Page 53 of Nothing Like Your Ex

He greeted Vic next. “What’s good, OG,” he said, as they dapped one another up and gave a solid shoulder-to-chest hug.

“Not much, man. Told you it wouldn’t take much to get her out of the house.” Vic chuckled, knowing his daughter.

Kwinn watched their exchanges, as her confusion only grew. Her parents seemed completely unbothered by his presence, which was nothing new considering they’d met and had mingled on plenty of occasions before now, but the circumstances were different. The setting was as well. Kwinn felt out of the loop. I was definitely left off bad and boujee, she thought, and smirked.

Melo finally turned toward her, taking her in and examining the boyfriend jeans and a fitted MAG Co. signature tee she was wearing. Her black wavy bundles were out of her face, held back by a pink silk scarf, giving Melo the opportunity to admire her beauty without obstructing his view.

“What’s up, baby.”

Kwinn swallowed, suddenly hyper-aware of herself. “Hey,” she replied in a soft tone reserved only for him.

Slipping an arm around her waist, Melo pulled her against him and kissed her lips. The familiar scent of his cologne made the butterflies in her stomach swarm with excitement.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, looking up at him.

Melo smiled down at her. “I could ask you the same thing.”

Kwinn glanced toward her parents, and they were both grinning, looking like happy parents at their child’s graduation, waiting for them to cross the stage. Kwinn narrowed her eyes.

“Daddy…”

“What? Don’t look at me like that. This was all Melo’s doing,” Vic said.

Kwinn looked back at Melo. “What are we doing here? More importantly, you lied about going to the studio. Don’t make me fuck you up, Malone.”

Chuckling, Melo turned her out of view from her parents and patted her ass. “Hush. I didn’t lie. I went to the studio and then came here. You like this space?”

Kwinn looked around, taking in the ultra-high ceilings with exposed steel beams and massive windows that brought in streams of natural light. The concrete walls and unfinished floors gave the place an industrial feel, but the open layout left plenty of room to transform it into whatever she wanted it to be. Or whoever it was for.

She assumed Melo was thinking about purchasing the property for himself and wanted her opinion. It had lots of potential, so Kwinn could see why he liked it. The longer she looked at it, the more she could see The Taylor Collective setting up shop here.

Slowly pivoting, she envisioned a reception area near the front, private offices for her team in the back, and a conference room for meeting clients. Kwinn thought the majority of the space would be great for a showroom. She could picture it now with staged rooms and a place for people to purchase decor. She had talked about wanting something like this after their trip to Paris.

Kwinn had a decent-sized storage unit for all her decor, but as her business continued to grow, she knew it was time to expand. She wanted a headquarters where her newly hired team could work in one location and a destination where people could physically experience what The Taylor Collective had to offer. Sometimes, inspiration for a design project didn’t hit until you could physically see the space come together.

Smiling, Kwinn stopped moseying and faced him. “I really like it.”

“You sure?” Melo asked with his hands tucked in his pockets.

“Yes. I love it, actually. Why? Is it yours?”

Removing his hands, Melo shook his head and pulled out a set of keys. “Nah. It’s yours, baby. Congratulations.”

For a second, Kwinn just stared at him. “Malone, stop playing.”

“I’m serious. This is for you.”

Her eyes dropped to the keys in his hand before snapping back to him. Melo barely had time to explain anything before she launched herself at him, jumping into his arms. He caught her with ease, laughing as she wrapped her arms around his neck and legs around his waist.

“Baaabe,” Kwinn whined, hugging him tightly. “I knew it! I should’ve known this was for me.”

She squeezed him so tightly, Melo had to adjust his grip. “You ain’t know shit,” he teased.

Kwinn pulled back just enough to rain kisses all over his face. “I know that you love me; otherwise, we wouldn’t be here.”

“Like crazy, but you right. You knew that.”

She held his face in her hands and repeatedly kissed his lips, making Melo grin so hard. He was in love like a mothafucka for sure. Melo carried her a few steps and was about to set her on her feet but stopped when she whispered to him.