Allure: The Arranged Hearts Series

Chapter 11

I wasin no hurry to get back home, mainly because I knew some of what I left behind would be here waiting for me. Lore fell asleep the moment we got into the truck to head home. We had just landed and I was sure the jet lag had gotten to my baby. Not to mention, the work I had been putting in this entire trip. It was no wonder I wasn’t sleeping right along with her.

I glanced down at her serene face as she lay against my shoulder, snoring lightly. When I told her she snored, she was more than positive there was a miscalculation on my part. I knew what I heard but I would allow her to keep thinking she didn’t snore. I guess that was what marriage was. I laughed to myself at the thought because it felt like I had been married to this woman longer than I had.

We went by her place first before we went back to mine. We agreed we would keep both places until we found a new one together. But for the time being, she would stay with me at mine and use hers to work out of when she needed to. It made the most sense, especially because I needed to make sure I kept her safe, now that the world knew I was married.

I hadn’t been focused on social media our entire trip, but when I got back, something told me to take a look. They had everything except how it came to be that I was married. Arranged Hearts had a lock on their facility that I appreciated. It wasn’t as if I was embarrassed by how I found love. But, it had to be my decision whether I mentioned it.

This was the one thing I hated about being famous. I wished sometimes I could keep my private life to my-damn-self. It wasn’t like I didn’t plan to announce my marriage soon, but I wanted it to be a decision between Lore and me. I knew how invasive this thing could be and I didn’t know if she was ready.

I looked down at her again and brushed her hair from the front of her face. I just hoped she was ready for what would come our way. Not everyone was going to be happy, and some were family.

Since we still had a bit of time until we made it back to Marina Bluffs, I decided to take a nap as well. I needed to be prepared for my meeting with my agent since he had been blowing up my phone since I got back. Probably even before, but I had my phone on Do Not Disturb. I had no intention of explaining why and what I was doing. It was none of anyone’s business but my own. I hated that I needed to keep saying that. When did becoming a celebrity give people the idea that they were in charge of what you could and couldn’t do in your life?

Some time had passed before I felt a nudge against my shoulder. I peeled open my eyes and noticed we were close to the beach. Looking over at Lore, who was now wide awake, she turned her phone so I saw the screen and, of course, she’d checked social media and was having a field day.

There was a picture of us while we were in Barcelona dancing and I shook my head.

“Good thing I’m secure in who I am. These folks are calling me everything under the sun. According to them, I am a gold-digging art teacher. Oh, wait, I’m forgetting one word. A gold-digging, fat, art teacher, who ran off and convinced one of the top players in the world to marry her,” she read.

I groaned aloud and dragged a hand down my face. I reached over and took her phone from her hands, then moved it out of her reach when she tried to get it back.

“Let me nip this in the bud now. You’re not fat and I think you’re beyond beautiful. If we want this to work, we have to let social media be what it is—a place where opinions without merit exist. This is our real life and you know exactly how we ended up where we are so don’t get upset or allow it to piss you off because you know it’s a lie. Now, I want to give you this back, but only if you promise to leave this shit alone. I don’t want that negative shit in our space. You aren’t getting it from me so it doesn’t count here. I will also reach out to my agent to get a press conference or something in place to show this is real. You trust me?” I asked.

I still held her phone out of her reach. I knew I was asking a lot of her, especially since we hadn’t known each other long, but I wanted her to know I could handle this as best as I could. I also wanted her to know her feelings were valid, but if we wanted this marriage to work, she had to leave the opinions of others outside of it.

Lore crossed her arms against her chest, then nodded in response.

“Aight, to make sure you mean it, I need a kiss, too, baby. It’s the only way I will believe you,” I teased.

The smile I had gotten so used to seeing was front and center. She moved her hair over her shoulder, then leaned forward, kissing me like she wanted this to go further than a simple peck. Then she pulled back, opening her door.

“Ah ah, I got it. Close that door,” I told her.

She closed it and leaned back in her seat. I hopped out of the truck and then waved her over so she could exit out of mine. I wanted to see her place. When we first met, we went to a hotel so this would be my first look into how she kept a house. I wasn’t the cleanest person but I could keep up with my space. So there would be no judgment from me, I just wanted to experience more of her.

She reached out for my hand and then led her to what looked like a two-story beach house. I could imagine her living here; it had good views of the beach and an artsy vibe. Lore reached into her purse to grab her keys, then let us inside. The moment I stepped in, I could smell her paints and more. It was very clean, except for the few things that she messed with before leaving for the wedding.

When she came back to get her things for the trip, I didn’t explore her house. Not to mention, we weren’t worried about doing a tour. We had a flight to catch, so I was seeing her place with new eyes. I continued to walk through the house, room after room, until I came upon a long hallway. I figured this led to her art studio so I followed it until I reached the last door. I twisted the knob and practically entered a new world. She had large sheets covering the floor, there were canvases all around the room, sculptures in different positions, and a large window facing the water.

I couldn’t help but smile because this space felt the most like her and it made a sense of pride beam in me. This was something she created on her own and it was the thing that made her who she was.

“I see you found the studio. It’s like peace settles over you the moment you step in here, right?” she asked behind me.

I looked over my shoulder with a nod. “Definitely. I see you all throughout this room. This is dope, baby.”

She beamed at my compliment and walked over to the canvas that she had been working on. I could tell she wasn’t finished with it yet. The way her finger dragged along the side of it let me know she hadn’t spent this much time away from her art. I knew without needing to be told that this was where she needed to be. At least for the night.

I reached into my pocket and pulled my phone out.

“Hey, we’re going to add another stop or two,” I told my driver.

Lore turned around to face me with a smile and a lift of her brow.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“I’m compromising and it’s not a big compromise. I can tell you want to be here, that you want to paint. I just want to be where you are, so it doesn’t bother me to make myself at home here while you work. I have a meeting tomorrow with my agent but that’s it. I’ll grab my car and come back here after I grab a few things to wear. Long as the change of the plans is cool with you?” I asked.

Lore rushed over, jumping into my arms, almost knocking me off balance, but I caught her and steadied myself. She leaned back and kissed me a few times quickly before sliding down my body, then back onto her feet.

“I’m going to take that as a yes. I’ll bring your bags in here and you can make yourself comfortable. Also, send me a text with what you want to eat for dinner. I’m sure neither of us feels like cooking after all this traveling.”

Lore nodded and then walked back over to her canvas. I stood for a moment, admiring the woman in front of me, then walked out of the room to make sure everything was brought inside before having the driver take me back to my place. The moment I pulled up, reporters were guarding the gate with cameras.

I groaned because this was the shit I was talking about. They hadn’t been worried about my ass until I decided not to sign that contract. Then I had the nerve to get married, so right now, I was high on their priority list. The moment we got through the gates, I noticed Kole’s car was parked outside.

I silently thanked God that I had a mind to stay at my wife’s place because I would have been pissed had I come in here with her and he was here. The driver parked in front of the door, then opened mine and grabbed my bags from the back.

“I got it from here. Thank you, man, and here is a tip,” I said to the driver, reaching into my pocket for a couple hundred.

He nodded and then got back into his car, going back out the way he came in. I turned to face my front door and released a sigh as I pulled my key out to unlock the door. The moment I walked in, I heard music blasting throughout the house and moaning.

I was about to whup this man’s ass. If he was going to be fucking random bitches, it definitely shouldn’t be at my spot. Especially after I just got married. These folks wouldn’t care that they saw Kole go in with her. The bottom line was, she was leaving my spot and I was a married man.

I closed my eyes and said a silent prayer. I massaged my temples before jogging up the steps and banging on my guest door, then I snatched it open because this was my fucking house. Kole had this girl face down, ass up, fucking the shit out of her.

His eyes widened at the sight of me.

“Get her and yourself the fuck out of my house! Now!” I yelled.

The girl turned with a look of lust in her eyes as if she would be down if I joined in on the fun. In my earlier days, I might have joined, but these days, I wasn’t down with that shit and Lore had pussy that made a grown man beg. I wasn’t going to do a damn thing to mess that up.

I slammed the door closed behind me and marched up to my room to start packing a bag to help work through my anger. It always amazed me how Kole was older than me, but at every turn, proceeded to act as if I was the older brother. The one thing that pissed me off even more was he had his own fucking house.

I made a mental note to take the key I had given him for emergencies back. If he ever pulled some shit like this while my wife was here, I was going to fuck him up. It would be yet another thing Big Reg would be mad about but I didn’t give a fuck anymore.

I walked into my bathroom, grabbing my soap and shit to add to my bag. More than thirty minutes had passed before everything was packed up. I made my way back down the hall looking in the room my brother had been in with disgust. He was paying for the fee I would have to pay to get a maid in here to clean this shit. I jogged down the steps to see him sitting on the couch with a sad expression.

The moment he noticed I was in the room, he hopped up and dressed in the clothes he had on the night before.

“Man, my bad. I didn’t expect you to be back so soon. Don’t most honeymoons take a week or two?” he asked.

I cocked my head to the side not believing what I was hearing. It almost sounded like he was making an excuse for fucking bitches in my spot while I wasn’t home. Which let me know this wasn’t his first time doing this.

“Why the fuck does that matter? You shouldn’t be in my spot doing no shit like that. You do realize now these folks going to think I fucked that girl right after I got married. So now I have to go explain the shit to my wife with the hopes she will believe me. Especially since we’re so early in our relationship. Sometimes I wonder who was supposed to be the big brother.”

Kole dropped back onto the couch and dropped his face into his hands.

“I know I’m fucking up, man. I didn’t think about all of that?—”

I held my hand up to stop him. “I don’t give a fuck, Kole. Give me my key and get the fuck out.”

I held my hand out for him to drop the shit into my hand.

“Man, I’m sorry. I didn’t expect you to be this mad. Well, if I’m being real, I didn’t expect you to find out. I’m going to make this shit right. Even if I had to explain this to your wife, all you have to do was tell me the time and place,” he said as he dropped my key into my palm.

I walked away without saying another word. I was sure he knew I was done with the conversation. When I heard the front door closing behind him, I made my way over, locking everything up. I then headed for the garage to drive to grab food, then head back to my wife.

If there was a moment I needed her, it was now. I hopped in my truck and then lifted the garage door to back out. After making sure it was closed all the way, I made my way back toward the gate. I checked my texts before pulling completely out and Lore had sent me a message with what she wanted to eat so I headed for the best Hibachi spot. My phone rang and Alexis’s name popped up on the screen.

“What’s up?” I answered.

“Well, hello to you, too, brother. I can already see you’re in a bad mood,” she responded, which let me know Kole had already called her.

“I’m sure you know why.”

She cleared her throat and then replied, “I do. Kole called me and your response to the situation was valid. But you know he does stupid shit.”

I shook my head because this was the same excuse every time Kole did some shit that wasn’t right. It was as if everyone in my family knew something I didn’t, which was why he always got a pass. I didn’t give a fuck because his mistakes would interfere with my life.

“Here y’all go making excuses for everything he does. That was fucked up, what he pulled. What if I would have been walking into that house with my wife?” I asked.

“I understand. I’m not saying you’re wrong, Niko. I’m saying don’t stay mad forever and allow him to give you a proper apology to fix this. We’re family,” she said calmly.

I understood where she was coming from and I knew in my heart that I wouldn’t be mad forever, let alone past tonight, but he needed to realize his choices affect more than just himself, and in this case, me.

“I hear you. Well, now I have to go into this house and explain the situation to my wife before she sees the picture of that woman leaving my house. There were a ton of reporters outside of my gate, waiting for something like this to happen. You have a good night and I’ll talk to you later.”

“Damn it, Kole. All right, Niko. I’ll check on you later this week, and if you need anything, don’t hesitate to call me, okay?” she asked.

“I hear you.”

“Love you, baby brother.”

I groaned because she loved to say that shit. “Love you, sis.”

I ended the call and said a silent prayer because I knew I would have some explaining to do. Or at least that was what I thought.