EPILOGUE
Jackie watched Tanika and Gideon dance to what was now the fourth or fifth line dance the DJ had played.
She couldn’t keep up with the steps of this one.
Something about fans and cowboys. These new Trail Ride line dances were too complicated—even for Jackie, who absolutely loved to dance.
Right now, her pinky toe in these Miu Miu sandals was giving her the blues, and she had to take a break.
She didn’t mind, though. From her vantage point, Jackie had the best seat in the house as she watched her cousin and best friend enjoy their first moments as newlyweds.
The intimate ceremony—with barely fifty guests—had a picturesque view of the mountains of Costa Rica as the backdrop.
It was almost perfect. The only problem was that Celeste, Gideon’s former sister-in-law, couldn’t stop wailing with joy, which made it difficult to hear the vows.
PeeWee tried to match Celeste’s wails with his own howls, to hilarious effect.
Mya came floating over to Jackie, her now pink-colored afro braided into intricate Fulani braids down to her waist. Always the fashionista, her hair matched the color of her bridesmaid dress. “Jackie, I know you aren’t sitting down! Girl, the party is just getting started.”
“Nobody told you to wear those sandals!” Mya fussed. “And don’t go blaming your lack of energy on Tanika. You were too busy with your nose in your laptop. No one told you to work on vacation either!”
In the four months since leaving AMW-Elite, Jackie had been working overtime to prove herself and establish Miles Management.
A week after Mo’s fight, Jackie resigned.
Just as Tanika suspected, Patrick was flabbergasted that Jackie actually called his bluff.
He tried his best to convince her to stay, increasing her bonuses and offering her a significant raise, but she wouldn’t be moved.
She had the leverage: the majority of her clients decided to sign with her exclusively, including Mo and PJ.
With Mo coming off his title win, and PJ winning Rookie of the Year, Jackie was the hottest agent in the field.
A feature about Jackie on WWSN, including a sit-down interview with Sara, also helped.
Jackie even snagged Calvin as her assistant.
He may have been a meddling jerk, but he was damn good at his job.
Jackie was now prominent in an elite group of people like Nicole Lynn—Black female sports agents who represented premiere athletes.
Granted, Jackie was older than her colleagues in the industry, but age meant nothing.
This had been a long time coming, and it felt good.
Jackie was going to shine bright. She was no longer going to dim her light.
“Girl, you know the pre-season is around the corner, and I have several clients whose deals I need to finalize. Why are you worried about me?” Jackie nodded toward the dance floor where Colin Bello was doing his best impression of Beanie Man. “Shouldn’t you be out there dancing with Colin?”
Colin and Mya had been joined at the hip since arriving in Costa Rica. Sneaking off on excursions. Disappearing after the rehearsal dinner. For some reason, Mya was trying to be coy, but everyone could tell that something was going on between the two of them.
Mya rolled her eyes. “Once again, we are just friends. I don’t need to be under his thumb. Let that man have fun! Like you should be.” She nodded toward the dance floor. “Look! Antonio is having fun!”
At the mention of his name, Jackie smiled.
Trying to start a new business and a new relationship simultaneously should have been a nightmare, especially with the whole navigating-a-bicoastal-relationship element thrown in.
But being with Antonio had been one of the easiest things in the world.
He was spontaneous and kind. Patient and understanding.
That was saying a lot, because Jackie knew how difficult she could be.
There had been a lot of long-distance flights and late-night phone calls—some of which were so hot she was surprised the processor in her phone was still intact.
When they were together, it was as if time stood still.
She enjoyed the private chefs, box seats at games, and personal shopping experiences that Antonio meticulously planned.
But it was the quiet moments—watching reruns of 20/20 nestled on the couch with empty takeout boxes strewn around, a snoring PeeWee between them—that she loved the most. Apparently, Antonio had consulted an allergist before they ever made things official, just in case he’d be spending time with a certain Frenchie in his near future.
He truly went the distance to make Jackie happy.
It was the safest she’d felt in her entire life.
It felt like home.
Jackie’s eyes panned the dance floor. Antonio was dancing with Celeste, twirling her. The older woman was all giggles as he dipped her, and she playfully swatted at him when he lifted her up.
Jackie shook her head. “Let him have his fun. I’m going to rest my barking dogs.”
“Suit yourself,” said Mya with a shrug. “But don’t ask me to save you a piece of the groom’s cake. I’m still shocked it came here in one piece.”
Gideon’s groom’s cake, shaped like a classic Jordan 1, shipped from Atlanta to Costa Rica in one piece, along with a four-tier wedding cake.
Tanika had convinced Gideon to go for red velvet instead of carrot cake, much to everyone’s delight.
It was clear that Tanika was a good influence on Gideon, getting him out of his comfort zone.
Sometimes a good partner did that. Jackie caught eyes with Antonio, who gave her a wink. Her heart did a somersault.
Jackie was reaching down to unbuckle her sandal when a shadow appeared above her. She didn’t have to look up to know who it was. His cologne gave it away.
“I know you didn’t leave Celeste hanging on the dance floor.”
“Celeste is fine. Stu cut in on the salsa track.” Antonio knelt down, removing Jackie’s hand and unbuckling her shoe. “Plus, I saw you over here struggling with these. Your toes are killing you, aren’t they?”
Jackie groaned. “Yes. I knew I should have picked a more sensible shoe.”
Antonio and Jackie looked at each other and burst out laughing.
He shook his head. “When it comes to shoes, ‘sensible’ doesn’t even belong in your vocabulary.
” He removed Jackie’s sandal and rubbed her aching arches, then moved on to her pinky toe.
Jackie couldn’t help but moan. The man, as usual, had the magic touch.
Antonio bit his lips as his fingers rubbed. “These pretty-ass toes. And you had the nerve to paint them green. You know that’s my favorite color.”
“Don’t start nothing up in here,” Jackie warned. “I don’t need my friends knowing what kind of freak you are.”
“Trust me, they know what kind of freaks we are. The walls of this resort are thin. PeeWee’s snoring did very little to mask our noises the other night.”
Jackie let out a horrified gasp. “Oh God! Don’t tell me that…” She took a big sip of her champagne, the fizzy bubbles burning her nose.
“Yep,” Antonio said, his hands moving on to her big toe. “They heard us. PJ asked if he was going to going to be a big brother.”
Jackie nearly choked on her champagne. “Ant, no! I’ll never be able to look him in the eye.”
Antonio chuckled. “He’ll be alright. And I told him that we are too old for more kids. He’s more than enough.”
“Yes, he certainly is. Do you know he wanted me to write a social media clause in his next contract because he wants to avoid bad selfies?”
Antonio laughed, “He would add something like that!”
Bronwyn came over carrying a small, silk bag. She shook her head. “See, I told you to wear the flats Tanika gave us in our welcome bag. But no, here you are with a swollen pinky toe.” She handed the bag to Antonio, who pulled out the foldable flats.
Jackie frowned. “Bron, those are hideous.” But Jackie didn’t object when Antonio slipped them on her feet. She wiggled her toes and instantly felt relief. She had to admit, they felt like walking on clouds. These flats didn’t convince her to leave her life of stilettos behind, though.
Bronwyn rolled her eyes. “Jackie, you are three apples tall. No one is going to see your feet.” She cut her eyes to Antonio, a knowing smile on her face.
“Well, except one person. I’ve been told that Sagittarius men really love foot play.
Kenny is an Aquarius, so he’s all about roleplay. You know, Antonio, I bet—”
Jackie held up a hand. “Bronwyn, please don’t go there.”
Antonio chuckled, quickly standing up. “I’m going to go get a drink. I’ll bring you another one, Lucky.” He kissed Jackie on the forehead and made his way to the bar.
Bronwyn took a seat next to Jackie. She sighed, her bangles making noise as she shook her head. “I swear, I don’t get why folks are so uptight about sex. We are adults, for Goddess’s sake! Everyone has their thing that makes them a little freaky!”
Sara rushed over to Bronwyn and Jackie. Her perfectly curled tendrils were sticking to her face from perspiration after grooving on the dance floor. “Jackie, why are you sitting down! Tanika is ready to toss the bouquet.”
Jackie sucked her teeth. “Why is she doing this? She knows there are only three of us who are single here!” She did air quotes around the word single because she didn’t feel like she qualified. She was with someone. With someone. She’d needed to get used to saying that.
“Doesn’t matter! C’mon! You’ve been summoned.
” Sara grabbed Jackie’s hand, pulling her out of her chair and leading her to the middle of the dance floor.
She looked over her shoulder, mouthing help me to Bronwyn, who simply shrugged and waved with a smile as Kenny and the rest of the Carter clan joined her to watch what was sure to be a disaster.