Prologue #3
He was home for me. Laike was home for me.
But, Luca, he and I had a connection that was so much deeper.
He’d rescued me. As I was dragged across the parking lot of my apartments, my skin getting second and third-degree burns from contact with the concrete, and my eyes swollen shut he pulled into my complex.
At the sight of me being beat to a near pulp, he lost all control, firing a single shot into my ex’s head and killing him.
Kill shot. His had landed him in jail for eight years, and for the entire eight years, my heart broke a little more each day.
I didn’t think I could ever repay. But then he met Ever, and somehow I felt like she was my consolation prize.
Not that she was an item or could replace the years of his life that he’d lost but her being in his world made it so much better and helped me sleep a little better at night knowing that I was the one who connected them.
Together, they’d built the cutest family that didn’t seem to stop growing. I could only hope that Ever wasn’t tired of giving Luca the children he desperately desired by the time I finally found someone to call my own and give him babies, too.
He’d saved my life. I’d sent him a love that he could grow old with.
Our connection was just different. Besides, he was the oldest and he treated me as such.
Without verbally doing so, he reminded me of it every day of his existence.
Even his tall, thick frame brushing against my shorter, thinner one revealed our dynamic.
Big me, little you, it read and not in a negative light either.
Big brother, little sister was more accurate.
“TT Lyric!” Emorey’s little voice burst through the air.
I lowered my gaze in search of the body that matched but didn’t see her.
It wasn’t until I witnessed Luca’s legs part that she appeared.
She had him wrapped around her pinky finger, and he wasn’t going anywhere any time soon.
Ever giving him so many girls was right up his alley although he played like he was desperate for a son.
He’d told me time and time again how much the girls reminded him of me and how much more he loved them just for the simple fact.
Luca was only four when I was born, but there was no way you couldn’t tell him that he wasn’t my father from the moment he laid eyes on me. He was my protector. He was my peace. He was my heart. So, seeing him with girls of his own was always tear-jerking.
“Where’s Emorey?” I pretended not to see her, turning in every direction but the one she was in.
“I’m here, silly, between Daddy’s legs.”
“Oh, there she is.” I gasped, laying eyes on her again but acting as if it was my very first time.
“Yes. Here I am. You want to go to my room with me, TT?”
“Of course, Em. I came early to spend a little time with you girls. Where’s Essence?”
“She’s in our room.”
“Okay. Get a head start. I’m on my way.”
I stretched my hands, demanding Luca hand over Elle.
When she wasn’t on her mother’s boobs, she was attached to his hip.
The little girl was spoiled rotten between her siblings and her parents.
There was so much love in their household that you could feel it from the moment you entered their gates.
I admired them and was slightly jealous that they’d all found their person.
Ever and the girls had Luca and Luca had Ever.
It was an emotional rollercoaster seeing the family thrive whenever I encountered them.
“Come on, baby girl.”
Elle climbed down and into my arms with her chubby arms and legs. She was gnawing on her fingers as if she hadn’t been fed but I knew that couldn’t be true. Every few minutes, she was begging for something to fill her chubby cheeks.
“Go spend time with your wife until the rest of the clan gets here. I’ll be hanging with the girls.”
“Appreciate that.” He rushed off, obviously excited to go spend some alone time with Ever. Their healthy obsession with one another was everything that I craved in a partnership.
“Try not to make her go into labor, Luca. We still have a few more months before my nephew touches down.”
“I can’t make no promises, but I’ll try to keep that little nigga cooking as long as I can.”
“As long as you can?” I chuckled.
“You know what I mean.”
Ugh. So stinking cute. I loved seeing my brother in love. It looked so damn good on him and it was so good for his skin. It looked better than mine, and I spent thousands to make sure it stayed flawless. His was effortless.
I marched up the other set of steps to get to the girls’ room.
Elle’s nursery was combined with her parents’ bedroom, but she would be chilling with us for the time being while they did what they seemed to love most. Ok, I’m definitely hating, I admitted as I hit the top of the enormous staircase.
Did Laike really have to make them that wide and have to add that many? They seemed to never end.
“It’s Laike. Of course he did.”
Only two years my senior, Laike was the other part of my heart. I loved him much more than he gave me credit for. He swore I saved all my love for Luca and though he was somewhat accurate, the love I had for him was unwavering. He would ride and he would die for me. I’d do the same for him.
Because we were so much closer in age, we were the typical sister and brother duo.
He made it apparent that he was the boss of the relationship, but he also gave me space to be whoever it was that I wanted to be.
It probably had a lot to do with his busy schedule and fleet of women that he had to keep track of.
As I thought more about it, it definitely had a lot to do with his busy schedule and fleet of women that he had to keep track of.
Nevertheless, he’d put it all on hold to make sure that I was cared for, not wanting for anything, and out of harm’s way.
While Luca was the grumpiest of the pack, Laike was the most nonchalant.
He cared for nearly nothing and no one. Anyone outside of our circle meant nothing to him – except Baisleigh.
Since they were teens, he’d had a soft spot for her. Though he didn’t care to admit it now because he’d fucked up with her so much, we all knew the truth behind his lies. He was still scarred from the decision she made to stop accepting his bullshit and move on with her life.
“You want to hang with TT Lyric?” I bounced Elle in my arms as I made my way down the hallway. Her drooly smile made the worst of my days better. She was pure light just like her sisters. I could only imagine my nephew would be hell because the girls were just too perfect.
“Look, Essence. It’s TT Lyric,” Emorey announced when I entered the room with Elle in my arms.
“Hi, Essence.”
“I missed you, TT!” Essence jumped up, leaving her dolls behind to hug my leg.
Truly the sweetest girl I’d ever met, there was a special place in my heart for Es.
The oldest of the three, she was the gentlest with the patience of an elder.
She was the least talkative of the tribe as well, preferring to blend than stand out.
Essence loved the shadows while Emorey thrived in the spotlight.
Elle was still under examination. Her age hadn’t allowed us to determine exactly who she was shaping up to be but we were seeing more of Luca in her spirit by the day. She had acquired Ever’s softness, however, but she could be as grumpy as her old man when she wasn’t having her way.
“I missed you more, Es,” I admitted.
It had been a full week since I’d seen either of their faces, and I was beating myself up about it, too.
I tried my hardest to go by the bakery or come by their home at least twice weekly to give Ever a hand and catch up, but I’d been wrapped up in client work.
It had consumed me all week, leaving me exhausted and with little energy to do much of anything.
“What are we playing here?”
Even in my thigh highs, I lowered my body to the floor where Essence had the enormous dollhouse split down the middle and opened wide enough to see and play on both sides. I was immediately taken back to my childhood when dollhouses and stuffies were my favorites.
“Ariel, the one right there, is starting her first day of school and is trying to find out what she wants to wear. Daddy took me to the store and got me these clothes for her today,” Essence explained, holding a small pail full of doll clothes.
He is ridiculous, I thought as I nodded and watched Essence sit it between us. I could only imagine he’d chosen every piece of clothing that could fit the doll and even some for the other dolls in their collection for future play.
“Okay. We have a lot to work with. Let’s get Ariel together for her first day.”
I sat Elle between my legs and within seconds, she was off to do her own thing. She, too, loved dolls at her tiny age. Hers were much bigger and age-appropriate so that she wasn’t swallowing shoes and accessories while no one was watching.
“I want to get her together, TT Lyric,” Emorey chimed in.
“You’re more than welcome to help, baby.”
As we fell into play, my heart lightened. Around Essence, Emorey, and Elle was one of my happiest places. Their innocence was admirable. The world hadn’t tainted them yet and to be around such an abundance of purity made my soul smile.
The smell of seafood penetrated the air.
Surprisingly, it was the same air that I’d been inhaling for the past forty-five minutes without as much as a whiff of it.
I was certain Ahmad, Luca’s personal chef, was preparing food prior to my entry but with the girls at the forefront of my thoughts, I didn’t notice the prominent stench in the air.
We were keeping it simple this Sunday. Drinks of choice, lobster, shrimp, scallops, pre-cut crab legs, corn, sausage, steak, whole potatoes, and mini potatoes were on the menu.
Ahmad’s special seafood sauce was in large bowls around the long table and strategically placed so that everyone could reach one.