As we enter promo season for My Only (silent scream!), it’s the perfect time to lay out everything there is to know about Greene Gardens, since it’s a subplot in My Only. This fictional village, first mentioned in Greed—book 3 in the Love is Cure, Vol. 1 – Vices & Virtues series—will be a setting you’ll see more of in future stories.
When Greene Gardens was first introduced in Greed, it was in the epilogue. The plot of Greed centered on the MMC, Bryant, trying to scheme his way into his grandmother’s trust so she would give him the rights to her property. This particular piece of land was important because developers looking to gentrify the town saw it as the cornerstone for their plans.
In the opening scene of Greed, chapter one, we sit in on a conversation between Bryant and his grandmother. In that convo, he lies and says he has a girlfriend—just to appeal to her love of playing matchmaker. And like most grandmothers would, she asks to meet this girlfriend.
The problem? Bryant doesn’t have a damn girlfriend!
The man works a lot. He’s greedy. A multi-billionaire, but that’s not enough. He wants more—like greedy people usually do. So he works non-stop and has no time to date… not that he wants to. He believes you’re either chasing love or money, and he chose money.
Without giving too much away, after that call with his grandmother, he goes for a drive. And that’s when he meets Zoe—a woman from Brooklyn who just found out her longtime boyfriend is cheating on her. In her apartment. With another woman who has just sent Zoe a video of herself giving said boyfriend oral… in Zoe’s apartment… right at that moment.
Zoe loses it, slams on the gas in a rage, and crashes right into Bryant. In Times Square.
That accident kicks off a series of events that lead Bryant to have a change of heart. He starts thinking about how to spend his money selflessly, and Zoe suggests he invest in land and build a village of his own.
That village is Greene Gardens.
What I wanted to do with Greene Gardens was take you along on the journey of building something from the ground up. Growth is a huge thing for me. I love watching something start as one thing and become something else—something better—over time. I don’t know, I feel like there’s an unbreakable connection formed when you’re able to witness the origin of something.
So, you’re going to witness the origin of Greene Gardens.
The first mention of Greene Gardens after Greed was in Second Serving, my Thanksgiving short story. The FMC, Alexis Hamilton, mentions she’s just purchased a home in the village and is living there with only a handful of neighbors.
The second mention happens in Raising Love, a friends-to-lovers story that’s available now in a promo with 44 other Black romance stories. In Raising Love, the FMC, Ivy Pressman, and the MMC, Leo Vanguard, move into a house their friends purchased to raise their baby—a plan that doesn’t go quite as planned. You’ll have to read it to find out why.
In the story, the house is one of the first homes built in Greene Gardens. The couple lives there surrounded by the still-new and mostly empty village. As the MMC describes it, “Sometimes it felt like I was driving through a movie lot after hours—that’s how quiet and empty it was.” Raising Love gives us the first look at life in a place still under construction.
And My Only is where we see the actual design and construction unfold.
But before we get into My Only, we’ve got to revisit My First, My Last…
In My First, My Last, we learn early on that the MMC, Hassani Franklin, is on the path to becoming an architect. He’d gone to architecture camp and created blueprints for future homes for his parents—and one for his future wife. He even showed Ayla Samuels (the FMC) the blueprint, and she suggested adding skylights in every room so his wife could stargaze at night.
According to Ayla, “Girls like that kind of stuff. I know I do.” What she didn’t realize is that she was placing an order with the most high. Because in My Only, Hassani and Ayla are married and living in that very house. And his involvement in the Greene Gardens project is what turns their home into something even deeper.
My Only captures the making of Greene Gardens.
When I said I wanted to bring you on the journey of this village’s development, I meant every word. And it is a journey—one shared with a couple you’ve already fallen in love with… and will fall even harder for.
Hassani is the principal architect on the project, and we get a real look at what it takes to build a village worth calling home. The symbolism is strong in this one. Told in parts, much like My First, My Last, My Only walks you through the process of building—just like what’s happening in Greene Gardens. The village’s growth runs parallel to Ayla and Hassani’s journey as they explore what happily ever after really looks like.
I truly can’t wait for you to step into this new village. And you’ll be able to say you were there from the very beginning.
This is gonna be so beautiful.
My Only drops June 26th, so if you want to read the stories that came before—especially My First, My Last—now’s the time. My Only is available for pre-order now, and My First, My Last is available along with the other stories mentioned above.
Are you ready to catch up with Ayla and Hassani?