Page 32 of A Hood Wife And A Rich Goon 2

“Girl, let’s not even go there,” Essence grumbled, eyes rolling.

“Heard you and Oracle was together now. Tell that nigga to hit me up.”

“That’s not gonna fucking happen. Maybe you can reach out to his baby mama, Staci, though. I’m sure she can give you all the tea you need.”

“Well, you don’t have to dine alone. She can join us, right, baby?” Essence looped her arm through Niva’s and glanced at her husband.

“Yeah, that’s fine.” Midas nodded. “Gives us time to catch up.”

“Come on. We were just grabbing drinks before heading over to the Night Market to eat. You can come with us. It’ll be fun. ” Essence pulled her along, not knowing she’d played right into Niva’s hands.

Eazy was keeping his distance, so she had to find a way in, or at least close enough that she could keep up with what he had going on. First things first, she had to help Essence repair her relationship with him. Midas was a dead man walking, that much she knew. So, he was going to be handled with a long-handled spoon until further notice. He and Braxton were the reason she almost died in the first fucking place. Right now, she needed allies, though, and this was as close as she was going to get to Eazy until she figured out how to make things right.

CHAPTER 7

OLD THREATS

“Eazy, where are we? I told you I have to pee. You want me to ruin your precious new leather?” Lotus asked from the passenger seat of his new black Lamborghini Urus.

He’d blindfolded her after picking her up from her parents’ house, and she’d been talking shit the whole way.

“Lo, chill. We almost there.” He tapped the gas and weaved his whip up the winding road until they arrived outside an eight-foot-tall iron fence.

Behind it sat a two-story modern style house, floor to ceiling windows on each level, and a two-car garage. The minute he saw the place and took a tour, he knew he had to have it. Lotus was due in a few months, and he wanted them out of that little ass apartment when his son came. That was the other thing. He insisted it was a boy, even though they’d yet to have an ultrasound confirm it. It was supposed to be her next appointment, and he couldn’t wait.

The bigger she got, the more real it became for him. Together, they’d created life, and he wasn’t taking that for granted because he knew how short it could be, or that it could be snatched away at any time. Parking on the fresh driveway, he shut the car off, and Lotus sighed heavily.

“I swear, if you’re on some bullshit⁠—”

“You always think a nigga on some bullshit.” Eazy sucked his teeth. “I want you to keep that same attitude. Stay right there. I’m getting out to come open your door.”

He reached the other side, pulled her door open and grabbed both of Lotus’s hands. Helping her from the car, he watched her plant both of her wedge heels on the ground. Eazy tugged her away from the car and toward the front stairs leading to their new home. Leaving her at the bottom of the stone staircase, he slipped behind her and reached up to pull the blindfold off. Lotus’s mouth hung open, eyes misting, no words forming on her tongue. Looking over her shoulder, her eyes found his as the sun set, and a cool breeze wrapped around them.

“What did you do?”

“Welcome home, baby.” He hugged her from behind and smiled proudly.

This was something he’d only dreamed of doing with Niva. Somehow, all the things he imagined doing with her were coming to fruition with Lotus. He remembered her asking for a baby the night she died and thinking their life wouldn’t allow for a child. Funny how quickly a person’s desires could change. Now, he was looking forward to meeting his baby, seeing who they looked like and what their little personality would be. He couldn’t imagine that shit with anybody but Lotus at that point.

“Are you serious? This is ours?” she squealed, taking in the two stories with wide eyes.

“We been on top of each other in that apartment.” Eazy locked his arms around her and placed his palm over her stomach. “I ain’t complaining, but you filling that shit by the day with baby shit, shorty. We gotta make room for this one.”

“It’s so big. Are you sure you we can afford this?”

“What’s this we shit? You ain’t paid shit since I been witchu, Lo. Fuck you mean?” Eazy sneered, almost like he was offended.

He’d watched his grandpa provide for Taci his whole life. There was no way he was about to sit by and let Lotus swipe or pull a bill out for shit as long as he was around. If he did nothing else right, he could damn sure provide. She didn’t even ask for shit; he was just so observant, it was nothing to handle her needs. She liked the designer shit like most women, but he’d seen her buy some shit on clearance or off amazon too, just because it was cute. He liked that about her.

“I ain’t some kept woman, Eazy,” she argued.

“Yeah, the fuck you are. My kept woman,” he corrected her. “Put all your money in the bank, buy shit for the house, baby shit, whatever. But as far as bills go, I got this.”

“Oh, so my little nanny check don’t cut it for you?” she quipped, arms folding over her chest as she turned to him. She was half joking, and Eazy wasn’t playing into that shit tonight.

“If you don’t bring yo’ ass on so we can look at this place and head over to meet up with everybody.”

“Wait, is that why everybody was being all weird earlier? Did they know?”