I leaned my head back against the seat, closing my eyes as I felt the cool water slide down my throat. “I hope it works,” I whispered, more to myself than him.
“For that cheap, it might be a placebo,” Dex teased, leaning over to nudge my shoulder.
“I hope not. I’m not ready to be a mama, Dex.”
He got quiet for a second, his playful energy shifting into something deeper. “What you afraid of?” Before I could even open my mouth to mention the dinner at Chambao, he cut me off. “And don’t say your mother. You are not her, so don’t even mention her name in this.”
I looked at him, surprised by the firmness in his voice.
“I’m not pressuring you into having my baby,” he continued, his eyes searching mine. “But just know, when the time is right, you’re going to be perfect. You’ll be what you always wanted in a mother.”
Something rose in my chest, but this time it wasn’t from sadness. I just nodded, leaning over to press a soft kiss to his lips. To lighten the heavy mood, I pulled back and raised an eyebrow. “But can I get a ring first?”
Dex laughed, a deep, confident sound. “Oh, you getting it all. The ring, the wedding, my last name, and you moving your ass into our house.”
My stomach did a little flip, but I had to be honest with him. “I’ve actually been thinking about getting an apartment.”
The smile disappeared from his face. “Nique, don’t piss me off.”
“I’m not trying to,” I said, turning in the seat to face him. “But I’m fresh out of a relationship where I was completely dependent on the other person. I want to find my independence again. Plus, you and I still need to do that therapy thing we talked about.”
Dex rubbed a hand over his face, looking frustrated. “Man, Nique, we ain’t getting no younger. We already wasted so much time. Why can’t we just live life on the edge and just be madly in love? Stop thinking we’re gonna crash and burn.”
“Baby, at least give me a year,” I said softly. “Give me a year of us doing this right, and after that, we can reconvene.”
Dex just stared at me, his eyes dark and unreadable.
“Relationships are about compromise,” I added with a small shrug.
A slow, knowing grin spread across his face. “So you finally admitting we’re in a relationship?”
I felt the heat rise to my cheeks, and I looked out the window to hide it. “Something like that. We’re still taking it slow.”
Dex didn't care about the slow part. He ignored every careful wall I had just tried to build, reached over, and pulled me into a kiss that told me he wasn’t worried about my one year plan. He was playing the long game.
Not long after, we pulled up to the resort with exactly twenty minutes to spare.
Dex walked me all the way to my villa, checking his watch. “I’ll see you on the beach,” he said, leaning against the doorframe.
“See ya,” I said, leaning up to kiss him one more time, savoring the taste of him before the chaos of London’s wedding took over.
I ducked inside and closed the door, my heart racing for a reason that had nothing to do with being late. For the first time in a long time, the future didn't look like a threat. It looked like Dex.
Chapter thirty-two
Before the Storm
The rehearsal went off without a hitch. The beach at the Casa Cruzando Océanos was transformed into something out of a magazine—long wooden tables set right on the sand, surrounded by towering tropical greenery and glowing lanterns that caught the reflection of the tide coming in. It was beautiful, but as the rest of the guests started filtering down from the resort,the reality of everything I had brought to this trip hit me.
I looked at Nique, who was glowing in the twilight. "I probably need to go help Amina get out here," I said, checking my watch. "You cool with that?"
Nique gave me a small, understanding nod. "Yeah, go ahead. I’ll be right here."
I started making my way up the beach, but I didn't get far before I saw a figure moving toward us from the resort trail. It was Kam and he wasn't alone.
He was carrying Amina bridal style, his arms hooked under her knees and back. She had on a tiny mini dress, and I noticed one of Kam’s hands was placed firmly, almost intimately, on her backside to keep the fabric from riding up and exposing her ass to the entire wedding party.
Watching them move together felt... strange. It wasn't jealousy. I didn't want her, but seeing my cousin hold the mother of my child like that definitely made me feel some type of way.