Page 44 of Kissed By the Trillest Thug 2

“And?”

She looked a tad bit nervous, like she was trying to find the right words.

“My father told me everything,” she paused, “he told me about the auto shops, the robberies, and the bricks.”

My jaw tightened slightly, but she held my gaze.

“I told him I believed you when you told him that you don’t know it was his bricks.”

The Maliah that was in this same kitchen yesterday wasn’t the same girl that stood before me today. I watched as she grabbed a mixing bowl from one of my cabinets like she’d been living here for years. The crazy part was she found everything without asking. I leaned against the counter and shook my head.

“You are making yourself entirely too comfortable.”

Maliah smiled without looking up.

“Good.”

The answer came so fast it made me laugh. She poured the ingredients into the bowl before reaching for a whisk.

“I told my dad people make mistakes.”

I stayed quiet while listening.

“I told him I believed everything you told him.” Her eyes lifted to mine. “Because I do.”

Something about hearing her say it again hit different. Maybe it was because she knew the whole story now. Or maybe it was because she had every reason not to believe me and chose to anyway.

She started mixing the batter slowly and thoughtfully. It was like she was still replaying yesterday in her head.

“He wasn’t happy.”

That made me laugh.

“No?” I said in a sarcastic tone.

She rolled her eyes.

“No,” she said with a straight face.

The smile pulling at my mouth got a little bigger.

“That’s shocking.”

Maliah pointed the whisk at me.

“I’m serious.”

“I know.”

I wiped the smile off my face and really started listening to her. She shook her head before setting the whisk back into the bowl.

“But he listened.”

That part surprised me more than anything else. Mali gave me a genuine smile. The kind I hadn’t seen lately, especially not yesterday.

“I asked him if he could give you a fresh start.”

“And?” I said as I folded my arms over my chest.