Page 160 of Certified To Handle You 2

I cut my eyes at her. I should’ve ignored both of ‘em and walked upstairs, but My’Love looked at me with them wet eyes while Toni stood there smilin’ ‘cause she already knew she won. I tossed my daughter again, and the whole front of the house filled with her squealin’ and laughin’.

This time, I caught her and held her against my chest before she could start demandin’ another one. “That’s it,” I told her while kissin’ the side of her face. “Daddy done. Y’all two done worked a nigga all day.”

My’Love immediately started cryin’ again. She pushed against my chest, reached upward and kicked her legs like she planned on launchin’ herself if I wouldn’t do it.

I held her tighter and started walkin’ toward the stairs. “Calm down, Mama. You ‘bout to get a bath in a minute, and then you gettin’ in the bed.”

“She don’t wanna hear that,” Toni said while followin’ us.

“I don’t care what she wanna hear,” I replied, even though I kissed My’Love’s cheek right after sayin’ it. “Daddy said no more.”

She kept fussin’ until we made it halfway upstairs. Then her cries got softer, her head dropped against my shoulder and all that fight left her body. By the time we reached the hallway, she was knocked out in my arms like she hadn’t just been causin’ hell by the front door.

I stopped outside our bedroom and looked down at her. Her lil’ mouth was open, one hand was curled into my shirt and her lashes rested against her cheeks. I kissed under her neck first, then her cheek and forehead while she slept through every bit of it.

Toni watched me and smiled. “I knew she was gon’ pass out.”

“She could’ve passed out before makin’ me throw her in the air fifteen times,” I muttered while carryin’ her into the bedroom.

Toni came closer and rubbed My’Love’s back. “You might as well let her sleep and give her a bath when she wake up.”

“She got park all over her,” I said while lookin’ at the grass still stuck to one of her socks.

I shook my head but walked toward our bed instead of My’Love’s room. I laid her in the middle of the mattress and fixed the pillows around her so she wouldn’t roll too far if she woke up. I still planned on givin’ her a bath, but I could let her sleep for a lil’ while before I disturbed her.

As I pulled the blanket over her legs, Toni’s phone started ringin’. The FaceTime sound filled the room, and she looked down at the screen before answerin’.

“Hey, cousin,” Toni said while movin’ toward the other side of the bed.

Sha’Nelle’s voice came through the phone, but I couldn’t hear everything she said at first. Then she asked, “Kay’Lo around?”

That shit got my attention. I lifted my head from My’Love and looked toward Toni. There wasn’t no reason Sha’Nelle needed to know whether I was around unless she had somethin’ she ain’t want me hearin’.

Toni glanced toward me, and the look she gave told me she knew exactly why I was watchin’ her.

“He in here with My’Love,” Toni answered before turnin’ toward the bathroom.

Then she carried the phone inside and pulled the door closed behind her. I stared at the bathroom door for a second ‘cause that shit ain’t sit right with me at all.

Renza had been talkin’ about ‘Nelle for the last couple months, and I had been right there when the jeweler brought the ring to the crib. I watched my cousin pick the one he wanted, hand over all that cash and start talkin’ about buildin’ a house for her like he had already decided she was gon’ say yes.

I ain’t tell Toni none of that ‘cause it wasn’t my business to ruin Renza’s plan before he got everything in place. My loyalty was with my wife, but Renza was my blood and my brother before anything else. If Sha’Nelle had somethin’ goin’ on that could affect him, I needed to know what the hell it was before everybody else did.

Toni knew I ain’t like secrets between us either. She tried that shit before and ended up in the Red Room ‘cause she thought she could hold information back and smile in my face like I wasn’t gon’ check that shit. Now she was carryin’ Sha’Nelle in the bathroom to have some private conversation while I stood in our bedroom.

I looked down at My’Love to make sure she was still sleep, then moved toward the bathroom door. I stood close enough to hear without touchin’ it, and for a second, all I caught was Toni speakin’ too low for me to make out the words.

Then her voice came through clearer.

“Oh my God,” Toni whispered. “You gettin’ married?”

Everything inside me stopped…

Sha’Nelle said somethin’ on the other end, and Toni lowered her voice even more before she spoke again.

“Hold yo’ hand up so I can really see it,” Toni told her.

I moved a lil’ closer to the door and listened while my mind started runnin’. There wasn’t no reason for Toni to say that unless a ring was already on Sha’Nelle’s finger.