Opening my eyes, I lifted my head to look at her face again. “Do you feel like I put too much pressure on you to be a certain way?”
Her face balled in confusion and her hand froze on my head. “Not really. In fact we both know you’ve grown to love how I behave, no?” She lifted her brows in a suggestive manner, causing me to chuckle again and lick my lips.
“Oddly, yeah, I have.” I returned her head to my stomach. “If you ever feel like I’m trying to change you in a way you don’t want, let me know.”
“Okay, but where is this coming from?”
Tilting my head slightly inward, I kissed her bare skin, causing her stomach to flinch. “Had an interesting conversation today that got me thinking.”
“With who?”
“No one of importance. The conversation just stuck with me.” I grew quiet for a second. “We agreed to give us a fair shot and I want to make sure I’m doing my part. That means I don’t want to get to know or be with anyone who isn’t the real you, and if you ever feel like you have to be someone else, then don’t.”
Xylina didn’t respond for a long minute. “You don’t have to worry about that. I like that you make me want to be a better version of myself. I think I’ve become more likeable too, don’t you think?”
“That you have.”
A comfortable silence passed between us.
“Are you excited for your launch?”
I huffed a laugh out. “I’ll be even more excited once it’s over.”
“Maybe once it’s finished we can take that vacation out of the country I mentioned previously. I think the baby will like that.”
“The baby, huh? The baby’s been wanting a lot and it’s not even here yet.”
“She’s gonna be high maintenance like her mama.” The smile that could be heard in her voice caused me to grin.
“What if it’s a boy, then what?”
“Then he’ll be a high maintenance genius.”
I snickered. “I like the sound of that.”
It was still surreal to me that Xylina and I had entered this space, but I was happy and looking forward to seeing how things progressed from here.
CHAPTER 25
Xylina
The sound of the doorbell going off and Princess’s barking caused me to jump up out of the blissful sleep I was in. I was off today, so I was going to take advantage of sleeping in. Whoever was at the front door was persistent, but they weren’t going to like the version of me they met once I opened the door.
Snatching the covers off, the air conditioned air hit my naked body instantly. I wiped my eyes and looked around, remembering I wasn’t in my room. Instead of walking across the house to grab my robe, I went into Yosiah’s closet and located one of his hoodies instead. It swallowed my smaller frame but was comfy.
Sluggishly, I left the room and made my way to the front door. The noise grew louder the closer I got, causing my irritation to increase with each step.
“Princess, please stop barking!” I begged, feeling a headache forming. “Mommy’s going to get the door.”
Her head whipped in my direction and she trotted over to me with her tail wagging wildly.
Going to the small rectangle screen near the door, I pressed the button that displayed the front porch. I expected to seea delivery person on the other side, but imagine my surprise seeing Mrs. Bedford instead. She looked annoyed and was talking on the phone as she hit the doorbell again. I didn’t have the audio on, so I wasn’t sure who she was talking to or what she was saying.
What the hell does this lady want?
My hand dragged down my face. This was the first time I had been able to sleep in and not have to worry about anything work related in days and here comes my monster-in-law ruining it. Part of me considered leaving her there, but it didn’t seem like she was going to give up.
Closing the camera, I unlocked the front door and yanked it open.
