I nodded, my throat suddenly tight.
“Yeah,” I whispered. “I’m done.”
He picked up four of the bags like they weighed nothing.
I grabbed the other two.
And we walked out of Macy’s together like we’d just conquered the world.
When we got back to the car, Amai loaded the bags into the trunk while I stood there, still trying to process what had just happened.
He closed the trunk and turned to look at me.
“You good?” he asked.
I nodded. “Yeah. I’m good.”
“You sure?”
I looked up at him.
At this man who’d just walked into Macy’s and fired my ex-husband’s girlfriend without blinking.
Who’d handed me his Black card and told me to spend it.
Who’d sat there and watched me buy things for my family like it was the most natural thing in the world.
“Thank you,” I said quietly.
Amai’s jaw tightened. “You don’t gotta thank me.”
“Yeah, I do.”
He stared at me for a long moment.
Then, he reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.
The touch was gentle.
“Get in the car, Truth,” he said, his voice low.
I got in the car.
And as we pulled out of the parking lot, I realized something.
I didn’t just sign a contract with Amai Landry.
I’d just stepped into his world.
And I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to step back out.
The drive back to Mama’s house felt shorter than it should have.
Maybe because I was still riding the high of watching Destiny get dragged out of Macy’s by security.
Maybe because I was sitting next to a man who’d just spent damn near four thousand dollars on me and my family without flinching.
Or maybe because I was starting to realize that Amai Landry wasn’t just some rich man looking for a surrogate.
