Page 53 of Treasured
I pressed speakerphone, and he said, “Good. I’m out of the hospital, but when you come home, call me, sis. I want to see you and Bruce are good, in person.”
I jumped up and down a little. He was fine. I met Dwayne’s gaze. I had two men protecting me now. “You’re always looking out for me,” I told Joseph.
“We’re family, sis.”
True. And the Steel family stuck together and helped each other. I said goodbye.
“Will he be upset if you move in with me?” Dwayne asked.
I laughed and knelt down with them as he put Bruce down in the living room, and I said, “After I tell him about your security system, he’s going to want your contacts for his computer business.” I kissed Dwayne’s cheek. “I’ll pass along Mark’s business card.”
My breasts stood at attention in my bra as the heat of his gaze dug under my skin. I guessed breakfast was now second on his list.
“Now come here,” he said.
My eyes widened. “In broad daylight?”
He took my hand like he was about to lead me to the bedroom. “Bruce is busy with his toys…” He let me go and grabbed his phone off the kitchen counter. “Wait. Let me get my camera.”
I turned around and pressed my hand to my heart. Bruce was wobbling, but he was standing and putting one foot in front of the other without the couch. Tears formed in my eyes. “He’s walking,” I said.
Just like that, he fell on his butt, but Dwayne snapped his fingers beside me. “Got it.”
I let out an audible breath and rewatched the moment. “I need to send this in the family group chat.”
He forwarded it to me, and I sent it in the Steel family group chat. Once my phone made the sent sound, I turned it off, and he grabbed my hips. “Then we can celebrate, alone, for a few minutes.”
Leaving my son wasn’t my normal, even if he was safe, so I said, “Okay, he won’t notice once he’s sleeping.”
“I get it, but I need you soon, Mary.”
My eyebrow quirked. How Dwayne loved me still struck me as crazy and amazing, but I tilted my head, playfully crossed my arms, and said, “I still need my letter back.”
He took it out of his pocket and said, “Not going to happen, but I still love you.”
“Me too,” I said, but I reached for it. He put it down his pants, but I didn’t care and reached inside for the paper.
To stop me, he kissed me. And then I forgot everything else. In that one moment, it was just him and me.
Chapter Nineteen
Dwayne
A Month Later
The sun was almost setting now. I’d left my new home with Mary practically at the crack of dawn. She’d locked herself in the bathroom when she woke up with me. And I swore she’d been sick, but she came out swearing she was fine and telling me to go.
Her texts throughout the day about our date that night had made my memory fade until I parked in our garage. The ring in my pocket jingled, so I knew the diamond I’d picked out was still there. Now I stepped out, fixed my tie, and pressed the elevator button.
We’d moved into a penthouse in her brother’s new condo building so family would be close.
The doors closed, and I heard light music. My heart thudded as I realized the windfall I just received. The lawyers for Cole Securities transferred ownership outright to me, and I’d be a damn fool to turn away the potential money to earn.
Plus, staying in Pittsburgh meant Mary and I and Bruce now lived together. And I toured my engineering facilities and manufacturing plant and the legal contracts. It was more than I ever expected to make, and it was because my brother left his company for me.
I owed Devon and in a way Wanda for building this company, though Wanda was happily in prison awaiting trial.
As I opened the door, Bruce waddled over to me, and I scooped him up in my arms. I forgot my day and focused on the warm, squishable boy in my arms. Joseph was sitting on our couch, but I didn’t see Mary at all. I put my shoes away, bouncing Bruce.
