Chapter 17
Solo’s house was immaculate. It was hard for me to believe a man lived here because of the decor. Once he told me his interior designer was a woman, and he had little to no input outside of the color schemes in each room, it made more sense.
The house had six bedrooms, an office, a library, an exercise room, a massive kitchen, a formal dining room and living room, a family room, and a fully finished basement that he used as his mancave. I only got a glance at the pool, but I planned to become very familiar with it soon.
Aside from his bedroom, the other rooms were decorated in a generic way but still very nice. When I asked him why, he said that he didn’t want to invest too much in those rooms because he hoped they’d belong to his children one day.
“Do you think you can make a home out of this house?” he asked when we finished the tour and returned to his bedroom.
I thought his question was crazy because who couldn’t make a home out of this beautiful house, but I understood why he asked.
“As long as you don’t mind me adding or removing a few things here and there.”
“We can have the interior designer come in and redo the whole house, if you want.”
I laughed. “Baby, that’s not necessary. This house is beautiful.”
“You’ve only been here for thirty minutes, and it already feels more like home.”
“You know what will make it feel even better?”
“Hmm. I have an idea, but why don’t you tell me?”
“I’d rather show you.”
I began slowly removing my clothes, and he didn’t waste any time doing the same. I took his hand and led him into the bathroom, which was about half the size of my apartment. The shower could fit at least six people and had a bench on the far wall.
The shower dial was digital, and I had no idea how to use it. Solo reached around me, pressed a few buttons, and the shower turned on. While we waited for the water to warm, Solo stood behind me and kissed my neck.
His hands caressed my breasts, moved down to my stomach, and eventually found my honeypot. I opened my legs ever so slightly, allowing him to slip his fingers between my folds.
“Mmm,” I moaned as he massaged my clit.
“I love how this pussy is always ready for me, no matter the time or the place.”
He nibbled on my ear before kissing my neck. I angled my head toward him, urging his mouth to find mine. When it did, we kissed passionately and with fervor.
Finally, with Solo still behind me, we stepped under the warm water. Immediately, he took both of my hands and pressed them against the wall.
“Don’t move,” he demanded before releasing me.
I closed my eyes as he rubbed the head of his dick from the top of my ass crack to my pussy a few times. When he finally entered my wet, slippery hole, I moaned while he growled profanities.
He took me hard and fast from the back, pounding into me like there was no tomorrow. It hurt so good, I almost cried. When I came, my screams echoed in the shower, piercing my ears like never before.
“If we christen every room this way, this house will feel like a home in no time,” he whispered as he filled me with his seeds.
All the adrenaline and excitement from traveling and sharing our engagement news with my family caught up with me. When Solo and I finally tapped out for the night, I slept hard. Although we didn’t christen the whole house, the bedroom had been thoroughly blessed.
I had no idea what time it was the first few times I opened my eyes, but sleep held me hostage, and I didn’t fight it. Thankfully, after being fucked into oblivion, I still had the mind to set my alarm for nine o’clock.
When it sounded, I quickly turned it off and reached for Solo, but his side of the bed was empty and cold. I groaned as I sat up and looked around the spacious bedroom that I could fit my whole apartment inside.
Eventually, I eased out of bed and headed to the bathroom. After relieving my bladder, I washed my face and brushed my teeth, then fumbled my way through figuring out how to use the shower. Thirty minutes later, I was dressed in a hoodie, leggings, and fluffy socks.
I roamed around the house for a few minutes before I headed toward Solo’s office. I could hear his slightly elevated voice as I neared the door. He sounded angry, as did the woman he was talking to on speaker.
“You’re full of shit, Mia. Why would you do some shit like that?”
“We’ve barely been divorced three months, Solomon, and you’re already posting some bitch on your page.”
Bitch?
“Aye, watch your mouth. Ain’t no need to disrespect my woman.”
“You’re actually claiming her. We dated for a year before you publicly acknowledged our relationship, and you’re already claiming her?”
“Are you serious right now? You gotta be outta your fucking mind.”
“I didn’t ask for a divorce, Solomon, you did.”
“Mia, we no longer wanted the same things, and I knew I wouldn’t be happy with you. We both agreed that divorcing was the best option, and now that you see I’ve moved on, you’re on the internet spreading lies. What part of the game is this?”
On the internet? Shit, I left my phone upstairs.
“The part of the game that won’t let you make a fool outta me. The ink ain’t even dry on the divorce papers, and hardly anyone knows we’re divorced.”
“Exactly! Nobody knows we’re divorced because ain’t nobody checking for either of us.
You brought attention our way by going to the blogs with that bullshit ass story.
I know we’re divorced, you know we’re divorced, and we both know why, so I don’t give a fuck about what anybody else thinks.
You got my business manager blowing up my phone with this bullshit because you’re in your fucking feelings.
Retract your statement, or I’ll sue your ass.
That condo and half a million I gave you will be right back in my possession before you can blink. ”
I heard a thud and a few profanities before the room fell silent. I slowly rounded the corner and entered Solo’s office. He was sitting behind his desk with his elbows on top and his head resting in his hands.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
He looked up and smiled. “C’mere, baby.”
I went to him, and he pulled me onto his lap. He secured his arms around my waist and rested his head on my chest.
“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I heard some of the conversation with your ex.”
“That’s fine. I don’t have anything to hide. She’s lost her mind.”
“What happened?”
“My business manager was blowing me up this morning, not to mention, I had a shitload of notifications for Flikstagram. I called him back first, and he directed me to one of those messy ass blogs. Apparently, Mia saw the pics of us that I posted on Flikstagram, got in her feelings, and reached out to Keeping It In the Closet.”
“What did she say?”
“She told them she couldn’t have kids, and when I found out, I divorced her.”
I gasped. “That’s wild!”
“It gets better. She also said we tried to have a baby for five years naturally, but we were unsuccessful. After several IVF attempts that resulted in miscarriages, she refused to continue to put her body through any more, and I filed for divorce.”
“Baby, I’m so sorry you’re going through this. She’s a terrible person for spreading such horrible lies.”
“You know that’s not even me, right? I’m not even that kinda nigga.”
“I know, baby. You don’t have to try to convince me. I would never believe something like that about you.”
“As soon as I saw it, I was worried you would believe it. Thank you, E. You don’t know how much I needed to hear that.”
He finally removed his face from my chest and looked up at me. I cupped the side of his face and pressed my lips against his.
“I love you, E,” he mumbled against my lips.
“I know, and I love you.”
We sat in silence in each other’s arms until he received a phone call from his business manager.
“I gotta take this, baby, but your mom and sister should be here shortly. The breakfast I ordered should be here around the same time.”
I nodded, we shared another kiss, and I left him alone to take care of business. As Solo said, my mother and sister arrived a few minutes before the breakfast he’d ordered. We made ourselves comfortable at the enormous breakfast bar and got down to business . . . well, sort of.
“I always told Semaj that Mia was a sneaky one,” Elaine said after we’d brought my mother up to speed because she had no dealings with social media.
“Obviously, she still has feelings for him,” my mother said. “It hasn’t been very long. Is he sure that door is closed?”
Before I could respond, I heard Solo’s voice.
“I assure you, Mrs. Fuller, that door is closed, deadbolted, and the key has been destroyed. Our divorce may have only been a few months ago, but our relationship began its demise well before that. The only woman I love is Eva.”
“Thank you for your reassurance. As Eva’s mother, I had to ask.”
“I understand, and I don’t blame you. None of what my ex said is true. My parents weren’t the best, but they raised me with integrity.”
“I can tell. I guess we’d better get started with the wedding plans,” Ma said.
“And I’ll leave you to it.”
He kissed my forehead before disappearing to another part of the house.
For the next few hours, we chose colors, discussed concepts, narrowed down the decorators and caterers, scheduled appointments to try on dresses, and reached out to venues.
Everything was going well until we contacted the venues.
“New Year’s Eve is two weeks away and probably the busiest night in Chicago. Finding a venue might be impossible,” I said.
“We can’t give up hope yet. We only reached out to a few. Let’s think outside the box,” Elaine suggested.
“Yes. Let’s think about places that would typically be closed on New Year’s Eve,” Ma said.
“How’s it going?” Solo asked when he entered the kitchen.
I searched his face to see if I noticed any signs of stress, and he appeared to be in a better mood than he was the last time we saw him.
“The venues we’ve reached out to are booked,” I told him.
“We can use The Spot.”
He grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator and was gone as quickly as he’d come.
“Duh! Why didn’t we think of that? Our husbands own it,” Elaine said.
“It literally never crossed my mind. Location secured. Let’s cross that off the list.”
My mother and sister were there for so long, Solo ended up ordering dinner for us. Thankfully, by the time they left, almost ten hours after they’d arrived, we’d made a lot of progress. I was exhausted.
For the second time today, I found Solo at his desk in his office. This time, he was leaning back in his chair with his feet propped up on the corner, scrolling through his phone. I leaned against the doorframe and watched him for a moment.
“You’re staring,” he said after several seconds.
“I’m just trying to get a feel for your mood. How’d everything go today?”
“She still hasn’t retracted what she said, but my business manager suggested I connect with my former publicist. I did, and she gave me a couple of choices. We’re meeting tomorrow to discuss.”
He stood, closed his laptop, and headed toward me. When he reached me, he took my hand and led me up the stairs to the bedroom.
“I take it you don’t wanna talk about it anymore.”
“The only thing I want to do is make love to my future wife.”