Page 10 of Bully

“Are you okay, Innvy?” Cierra asked. “Who was that?”

“Just leave it alone,” I pleaded, wiping my face. “I need you to reschedule the rest of my appointments for the day. I have to go.”

“Sure. Anything you need.”

With a nod, I mumbled a quick thanks before grabbing my purse and keys and heading out of my office. My thoughts were so discombobulated I drove to my parents’ house on autopilot. As soon as I arrived, I grabbed my baby and held her as I cried. My mama’s words were going in one ear and out of the other. I’m not sure how long it took me to calm down and be able to focus on what she was saying.

“Please, baby. Just tell me what’s wrong.”

I looked down at Innah who’d cried herself to sleep. It hadn’t been my intention to put my feelings on her. In that moment, she was the only person who could make me feel better, but I wasn’t thinking about how seeing me cry would make her cry. I gave her a few kisses before carrying her to the bed in the guest bedroom she napped in then whispered to Ma, “Bully is back.”

Her eyes blinked rapidly and frame grew rigid before she grabbed my hand and led me outside.

“You’ve seen him?” she asked as we walked down the hall.

“Yes. He showed up at the spa today.”

Mama scoffed. “He’s got some nerve. What the hell did he have to say?”

Her anger made me smile. “He didn’t really have a chance to say anything. I slapped him and threw the food he had away before leaving his ass standing there.”

“Good,” she replied, chin jutting out defiantly. “He’s got another thing coming if he thinks you’re going to fall for some cute little gesture. You’ve worked hard to get him out of your system. Don’t you let him back inside now.”

Sighing, I ran my fingers through my straightened hair. “I can’t even think about that right now.”

“You need to. You need to make up in your mind right now what you want and what you want to offer him. Now I won’t blame you if you let him be in my grandbaby’s life, but when it comes to you, you need to deny him access. Only God knows why he left and what he’s been doing for the last nine months. He can’t just come back and act like nothing happened.”

I didn’t know what to say to that. He did say he’d come back for his wife. And as hurt and angry as I was, I couldn’t act like a part of me wasn’t happy to see him. Instead of saying anything, I sat down and palmed my face as I rocked back and forth. This was not how I saw my day going… atall.

* * *

That Evening

I hidout as long as I could at my parents’ home before going to mine. That same black car was outside, and now, I knew it belonged to Bully. How the cove was situated, I had to make a slight turn to get into the garage and back of my home, which I was grateful for, because I didn’t have to see Bully when he got out of his car. In fact, the only reason I knew he got out was because I heard the door close.

I grabbed Innah and her bag and headed inside through the garage. By the time I was heading upstairs to get her settled, the doorbell rang. With a groan, I continued upstairs to put her in bed. Since I stayed later than expected, I fed and changed her there. All I’d have to do was get her out of her clothes and washed up for bed and she’d be good. She was a heavy sleeper, so I should be able to get that done without her waking up.

The doorbell rang again, and she breathed harder, making me smile. I ran my fingers over her wavy hair before leaving the room. The closer I got to the door, the harder and faster my heart beat. Earlier when I saw him, it caught me so off guard I could do nothing but lead with my anger and cry. Now, I felt a bit more in control of my emotions.

Opening the door slightly, I looked at him but left no room for him to come inside.

Damn.

He looked good.

Tall, athletic build. Milk chocolate brown skin that was covered in tattoos. Square head and tapered fade. Skin colored, soft, juicy lips. Bully had perfect white teeth, but my favorite part of him was his eyes. They were slanted and syrup brown with an intensity that always made me feel like he was looking through me… not at me. My daughter had those same penetrative eyes. I cried every time she looked at me for the first three weeks of her life, because they reminded me so much of him.

Bully had a beard now, and I couldn’t lie… it made him even sexier. The thirty-three year old looked more mature—buffer too.

What had he been doing?

“Can I come in?” he asked softly with that gruff voice I’d fallen in love with the first time I heard it.

“No.”

He smiled, and as much as I didn’t want to, I smiled as well.

“We need to talk, Angel.”

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