Page 26 of Fallynn West

“Good morning, beautiful.”

“Good morning, handsome. Hey, is Kehlani okay? She isn’t here.”

The hairs on the back of my neck rose. My mouth went dry. Where the hell was my daughter?

Panic began to settle in my chest. Just as I was about to let Colony know I’d call her back, Kehlani and my family jumped out in front of me.

“Happy birthday!” everyone sang in unison.

I should’ve known something was up. Kehlani ran over to me with balloons and a gift bag. “Happy birthday, Daddy! Look what I got you.”

“Oh, it’s your birthday? Why didn’t you tell me, Keondra?” Colony questioned, reminding me that she was on the phone.

“Because I never make a big deal of it. For me, it’s another day that I’m blessed to see.”

“You’re right about that, but it’syourday. You’re meant to be celebrated.”

“Nah, I’m good.”

“Mm-hmm. We’ll see about that.”

I smirked. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Colony released a sneaky giggle. “You’ll see. Happy birthday, Keondra. I’ll see you later.”

She hung up before I could protest or pry deeper. With a shake of my head, I slid my phone into my pocket and gave Kehlani my undivided attention, but I could feel other eyes onme. I thanked Kehlani and kissed her forehead. She bounced on her toes as she watched me dig into the bag.

I beamed. “You know your daddy, don’t you?”

“Better than anyone.”

Inside the bag were a few pairs of pajama pants along with a notebook and pens. Whenever we were at home, I mostly wore pajama pants while I created new recipes. All throughout the house, I had notebooks filled with good and bad recipes I’d created over the years. I was sure my mother helped her pick the items out, but it meant the world to me.

When I focused my attention on my family, they were all glaring at me with mischievous grins.

“Why are y’all looking at me like that?”

“Who was that you were talking to?” Mama pried with her head tilted.

I pushed my glasses up with my lips pressed together but didn’t answer.

Dad asked, “Was it the woman you were telling us about?”

“It was,” I confirmed.

Aunt Faith threw her hands in the air before placing them on her hips. “I know you better be telling us who she is. You know we’re going to find out one way or another, so you may as well spill it, Nephew.”

Kehlani looked up at me. “Was it Colony?”

Dramatically, Aunt Faith gasped, and I figured she was about to be on some shit.

“Colony? As in Colony Miles? The owner of Center of Love?”

I nodded. “Yes, her.”

“Wait, wait. Are y’all dating?”

“We’re not a couple or anything, but we are taking the strides to getting to know one another. We’ve been on a date, and I’m actually in the process of planning another one. I like where things are going between us, but I’m also trying to keepit between us. Just like me, Colony has been through some shit. We’ve agreed to take things slow and vibe.”