Page 43 of Kisses Behind The Spotlight 2: Finale

“Ughhh, I’m so ashamed,” Amill palmed her face. “That’s behind me now. Do you know what they did with Travis?”

“I didn’t care to ask. I went to the casino and minded my business.” I turned back to the sink to wash my hands. “Can you grab that Aquaphor from the medicine cabinet for me?”

“Your face is healing well,” Amill complimented, passing me the tube.

I squeezed a generous amount onto the Q-tip and leaned closer to the mirror to have a good look while I spread it across my wounds. “Yeah, the doctors are hopeful that it won’t leave a permanent scar.”

“You still fine shit either way,” Amill complimented.

“Period.”

“I’m so happy to see you in good spirits again. I’m surprised you’re not at the hospital.”

“I overslept this morning, and Q let me sleep in while he went to the hospital. My dad is actually getting discharged today and told me to let him be. He wants to be discharged to Uncle Sam’s house. I don’t like it, but he lives close enough for me to stifle my gripes.”

“He’ll be fine,” Amill assured me, grabbing my shoulder.

“I know,” I huffed.

Once my face was good, we headed out of the bathroom. “To the spa!” Amill bubbled.

We spent the afternoon between the spa and hair salon. When we were done, I opened my text thread with Q, but paused when I saw he’d turned his location off a few hours earlier. Instantly annoyed and needing an immediate answer, I FaceTimed him instead. My phone went to voicemail, and my agitation grew. We’d been sharing locations since high school. Instead of jumping to conclusions, I went to call again, but my dad’s incoming call stopped me.

“Hey, is everything okay?”

“I’m fine. Just made it to Sam’s new house, and I wanted to let you know. Didn’t want you getting to the hospital and losing your mind when I wasn’t there.”

“Send me the new address so I can stop by. I still need to see you today,” I requested.

“I just sent it. We’ll see you when you get here.”

I looked down at the address, and it wasn’t too far from Mama Marissa and Yaseer’s house. “Okay, we will be there shortly.”

I ended the call and set my GPS to the address he texted me. Amill was on the phone with Stepp in the passenger seat, smiling at whatever he was saying. Genuine happiness looked fabulous on her.

When we pulled into the driveway, the house was glowing against the darkening sky. Warm light spilled from the tall windows, bringing attention to the stone siding. A second-floor balcony stretched across the front of the house; its dark French doors glowed.

“Hey, babe. I’ll call you back. We just got to Jameera’s uncle’s house.”

“I love you too,” she cooed.

I was already out of my Benz, hair swaying with the cool night breeze, before Amill ended the call. I was ready for the tour. As we climbed the short flight of stone steps beneath the archway leading to the front door, I gawked at the beautiful Mediterranean-style home.

The jewelry industry must’ve been booming. His previous home was also on Davis Island, but this house was off the water. My dream location.

I rang the doorbell, and Uncle Sam swung the door open minutes later. The light spilling from inside grew brighter as we crossed the threshold. The soaring ceilings and exposed beams added warmth to the open-concept living spaces. It almost reminded me of the architecture we saw during our trip to Morocco.

“You like it?” Q’s voice bounced off the walls in the empty home, startling me. I was distracted, looking up at the circular wrought iron chandelier hanging in the entryway.

When I lowered my eyes, his handsome face instantly came into view with the open floor plan. Q leaned against the long kitchen island next to my dad, who sat with his new cane in hand. I blinked twice. It felt surreal to see my dad outside of the hospital.

Sauntering over, I wrapped my dad in a hug. “It feels so good to see you out of a hospital bed or chair.”

“It feels amazing to be out of the hospital,” he beamed.

Uncle Sam and Amill joined us at the kitchen island.

“Congratulations on the new house, Uncle Sam,” I chirped.