Page 78 of His to Have
“I should go talk to him,” I said quietly, just enough for Teo to hear.
His brow ticked up. Still silent.
“I at least owe him an explanation,” I admitted. “Not a full-blown conversation. But...” I looked over at the man I once called my boyfriend. “Look at him.”
Corey stood stock still, in shock. His nose flared, and the tightness in his eyes couldn’t be missed.
Teo still, never looked at Corey. Only me.
“And why exactly would I let you do that?” His head tilted just slightly, and his voice was soft. Not too loud, but firm enough to express his disapproval.
“Because you know how I feel,” I said, stepping into his space, my hand resting on his chest. It was intimate, and it wasn’t to placate him, or even to imply he was jealous. Because, honestly, I knew that this wasn’t whatthiswas. But still I wanted to say it. Just in case. “You know who I belong to and you know I’d never disrespect you. It’s only a quick conversation, baby.”
His jaw clenched, but he didn’t speak so I went on to explain.
“I told him there was nothing between us. And then a month later, I’m on your arms. Married. No explanation. No closure. That’s all I’m trying to give him. Closure.”
He stared at me so long and hard and I almost dropped my eyes.
Almost.
Instead, I kissed him... on the lips. Right there in the middle of the damn checkout line. Soft but firm. “Let me close the door. For good.”
Another second passed.
Then he nodded once.
“Three minutes, Amore,” he said finally, his voice rough. “After that I can’t make any promises.”
I didn’t look back at Teo. I didn’t need to. His eyes were already burning a hole between my shoulder blades as I covered the short distance to Corey. My palms were a tad bit sweaty. I had no idea why I felt so uneasy about this, but something just screamed that this exchange was going to be more complicated than I anticipated.
Corey’s jaw flexed the closer I got. He didn’t say anything at first. Just stood there, like the sight of me was just enough to piss him off. He had always been mild mannered, but any time his ego was involved, I always got a different side of him.
“You look good,” he said flatly. His eyes flicked to my ring again. “Marriage suits you.”
I nodded slowly, then exhaled through my nose, not sure how to respond. “I didn’t plan for it to happen like this.”
“But it did.” He folded his arms. “Just like that.”
“I don’t owe you anything, Corey. But I’m over here because I don’t like how it ended.”
He let out a breath that might’ve been a laugh; if there’d been anything funny about this situation. “You blocked me, Yanna. Then vanished. Now you’re back with that nigga who is just a ‘family friend,’ ring on your finger.” His fingers curled into exaggerated air quotes around “family” and “friend,” bitterness dripping from his words. I felt the sting of his accusation, but I refused to let it derail me.
“You don’t understand—”
“Don’t I?” he cut me off, his voice low. “I understand more than you think. I knew who that nigga was.” His head jerked forward toward my husband. “Knew what your family was about. I just thought you were different.”
“I am.” I swallowed. “But this... it’s complicated.”
He stared at me for a long time. “Yeah, well, permanent sounds more like it. It’s funny. One minute y’all are childhood friends, the next minute you’re hugged up with the man you toldme I didn’t have to worry about. It’s all good though. I’m not mad.”
I didn’t flinch, but I wanted to. The calmness in his tone made my stomach twist.
His eyes dropped to my wrist, lingering on the rose gold bracelet. “You could’ve just told me the truth the first time I saw you together. When he gave you that fucking bracelet that seemed to mean so much to you. Could’ve saved me the trouble of thinking any of this was real.”
I was already shaking my head. “It was real. Just... not forever.”
He nodded, but the tension in his jaw never eased. “Guess not.” There was a long pause. “You’re just like the rest of them.”
