Chapter 7
Patience
“You are simply beautiful, baby girl,” Mama Carter said. We were in the middle of taking pictures.
“Thank you so much for everything.” I grinned, hugging her back.
I hadn’t had a mother in years, but I yearned for one and everything she had done, even her presence, reminded me of what I was missing.
Then again, maybe not missing, because ever since that night we had dinner, she had been a constant fixture.
She called me checking in and even threatened to knock her son upside his head if he had done something to make me unhappy.
She had stepped in, filling a void I didn’t realize I was affected by until I was listening to her go on and on about a wedding she helped me plan at five in the morning days before.
She went with me to fittings and tastings and even advocated for me in moments I didn’t know I needed it.
She had this beautiful soul and purest of intentions besides the fact that she was very upfront about her need for grandkids to spoil.
It was cute, and even though Hondo and I hadn’t discussed children, I knew it was coming up.
He was adamant about this marriage being as real as two people dating for several years and deciding a wedding was the next step and I understood it.
There was no point in taking the last name and promising yourself to someone forever and it being fake, right?
From the day he took me to his hideaway, everything was real.
“You never have to thank me for anything, Babygirl. We’re family and I’ll forever be here for you and my future grandchildren.” She winked.
I laughed hard. She was very vocal about these grandkids.
“Alright, let me get in here. Could’ve sworn I heard the mention of grandkids.” Hondo’s voice had me looking at him with a goofy grin. He looked so good, his signature all black never looked better. It was like I hadn’t just stood in front of this man and said I do.
“Nah, don’t step in now. Matter of fact, yes, you should. Let me find your father and brother, so we can do a family picture.” Mrs. Carter walked off, leaving me and Hondo standing there.
He pulled me into him, tilting my chin so I was looking him in his eyes. “You look so fucking beautiful.”
“Thank you very much, Mr. Carter.”
He grinned. “Anytime, Mrs. Carter. Now if you wan—”
“Aht, aht. Before you try to whisk my new cousin away, gimme some time to talk to her.” I heard a soft, almost barely audible, voice.
When I looked around Hondo, standing there was a girl with the prettiest caramel complexion and cool toned purple hair. Her smile was beautiful as well. Not to mention, her hair matched the ombre lilac tones of her dress.
Hondo laughed, still holding me close. “Between you and Ma, y’all on some shit, huh?”
She grinned, her eyes jumping from mine to his.
“Baby, this is my annoying ass little cousin Amethyst. Ame, this is my wife, Nicolette.”
I shook my head. This man was forever introducing me to somebody by my middle name. It was bad enough I only heard Nic this or Nic that.
“You really hate my first name, don’t you?” I elbowed him a little before smiling at his cousin.
She laughed. “The way you just looked at him. Whew, cousin, you’ve met your match.” She rubbed her hands together.
He laughed and so did I.
“Man, shut your ass up. Ain’t it a kiddie table over there waiting for you or something?”
She rolled her eyes. “I am grown and I didn’t come over here to talk to you either. I came to talk to my new cousin. So, shoo, and let us discuss.”
Hondo laughed and threw his hands up in surrender. “You got it. I’ll give you a couple minutes.” He leaned down and kissed me before backing away from us.
“Now that I have you alone, Auntie Alora has enlisted me to help you guys put together your home and I am so excited. I’ve worked on plenty of projects and homes, but the budgets haven’t been as crazy big as I know yours is.”
I laughed because she was so happy and it showed.
“This is your wedding day, and I know you don’t wanna talk about this, but just know we are gonna be so close.” She and I talked for a while longer until Hondo returned and we ended up working the room for a while, with him introducing me to more of his family.
I couldn’t believe I was here. Married and enjoying my reception with the family who had treated me like their own from the moment they learned my name.
That also extended to my sister, who had stayed away for so long because of our actual family.
The moment they were off the premises, Hondo had come to get us, letting me know he had people he wanted me to meet and my sister was free to move around as our family was gone.
That wasn’t much of a shocker, seeing as how my brother didn’t come, only my grandfather and father.
Neither of them said anything to me and my father looked so far away.
I was glad they left, because from the moment I’d locked eyes with my grandfather, things seemed off.
I also didn’t miss the moment when I was about to walk down the aisle and I saw.
I couldn’t explain their features, but they were off, both my father and grandfather.
We weren’t close and they owed me nothing, but we were blood at the end of the day, right?
Damn all the controlling male chauvinist bullshit, they were my family, right?
From the moment I said I do, there was no warmth, but instead a cool tension I didn’t know anything about.
“You good?” Hondo’s voice crept into my eardrum, interrupting my thoughts.
“Yes, why do you ask?” I accepted the drink he extended to me.
“’Cause you over here making faces into thin air. You do that when you’re thinking intently.”
“You’re watching me, huh?”
“I thought you knew that already.”
I was about to say something but loud familiar laughter interrupted, which had me looking in my sister’s direction. She was cackling hard at something Otto or the gentleman next to him said.
“Tylon Jackson. He represents the Jacksons. We do a good amount of business together. Good dude.” Hondo must’ve followed my line of sight.
I nodded. “Doesn’t matter, she’s engaged.” I then sipped from the champagne flute and looked around at the people still here. So many people.
He chuckled, taking a seat on the table in front of me. “She’s good with them.”
I knew my sister was good here, so she temporarily dropped from my thoughts. Leaning forward, I made sure I was close to him when I spoke. “So, Mr. Carter, when are you going to whisk me away?”
“As soon as you say you’re ready. Moms already gave us the thumbs up.”
“I’m ready for you to make do on the promise you made when I changed into this dress earlier.” I licked my lips, taking in everything about him, allowing my eyes to feast on my favorite parts more than others.
The intensity in his features sent a jolt down my spine.
“Bet.” The word fell from his lips like he had just accepted a challenge.
His hands interlocked with mine and he stood, eyes scanning the patio before he nodded in someone’s direction.
I finished my drink, setting the glass on the table before I stood as well. After that, things happened fast. Before I knew it, I was standing at the driveway behind a cream-colored Phantom with my bouquet in my hands, ready to toss.
I counted down from three, barely reaching one when I tossed it, not knowing who would catch it because one, I didn’t know many people here, and two, I wasn’t throwing it for it to be caught.
When I turned around, I scanned the crowd, looking to see where it went when my eyes landed on Karsyn Curr.
She looked just as amused as me, shaking her head before holding it up.
I only knew her because we went to the same private school and our fathers played golf together when we were younger.
Why she was here, I didn’t know. But then again I did.
All of the families had come to this wedding.
Hondo grabbed my hand then ushered me to the open back door of the Phantom. Before getting inside, I scanned the crowd of people seeing us off for my sister. When I spotted her, she was standing next to Mrs. Carter with tears in her eyes and a big, dumb ass smile.
I blew her a kiss, then allowed my husband to finish helping me into the car. When my door was closed, he walked around and got in on the other side.
Then we were off, my hand locked in his while we drove into the night’s darkness. This definitely didn’t feel like a forced marriage, but instead a moment I didn’t realize I needed to experience until I was in it.
We were in the car for about forty minutes before pulling into a private air hanger.
There a private jet sat, open, and the stairs extended for us to board.
Now I was extremely curious as to where we were going, but when I asked earlier, he refused to tell me.
So I assumed this time would be no different.
Once we boarded the private jet, he spoke with the pilot for a minute then to the stewardess, requesting refreshments before he gave me the full tour.
I’d been on a pj before, but not one like this.
This plane was magnificent and extremely luxurious, more geared toward privacy and comfort.
He showed me where we’d be, a suite in the back with what looked like a damn living room behind the bathroom.
Up front was where the guards and flight attendant would be while we had privacy and seclusion.
He sat at the edge of the bed, eyes on me as I pulled the straps of the silk cream dress I’d changed into after the wedding.
“How many hours are we here?” I asked. Knowing damn well he wasn’t thinking about the length of our flight.
“Doesn’t matter, especially not right now, Nic.” His voice was heavy and his eyes were serious.
I laughed, moving closer in front of him. “Don’t we need to wait until the plane takes off?”
“Fuck that.” His head was on my abdomen.
I giggled, looking down into those serious eyes. He really didn’t give a fuck.