Page 45 of Her Baby His Gift

“Let’s face it, you can be over the top. This explains it all.” He tilted his head slightly in complete understanding.

Harlem had been told that many times before, and it was a sensitive subject. “There’s nothing weird about it. I just like order.”

Carter lifted a brow. “I didn’t say weird. I said over the top.”

He continued to study her boards. “The perfect man?”

Harlem held her breath as he read the notes underneath the pictures.

“Tall like Will Smith. Dark like Idris Elba. Fine like Idris Elba. Must be well educated. Must be wealthy and like apocalyptic movies.Damian was almost a ten out of ten. I guess the fact that he didn’t really like the end of the world type of movies was not a big deal.”

“That’s not true. Damian loved them.” Harlem argued.

Carter knew damn well Damian didn’t like those kinds of movies. But he figured Dame went along with it because she did. If that’s what Damian wanted Harlem to believe no point in disputing it. Carter continued to look at her board. “Doesn’t need but would be nice to have–dimples, be physically fit, a black Labrador, nice to my mama . . .” Carter laughed.

“What’s so funny?” Harlem fought hard to keep a stern look on her face.

“Nothing.”

“That was serious stuff.”

He moved on to the infamous wedding board. It was no different than the rest of them. It was very detailed, down to a sample of the fabric Harlem wanted her wedding dress to be made from. There was aMy Familyvision board. On it, Harlem had a picture of Idris Elba, her, and two children. “Good thing Damian met you before you met Idris. He wouldn’t have stood a chance.”

Harlem laughed. “Probably not.”

“I guess I’ve kinda thrown a monkey wrench into your plans, huh?”

“What do you mean?”

“Your parents are brown. You’re a lighter shade of brown. I’m white.” He pointed to her stomach. “My guess is that baby is going to look bi-racial.”

“I-I don’t have a problem with that.”

“Everything on your board screams I want a black family.”

“Well, I’m black. It makes perfect sense. If I went into your childhood home, I doubt I’d see a vision board with black people on it.”

The lightheartedness on his face went away. “You wouldn’t see any pictures let alone a vision board.”

She touched his arm. “There had to be some good memories.”

“Nope. Not a one.”

“What are your mom and dad like?”

“Honestly, I don’t know.”

Harlem sat down on her bed and picked up Snuggles. “C’mon. They’re your parents. You have to know something.”

“Okay. My mom liked to drink wine way too much. She liked shopping which I guess was a way to numb herself because she hated my father, who also drank too much, traveled too much, and had way too many affairs. They were both so busy living their lives to remember they had a son. I was shipped off to boarding school at eight and came home for summers and holidays. Coincidently, that was right around the time they would go on some type of vacation without me. They divorced when I was thirteen. Nothing really changed after the divorce. During breaks, I was just shuffled from one big ass house to another.”

That knowledge gave Harlem a better understanding of Carter. “I’m sorry that you paid the price for their need to feel whole.”

Carter cleared his throat. “It was a long time ago. I don’t sweat it.”

Harlem didn’t believe him. “I wish you had a Snuggles to comfort you.” Family shaped every aspect of who he was and why he had trouble bonding with people.

Carter turned up his nose. “That thing looks like it’s been through a lot.”

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