Double

Chapter 9

My New Husband is Making Me Feel Things

Tinsley

I couldn’t sleep. There were too many thoughts running through my mind. I was conflicted. How could I be both content and distraught? Why did I feel both victimized and guilty?

I missed Iredia. I missed days filled with sunshine, the soft sound of the ocean lapping against the shore, and the smell of the briny water.

I missed waking up in my cute, colorful apartment, stopping for coffee before heading into the office space that I shared with my best friend.

I missed Faylise. I missed our laughter, our secrets, and our shared history.

I missed her companionship. I missed my family, too.

I missed my aunt, my uncle, and my cousins.

I liked being around Double, though. Spending time with him felt good.

Being with his family felt good. They were warm, funny, inviting, accepting, and just overall kind people.

They felt like family, which was where the guilt came in.

I felt like I shouldn’t like my new life.

I shouldn’t be sinking into it or accepting it without a fight.

I should have more angst in my heart for my life in Iredia. I should resent Double. Why didn’t I?

By the time he knocked on my bedroom door that morning, I was dressed and ready to go. He took me to a cute breakfast spot that smelled like baked goods, cinnamon, and butter.

“It smells good in here,” I commented once our hostess deposited us at a table near a window that overlooked Lake Michigan. I appreciated that most of the places we went allowed me to see water. It helped me feel a bit closer to Iredia.

When he didn’t respond right away, I looked away from where I was arranging my coat on the chair. His eyes were glued to me but not my face.

“Damn, did you pour yourself into those jeans, Sweetheart?”

I simultaneously blushed and giggled. He wasn’t lying. The jeans did hug every one of my curves. “I think your cousin could’ve gone one size up on these,” I admitted.

His head was shaking before I even got the sentence out. “Nah. She chose the exact right size. You look good as hell. I like it.”

“Thank you.” I just knew my cheeks were red with the heat that rushed through me. I finally took my seat, and he did the same. “Hey, Double?”

“What’s up?”

“Do you really think we could make this marriage a . . . real thing? Like, with love and everything?”

“I don’t know.” His shoulders bounced up and down in a shrug. “I don’t think it’s a stretch.” He eyed me hungrily, and my cheeks burned again at the intensity. “I’m definitely attracted to you. I think you’re gorgeous.”

“Thank you. I think you’re very handsome.”

“Let’s keep getting to know each other and see where things go.”

“Okay.”

We made small talk until the food arrived. I took a bite of my smoked salmon and avocado toast. I hummed at the flavors as they burst pleasingly on my tongue. “So good.”

He grinned at me as he took in a forkful of his crab eggs Benedict.

“Next week, when you go back to work,” I began.

“Yeah?”

“Would I be able to go with you?”

His eyes widened momentarily before he schooled his expression.

“I would rather spend time hanging around you, watching you work. You know, seeing what you do for a living, rather than being at your house all by myself until you get home.”

“Our house.”

I gave him a pointed look. “It’s generous of you to say that, Double, but that’s your house.

There is nothing in that house that reflects me or my taste.

” I continued quickly before he thought I was complaining or something.

“Not that there should be. It’s your house. I just happened to come along.”

He cocked his head to the side. “You wanna sell it and get something that we pick out together?”

My mouth fell open. “What?”

“We can get a new house, Sweetheart.”

“Why would we do that? Your house is perfectly fine. It’s a really nice house.”

“But like you said”—he chewed and swallowed his bite—“it’s not your house. You’re my wife, not my visitor or my property.”

I didn’t speak for a long minute. My life hadn’t been filled with instances where people were accommodating to me.

It had actually been filled with the reverse.

There were millions of situations where my father or others figured out what I wanted and strove to make sure I got the exact opposite.

“We can circle back to that,” I said finally, even though the idea of selling the house was far-fetched in my opinion. “Next week.”

“Yeah, you can come with me. I have an office, but I do the majority of my work in the field.”

The fact that he said I could go to work with him released a lot of the anxiety I was feeling. I attacked the rest of my food with vigor.

After breakfast, I thought we would go back to the truck.

Instead, we walked. The street the restaurant was on was quaint.

There were several stores and businesses with inviting window displays and cute names.

I didn’t even bother to ask where we were going, because it really didn’t matter.

I enjoyed the shining of the sun, the crispness of the air, and the feel of my hand resting inside of his.

A few businesses down from the restaurant, he stopped walking at a large wooden door with a few cutouts of beveled glass.

He rang a doorbell, and soon, a buzz alerted us that access had been granted. Double pulled the heavy door open for me. When I stepped inside, I was surprised to find that we were in a jewelry shop. I looked up at him, waiting for him to offer an explanation.

“I’m not a dude who likes loose ends. I realized that I left one glaring-ass loose end, and I ain’t like Compton being the one to point it out. If you’re gonna be going to work with me, you definitely can’t be showing up with a naked-ass finger.”

I grinned to myself. He wanted to make sure everybody knew that I was his wife. Maybe he really did want this marriage to work out.

A pretty, middle-aged, Black woman walked out from behind the counter and met us in the middle of the store. She smiled at him. “Double. Antonius said you were stopping by. It’s good to see you.”

He caught her up in a hug. “It’s good to see you, too.”

“Is this her?” she asked once they broke the hug, and she took me in.

“Yeah. Aunt Summer, this is my wife, Tinsley.”

She gave me a full, slow once-over with absolutely no shame. Her gaze was so intense that it caused me to blush. She turned back to Double. “Okay, she’s gorgeous. But that other one that I never liked was gorgeous, too.”

“Here you go.” He shook his head.

“This one has a good aura. Lots of yellows, oranges, and whites. It’s nice to meet you,” she said finally, holding out her hand for me to shake.

I shook it. “It’s nice to meet you, too.”

Surprise covered her face. “An accent. Where you from, baby?”

“Iredia.”

“I vacation there all the time. It’s a beautiful island and a country filled with friendly people and sexy men. How’d you end up in America with my nephew?”

I chuckled. “You’ll have to ask him to tell you that story.”

“I’mma ask his mama. She’s one of my best friends. I know she’ll tell me. Anyway, you called Tinsley your wife. Since she’s not wearing anything on her fingers, I’m gonna presume we need wedding bands. Do we also need an engagement ring?”

He turned to me. “You want an engagement ring?”

I thought about it momentarily. “Can you excuse us for a minute?”

Aunt Summer pulled a face. “Oh, and this one has manners, too. You definitely leveled up, Nephew. I’ll give you two a minute.”

I led him a few feet away. “This marriage is real. I mean, even though it’s not conventional, we are actually married. We were never engaged. Getting an engagement ring feels like a ruse. I’m leaning toward just a wedding band. What do you think?”

“I’m good with whatever makes you most comfortable.”

We walked back over to Aunt Summer. “Everything good?” She wore a smirk.

“We chillin’. Let’s just do wedding bands.”

She nodded. “Okay. Tinsley, I’m gonna take you with me. We’re gonna look at some rings.” She turned to Double. “You’re gonna be with Antonius. He’ll be right out to work with you.”

I followed Aunt Summer to a small table in a corner of the store. We sat down across from one another.

“Talk to me about your jewelry preferences.” Her eyes swept over me as she pulled out her ring sizer and worked to determine my ring size. “I see you’re not wearing any. Does that mean that you aren’t into jewelry?”

“No, I like jewelry. I just . . . haven’t unpacked all of my things from Iredia,” I lied.

I wasn’t sure what this Aunt Summer knew or didn’t know.

It was clear that she was an “aunt” through friendship and not relation.

Mama Passion could tell her what she wanted her to know.

I wasn’t telling her anything. “I know the truth about diamonds, so I’m not really a fan. ”

She grinned big. “What’s the truth about diamonds? Do tell.”

“They aren’t really rare at all. I know that marketing was used back in the day to make people want them, and that the price skyrocketed due to demand, not to rarity.”

“Okay. I like you already. What’s your gem of choice, mamas?”

I smiled.

“Yes, I’m gonna drop the pretense. You’re a smart girl.

I won’t treat you like a dummy. Besides, you’re family.

Whatever you walk outta here with is gonna be worth the money.

That’s my nephew you’re married to. We may not be blood, but I’ve known his parents for decades. I love his mama like a sister.”

“I’m a September baby, so I could never go wrong with a sapphire.”

“Ooh, now you’re speaking my language. What’s your favorite cut?”

“Which one will give me the most sparkle?”

“Definitely like you better than the heifer he was with before.”

“Would that be Erica?”

“He told you about her?”

“A little.”

“Bitch broke his heart.”

That was news, but I kept my face blank so she wouldn’t know that she was dropping tea.

“I’ll be right back,” she told me, standing from the table and walking into the back area of the store.

When she returned, she had about ten rings.

Only a few were sapphires, most were diamonds or gemstones.

She displayed them for me, explaining that they were for cut purposes.

She asked me to pick my favorites. She would then show my favorites to Double, and he would select the one he would present to me.

“This way, you get a ring you love, and it still gets to be a surprise.”

I loved the idea, so I picked my four favorites.

Once I’d chosen, Summer and Antonius switched places.

He sat down across from me and showed me Double’s three favorite cuts.

He favored pavé-set stones, and his gem of choice was the black diamond.

The second my eyes fell on the ring with a row of black diamonds sandwiched between two rows of white diamonds, I knew which ring I would choose for him.

Antonius watched my gaze and gave me a smile. “So this one?” He inclined his head toward my ring of choice.

“That one.” I grinned.

“Would you like to have it engraved?”

I thought about it. Engraving was forever. I didn’t know Double well enough to put anything meaningful or specific to the two of us inside of his ring. Besides, our situation wasn’t permanent. “That can be done at a later date, right?”

“Yes,” Antonius assured me. “It can.”

“Good. I would like some time to think about it.”

“Your rings will be ready on Saturday afternoon.”

In three short days, I would wear the symbol that told the world that I belonged to Double. I’d spent my past hating the fact that my father treated me like property—like I belonged to him. I wasn’t sure why the thought of belonging to Double made butterflies act up in my stomach.