Page 10 of My Heart Belongs to You

“Well,” I trailed off while boarding the elevator.

“What is it?” She sounded like she was already regretting her current offer.

“Come through tomorrow night.”

There was another beat of silence. I looked at my phone, wondering if the call had dropped.

“I need to study,” she told me.

“You need to take a break from studying and spend time with your favorite person.”

“Aw, you miss me?” The longing in her already sensual voice had me drawing in air.

I exhaled, then replied, “I do. So, what are you gonna do to fix that?”

As I stepped off the elevator, I unzipped my bag and searched for my keys.

Robyn sighed. “It’ll be too busy for you to even talk to me.”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll make time for you, like I always do.”

“Nadir,” she droned, giving me reason to believe her resolve had weakened.

“Come on. I’ll have a table reserved for you, free drinks and everything.”

“Add an order of the cheesesteak egg rolls and I'm all yours.”

“Done.”

Warmth spread across my chest when she replied, “It’s a date. See you tomorrow at B&B.”

Another yawn escaped her lips.

“See you then. Sweet dreams, Goldie.”

“Sweet dreams, my darling.”

After unlocking the door, I kicked off my shoes, then continued to my bedroom. I bypassed the small box in the foyer and ignored the increase in my heart rate. Inside the box was another gift for Avery, a necklace with her birthstone—a diamond in the center of a sun shaped pendant.

I bought it last week, hoping I’d have the courage to send it. Since the shoes weren’t supposed to be there for another week, I figured the necklace could hold them over.

The last time I sent something to Avery, Vanessa had it sent back. I knew them well enough to know it wasn’t returned because they didn’t like it. She returned it to spite me. I learned about the return when I received an email explaining the details of my refund. Without fully processing what she’d done, I called her. We got into a yelling match. I said some things that I later regretted. I hated how heated our exchanges had become. The call ended with her reminding me that Avery wasn’t my child and never would be.

Man.

The mere thought of our last argument made me mad all over again. I shook my head while putting the necklace away. I was still grappling with their departure, and Vanessa’s refusal to try long distance, or remain friends. My nostrils flared as I relived when they left. Before I got too caught up in my anger, I shook the memory away.

I decided that if I didn’t hear from Vanessa by next week, I’d return the necklace and accept their exit from my life.

They weren’t my family anymore and I needed to let them go.

I quickly disrobed, then hopped into the shower. The scalding hot water felt good on my back. I remained in that position for a few minutes as my mind raced. Seven months had gone by and I still thought about them every single day. My temples started throbbing, so I turned and faced the water. After adjusting the temperature, I titled my head back and let the water run over my face.

Summer was right.

I had been a little moody lately. The days leading up to Avery’s birthday weren’t as easy as old feelings resurfaced. I knew better, though. No matter how hurt or frustrated I was with my personal life, I shouldn't have let it spill over into my work. I had to shake this shit off and get back to myself.

After getting out of the shower, I grabbed my phone from my bed. A smile appeared on my face as I read the timely message from Deira.