Lynnia (40 page)

Lynnia tried to take a step back but his grip tightened. He was serious. He wasn’t letting her go, not even to allow her to process what was apparently one of the greatest deceptions ever.

“Hold on a minute. What do you mean it was a ruse?” she looked at him through tear-filled eyes. He nodded, but said nothing. “You’ve
been
in love with me? You’ve loved me? You ASSHOLE! I can’t believe you put me through that. You’ve been scheming to get me when all you had to do was tell me how you felt.”

Still he didn’t let her go. She wanted to step back and move away for a moment, but his grip told her she wasn’t going anywhere. The only thing she could do was yell and fuss. Looking at him again, she noticed his raised eyebrow.

“Did you just tell me that I could’ve saved myself some trouble if I would’ve just told you how I felt? Do you know that I’m pot and you’re kettle, I just want you to know we’re both black?”

“Actually, I’m black and your machismo ass is Hispanic! Were my sisters in on this elaborate hoax of yours?” she paused and looked back at him as he stood while refusing to loosen his grip on her. “What am I saying? Of course they were. This stinks of Norton girls. Only they would risk something like this just to …”

“See you happy?” he finished for her.

Lynnia released a slow, steadying breath and nodded her head. When she was beat, she knew it. Her sisters were going to get an earful. There was no way they were going to get off easy for the months of suffering she endured, even if it was her own stubborn fault.

“Yeah. I’m still reaming them new ones just for good measure,” she said as she looked up at the man she’d loved for as long as she could remember. “I can’t believe you love me.”

“I can’t believe you didn’t know. You’ve been my best friend and lover for so long that I couldn’t see anyone else stepping in that space or filling those shoes. I definitely couldn’t my cousin’s lesbian girlfriend taking on the role.”

“You’re shitting me! That gorgeous, bombshell is into females?”

He simply nodded while chuckling at what had to be a hilarious look on her face.

“Oooh damn. I feel really bad for some of the things I said to her now and about her. I was a real biiittch when I dealt with her.”

“Chalk it up to hormones,
mami
. I’m sure she’ll understand. She’s been rooting for us the whole time. Plus, she found some of those moments kind of funny. She loves you, just so you know. Lindsay thinks any woman willing to threaten another with bodily harm if they even think of hurting someone they care for is more than worth taking a good curse out or two from. This meeting was her idea. Wynter just followed through on what she requested. If this didn’t work, then they had two other back up schemes in place.”

“Damn. They really thought this one out, didn’t they?”

Epilogue