Chapter 19
“Well, look who’s finally here,” Mrs. Saunders said, her smile warm as she leaned in to kiss me.
“Thanks for inviting me,” I said, stepping into the house with Mark behind me, holding Tyler in his arms.
Mark’s mother waved it off like it was nothing. “No need to thank me. Whether you know it or not, you and that little tyke are part of this family.”
Being part of Mark’s family, hearing it out loud, felt...good. Really good.
It looked like we were the last ones to show up. Cars had lined both sides of the street and packed the driveway; from the sound of it, the house was already full of people. Before we walked in, I knew all eyes would be on Tyler. Sure enough, before his coat was off, he was getting passed around like the star of the show. And instead of crying like I half-expected, he was eating up all the attention, laughing like he owned the place. I couldn’t help but smile at my little ham.
Mrs. Saunders took my coat, and before I knew it, Mark was at my elbow, gently guiding me into the living room. He introduced me to family members left and right, names flying at me so fast I knew there was no way I’d remember them all. The Saunders clan was twice the size of my own, and they seemed tightly knitted. I smiled and said, “Nice to meet you,” so often that my cheeks ached. Mark led me into the kitchen, and I spotted Kelly near the sink. I let out a small sigh of relief. A familiar face.
“I was starting to wonder if y’all were even gonna make it,” Kelly said and moved over and wrapped me in a hug.
“Why would you think that?” Mark asked, a devilish grin on his face.
“Because by now, I figured she’d be sick of you,” Kelly teased, punching her brother playfully.
Another woman, holding a toddler on her hip, stepped forward. “You can’t speak?” she said, shaking her head with a smile.
Mark turned to her, and his jaw dropped. “Well, damn. I almost didn’t recognize you with all that hair.” He leaned down and kissed her cheek before giving her a hug.
I stood aside, wondering who this beautiful woman was.
“When did you get here?” he asked.
“This morning,” she replied, smiling.
“Essence,” Mark said, turning to me, “This is my big sister, Calaine. And this little cutie here is my niece, Dominique,” he said, gazing down at the adorable little girl she held in her arms.
I reached out to shake her hand. “It’s so nice to meet you.”
Calaine smiled and shook my hand. “I’ve heard so much about you.”
I raised an eyebrow. “All good, I hope.”
“Don’t worry, it was,” Calaine said before her gaze shifting back to Mark. “I hear I’ve got a nephew around here somewhere.”
Mark beamed. “Yep. Let me hold Dominique, and we’ll go find him.”
She handed over her daughter, and Mark’s face softened as he held her. “Essence, you coming?” he asked.
I shook my head. “No, you go ahead. I’ll stay here and help Kelly.”
Mark hesitated for a second before Kelly playfully pointed him toward the door. “Go on, big brother. I promise not to embarrass you.”
After they left, I turned to Kelly. “What can I do to help?”
“How about you finish stuffing these deviled eggs for me?”
“No problem,” I said, rolling up the sleeves of a silk candy-striped turtleneck and moving to wash my hands at the sink.
“So, how have things been?” Kelly asked, her tone casual but knowing.
I glanced over my shoulder, smirking. “You mean with your brother?”
Kelly grinned. “Of course.”
I grabbed a spoonful of the egg yolk mixture and started filling the eggs. “Better than I expected,” I admitted. No point in lying.
Kelly didn’t miss a beat. “Does that mean you’ve agreed to marry him?”
I almost dropped the spoon, whipping my head around to look at her. “What?”
Kelly gave me a sheepish grin. “Mark told me.”
I sighed, setting down the spoon and sitting at the table. “No, I haven’t decided to marry him.”
“Why not?” she asked, her curiosity piqued.
I filled egg whites before answering. “Because he wants to marry me for all the wrong reasons. And I think that would be a big mistake.”
Kelly nodded, paused, then asked, “Has he shared his feelings about you?” I shook my head slowly, and Kelly didn’t look surprised. “My brother...he worries me,” she mumbled as she started icing a sheet cake. “He’s been through a lot since Carmen.”
Carmen? My curiosity piqued. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, she really did a number on him.” Kelly glanced up at me. “Didn’t I tell you about her before?”
I shook my head, intrigued.
“They were engaged, but Carmen was only interested in that uniform he wore. I knew what she was about when I met her, but he was so in love I couldn’t tell Mark anything. Then she left him for some Air Force dude. But what really messed him up was when she...” Kelly paused, her voice lowering. “She terminated the pregnancy. It almost killed him.”
“ She was pregnant ?” I gasped, trying to wrap my head around what Kelly had just told me, and then suddenly, everything started to make sense. Mark wasn’t just scared of love—he had been scarred by it.
I felt a lump form in my throat as I reached for a spoonful of the mixture and filled another egg, my mind swirling with thoughts of the man I thought I knew so well.
“Yep,” Kelly said, her voice heavy with its weight. “Between you and I, she didn’t tell him until after it was over, only to rub it in his face.”
I shook my head in disbelief. No wonder Mark had built up walls so high. He had been burned—badly. Worse than I had ever been. It explained so much about why he acted the way he did and why he kept his emotions locked down.
Before I could process it all, someone called Kelly into the dining room. She left me to finish the deviled eggs on my own. As I sprinkled the paprika over the last dozen, everything clicked into place.
Tyler wasn’t just Mark’s son—he was Mark’s second chance at fatherhood. He wasn’t about to lose another child, and he’d probably do whatever it took to make sure of that, including marrying me. Or worse, someday telling me he loved me when he didn’t really mean it.
That thought hit me hard, sinking in deep. Would Mark lie to keep Tyler in his life?
I was still deep in thought when Mark walked into the kitchen, his mother and sisters trailing behind him. His presence jolted me out of my own head.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked, his voice low and smooth like he always knew when I had something on my mind.
I forced a smile and rose to carry the devil eggs over to the counter. “Nothing important,” I lied, trying to push all those heavy thoughts aside.
Mark came up behind me, slipping his arms around my waist, and kissed me softly just below my ear. That spot that always made me melt, no matter how hard I tried to keep it together.
“None of that around my food,” Kelly called out, her tone playful but with a warning edge. “I’ve been in the kitchen since yesterday, helping Mama cook.”
“I agree,” Dorlinda chimed in, grabbing her apron. “Why don’t you go mingle while we finish getting everything on the table?”
Mark grinned and took my hand, leading me back into the living room, where the rest of his family was gathered. I was still trying to shake off what Kelly had told me, but being around all these people, all this love, it was hard to stay in my head for too long.
After dinner, which I’m sure added at least five pounds to my hips, we gathered around the Christmas tree for the gift exchange. I was glad I’d worn loose-fitting pants because, between the cornbread dressing, pies, and cakes, there was no way I could’ve sucked in my stomach if I’d tried.
The gift exchange was a simple deal—every adult bought a $25 gift for someone of the same sex. Calaine got the Barnes & Noble gift card I brought, and I ended up with a lovely Christmas pendant from Mark’s great-aunt. Tyler, of course, was having the time of his life, crawling around with two of his little cousins, giggling like he was on cloud nine. Thanks to Mark's relatives, he received more gifts than I knew what to do with. Between all the presents from the Saunders and my side of the family, my boy was set. I had to shake my head. Tyler was gonna be spoiled rotten at this rate.
I couldn't shake this feeling as I sat back and watched, surrounded by Mark’s family. The love, the laughter—it all felt so right. But at the same time, I kept thinking about what Kelly had said. One thing was clear: Mark was in this for Tyler. I just had to figure out where I fit into all of it.
* * *
"Hey, Kel," came that deep, smooth voice behind her.
Kelly turned around, and there he was, leaning casually in the corner of the room as if he hadn't been missing in action for the past few years. Her lips parted in surprise, and she could only stare at Diamere. His dark eyes—the same ones that had stolen her heart years ago—were locked on her, making it feel like no time had passed. But it had. Years, in fact.
A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips as she slowly walked toward him, taking in the sight of the man standing before her. He had changed. That much was clear. The cornrows he used to wear were gone, replaced by a clean, tapered cut that made him look more mature, more refined. His eyes still held that same mysterious, unreadable quality, but his face... the Air Force had sharpened his features, giving him an edge. He was dressed to impress in gray slacks and a black turtleneck, every bit of his six-foot-two frame on display. Yeah, Diamere was still muy caliente’ fine.
"Hello, Diamere," Kelly managed, her voice slightly breathless as she took in that familiar, knee-weakening smile. Before she knew it, his arm was around her waist, pulling her into a tight, familiar hug that brought back memories. Her head fit perfectly beneath his chin, just like it always had. For a second, she allowed herself to lean into him, feeling the warmth of his body, inhaling the scent of his cologne. The fragrance hit her like a flashback, reminding her exactly why she'd fallen for him in the first place. It scared her because she was supposed to be over him. Way over him.
But then he pulled back just enough to look into her eyes and asked, "Where’s your husband?"
That question snapped her out of the moment. She quickly pulled away, wrinkling her nose and shaking off whatever spell he was trying to cast. “You know good, and damn well I ain’t married,” she shot back, rolling her eyes. “What about you? You ever stick around long enough to break somebody’s heart?”
Diamere’s low, smooth laugh rumbled from his chest. “I see you still know how to give a brotha a hard time,” he said, flashing that grin like he had all the answers.
“You better believe it,” Kelly smirked, crossing her arms, trying to act like his presence wasn’t getting to her.
He shook his head, still grinning. “True, but can’t you give us a break every now and then?”
She shrugged, playing it cool even though her heart was racing. “Men like a challenge,” she teased, raising an eyebrow.
“Can’t argue with that,” he said, his eyes sparkling with enjoyment at their playful banter.
The teasing had always been there. But as Kelly stood there, feeling the intensity of his gaze, she couldn’t help but notice something was different. Or maybe it was her that had changed. She hadn’t seen him in years, but all the old feelings were rising to the surface, threatening to break free. And the way he was looking at her? It seemed like maybe, just maybe, he was feeling it too.
He tilted his head, his eyes locking on hers in a way that made her heart flip. There was something behind his gaze as if he was trying to figure out how to navigate this moment now that she was no longer a kid. She wasn’t just Mark’s little sister anymore. And everything about how he looked at her said, I see you .
“I heard you’re thinking about coming home,” she said, trying to break through their growing attraction. His smile faded, and once again, she couldn’t read him.
He nodded slowly. “Yep, but I’m doing more than thinking about it. I’ve already put in my papers. My dad’s health isn’t too good, and I think it’s time I came back home.”
Kelly tried to maintain her composure, but how his eyes held hers seemed to unravel and made it hard to think straight. She kept telling herself he didn’t see her as anything more than Mark’s little sister. That’s all she was. That’s all she’d ever be.
“That’s good news,” she said, her voice steady even as her mind raced. “I’m sure your family will be happy to have you back.”
Diamere leaned in slightly, his voice dropping to that low murmur that always made her breath catch. “And what about you, Kelly? You gonna be happy to have me home too?”
Her heart skipped a beat. The casual way he said it, laced with a weight she couldn’t ignore, made her want to kiss him right then and there. Was he flirting with her?
Nope.
She wasn’t going there. Diamere wasn’t checking for her like that. He never had, and he never would. “It’s always nice to have friends around,” she said lightly, even though her heart was pounding. But deep down, she couldn’t shake the thought— what if ?