Page 57 of Reckless Forever
“I love you too,” I exhaled as I waited for him to start the shower. I didn’t want to stand for any longer than I had to.
This was the perfect ending to the kind of day I’d sit on the balcony in Bolivia and dream about. Engaged, happy, and bound to the man who I wanted on my side and in my guts for the rest of my life.
“Baby, you do know that we own this, and I could’ve had someone bring you whatever you want, right?” Judah groaned as we pulled up to the mall.
I smiled. “I do know. You’ve reminded me of that the whole way here. But luxury can’t replace experiences, and I’ve never been to an American mall.” I grinned at his discomfort. Judah was definitely the type to just pay for whatever he couldn’t be bothered with handling. But I wanted to experience these things for myself.
We pulled into the Kingsway Plaza, and it was swarming with people. I was amazed that they owned a place like this. There were so many shops that seemed so much more modern than the ones back in Bolivia. Even with money, there were still some things the country just didn’t have.
I didn’t know where to start, but I might as well begin at the top. We walked through each store, hand in hand. The first store we entered was a fragrance store.
It was one of my guilty pleasures, and I loved to smell good. I dragged him there first.
“Hey guys, welcome to Noted. What brings you by, Boss? The cashier greeted us with a smile as we walked to the wall of fragrances.
“What’s up, Tasha? My wife wants something, get her right.” He said as he put the phone to his ear and began to stroll off. She and I both stood still at the term wife, before we finally got it together and she took me to a display case.
“I have so many of the classics,” she said, naming things that I had never heard of, and some that I had to order online, hoping they smelled good.
I tested them all, sorting them into piles that I liked and those that were a definite no. Judah walked back over to me just as she was handing me her signature scent that she said she had made herself.
“You like this baby?” I questioned without smelling it first myself.
“Hate it,” he said, and I almost choked. I looked at her eyes wide as she burst into laughter. I’m glad that she was a good sport because he was wrong. I held in my amusement so that I didn’t seem rude.
“You don’t like it?” she asked like she had misheard him.
“Do you?” He asked her, and this time, I couldn’t contain myself, neither could she. But he was as still as stone.
“Noted, I’ll get back in the lab,” she nodded.
“I’ll make you a deal, Tasha. Since I support my employees, I’ll pay for you to take a class. BUT if you make something like that again, I want my money back.” He smirked as he waited for her decision.
“Deal,” she said as they shook hands, and she bagged up my items, and he paid for them.
I waited until we were out of the shop, and I turned to him and just looked. He started laughing.
“I’m honest, I wanted to tell her it smelled like dog water.” He chuckled and grabbed my hand as we walked into a shoe store.
We had barely crossed the entrance when I felt eyes on me. When I scanned the store, I locked eyes with a woman sipping an Icee and giving me the filthiest look. I scoffed and rolled my eyes, but something in Judah’s body language told me this wasn’t just some random.
“Baby… you know her?” I asked, nodding toward the woman.
His jaw flexed. “That’s Alexis.”
I recognized the name because he’d mentioned her once when she was blowing him up in the middle of the night, and he blocked her. Before I could ask anything else, she stomped her way over, Icee in hand, attitude colder than the drink.
“So this is why you won’t answer the phone?” she snapped, folding her arms like she was demanding a response.
Judah didn’t even blink. “Lex, you know damn well I don’t owe you an explanation. And don’t disrespect my wife.”
Embarrassment washed over her face before she tried to mask it. Then she let out a low laugh. “Wife? Please. This bitch isn’t even your type.”
I caught Judah’s hand inching toward his waist, and that was my cue to intervene. I stepped forward before he could take it too far.
“Alexis, right?” My voice was as calm as a Bolivian summer night. I tilted my head with a smile that wasn’t really a smile. “You’re right, I’m not his type. I’m Ivy. Cartel princess and the wife of a national Mafia elite.”
Her eyes dropped to my hand the second I lifted it, the diamond catching the light. The envy on her face was evident.
