She came out of the stall slowly, not looking at me, focusing on maneuvering her crutches to the sink.
“I’m not a homewrecker,” I continued. “I grew up without a mother and without a father. As a kid all I ever wanted was two parents under one roof. I would never stand in the way of Demi having that. Being with Dex does not mean I’m here to interfere with him being her father. She will always come first. I need you to know that.”
Amina ran the water over her hands. She still hadn’t looked at me, but she hadn’t walked out either.
She turned the faucet off and stood there for a moment. When she finally spoke, her voice was quieter than I expected.
“I don’t doubt that you love him,” she said, still not looking at me. “I never did. That’s actually the part that kills me.” She reached for a paper towel and dried her hands slowly. “The worst part is that I knew the whole time. Even before Paris told me about Jamaica, I knew he looked at you differently. I just kept telling myself if I gave him enough time and enough reasons to stay, he would eventually choose me.” She finally looked up and met my eyes in the mirror. “He never did though. Not once.”
I didn’t say anything. I just let it sit there between us.
“I don’t hate you Nique,” she said, straightening up and reaching for her crutches. “I hate the situation. There’s a difference.”
She made her way toward the door and pushed it open with her shoulder. She paused without turning around.
“Just don’t hurt him,” she said quietly. “And remember that no matter what happens between y’all I’m still her mama. I’m not going anywhere.”
Then she was gone.
I stood there for a minute after the door closed. I had followed Paris in here to hold her together and somehow ended up having the most honest conversation I’d ever had with Amina. We weren’t cool again, but we had opened the door for honest conversation and that was a great start.
Chapter thirty-five
Confluence
I had been to a lot of weddings. I had never been to one where I spent the whole morning thinking about my own.
Usually my only job at these things was to show up, look decent in a suit, and make sure the groom didn’t pass out or bolt. But standing in the groom’s suite watching Eli check his reflection for the tenth time all I could see was Nique. I kept picturing her in white. Kept thinking about what it was going to feel like to be the one standing at the end of that aisle waiting on her instead of walking her down it.
I cleared my throat and shook the thoughts loose. Today wasn’t about me and Nique. Our time was coming soon enough. I reached for the bottle of Clase Azul on the sideboard, poured four shots, and whistled to get the guys’ attention. Eli, Kyson, and Kam all gathered around, their glasses clinking as they took them from me.
I looked at Eli. He looked sharp but there was a weight in his eyes that only a man who had been through hell could carry.
“Hold up,” I said, raising my glass. “I gotta say something.”
The room went quiet. I took a breath, looking my brother dead in the eye. “Eli, I’ve seen you survive a very dark time man. And if I’m being completely honest there were nights I didn’t know if you’d ever see the light again. I didn’t know how to truly help you see it and that weighed on me more than I ever told you.”
Eli’s jaw tightened and he gave me a slow solemn nod.
“I prayed that you would,” I continued. “And God heard me. He sent London to do what the rest of us couldn’t, what we didn’t even know how to do. She didn’t just love you, she reached into that dark place and pulled you out of it. It’s been a long time coming for you two. A lot of ups and downs, a lot of history, but it’s beautiful to see the outcome today.”
I raised my glass a little higher. “Cheers to finding love again brother. You deserve every bit of this peace.”
“Cheers,” the guys echoed, the sound thick with respect.
We knocked the shots back, the tequila burning smooth and warm. Eli stepped forward gripping my shoulder in a way that said everything he couldn’t put into words. “Thanks, Dex. I needed that.”
“I meant it,” I told him, clapping him on the back. “Now let’s get you down to that beach before London thinks you got cold feet and sends Nel up here to drag you down by your ears.”
The guys laughed, the tension finally breaking as we started the walk out toward the sand. I fell in line behind Eli watching him walk toward his future.
My mind went quiet the moment I saw the bridesmaids being led toward us by the wedding coordinator.
I had seen Nique in a thousand different outfits but seeing her in that blush dress stopped me cold. The silk hugged every curve like it was made specifically for her body and the soft pink tone against her skin made her look like she was glowing from the inside out. She looked less like a bridesmaid and more like a vision.
The coordinator started lining everyone up and of course I was paired with her. As soon as she got within arm’s reach the smell of her perfume hit me and I stopped caring about who was watching. I leaned in and caught her for a quick kiss.
“Aye! Y’all ain’t the ones who supposed to be kissing!” Kam shouted from a few feet away, a wide grin on his face.