Page 71 of The Devoted Husband

Dante looked at the phone on the table as if he could see Imani. “Why?”

Imani sucked her teeth. “I’ve been calling y’all for days since Grandma told me what happened. I want to make sure she’s okay.” Dante was so caught off guard by her statement he couldn’t respond. “Hello?”

“Y-yeah, I’m here.” Clearing his throat, he chuckled. “Since when do you care about anyone other than yourself?”

Imani huffed. “Where is my sister, Dante?”

“She’s on the beach drawing.”

“Why hasn’t she been answering my calls?”

“Our phones have been in airplane mode. I check mine once a day to make sure our families are good. Other than that, I’m keeping her as stress free as possible. Which means...no phones.”

“That’s good, I suppose. But I want to talk to her myself, so I’ll know she’s okay. It won’t take long, I promise.”

“A’ight, but . . . What’s gotten into you?”

Dante took the call off speaker and put the phone to his ear as he headed off the patio toward the beach.

“Things are changing between us. I don’t know. She’s...tolerable to me now.”

Dante chuckled. “That sounds more like you, but it also sounds like a compliment. Regardless, I’m glad y’all are getting along better.”

“Mhm. We don’t have to talk while you take her the phone. I likeherbetter. Not you.”

Imani’s playful tone couldn’t be ignored as he released a howl of laughter. “Yes, ma’am. Trust me, I don’t like you either.”

She snickered, and it felt like they’d made good progress for some reason. Progress toward what, Dante wasn’t sure. But progress, nonetheless.

“Smiley,” Dante called as he neared her.

She looked back, and he was temporarily speechless between her glow and the sun highlighting her gorgeous smile.

“Your sister wants to talk to you. Are you up for that?”

“Ooh, gimme!” Her hand extended for the phone as she wiggled on her beach towel.

“What the holy hell is going on?” Dante said to himself, but both sisters heard and laughed.

“Hi, sissy,” Sade almost cooed into the phone. “I’m fine. I am, I promise.”

At the sound of her laughter, Dante took backward steps to return to the patio. He wasn’t sure when the shift had happened between them, but he meant it when he said he was grateful for it.

Sade

As shy as Sade felt, she didn’t ask Dante to stop taking pictures of her. Somehow, their playing in the sand turned into a mini photoshoot with her as the model. Her head flung back as she laughed, her hand resting on her sand-covered belly.

“Babe, that’s enough!”

“Nah. I’ll never have enough pictures of you.”

Dante took a few more snaps before sitting next to her. Sade rested her head on his shoulder. They’d been in San Diego for two weeks, and each day that passed decreased her desire to return home.

They planned to drive to Malibu, Pasadena, and Los Angeles over the next week. Sade was most looking forward to shopping. As much as she missed her small family, she wished she didn’t have to return to Memphis. Almost daily, her peace was being robbed there. First, by the turn her relationship with Atlas had taken, and now...Jones. A part of her wanted just to stay in California and never return. But that felt too much like running away and allowing Jones to think he’d won. That was something Sade couldneverdo.

“Is it still trending?” she asked.

“The video? Nah. It was finally taken down.”

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