Page 35 of The Devoted Husband

“She’s going to prison. Since you won’t help me, I’ll handle this myself. And trust me, youwon’tlike what I do.”

Between the ominous threat and crisp tone, Dante’s feet stopped momentarily. As he continued to his car, he wondered what Jones had up his sleeve.

After Dante grabbed Ava and Barron fried catfish meals from the wing spot up the street, he asked Sade and the twins to join him for lunch. He wasn’t worried about things being weird between them. Even though they knew he wasn’t their father, they still loved him the same.

A part of Dante was hurt when they asked to stay with their great-grandparents, but he knew that was for the best. What was most important was that they be in a stable environment where they felt loved and safe, and he was sure they were getting that from their great-grandparents.

They ended up going to the twins and Imani’s favorite seafood restaurant. Sade was cool with that because she enjoyed their wings. It wasn’t that long of a wait before they got a table, which Dante was grateful for. While he and Sade sat beside each other, the twins did the same. They looked at Dante, then Sade, before bursting into laughter.

“What’s so funny?” Dante asked with a smile of his own.

“It’s weird seeing you two together,” Nila answered.

“What do you mean?” Sade asked. “We’ve always been best friends.”

“Yeah, but . . . This is weird,” Mila said before covering her smile.

“Y’all like each other. That’s what Mama said,” Nila added.

“Oh, did she? When did she say that?” Sade asked.

“When we had to choose where we wanted to live. She said if we chose to live with Dante, you would probably be there too,” Mila explained.

“And she said if y’all got married, we can’t call you Auntie Mommy because she’s our only mommy.”

Though Sade chuckled, her leg bounced under the table until Dante placed his hand on it.

Dante asked, “Is that why you two decided to stay with your great-grandparents?”

The twins looked at each other before Nila spoke.

“Kind of. It would be too weird watching y’all be together and not you and Mommy. Plus, we get to do what we want with Nana and Papa. They don’t have as many rules.”

That caused both Dante and Sade to laugh.

“Very smart choice then,” Sade teased as the waiter came to take their order.

Dante was so grateful he was able to spend time with his girls. DNA or not, he’d always show up for the twins, and he prayed they never doubted that.

After getting the twins settled for the evening, Dante prepared to leave. Sade’s pout made him want to stay. As he scanned her face, he confessed, “If I had known you planned to return to Memphis, I would have gotten a place here too. Already, I don’t like having to say goodbye instead of good night to you.”

Sade smiled. “Yeah. I know you can’t stay, but I wish you could. It felt so good sleeping in your arms.”

“I could always get a room for the night. Just let me know what you want to do.”

“I’m kind of tired of hotels, but if the reward of going to one is sleeping in your arms, I’m down with that.”

“Cool, go pack a bag.”

The happy squeal she released made him smile. While waiting for her, he checked different hotels downtown, opting for a suite at the Peabody Hotel. If he had to take her to a hotel, at least he could afford to take her somewhere nice.

About thirty minutes later, they headed out. The goofy grin she wore, combined with her sleepy eyes, told Dante all he needed to know.

“You’re going to sleep as soon as we get here, aren’t you?”

“I’m glad you know,” she chuckled. “Unless you wanted to make love to me first.”

“I’ll never turn that down, but I will also let you rest. You’ve had a long couple of days.”

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