Page 82 of Mia

“You did all this?” I asked, looking at Titan. “When did you have time to plan this?”

“Connections, baby.”

He led me over to the table and pulled out a chair. I took a seat, and he claimed his as Mr. Owen locked up and came over to us.

“Do you two need menus or are we going with your usual orders?”

“You still remember?” I asked.

“If you’re a long-time customer, I take great pride in remembering signature orders. Don’t worry, as pretty as you look tonight, I have a cover-up so you don’t get any on that dress.”

“Thank you, Mr. Owen. I’ll take my usual.”

“Me too,” Titan said.

“Coming right up.”

He left us alone, and I turned to Titan as he poured us a glass of wine.

“You got me all dressed up to eat a greasy burger.”

“And you’re gonna smash it like you did when we were kids.”

“Remind me why I ever went out to eat with y’all. Remember that time y’all tried to stick me with the bill and I had to beat Taylor’s ass? Bitch thought she was gonna bully me and I not do anything because we were in public. I whipped her ass all up and down this diner.”

He laughed. “I remember. It took four of us to get you off her.”

“She never tried that shit again.”

“Nah, she knew better.” He looked at me and licked his lips. “That’s one thing I love about you. You never took any shit from anybody.”

“Especially not your ass.”

“Especially not me.”

“You know your mama used to tell me you had a crush on me, that’s why you were such a little shit.”

“Moms be lying.”

“That must be where you get it from then.”

“I don’t lie.”

I laughed. “You’re lying right now.”

He grinned and raised his hands in surrender. “A’ight, part of me did have a crush on you. I couldn’t tell you that though. You gotta admit that you came in with a slight chip on your shoulder, love.”

“Because things went exactly how my mom told me they would. You think she didn’t have to kick ass when she joined the organization? You know my grandfather is a hard ass. He didn’t show her any mercy, and he made it clear I wouldn’t get that either. I had to be tough, and y’all didn’t make it easy for me to trust you as my team. My brothers have never made me feel like that. I’ve always known that without a shadow of a doubt, they would take a bullet before they ever let me get hurt.”

Titan reached for my hands. “I know. I was a stupid kid, I treated you unfairly, but make no mistake, I would have always taken a bullet for you, Mia. I can’t say enough how sorry I am for the way I treated you back then. I was wrong, and I own that. But listen to me when I tell you this. I’d lay down my life for you on any given day and tell God himself to send me back to save you every single time. You’re mine. . . my wife, my best friend, the love of my fucking life. I’ve been crazy about you since I was a jit and even more crazy about you now.”

I smiled. “I think I pretty much figured that out the other night. ‘Wifey said get em, I gotta get em’. Trained to go. I like that shit.”

“I know exactly how much you liked it,” he said, looking at me lustfully. “Didn’t you tell me how good I looked with your pussy in my mouth?”

“My favorite way to see you. . . shit!”

“What?”