“Even if it was just your family and my two friends watching?”
“Especially then. You’re my family too, and maybe not here yet,” he said, touching just above my heart, “but when it comes down to it, you know what’s up. I got your back.”
“Lesley,” I started, not sure what I wanted to say but needing to say something about this feeling building between us.
“I know,” he said softly, his forehead almost touching mine. “I feel it too. It’s why I came outside. I didn’t like seeing you talk to another man. At first glance, my mind went to the basement.”
I tried to step back, but he wouldn’t let me. “That’s not funny.”
“Who’s laughing, Coco? You gotta understand, seeing you smile at another man does something to me I can’t control, I’d dead that shit before it got misconstrued. You’re a beautiful woman, and every man in here has had his eyes on you since we arrived.”
“I barely said anything to him. Maybe seven sentences.”
“And that’s seven to muthafuckin many if you ask me. I was never good at sharing. And while I know I’m a lucky nigga, I’m still a crazy one.”
I rolled my eyes playfully, trying to hide my grin while he pulled me in closer and kissed my cheek. I married a mental patient. One minute, his tone was soft and playful, and then it changed; it was like he was switching between characters.
“I’m not a toy to share. Jealousy doesn’t suit you.”
“I’m jealous of anyone who gets your attention when I’m not around,” he murmured against my ear, his breath warm on my skin. “Even harmless old niggas. But you got a light in you, Coco. I wouldn’t dare snuff it out. Shine, baby.”
“Well, if I had a ring, it would be clear I was spoken for. Same for you.”
His gaze sharpened, heat flickering low. “I didn’t know you wanted one.”
I swallowed, surprised by my own honesty. “I didn’t know I did either.”
The song ended, but neither of us moved. We stayed wrapped up in each other, past the contract, past the game we thought we were playing.
Then his phone buzzed against his chest, unwelcome. He didn’t move at first, jaw locking like the world could wait one more second. But the second stretched, and finally he sighed, pulled it free.
“Business?” I asked softly.
His eyes flicked to the screen, then back to me. “Always.”
The spell cracked. Not completely, his hand was still on my waist, thumb tracing slowly across my back, but enough for me to feel the shift.
He lifted the phone to his ear, listening, and his whole body changed. Shoulders squared, warmth gone. The soft-eyed man I’d just teased about rings vanished, replaced by the one who made a room full of killers straighten with a look. Around us, I saw it happen—laughter died, chairs creaked, even Taiwan’s hand slipped from his bride’s waist as every eye shifted to Lesley.
“Send me the location,” he said. Just that. No more, no less.
He glanced at the screen once more, the mask fully on now, hard and unreadable. The man who danced with me was gone. This was Grim, head of the family, not the man who’d just whispered sweet confessions in my ear.
“I have to go,” he said, voice clipped.
“Go? Now?” My protest slipped out, sharp. “We just got here.”
“Something came up.” He was already stepping back, pulling his hand from me like it burned. “Business that can’t wait.”
“Malice will take you home,” he continued, scanning the room as more men began moving with quiet urgency. “I’ll make this right with you later.”
“Lesley, what’s happening?”
“Nothing for you to worry about.” The dismissal in his tone stung more than it should have. I felt like a child being sent to bed while the adults handled real matters. “Just go home and wait for me.”
He pressed a quick kiss to my forehead—mechanical, distracted—and then he was walking away, Taiwan falling into step beside him. I stood frozen on the dance floor, watching my husband disappear into a world I wasn’t allowed to enter, surrounded by the remnants of our interrupted moment.
“Mrs. Grimson?” Malice appeared beside me, his face carefully blank. “The car is ready.”
