Page 10 of Father of the Bride
“Well, you obviously made the right choice. Look at all this.” Orion gestured around him. “You’re doing good for yourself, Doc. Don’t sweat the coulda, woulda, shoulda.”
“I appreciate that, but I don’t know,” Mark said, wistful. “I lost a good woman behind all that.”
Orion scoffed. “Good woman? What’s that?”
He laughed alone.
“I mean, except for Brooklyn, of course,” he rushed out. “Amazing young lady.”
Mark nodded slowly, but the damage was done. Davion’s tight jaw indicated that he felt the same disgust.
Another beat passed before Orion opened his mouth, realizing his mistake.
“And your mama,” he said to Davion. “Of course, your mama.” He forced out a laugh. “Yall know what I mean.”
Nobody responded. The silence felt thick and heavy, like humidity before a storm.
Mark rested both hands on the bar, watching Orion with a cool, unreadable expression. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t figure it out. Whatever Sunny saw in that man was completely lost on him. The girl he knew would have cracked the outer shell of insecurity and bravado to find the loser in the meat below.
But maybe that was the point.
Maybe Orion was a rebound. Or maybe she consciously chose a man who was several levels beneath her.
Whatever the case, Mark wasn’t worried. Part of being a man is knowing when you’re outmatched, and in this situation, he wasn’t that.
Chapter 6
Asmallbandplayedsoft jazz music in the large two-story foyer, where a beautiful pearl white baby grand piano sat tucked in the corner.
As beautiful a scene as it was, Sunny couldn’t enjoy any of it. Her eyes were too busy darting back and forth looking for this Mark person she’d met earlier.
She didn’t know Mark. She knew Markez, who she took to calling Kez after their first kiss. Kez had a little bit of an edge to him, and big dreams of being the next Johnny Cochran, except he would never, in his words, “Defend no motherfucking coons.” Kez was all about righting wrongs and addressing the injustices of the world.
Mark…well, he was somebody else.
Earlier, after she showered, she lay on the plush queen bed in her room and picked up the iPhone her sons had forced her to switch to. She struggled through the screens until she got to the internet and did a quick search for Markez Bennett. When that turned up nothing, she searched for Dr. Mark Bennett.
Jackpot.
Greater Memphis Plastic Surgery Team.There he was in his white coat. More handsome than any man needed to be, but without the arrogance good-looking male doctors usually projected.
His partner was handsome, too. But he wasn’t important right now.
Wait.
A TikTok?
She x’d out quick, not quite ready for a Kez who danced with children on the internet.
Then she dialed Tigra, her best friend.
“Hey, girl,” she answered on the first ring. “I’m packing right now, so don’t start with me.”
“It’s not about that.” Sunny took a deep breath. “Giiiiiiiirl…”
“Oh, shit. What happened? And do I need some wine?”
“I don’t know.” Sunny paused to take a deep breath. “Okay, so I’m here, right? This giant beachfront villa owned by this rich plastic surgeon who just happens be my first love from college.”
