“Us men, we mess up all the time. We’re dumb that way. But ain’t many of us willing to go far and beyond to correct our mistakes like Jo. Give him a chance, daughter. It breaks my old heart to see y’all this way.”
I bit my lip as I thought about his words. I must admit, I was expecting to see pictures of his fiancée on his wall, not a wall-size picture of me. So obviously, this was not her home. There was no woman in the world that would stand for her fiancé having a huge painting of another woman on his wall.
I guess it was a little cute that he would do such a thing, even if it was a bit ludicrous.
“Plus,” Albert continued. “If you want to really see him suffer, watch him try to keep up with his fake injury for longer than three days. He can’t keep still that long.”
“Are you telling me there is nothing wrong with his leg?”
He shook his head. “The boy is as strong as a bull.”
“Oh, my goodness! He is such a con artist!”
“We like to call it politician around these parts. Come, let me show you your rooms.”
There were three bedrooms at the end of the hall, one big door in the middle and two doors off to either side of it. He opened the one to the left of the middle door, then moved to the side so I could step past him. My mouth opened in surprise.
It was a beautiful nursery with so many toys that it almost looked like a toy store.
“How beautiful!”
I walked into the room, completely floored at what I was seeing. There was a huge wooden baby crib that looked as if it had been hand carved against the wall. This room didn’t have the big square windows that were in the others. It looked as if the O shaped windows faced the back of the property, but they were covered in pretty pink and purple curtains.
The room looked as if it belonged to a royal princess.
“When he first laid eyes on Ayana, he had this room prepared for her.” Alfred said quietly from where he stood by the door.
“Are you serious? Don’t lie to me!”
He held up his hands chuckling. “I guess I deserved that for helping Jo get you here. But I’m not generally a liar.”
I believed him. Albert is a solid, dependable person. I’ve grown to love him like a father. And no, it’s not because it looked as if he and my mom were getting really close. It’s because ever since I’ve known him, he has always had my back. For some reason when he’s around, I feel safe, just like when I’m with Jo
I continued my perusal of the nursery. It was fully stocked with diapers and clothes for Ayana. Jo had thought of everything. There was even a potty for her. She wasn’t quite walking yet, but it would be any day now. I was just telling Jo last week that I was thinking about starting to potty train her. And look…there was a potty.
Stunned I shook my head, I couldn’t help but think about my mother’s words she said to me before she left to go back to Chicago to check on my brothers. I don’t know what kind of fiancée Ms. Chloe was to him, but she wasn’t the type that came to his house.
I brought my hand to my head. “I think my mother may have been right.” I muttered.
Albert snapped his fingers. “Don’t you just hate when that happens?”
I looked up startled that he had even heard me.
He nodded his head. “Come on, check out your room.”
I followed him out of the nursery and expected him to cross the hall to the door that was on the right of the big room, but he didn’t, he headed toward the big wooden door in the middle.
I froze. “What are you doing?”
He nodded again. “Come on, this is your room.”
What?!
When he opened the door and moved to the side so that I could come in, I had to grab the wall for support. Somehow Jo had managed to get the feel of my cottage inside this room. There were sheer curtains on the big boxed windows that was parted very artfully. But what brought out the beauty of the windows were the beautiful plants that adorned it.
This room was a stark contrast to the rest of the penthouse; it was all whites and greens, where the rest of the penthouse was very state-of-the art modern decor. However, inside this space was a little slice of heaven. I took off my shoes, because the carpet was pure white and soft. It felt like I was standing on a cloud. In the center of the room sat a big four poster bed that was surrounded by a beautiful sheer canopy.
Plants had been placed perfectly throughout the room to heighten my senses and bring joy to my spirit. I turned back to look at Albert.
“This is my room?” I whispered.
He smiled. “Why are you whispering?” He whispered back.
“Because I’m having an endorphin overload.” I put both of my hands that slightly shook to my lips to keep from screaming out.
This room was perfect!
Joseph
I smiled as I watched her take in my home that I had made hers. Lifting my finger, I touched her cheek on the screen of my phone.
“There is nothing I won’t do for you, J….”
Chapter Fifteen
Her Worth
When you know you are of worth, you don’t have to raise your voice, you don’t have to become rude, you don’t have to become vulgar; you just are. And you are like the sky is, as the air is, the same way
