Chapter 32
six months later
I smoothed out my stray hairs that had escaped from my bun. In the mirror, I found myself timid and shaking. Relax, girl! As I lowered my hand from my face, I caught sight of the ring on my finger twisted in the wrong direction. I was quick to adjust it correctly.
I was nervous, but of course I was, today was a big day.
We were officially opening and launching Hém.
Outside of simply opening the store, Paisley wanted a big deal, and Ezekiel was right behind her.
Both advertised for Hém heavily in the month leading up to this.
So, we were having a grand opening ceremony complete with Pay and me cutting a ribbon.
Even with my anxiety, I was excited about Hém being open. My parents and soon-to-be in-laws were coming, as well Cesar and Leslie. I was sure it would be a big event with all the promo my friends had put into it.
Alannah couldn’t make it, but my parents were filming everything so that she wouldn’t completely miss out. I’d already sent Oisin a care package full of Hém clothing and gear as a gift.
The sound of angry cat moans startled me, drawing my attention to behind myself. Footsteps sounded on the carpet and soon Ezekiel was coming into the room carrying Sadé.
“What happened?” I wanted to know.
He tossed me a helpless smile as he set the angry cat on the bed. “Scorsese was playing with her tail again.”
While they got along most times these days, one thing about Sadé was the fact that when she didn’t want to be bothered, she would let it be known. That and she didn’t like anyone touching her tail.
Ezekiel took a step back and examined himself and the stray strains of cat fur now on his black dress shirt. Knowing my bedroom so well, he went and scooped up the lint roller from my dresser to rid himself of the fur.
“Nervous, Miss Graham?” he asked as he tossed me a sly smile.
I rolled my eyes, but shook my head, giving in to my blush. Ever since he proposed to me a month ago, he’d been doing that, emphasizing how I was currently Miss Graham, until we tied the knot and I became Mrs. Marcuson.
The way he’d done it was so him. We were on a date one Wednesday night when he’d gotten a phone call. He’d been upset, sounding like there was some type of emergency at the club. We were already in Atlanta anyway, so it was nothing to go over to BLVCKJVCK to check on the issue.
“I’m going to wring Cease’s neck out,” Ezekiel had snapped as we entered the empty club that night.
“What happened?” I was worried, not having seen Ezekiel this worked up before. We were practically rushing for the elevator and no one seemed to be at the club.
“He called and said someone broke in and smashed all the wine up in the Spade Suite. He must’ve fucked up locking the club up on Sunday,” Ezekiel explained as we boarded the elevator and he lifted his head to watch the glowing symbols change from a Club to a Spade.
I frowned. “That’s awful.”
“Tell me about it,” Ezekiel mumbled.
Ding.
We reached the rooftop and Ezekiel took a breath; his hands were shaking and then he turned, looking at me, softening at once.
“After you.” It was the oddest thing. One minute he’d been upset, and now he was giving me a shy smile as he seemed to be blushing.
I didn’t get it, but soon as I stepped off the elevator, I didn’t have to.
All around me were candles, and together they were leading a lit path covered in white rose petals to a centerpiece in the middle of the rooftop deck complete with glowing E & N letter blocks.
My mouth fell open and as I glanced back at Ezekiel, I found his eyes glassy. My throat swelled, and somehow, I just knew.
I followed the rose-petaled path to the letter blocks, tears sliding down my face every step of the way. Above my head, there were strings of light set up, and off to the side, I spotted a single clothed table for two. In another corner, there was a man, a chef, appearing to be waiting to serve us.
Oh God.
Turning, I almost doubled over. Ezekiel was there, down on one knee, holding out a golden ring box with a ring inside. The smile on his face, the tears in his eyes, my heart couldn’t take it.
There was no other answer to give him than yes.
He’d asked my father in an old-school traditional sense, and my parents were in full support of us. They loved him like the son they hadn’t had.
Paisley was happy for me, as well as Ali. Both just wanted me safe and happy. After ten months with Ezekiel, happiness was all I knew.
“Incredible, Mr. Marcuson,” I confessed. I threaded my hands together and cringed. “I really want this to work and be a success. Pay and I’ve busted our asses off getting this together.”
Ezekiel finished with the lint roller and came over to me. He swept his large hands across the material of my burgundy dress shirt, fixing any wrinkles. Today, we were both business casual.
“You got this,” he encouraged as he peered down into my eyes. “The place looks great, what you offer is dope and needed, and Trey and Dannon are going to keep your customers comin’ back.”
Much like with Shéc, we’d hired two young guys to run Hém. During this new grace period of just starting, we were testing things out before hiring more help for each store.
So much was going on, and I was insanely busy these days, but before I could get overwhelmed, I looked over at Ezekiel and found my peace.
“You all packed?” Ezekiel asked gently.
In the morning we were catching a flight to New York to check on the latest updates with PVWN.
Ezekiel was hoping to open by fall at the earliest. With his idea and Sloan’s design, PVWN was coming along immaculately the last I’d seen of it.
I was already obsessed with the color scheme of jade and navy blue.
“Yes,” I said as I looked off toward my closet where my suitcase was sitting beside it stuffed with clothing for the three-day trip.
Ezekiel followed my line of vision and chuckled. He was a much easier packer, taking a few changes of clothes and two pairs of shoes. Me, I needed options.
Ezekiel chanced a look at his watch before taking a step back, showing a hand toward the door. “You ready, Miss Graham?”
This could go either way, but I was trusting my gut and the good energy all around me. Hém would be a success.
I took Ezekiel’s hand and smiled, so happy I’d rolled the dice. Always bet on love. “Yes, Mr. Marcuson.”