Page 83 of And Everything In Between

She frowned for a second. He’d been texting her on and off all day. Always with an update or a soft,I’m thinking about youtext. But now it was silent. She was worried about him. He loved the mission, but he didn't like the performance part of it. Her man’s social battery got depleted quickly. She needed him to check in.

Paige:You know, I worry about you. If it gets to be too much, go sit quietly and recharge. I love you.

She didn’t get a response, so she set her phone down. He knew how to find her if he needed her. She decided to let the man have his moment. But deep down, she knew Giovanni Dowlen didn’t do silence without reason.

#

Giovanni, Emon, Brooks, and Rolani sat in the faux shop set up for the night. It felt good having his people with him, his brothers. Rolani was a given, but Emon and Brooks had both taken time off from building empires to show up for his moment. That meant something.

And of course, the women weren’t missing this. While the fellas kicked it, their wives and girlfriends were posted at the hotel, living it up, brunch, mimosas, loud-ass laughter, shopping, and taking up space like only Black women could. That was why they worked their hands raw. So, their women could move through the world without hesitation or apology.

“This shit is surreal,” Rolani said, leaning back in the leather chair, the replica shop shining around them. Rolani had been his friend way before all of this. In fact, it was Giovanni’s dad who got him into cars also. When he came to spend the night, if Giovanni had to be in the shop, so did he. It was the only way his dad agreed. Rolani was better for it. He found his passion for painting and detail work.

Now he was Giovanni’s right hand at the shop and the best in the business at what he did.

“Yeah, a nigga can’t believe this shit here. I appreciate y’all for making it out,” Giovanni said.

These were the men who’d known him when he was nothing but reckless ambition. The ones who’d seen him humbled, healing, rebuilding after betrayal. They weren’t here for photo ops. They were there for him. Proud of his accomplishments.

“Bruh, we’re family. In more ways than one. I wouldn’t wanna be anywhere else. How you feeling?” Emon asked.

Giovanni exhaled, heavy. “Like a fish out of water. I’m hype… I don’t know how to show it. I feel like this is a big moment, but… something else is eating at me.”

“Is it ‘bout the show?” Emon asked, tipping back his beer. “Or about Paige?”

Giovanni smirked, rubbing his thumb along the bridge of his nose. “Both. Always. She’s a thought in everything I do.”

Brooks laughed. “She got you wide open.”

“Nah, she got me locked in. Crazy part? We’ve only been together a few months. But time seems not to even matter much with her.”

He listened with intent as they spoke. These were men who’d loved out loud. Who had taken risks on women they couldn’t unsee once they saw them.

Giovanni blew out a slow breath.

It still surprised him sometimes— how much he’d changed. How fast it had happened. How fast he’d fallen in love with Paige. And Giovanni, normally a man with good common sense, felt reckless and bold.

Time had never stopped him. When had he ever played it safe? Every win that mattered came from moving off instinct, not permission. The shop. The TV deal. Hell, even stopping traffic for a stranger that night. That wasn’t a strategy. That was faith. A faith that felt like God's highest favor.

“So?” Brooks shrugged, catching his eye. “When you know, you know.”

“And you know,” Emon added without looking up, like it was fact.

Giovanni let the words settle before nodding. These two had already done what he was now stepping into. He’d watchedEmon love Blake like his whole soul was tied to hers. He’d seen Brooks shift his entire world to wrap Taylor in peace.

And he’d do both.

His phone buzzed; it was a text from Paige. He smiled.

Paige:You know, I worry about you. If it gets to be too much, go sit quietly and recharge. I love you.

He read her message but didn't respond right away. With intense eyes he stared down at his hands, scarred, calloused, capable. Built to carry, to create, to protect. Hands that would rub her back when she needed, hold her hand when she needed, wipe her tears when she needed, hold their children. Flashes of the future had been plaguing him all day. That ache in his chest showed up again, familiar. It'd been lingering ever since she got to town.

Her simple message, the way she worried about him, supported him without being asked, crystallized everything. This wasn’t just love. This was partnership. This was home.

“I’m not tryna show up to this premiere treating it like some solo achievement,” Giovanni said finally, certain. “Not when the woman who centered me enough to make this possible is waiting back at that hotel.”

Emon leaned in, knowing. “You saying what I think you saying?”

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