Page 27 of The CEO's Christmas Wife

“Aye, wassup?”

“Nothing much. You good? You seem extremely tense lately.”

“About?”

“Your wife. Y’all are good together, but when she’s around Chauncey, you watch her like a hawk, and you seem tense even when she’s not. You watch her like you don’t trust her.”

I shook my head. “It’s not that.”

“Emmanuel, it’s me. We’ve always been good, boy. Wassup?”

I inhaled deeply and recalled how I had always been able to tell him everything.

“Byron, she’s not my wife.”

“The fuck?”

I told him the whole story and why I had gone the route that I did.

“I can’t tell, man. Y’all either good ass actors, or you’re feeling the fuck outta each other.”

“I don’t know how she feels, but I know how I feel.”

“Then act on that shit, man. Make it real. You deserve to have one good love in your life ’cause ya ass definitely didn’t get that love in the parent department.”

“You know? Think that’s why I’m so fucked up the way I am now.”

“Let that shit go. Forgive your parents, man. They are who they are, and they’ll never change, and you can’t change them. But that ain’t no reason for you to be miserable as fuck and deny yourself of a good woman because they couldn’t get their shit right.”

“You know I don’t trust women, man. Not after that shit that Dom pulled with Chauncey all those years ago, and then my mom did me the way she did, and other women. I mean, if Icouldn’t trust the one who gave birth to me, how the hell I’ma trust anyone else? They ain’t to be trusted.”

“That’s not true with all women. Consider Aunt Frances. She’s always had your back and put your interests ahead of her own. I’ve got a good-ass woman too. I ain’t gon’ lie. Just tell her how you feel, man.”

“She’s my employee. It’ll be fucked up and tense. Besides, I kissed her ass last night, and if it wasn’t for Aunt Frances and them damn s’mores, I’m certain I would’ve been all up in her guts.”

He chuckled and patted my shoulder. “Boy, you wild. Man, make that shit right. It’s Christmas time. The magical season for love, or so they say.”

“Yeah, and you know how I feel about that shit.”

“There’s always a first time for everything, and a leopard can change his spots. It’ll be a win for you to have good health, extreme wealth, and the love of a lifetime on your arm. You deserve it. Lord knows you’ve been through your share of getting shitted on in this lifetime. Anyway, I came out to tell you that your plate is ready.”

I watched as he headed back inside, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he was right. The thought of trying a different approach to relationships and love scared the hell out of me though.

14

CHRISTMAS MOVIES & KISSES

Kandi

Kayn had been avoiding me since our kiss the night before. We talked, but only when his family was around. Whenever I tried to get him alone, he found some reason to avoid me. If it hadn’t been for his aunt Frances, I was certain that we would have had sex by now. It wasn’t something that I would have regretted either.

The kiss we shared had been so sexy and all-consuming. I had no idea that man had so much passion pent up inside of him. He could kiss like nobody’s business too.

“Tis the season to be jolly, fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la.” I sang as I placed the finishing touches on my handcrafted ornament. We had walked to the church and attended an arts and crafts gift session earlier.

There were all types of DIY activities for creating Christmas gifts for loved ones. I skipped those tutorials and went straight to creating an ornament. I wanted to leave something behind for the Robleys after I was gone. I didn’t want them to forget me, because I definitely wouldn’t be forgetting them anytime soon.

As much as I was disappointed about not being with my family, I welcomed the time that I was spending with Kayn andhis family. It allowed me to think about how it would feel if I were actually in a relationship with a man. It had been a couple of years since I’d been in a relationship or involved with a man. Being with Kayn and the recipient of his attention made me realize just how much I was missing out on.

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