Page 37 of Beautiful Broken Love

Funny. I’d dreamed of this moment—signing a big name for my brand, branching out, and getting wider distribution—but all those dreams included my husband.

There were so many faces in that crowd—a sea of people I knew and some I didn’t ... andnoneof them satisfied me. I stepped back just as Deke handed the mic to Tish. He walked in my direction and gave me a wistful smile, but I couldn’t bring myself to return it this time.

Instead, I left the stage as subtly as I could, wove my way through the ballroom while everyone was distracted, and left the building.

NINETEEN

DAVINA

I wasn’t sure what it was about that night, but I wanted so badly to talk to my daddy.

Aaron Klein had died from a hit-and-run when I was nine years old. I was fortunate enough to have nine years with him. He’d been the warmest person, with the kindest smile, and his presence was always comforting.

They say no one is perfect, but to nine-year-old Davina, my dad was the definition of perfection. He cooked for me and Octavia every morning before school and ate dinner with us every night.

He made sure we had clothes, shoes, and even the snacks we loved. He’d take us fishing with him or hiking in the fall. He’d brush the kinks out of mine and Octavia’s hair and rub shea butter on dry patches of our skin.

He’d even taken care of Mama, though she’d made that difficult for him to do.

I wished Octavia was around for the party, but she had to return to nannying and couldn’t make it.

I blew a breath, resting my chin on my knees as I focused on the body of water ahead of me. I was sitting in front of a man-made lake with a fountain sprouting from the center. The fountain cycled throughcolors, going from green to pink, then red to blue. It was the balm I needed for my emotional wounds.

A rustling noise sounded behind me, and I glanced over my shoulder, expecting Tish to be there, but it wasn’t her.

It was Deke walking through the grass.

“You were hard to find,” he announced, looking down at me with soft eyes.

Deke had a lot of the same traits my father did. He had the kind of personality that made you want to smile for no damn reason. I resisted, though, and faced the water again.

“Actually, I take that back. You were pretty easy to find,” he said. “If it were me, I’d have walked this way too. View is nice.”

“Why are you here, Deke?” I mumbled.

“For the party. You invited me, remember?”

I narrowed my eyes at him.

“Not the time for jokes.” His lips popped. “Got it.”

I looked ahead again, while he took a step closer. I saw him shifting from foot to foot, and when I glanced up at him, he was staring at the ground with mild disgust.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“I’m debating if I want to sit down with you right now. This is a two-thousand-dollar suit. Armani shouldn’t be anywhere near dirty grounds.”

I huffed a laugh. Rich men and their materialistic problems. “You don’t have to sit. In fact, you don’t have to be here at all.” I gave him a smug grin.

“And let you drown in the funk you’re in? Nah.”

A moment of silence passed between us before Deke finally released a sigh and sat on the pavement next to me. “You’re lucky I like you,” he mumbled.

I fought a grin.

He placed his legs at a bent angle, then put his arms on top of his knees in a relaxed position. I saw all this from the corner of my eye.I couldn’t dare myself to fully look at him while we were this close. I was sure my mascara had run a little and my eyes were red. I probably looked like a hot mess sitting next to this perfect melanin god in his crisp designer suit.

I buried my chin deeper in the gap between my chest and forearms and side-eyed him. He was watching the fountain, seemingly lost in thought. A serenity bloomed around him like he was shining with a new light.

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