Crazy Love (29 page)

1. A man who'd battle an army of millions for my safety
   
2. A man who cares about what makes me laugh and cry
   
3. A man who knows that foreplay begins at sunrise
   
4. A man who looks in the mirror and sees love
   
5. A man who looks at his close circle of friends and family and sees love
   
6. A man who knows that his potential is unlimited
   

H
ey, slow your roll, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. I'm taking care of her needs. If she needs anything, she lets
me
know. So go on.” Jackson shooed Rudolf off. He scurried away, but not before pinning Jackson with a hard glare. Stacie chuckled, feeling a little sorry for the waiter. She knew that the only reason Jackson insisted on returning to the restaurant was to show Rudolph that he had gotten the girl.

“So are you excited about starting school Monday?”

“I am. I'm gonna be a teacher,” she giggled happily. “It's so interesting how one door slams shut and another opens,” she said philosophically. “Thank you.” She leaned over and kissed Jackson on the cheek, then settled back in her chair and fixed him with a stare.

“Whassup, baby?”

“If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have thought about going to school to teach. I'd probably end up at another law firm doing the same old shit. Working for another Andre, answering the same old phones and saying the same old shit.”

“Who would've thunk it. A bus driver with brains,” he joked, reaching for a roll and slathering it with butter. There was a comfortable silence as Jackson chewed his bread. His life was better than ever. In three months he'd have a new wife, Jameel was safe and sound, but most importantly, after Michelle's foiled kidnapping attempt, she was given probation on the condition that she relinquish all parental rights to Jameel.

“Thanks for Lexie,” she said softly, cutting into the silence, and he grunted. Seeing how miserable she was without her
baby,
he had given her the money to have her fixed. He had also given her enough money to keep her financially afloat until she landed a job, which she had, three weeks ago, as an executive assistant to the CEO of a major property development company. Stacie smiled, then asked, “Isn't it funny?”

“What's that, baby?”

She looked down at her engagement ring, then said, “That you and I ended up together and Tyrell and Tameeka broke up. It should've been the other way around. Don't you think?” She wrinkled her nose and glanced up at him, then rushed on to explain when she saw that he had raised his eyebrows so high that they almost touched his hairline. “I love you…I really do,” she quickly assured him. “But, dang, we had so much stuff going on. You couldn't stand me. I couldn't stand your arrogant ass…and still can't sometimes. But look at us—we're together.
Happily together
. And we're getting married.”

Stacie grinned as she gazed over at her fiancé; ever since he had come into her life, things had gotten better. Her list for the perfect man had long been scraped, she had stopped her shoe sniffing, but most importantly, through him she had found herself.

“That is funny,” Jackson said, then focused on his food.

“Meek was the one who gave me advice on you—on us. She was my man expert. Not that she isn't now, but you know…” Stacie let her sentence drift off and she looked imploringly at Jackson.

Jackson sighed and put down his fork. “It's very simple. Tameeka and Tyrell would still be together if she hadn't cheated on him. She deserved what she got.”

“But she didn't mean it. She was all screwy in the head. But she's okay now, she and Mohammad are burning up the sheets.”

“All screwy in the head?
Well, that just excuses it all. She didn't mean to cheat on her boyfriend, but since she was
all screwy in the head
it made it all right,” Jackson mocked, then picked up his spoon and began shoveling soup into his mouth. As far as he was concerned the conversation was over.

“Well,” Stacie muttered. “She was going through things that made her screwy in the head.”

“Yeah, whatever. Mohammad had better be careful, because dude will be her next victim.” Jackson looked her dead in the eye, then said, “You'd better not cheat on me.”

An image of her, Crawford and the stuck condom popped into her head. “I…um…er,” Stacie stuttered, then averted her eyes.

Jackson set his spoon down and turned to his fiancée; concern was in his eyes. “Whassup, Princess?”

“Nothing,” she lied, bowing her head and fussing with her napkin.

“You sure?” Jackson reached out and grabbed the tip of her chin, forcing her to face him.

“Yeah, I'm cool. It's like you don't trust me or something,” she said, laughing nervously.

“I trust you! Now tell me that you'll never cheat on me,” Jackson demanded softly, his eyes glinting dangerously in the soft restaurant lighting.

“I will never, ever cheat on you,” she solemnly pledged. I will never, ever cheat on him again, Stacie vowed to herself.

They locked eyes and Jackson searched hers looking for any speck of a lie, and not seeing anything, he grinned. “I know you won't.” He bent down and kissed her. “Who's Big J?” he murmured against her lips.

“You are, baby,” Stacie breathed.