"That's not what I said. Love isn't meant to be caged, Navy. It's supposed to be beautiful and pure and make other people want to fall in love too."
"Like Wolfie and me." Chosyn giggled. "That man would die if I tried to hide him. Wolfe is gonna make sure everyone, everywhere knows I'm his wife and that he’s, my husband."
The blush that bloomed across her face made my heart ache. The certainty they had in one another was beautiful and pure, just as Gigi said it was supposed to be.
I wanted that. I used to have that. Now, all I have are unanswered questions drowning in insecurities.
"Honor and I are just different. We like our privacy."
Even as I said it, I wasn't sure who I was trying to convince.Liking our privacystarted because Honor wanted to hide our relationship from my father. He swore Lucian would use our relationship against him. I didn't want to put him in a position where he'd have to choose, so I agreed. As the years went on, I found myself comfortable with people not knowing. I turned down men who showed interest, and as far as I knew, Honor did the same. Those closest to us knew, and that was fine with me. Eventually, Lucian found out, and he didn't make a fuss, but we still stayed asecret.
"There's nothing wrong with wanting privacy," Gigi agreed. "I keep my relationships private."
"Okay, so why make my relationship being private a big deal?"
