Page 81 of A Smooth Operator

Lani decided to stop pretending to work at GeneVerse and opened a fashion boutique on Main Street in downtown Memphis. It was perfect for her, and she loved what she did. I'd never seen her this happy. Her mama didn't know, but she was dating a police detective whom she met when there was a break-in at a store next to hers. Remi and I thought Brandon was awesome and just perfect for Lani. But we knew Sierra would lose her shit when she found out that Brandon was African American. Dallas was preparing her and knew that Sierra would finally get past her prejudices and start to see people for who they were.

To be honest, I didn't think so, and I didn't care. Sierra wasn't a big part of our lives, and she wouldn't have to be in Lani and Brandon's either. We didn't spend a lot of time with her. Our friends circle was small and tight. There were no Tommys and Marinas. Instead, we hung out with Teresa and her boyfriend, Martin and his new girlfriend, and even Alex from Paint the Town Red. We had dinner with Lani and Dallas whenever Sierra had her book club meeting—that way, she didn't have to pretend to be busy to decline our invitation.

All relationships had some baggage, and this was ours. We were making it work.

"I'm crazy about you, Echo. Now get naked." Remi was already taking my clothes off.

Remi had started to delegate more at work and tried not to work too many late nights—but he still came home three times a week at four in the morning. We would have to talk about that and buying a new place—especially now that we'd need more space.

When I was naked, he kissed me as he entered me. I was already wet and wanting him.

"How come we got engaged last night, love?" Remi asked, his eyes on mine.

"I'm pregnant."

He grinned. "I think you should call in sick from work. We're going to be celebrating all day long."