Page 93 of The Sweetest Devotion

A woman’s voice sounded out beside us, drawing our attention to the left. An older woman was standing there, carrying a large casserole dish with some Tupperware on top. Her graying braids were pulled back out of her face, leaving the curious expression on it to be seen. She was staring at me, as if I were a foreign concept at Keith’s home.

By some instinct, I knew. This was Keith’s mother.

“Shit.” He mumbled beside me before shooting up and going over to the woman. He ushered her more toward the driveway, away from me.

I couldn’t be mad at him. There was no way to really introduce me. Was it socially acceptable to introduce your parents to your fuck buddy?

My own mother would have a conniption and my father would want to wring Keith’s neck out. They would like him, though. I was sure. If Cain wasn’t in the picture, I was positive my parents would like Keith. Manners, protective, honest, and hardworking.

At least, that’s how I always perceived my parents before my father made it clear he wanted me to be well-off even after he was gone. As if my inheritance wasn’t enough.

Keith quietly spoke with the woman who he looked nothing like. Her complexion was closer to my own than his soft brown skin, her gentle but serious face was so different from Keith’s often angry one, and where her son towered over her with his six-foot-three height, she was a good five-seven at the most.

Still, there was no missing the love between them. Her, a concerned parent, and Keith, an adoring son. They hugged after she handed over the food. Despite no introductions, the woman offered me a tight-lipped smile and a wave before disappearing down the driveway.

Keith came over carrying the food and one good whiff of it had me realizing I was starving.

“I’ll finish the rest of this later,” Keith said.

I didn’t want to leave him hanging. “You sure?”

“Yeah, it’s not much left. You did good today.”

I had worked hard and I felt it in my sore arms. “Thank you, for showing me the way.”

“Never a problem.” Keith gestured with his head toward his house. “Let’s get cleaned up. I’ll fix the fish I took out for you.”

I bit my lip. He was always going out of his way for me. “You didn’t have to do that.”

Keith made a face. “I wanted to.”

A fuzzy sensation buzzed inside of me as I stood up. “Okay.”

“I was planning on grilling, but I’m not passin’ on my mom’s cooking,” Keith said as he led us up the back patio steps. He passed me the keys to let us in as he carefully leaned down and turned off the speaker, abruptly putting an end to Jill Scott.

I unlocked his backdoor and stepped into his bedroom, the smell of him hitting me at once.Cozy. That’s how Keith smelled.

I set my hat down on his dresser beside one of his baseball caps. A nearby mirror illustrated my hat hair, but I was too worn out to care about my appearance.

Keith came past me and I followed him out to his kitchen.

“That food smells amazing,” I said as I watched him set it on the island.

He glanced at me with pride. “My mom’s famous Marry Me Chicken, with a side of angel hair pasta.”

It was too ironic of a name not to laugh. “Gonna share?”

Keith frowned. “I don’t wanna put you out. I got some grouper.”

I did love grouper, but that chicken smelled delicious. “I want the chicken. It smells good. It’s been a while since I’ve had any. Besides, if you told me you were grilling, I would’ve brought over some salmon hot dogs.”

All at once Keith’s face fell. “Salmonwhat?”

I chuckled. That was exactly Jadyn’s reaction when I discovered the food. “You heard me. Salmon hot dogs. They’re good.”

Keith wrinkled his nose as he came past me for the sink. He grabbed the bar of soap and began lathering his hands. “Shit sounds nasty.”

I went up beside him, poking him in his ribs. “You would’ve tried them.”

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