Chapter 17
The next day passed in a blur of sightseeing and laughter. Soft touches, hand holding, twirling, leaning in, sharing food. They were in deep. There was no turning back.
Brooks smirked. “You believe in fate?”
Taylor smiled, swinging their joined hands between them. “I believe God orders our steps… but we still have to choose to follow where He leads.”
He squeezed her fingers, nodding slowly. “And where do you think He’s leading you right now?”
She hesitated—not because she didn’t know, but because she’d spent so long denying herself permission to want more.
“Peace,” she said finally. “Real, undeniable, unshakeable peace.”
Brooks nodded like he understood that better than most. “What’s your hill when it comes to love?”
Taylor glanced up, thoughtful.
“I think love should feel like this. Like... fresh air. Even when it’s hard.”
Brooks studied her, expression unreadable. “And marriage? You doing that again?”
She laughed. “You’re really going there, huh?”
“I just wanna know what’s in that pretty little head of yours. You got us on Lovers’ Lane and shit. Holding hands.” He laughed .
She chuckled. “Yes, absolutely. But I’m in no rush to make another vow. Marriage is work.”
He let that sit for a moment. “Last question, Tay Marie. What about kids?”
She exhaled. “I used to think I wanted them. Then I convinced myself I didn’t.”
She paused.
“Because of him,” Brooks finished gently.
Taylor nodded. “After a while, it was clear bringing a child into that mess would’ve been a bad idea. And until I left, I thought I’d be stuck.” She looked at him. “That’s why I’ve been running. Everything happened so fast, I couldn’t catch my breath.”
She paused again, then added, “But I still believe in marriage. I’ve seen it be beautiful. God-ordained.”
“You wouldn’t be doing it alone,” he said, voice steady.
She smiled. “I know.”
“Do you?” she asked, turning the question back on him. “Want marriage, kids—all that?”
He nodded. “Yeah. One day. But I’m not pressed about it. I’m still learning how to share my life with someone… also.”
“You’d be a good father.”
Brooks chuckled. “Blake might say otherwise.”
“She adores you.”
“She tolerates me,” he joked, then sobered. “But if it happens, I wanna be like my pops. He loved us hard. Did what he had to. Let me be both strong and soft. I didn’t realize it until years later, but he was preparing me for Blake. I miss him, man.”
Something about the way he said it made her stop walking .
“You think about them a lot?”
He shrugged. “Lately, yeah. Pops would’ve told me to go get your stubborn ass when you ghosted me.”
She bumped his shoulder. “Shut up, Brooks. But you’re gonna be a great dad. A great husband. You’re already a great man.”
His gaze softened. Then, without a word, he pulled her in and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
“And you,” he murmured against her skin, “would be an incredible mother.”
Taylor leaned into him, letting the moment wash over them.
∞∞∞
They spent their last night in Denver at a rooftop restaurant with fire pits and string lights, the mountains stretching out behind them like a painted backdrop.
The night was filled with laughter, shared stories, and new truths.
Brooks’ boys had joined them Kirk, Slim, and Ace each of them playing their roles effortlessly.
Kirk kept the jokes rolling, making Taylor laugh until her stomach hurt.
Slim, the smooth talker, took it upon himself to order the best dishes on the menu, making sure she tried everything.
And Ace, who barely spoke unless necessary, gave her an approving nod that Brooks told her was a good thing and if he felt that way she did too.
Taylor had expected to feel like an outsider, but she didn’t. Not with Brooks’ hand on her thigh beneath the table, his favorite spot.
Between bites of food and masterfully crafted cocktails, she spoke about the things she’d set aside, the dreams she still carried, the parts of herself she was rediscovering.
Brooks opened up about the weight of responsibility, how much he had sacrificed to get where he was, and what he wanted his legacy to be.
They were learning each other, piece by piece, history by history, and the more they shared, the more Taylor realized she had grown strong feelings for him.
Not just the way he made her feel, but the man he was outside of that.
He was just good. He was pure. Honest. Consistent.
He was love. He didn’t do anything that wasn’t genuine.
“Nah, nah, listen,” Kirk leaned in, his grin wide, clearly enjoying the attention. “Don’t let anybody have my phone. Feel me?”
Slim chuckled, sipping his drink. “Facts. I’m dead throw it away. Don’t let my momma have it, don’t let my woman have it. Toss the bitch. Yall hear me?” he pointed at his friends.
“Men are ridiculous. Why settle down if you gotta hide?” Taylor said there were too many men at the table for her.
“My momma would shame me if she saw the photos of butt naked freaks in my phone. I’m worried about my momma not my woman.”
“ Lord have mercy . Y’all are a wild bunch. Is it my turn?” She giggled.
“Yeah, it’s your question.”
Taylor grabbed a card from the table and looked around at them.
“Ok, who’s not coming to get you from jail if you go?”
“Ace,” everybody said in unison. Taylor looked at them with a smirk.
“What is that about, Ace? You would leave them in jail?”
“They don’t listen worth a damn. I probably already told them not to do the shit. But I’d go get them fools eventually. It would just be when I felt like it.”
Kirk threw his hands up. “See? This is what I’m talking about. No loyalty. Eventually?”
“The nigga petty. But he solid.” Brooks said. Ace leaned up and extended his fist.
Taylor laughed, shaking her head. “Brooks, what about you? Are you a ‘pick up on the first ring’ type or a ‘let me think about it’ type?”
Brooks smirked, rubbing his beard. “For you?” His voice dropped just enough to make her eye flutter and butterflies settle in her belly. “First ring. No questions. You know that.”
Slim whistled low under his breath. “Oh, this nigga in love.”
Taylor took a sip of her drink, a simple question turning the heat wasn’t what she expected. “I walked into that one.”
Brooks leaned in, ignoring Slim. “You did.”
Before she could respond, Slim clapped a hand on Brooks’ shoulder. “Bro, let me holler at you real quick.”
Brooks groaned but stood, nodding at Taylor before following Slim a few steps away.
Slim didn’t waste time, arms crossed, studying him trying to crack the code.
“Listen, bruh, I get it now,” he said, shaking his head with a small laugh. “When you was acting all moody and shit, checking your phone every five minutes, I thought you was tripping. Thought maybe she had you out here looking crazy for no reason.”
He glanced back at Taylor, who was laughing at something Kirk said, her face glowing under the soft lights. “But now? Seeing her with you? I get it. That woman got something different about her.”
Brooks smirked, rubbing the back of his neck, eyes drifting right back to her. He couldn’t help it—she was magnetic. “Yeah. She does.”
Slim exhaled, nodding like he was finally accepting what was already obvious. “So let me get this straight… she ghosted you for two weeks, and you still flew her out? That’s insane, brodie.”
“Y’all kill me. Say one thing, then switch when it’s me.” Brooks snorted. “You did it. I can do it too.”
“I told you to reach out. Not fly her across the damn country.”
Brooks shrugged, completely unfazed.
“Wasn’t even a question. She called, and I answered. I missed her. So, I brought her here.”
Slim let out a sharp laugh, shaking his head. “Damn by boy, you gone. That woman got you locked in. Me? I’d at least got a new car out of your simpin’ ass.”
He sipped his drink, eyes narrowing on Brooks with a smirk.
Brooks chuckled, rolling his eyes.
“Fuck you. But I ain’t even gon’ hold you... she already did.”
He leaned back, casual as ever.
“A Porsche.”
And that was the truth. No shame. She could have anything she wanted and whatever he had. She wasn’t there for that and that made him want to give it to her more.
Slim hollered, damn near choking on his drink.
Brooks ignored Slim’ theatrics his eyes found Taylor again. Still laughing and joking with his people, already folded into the crew with ease. Watching her in that moment—so comfortable, so damn beautiful, was exactly what he’d hoped for when he asked her to come.
He didn’t know what he’d been missing in life by staying so closed off. But he knew now. His heart beat a little different. His mind wandered more to the future. He didn’t just want what was in front of him, he wanted more .
“Look, just know if you fuck this up, we calling her, not you. She already the favorite. She prayed over dinner. I felt like I was at church.”
Brooks chuckled, shaking Slim off before walking back to Taylor, who was watching them curiously. “Y’all talking about me?”
“Yeah, just making sure Brooks knows what’s up,” Slim said smoothly, grabbing his drink.
“He in deep,” he whispered to Taylor.
Brooks slid back into his seat, draping his arm around her. “They act like you don’t already know. You know I’m crazy about you, right?”
Taylor met his gaze, feeling a sense of recognition. Instead of answering, she leaned in, pressing a slow, lingering kiss to his lips. When she pulled back, she smirked. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
She traced a finger along the rim of her glass before tilting her head. “You ready to go?”
It wasn’t really a question. A reminder that this was their last night in Denver, and while she’d enjoyed his friends, she needed to spend the rest of the night beneath him, skin to skin, in the kind of room that reminded them they weren’t meant for small love.
She needed to be fucked in a presidential suite before they went back to reality.
So that’s exactly what they did.
Goodbyes were said, hugs exchanged, and Taylor found herself promising Slim she’d keep Brooks in check, which only made the men at the table laugh. But as she took Brooks’ hand and let him lead her away, she realized. She’d fallen in love with Denver.
Maybe in more ways than one.
She didn’t know how that was possible. She hadn’t even had a chance to be single.
But truthfully, who said she needed to be?
When you found your person, it was an exchange.
A little give here, a little take there.
Anything she thought she wanted to experience alone, she now believed she could share with Brooks.
And she hoped, no, she knew, he felt the same.
When they returned to the hotel, their lovemaking was different.
Slower. Deeper. Like they were speaking a language only their bodies understood.
“Tell me this is mine,” he murmured against her throat, gripping it slightly.
Taylor arched beneath him, her fingers gripping the hand around her throat. “It’s yours,” she breathed, looking directly in his eyes
He took his time, loving her, making it so hard for the next. When he finally sank into her, their bodies moving in perfect rhythm, it felt like more than just sex. It felt like home.
“Taylor,” he groaned, his strokes deep, unhurried. “ I swear to God, I’m never letting you go.”
She didn’t answer with words. Instead, she wrapped her legs tighter around him, pulling him deeper, drowning in the feeling of being wanted, cherished. Of being his.