Page 33 of Allure

I shook my head and stood to put the chair back in place, then grabbed my things.

“Actually, no, he has a few things to handle. Plus, he knows I’m with you and doesn’t plan to call,” I told her.

She lifted a brow and nodded as she followed me out of the building.

“I’m still shocked he is the same man from that nightclub. You couldn’t stop talking about him after that night, but I get why. He’s a looker, girl. And what are the chances that you come across this man again? Shoot, of all places, at the end of the aisle.”

I exhaled as we walked down the street together, toward her car.

“Say it again. If someone would have told me I would see this man again and in that way, I would have told them to go somewhere. But I guess that’s what’s special about it. He is everything, Halia.”

“I can tell by how much you’re glowing. Y’all have been wrapping it up, right?” she asked.

I looked somewhere other than her and kept quiet.

“Bitch, are you trying to get pregnant?” she asked.

I waved her off. “Absolutely not. We’re just very spontaneous people and it just happens that way. It’s not in the plan, but I don’t think he cares if it does happen. Shoot, I haven’t gotten pregnant in all of these years, so I highly doubt it will happen out of nowhere.”

“Yeah, just like you highly doubted you would see this man again, but here we are today, Mrs. Lockwood,” she said.

I nudged her and we both burst into laughter. The ride to the restaurant we chose to eat at was short. When we made it there, I knew for sure I wouldn’t want to eat again later, so I pulled my phone out to text Niko again since I had shot him a text when I got up this morning.

Me: Hey babe, I’m out getting food with Mahalia. This is the menu. Do you want anything? (Picture attachment)

Husband: Damn, yeah. Honestly, I eat anything on there and I don’t have a specific taste for anything. Get me whatever you’re eating.

Me: Got you. I’ll be home in an hour or two at the latest.

Husband: Take your time and enjoy your friend, baby. You not gon’ be able to use me as an excuse and then she don’t like me thinking I took her friend away.

I laughed and then looked up to see Mahalia staring at me with a smile. I knew she was shocked to see me this engrossed with my texts. Mainly because I wasn’t the texting type, but for this man, I would do it. Plus, I didn’t want to be rude while I was sitting here with Mahalia and call. It was bad enough I was texting.

Me: It might be too late for that. lol

Husband: Damn, tell her my bad. I can’t help it that her friend got good pussy and even better vibes.

My face was surely red. I didn’t need to look in the mirror to know that.

Me: Bye. See you later and I’ll try to get your food back warm. lol

Husband: Don’t rush be safe. That’s what microwaves are for.

I locked my phone and slipped it back into my pocket, then looked back up at Mahalia, who was still staring.

“What?” I asked.

“You know what? You’re already in love. This man only needed a short time to get you wrapped around his finger. But that’s not a bad thing, sis. This is a marriage. I’m happy for you. You got me feeling like I need to invest in Arranged Hearts.”

I smiled and nodded, knowing everything she said was true. This man was everything, and we were everything together. I didn’t feel like I was trying hard to be with him. It came effortlessly.

“I’m telling you, I think you should. The way dating is handled these days, you’re bound to come home with a toad if you do it the traditional way. I’m not going for that anymore. I wanted more than the average man could offer. I think it would really help you. Well, if you truly want it.”

Mahalia nodded and took a sip of the drinks that had just been brought over to the table. I was still drinking water, which had her brow lifted again.

“Do you got something you need to tell me? Did I guess right earlier?” she asked.

“Girl, no, I just drank so much while we were out of town, I wanted to flush my body of all of that. That’s all. Niko has been drinking water just like me. When I say we had a ball on our honeymoon, I mean that. He pulled out no stops when it came to making it special for us.”

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