Chapter 9
Getting to know them
Reed
Three months. That's how long Maliyah and I had been doing this dating dance, and I was finally starting to feel like I had my footing.
We'd managed countless dates—actual sit-down dinners, movies, even a couple of comedy shows downtown where I knew I could make my girl laugh so hard that she might snort wine through her nose.
I'd never found snorting attractive before, but on her it was perfect.
The careful boundaries we'd set up had worked. We’d kept things as just us.
Last week, when I'd canceled our dinner plans after a double homicide in Roxbury, she'd DoorDashed coffee and dinner to the precinct later that night for John and me.
When I'd popped by her office the following day with breakfast and an apology, the smile she gave me was worth the lack of sleep that came with getting up early after a long night.
Just last night, as I'd rambled about something even I can’t remember, she'd leaned forward, chin resting on her palm, and asked me every question she could think of—showing she actually cared.
We’d been out with John and Sarah. Had a couple double-dates with Felicity and Caden. We were settling in and it was fucking good. Better than good.
It was more than the dating though. She had this.
.. steadiness about her. Like she knew exactly who she was and what she wanted, and she never felt like she needed to apologize for any of it.
It was something I'd never experienced before. She was the definition of what they call an independent woman, and it was sexy as hell. It scared the shit out of me—but I couldn’t get enough of her.
Which is why I'd suggested the farmer's market.
"I think I'm ready," I'd told her last week over dinner at that Thai place she loved. "To meet them properly, I mean. Not just random encounters and not just as friends." And then nerves got the better of me and I hurried on, "If you’re okay with it. If you’re ready for that too."
She'd looked at me for a long moment, fork halfway to her mouth. "Are you sure? Because once we cross that line, there's no going back. They'll start asking questions, making assumptions."
"I know. And I think... I think I want them to."
The words had surprised me as much as her.
But sitting there, I loved every minute of watching her face light up when she talked about Lucas's assignment he’d waited until the last minute to do, and her story about Zoe's attempt to teach their neighbor's cat to fetch—successful attempt, I might add.
I'd realized something right then, I wanted to be part of that world.
Not just standing on the outside edge, looking in.
So here I was, walking through the SoWa Open Market on a sunny Saturday morning, coffee and a bag of pastries in hand from the vendor thirty feet behind me. I was looking for a woman with two kids and trying not to feel like I was about to take the biggest test of my life.
I spotted them before they saw me. Maliyah was crouched down next to Zoe, who appeared to be trying to decide what to buy among a table filled with plants…
just plants—that’s a new one for me. Lucas stood a few feet away, looking bored out of his mind and I can’t say I’d blame him.
The girls looked like they were staring at a table filled with weeds.
But even as they stood—all of them doing something different in the vendor’s tent, they still looked so much like a complete unit that for a second I almost turned around.
But then, I realized I wanted to be in that unit.
And in the blink of an eye, Maliyah had looked up and seen me. The instant her face broke into a smile, my chest started to do weird things and I couldn’t imagine ever wanting to be anywhere else.
"Reed!" Zoe spotted me and immediately abandoned the patch of—is that grass? In less than five seconds, she was standing right in front of me poised to fire off all the questions I knew she had building already in her head. "Are you here to buy stuff too? I’m trying to pick something. Do you have a cat? There’s a cat at our neighbor’s house.
I’m teaching it stuff. Have you heard of catnip?
It’s a plant. They have catnip. Do you think the cat would like it? the lady said—"
“Okay, okay.” Maliyah came over and saved me from the longest conversation I’d ever had where I didn’t need to actually participate. She bent down leaning close to Zoe, “why don’t you let Reed actually answer one of your questions, yeah?”
“Oh, yeah.” The great thing about kids is that they really don’t care. You get honesty regardless of what you want. “Sorry! Have you ever heard of catnip?”
Guess she picked one! “I haven’t. What is it?”
"It’s so cool!” She grabbed my hand and dragged me over to the booth. Where she’d been staring at a patch of grass. “Look! Here it is!”
Sure enough, that patch of grass was actually catnip. Huh. So weird. Luckily, I didn’t need to know anything about it since Zoe was all too happy to teach me everything there was to know. How a four year old knew this much about catnip was beyond me though.
“Very cool.” I looked to Maliyah and held up the pastries.
“Okay if I offer some pastries to the kids?” I asked quietly to try and keep out of the kids’ hearing in case she didn’t want them to have the sweets.
“I brought coffee for you and me but I got enough pastries for everyone.
" I held up the bag. "Chocolate croissants, some kind of berry thing the lady at the bakery’s stand said was awesome, and a couple assorted donuts. "
"Can I have the chocolate one?" Zoe asked, already reaching for the bag—so much for trying to be quiet. I failed to account for sonic hearing when it came to Zoe and her sweets.
"If your mom says it's okay."
Maliyah laughed, “valiant effort, but she’d be able to hear you offer donuts even if you were across the market.”
Lucas stepped up, bouncing on his toes a bit, “What’d you bring? I want a donut, but it depends on which kinds you brought.”
I looked at Maliyah for approval. At her nod I turned back to the kids but then I did a double-take.
I looked back at her and saw how beautiful she looked today—relaxed in a way that made you think of carefree candid photos.
Jeans and a light sweater, her hair pulled back in a ponytail with light wisps escaping and curling around her face.
She had a natural confidence that came from being exactly where she belonged—she was stunning.
"You didn't have to bring food," she said, not realizing I was mesmerized by her.
Coming back to the present, I cleared my throat. "Wanted to. Besides, I figured if I was going to crash your family time, I should at least come bearing gifts."
"You're not crashing anything. We invited you, remember?"
Lucas looked up at me with that serious expression I was getting used to. "Are you going to follow us around all day?"
"Lucas," Maliyah said quietly.
"It's okay," I told her, then crouched down to Lucas's eye level. "I'm going to hang out with you guys for a while, if that's cool with you. But if you want me to leave at any point, just say so, okay?"
Lucas studied my face for a moment, then nodded. "Okay. Can I have a donut now?”
“Absolutely.” I handed the whole bag to them and let them duke out who got which sweet.
For the next hour, I followed the three of them through the market, and it was... nice. Better than nice. Lucas warmed up once he realized I was genuinely interested in things he found interesting like the tent with handmade puzzles and the guy who made miniature furniture.
Zoe decided she was my tour guide—an interesting accomplishment for a four year old who was there for the first time, but even I had to admit it was adorable.
She was so sure of herself as she dragged me from stall to stall and explaining the importance of homemade things and how she wanted to be a vendor someday.
"This lady makes soaps that smell like food," she announced, pulling me toward a display of colorful bars. "But you can't eat them." She looked at me solemnly, making sure I was paying attention, and said, "I asked."
"Good to know," I said seriously. "What's your favorite smell?"
"Lemon cake. But Mama says it makes her hungry so we can't buy it."
Maliyah appeared at my elbow, shaking her head. "We’re not getting the soap, Zoe."
"Smart kid. Knows how to work a crowd. Have you seen how many free samples she’s pulled off?"
"Don't encourage her."
But her eyes were crinkling at the corners, and I found myself thinking that this was exactly what I'd been missing without knowing it. The easy chaos of family life.
We were looking at some kind of special honey display when my phone buzzed. I glanced at the caller ID and felt my stomach sink.
"I have to take this," I told Maliyah as I flashed my phone at her. "Work."
She nodded, already turning her attention back to the kids as I stepped a few feet away.
"Morrison."
"Reed. We've pulled a case in Dorchester—armed robbery, suspects fled on foot, and we're setting up a perimeter. How fast can you get here?"
I checked my watch. It was barely noon, and I'd been planning to spend the whole afternoon with them. "Give me twenty."
"Make it fifteen if you can."
I hung up and walked back to where Maliyah was negotiating with Zoe about the variety of soaps—wait until they get to the vendor with the lotions.
"I have to go," I said quietly. "Work emergency."
Maliyah looked up, and I saw understanding flash across her face. No disappointment, no guilt trip—just acceptance. Another thing I was learning to love about her. Love. Fuck.
"Everything okay?"
"Armed robbery. They need all hands."
"Go. We'll be fine."
"I know you will. I just... I was having a good time."
She smiled. "So were we. Rain check?"
"Definitely."
I said goodbye to the kids, promising to come by and see their purchases sometime before the end of the weekend. As I walked back toward my car, I found myself already thinking about seeing them again.
This could work. We could work. For the first time since I'd met Maliyah, I felt completely sure about that.
I had no idea how wrong I was about to be.