Believer (#3) | ✓

28. peanut butter pickles

"You're going to this meeting alone?" My brother's voice fills the space of my office as he walks in. It's not as chaotic as it usually is whenever Angel makes his entrance but I can already imagine where the rest of this conversation is going to go.

"As opposed to?"

"With backup."

I roll my eyes, "I'll have backup."

"I meant me, stronzo." He deadpans, walking forward to plop himself on one of the chairs on the other side of my desk. "I'm bored. I can't take this. I need to kill someone."

My brows furrow on their own accord, "Didn't Nico give you a list of people with debts?"

"Yeah, I already did that."

"He gave you the list two days ago."

He shrugs. "What can I say? I'm efficient."

"You're homicidal is what you are."

"I'm pent up." He sighs and picks at the leather on the arm of the chair, "Think I might take a trip out to New York for a few days after all this."

I arch a brow in thought, "What the hell is in New York?"

Angel shrugs and pokes out his bottom lip, "A potential stress reliever." Do I even want to know? Even if I did, he speaks before I can conjure up the question, "Have you thought of names yet?"

I can't help but roll my eyes. Of course he changes the topic, but I know how to combat that, "I have names for you to go scare. Two hundred thousand missing in profit." Taking the sheet of paper from in front of me, I slide it to him and he takes it.

He throws his head back with an annoyed groan, "You never entertain me."

"Go do your job so I can do mine."

Angel rolls his eyes and stands, "Maybe give the job a break and spend time with the mother of your child. You've been in here everyday since that note came in."

As he makes his exit, I put my pen down and look at the door he just closed.

He has a point. I don't know what it was about the letter that came in from Kory but I've unintentionally kept myself away from Adalena, much to my annoyance.

She's probably bored out of her mind and I'd been trying to ignore the pain in my chest that came from not seeing her for a while.

The last time I even saw her was two days ago when she walked in on me crying for my mother. She deserves more than that.

With that, I close the ledger in my grasp and make my leave too.

I head to the bedroom, having a feeling she'll be tucked into the sheets reading a book or watching a movie. And as I step into the open doorway, I'm met with just that.

She has an American television show playing in the background on the TV across from the bed while she holds a book in her hand. Her eyes scan the words she reads as she shovels a pickle covered in peanut butter into her mouth.

"You hate peanut butter." I slip, watching as she jumps in shock. She turns to me and immediately, my heart melts.

She takes another bite, "And pickles." Pointing to her bump, she sighs, "Baby doesn't care though."

I chuckles and step toward her, lowering myself on the bed to peck her lips. When I lean back a bit, I notice that we're practically matching outfits — a white t-shirt, both of which I'm sure are mine — grey joggers and white socks.

"You smell good." She says and stuffs her face into my neck and kisses the skin there. I try to tuck my dick between my legs before it causes a problem.

"So do you, amore mio." She smells like vanilla or cocoa butter or both at the same time. I rest my head on her chest, trying to avoid her swollen breasts as she wraps her arms around me, almost cocooning me in her hold. Resting a hand on her thigh, I pull it onto mine and begin to massage her back.

She releases a sigh of relief and kisses the top of my head and finally... finally, I feel some semblance of peace in my life.

"Even with my peanut butter pickle breath?"

I peck the rising mound of her breast and nod, "Especially with your peanut butter pickle breath."

She snorts, "Try saying that five times fast."

I can't help but laugh. Silence passes as she continues to read her book, holding it in a comfortable position behind me though she holds on to me tight. "I'm sorry I haven't been around as much."

She looks down to meet my eye and purses her lips, "It's okay, baby. I know you're stressed."

"I know you are too, which makes me practically abandoning you even worse." She shakes her head but I can see it in her eye. She missed me too. "I'm sorry, dolcezza. I'm so sorry." I kiss her, then lift her shirt, kiss her more. I kiss her stomach, her belly button, her nipples, the darkening line that extends from her belly button to under her pants, a sign of her growing stomach.

She shakes her head and runs her hand through my hair, "It's okay, Adri." I ignore her, because I know she knows it's not okay. "It's just —" This makes me pull back. "I haven't felt well in a while —" My brows furrow and she rushes the rest of her words out, "It's nothing to do with you. I'm pretty sure it's just stress and I'm overreacting and blowing things out of proportion, but I thought you should know."

"Hey," I line my face up with hers so I can meet her eyes, "Don't invalidate how you've been feeling. You're not overreacting — we'll get a doctor to check you out. How long has this been going on?"

She shrugs and plays with a loose thread on my shirt, "A couple of days."

My brows practically kiss my hairline as I watch her avoid my gaze, "A couple of days? Why didn't you tell me?"

She rolls her eyes, "You were busy. I didn't wanna be a nuisance."

"You are the love of my life, the mother of my child, my best friend. You are many things, Adalena Washington, but you are never a nuisance." She purses her lips in acceptance and nods. I kiss her and pull away to brush a thumb against her bottom lip, "I'll call a doctor in to check on you, okay?"

She nods and grabs another pickle, brushing her tears away with her finger in the process, "Okay. Shit, now I'm crying."

slowly getting back into the groove. i even started the next chapter already 🤪

the picture in the media is supposed to be angel btw