Page 8 of Furthest From Perfect

After years of working together, I knew how Koi operated. Between working for me and finishing her medical degree, she often forgot to eat. More than once, I had to order her food after hearing her stomach growling while she was dressing me.

“Oh, perfect. I’m starving,” she said from behind me. “And just so you know, I did have a smoothie this morning.”

I mugged her over my shoulder to find her rubbing her stomach. “It’s almost six, Adora.” She snapped her lips together because her argument wasn’t good for anything. “Better stop starving your damn self all the time before you faint.”

“I’ll be fine,” she assured me. When we got to the kitchen, she bumped me out of the way the second she smelled her wings. I chuckled and took up a stance against the counter. My eyes tracked her from the sink to wash her hands, to the fridge for a cherry Pepsi, and to the island to finally sit in front of her plate.

She looked so content that, for a minute, all I could do was watch her. Lay hadn’t lied about the kind of man I was, but I needed Koi to agree to this. Since I figured there was no point in beating around the bush, I got straight to the point.

Digging in my pocket, I removed the box, which held the two-carat tear drop diamond ring I’d gone out to purchase. With my heart in my throat, I slid the box across the island so that it was beside her tray. Her eyes slowly drifted from her food to the ring box. Her eyes darted to my face before she started to choke on her food.

She popped open her soda to wash down the remnants of her food. After a few coughs, she returned her watery eyes to me. “Han’some, what is this?”

Leaning on the counter, I kept steady eye contact with her. “Will you marry me, Koi Adora Morgan?”

She waved me off with a shake of her head. “You can’t be serious.”

“Open the box, and tell me if I’m serious or not,” I countered. I patiently waited for her to clean her fingers off before picking up the box and popping the top on it. She gasped, seeing the ring sparkling back at her. “I want to take Fontana to court for custody of Nyari, and cleaning up my image will work in my favor. I also know this will benefit you because you could take the job with Galaxy.”

For a minute, she didn’t say anything. She just sat there, staring at the ring with her chest heaving up and down. Finally, she looked at me, and I could see the wheels in her mind spinning. “Okay . . .” she whispered hesitantly, almost like she was shocked by her answer too.

“Okay?” I repeated, trying to tamper down my excitement.

She licked sauce away from her lips and nodded. “I want to take the job, and I also support what you’re trying to do, but Han’some, if we get married, you have to take it seriously. I know we’re not in love, but there needs to be a level of mutual respect between us. I am not Fontana, so things she would let you get away with, I will not tolerate.”

I nodded excitedly. “Of course. Respect . . . I can give you that.” I could barely contain my joy, thinking about being able to gain custody of Skye. It was going on nearly a week since I’d seen her, and Adora agreeing was the only reason I wasn’t losing my mind. “Try it on,” I suggested because she was still sitting there, staring at the ring like it would disappear if she blinked. “I promise it’s a real diamond.”

A smile spread across her face before her laughter filled the air. “Shit, it better be. I know you got it,” she teased.

I waited for her to climb off her stool and go to the sink to wash her hands. After drying them off, she came to stand beside me. She darted her eyes to the ring and wiggled her fingers in front of me. Reaching for the box, I pulled the ring out then turned to face her. She couldn’t stay still while waiting. She stopped breathing when I slid the ring on her finger.

“Breathe, baby,” I coached her because she stood there like a statue in shock.

Slowly, she lifted her eyes to mine. “Are we really doing this?”

I tightened my grip on her hand and pulled her body flush against mine. “I’m the furthest from perfect, but I promise, if you got me, I got you too.”

The next day . . .

After spending my entire day at clinicals, I finally had some time to check my phone. The ER was flooded with patients, and I barely had time to register my left from my right. Plopping down in an empty seat in the employee’s lounge, I pulled my phone from my chocolate Curve bag.

The screen lit up before I could even click on it, due to a new notification. My eyes bulged, seeing that it was just one of many I’d gotten in the last few hours. The notifications were split between Instagram and the group chat I had with my cousins. I went to the IG notifications first. My heart raced when I found the source of everything.

Han’some had posted a carousel of pictures of us over the years. With a slow exhale, I swiped through them in shock of how intimate we looked, even though I knew they were just shots from us working. There were even some off-guard photos of me that I never knew he took. The last photo was the selfie we’d taken last night after he’d asked me to marry him. I didn’t expect him to make things public so soon, but butterflies tickled my stomach lining when I read the caption.

@yousohansome: I guess I can share you with the world now because you’re officially mine

The post had nearly a million likes and over a hundred thousand comments. A goofy smile appeared on my face as I debated on what to say or even do. I felt like a teenager as warmth flooded my entire body, and giddiness burst from my gut. I did a little dance, feeling more on board with this than I had when I woke up this morning.

Going into the group chat with my cousins, I read their messages, and it filled me with laughter.

Marni:

Um… do you have something to tell us?

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