I couldn’t help my grin. “Hope you’re happy, asshole,” I said in a whisper, which Nate heard.
“Stella, I know I’ve been working a lot and it’s getting in the way of us, but I promise I won’t let it go on much longer.”
“No, babe, I wasn’t referring to you. I was talking about . . . Paige. Her wedding is a circus.”
“Stella,” he warned. “She may be doing this for you someday.”
“Well, I’m sure as hell not going to let her get off easy. And I’ll make damn sure she has to make 3 a.m. trips to Wal-Mart for a week to see if they got more cheap plastic bubble wands.”
“Play nice, and then come get dirty with me,” he said. “I can still taste you.”
“Deal,” I said as I watched the mob swarm Reid. It was his worst nightmare, but oddly, he seemed comfortable enough with them as she signed my Aunt Vesta’s purse. Shameless.
“Deal, huh? That’s all I get? You okay?”
No.
“Yes,” I said out of breath as I grabbed a few boxes out of my trunk. Reid spotted me struggling from the front door and came my way, holding his hands up to my cousins to let them know he would be back.
“You need help?” he asked as he stood at my trunk.
“Babe,” I spoke to Nate in an attempt to wave Reid away, “I have to go. I have my arms full.”
“He doesn’t know about me,” Reid said with a wicked gleam in his eye.
Nate spoke as heat flashed through my face. “Okay, see you later. Wake me up,” he said with a sexy lift in his voice.
“Can you?” I asked Reid, my head locked between my cheek and shoulder.
Reid raised a brow. “Hang up on your boyfriend? Gladly,” he took the phone and pressed end, then stuck it in my purse before taking the boxes from my hand.
“You better pray he hung up first. If I have to explain that later, you’re a dead man.”
“I can give you my room number,” he whispered in my ear, making me jump, “if that will make it easier for you to find me.”
“That’s just tacky,” I said as I grabbed three lead bags full of embroidered crap. “I’m not your groupie, Crowne.”
“No,” he said softly. “You’re not.”
My mother spotted us from the entrance and rushed our way. Reid smiled as she approached in a glittery black dress suited for a Diana Ross concert. “Looks like I finally get to meet the parents.”
“Mija! I’m so happy you’re here. Finally!” She gave me a kiss on the cheek. “Your sister is driving me crazy!”
“I live in the same city, Mom. Be thankful you get to go back to Dallas.”
Reid smiled down at her, my mother a full foot shorter than him. He was noting the similarities. I had to admit the older I got, the more alike we looked. However, while I was trying to work on my subtlety, my mother was set in her ways. She scrutinized Reid. “Who are you?”
“I’m Reid,” he said with an apprehensive smile. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Emerson.” He easily handled the boxes to offer his hand, which she frowned at. “Where is Nate?” I couldn’t help my smile. My parents adored Nate and rock star status meant shit to my mother. Still, I had to scorn her. “Momma, don’t be rude, this is one of Paige’s old friends.”
“Oh,” she said, trailing her eyes down Reid’s attempt at business casual. “From where does she know you?” My mother gave him the third degree as he set the boxes down on a bell cart one of the bridesmaids wheeled out.
“We used to work together,” he answered, indulging her with the same amusement he did me when we met.
“Reid,” she said, trying to place the name. And then her eyes narrowed.
Oh, shit.
I saw her palm go up and cringed as Reid took two forehead slaps to the head. She dug right in. “You think I’m so old I forget that you took my daughter? That you have my daughters fighting for months?”
Reid stood stunned as he looked to me for help. “Family affair,” I piped as I left him there to fend for himself. “Welcome to the party, rock star.”
I walked inside the bustling club and was greeted by at least a dozen aunts, uncles, and cousins. I searched the large lobby for Neil and found him standing in the corner, watching, paralyzed with fear as his new extended family marched in like ants. I fled to him and dropped the bags at his feet before I threw my arms around him. “Hey, brother.”
He smiled when I pulled away. Neil and I had gotten close over the last few years. I could talk to him about anything. It was a strange dynamic, but it worked with us. I’d definitely gained a brother. We talked a lot, especially in the last few months when he needed advice on how to handle the family.
“You can still back out of this,” I said, nudging his shoulder.
“This is just the rehearsal,” he said as he watched the crowd thicken behind me. “My dad’s side isn’t even here,” I said with a laugh as Neil paled. “It will be fine,” I assured him with a little shake in my voice as Reid appeared with my mother’s arm wrapped around him.
Traitor.
He must have talked some major shit to get in her good graces, and by the way she stared up at him, I could tell that’s exactly what he did. His eyes found mine as I watched his lips twist up in a smirk. And the rattle was back.
Neil lit up beside me when he caught sight of him. “Damn, man, are you a sight for sore eyes!” They did the man hug, back clap thing, and I saw that as my chance to find my sister. Reid’s hand shot out as I attempted to make my escape.
He leaned in to whisper, “Now or later, it’s up to you.”
“I’m going to find Paige.”
“Later, then.”
I was dizzy and the rehearsal hadn’t even started yet.
“Stella!” My favorite cousin Tangie greeted me in the doorway of the small room where the rehearsal was being held. “God, did you see Reid Crowne? I thought I was going to die when he got out of that limo. We thought it was Uncle Georgie being all flashy, but no, a fucking rock star pops out!”
I laughed, and she gripped my hip, pulling me close while we walked. “You look hot! It’s been too long cousin. I need to get my ass here more often to see you.”
“Anytime, Tangie, I meant that. You know I don’t like these other fools.”
“I heard that,” My cousin Ramon—the oldest of all the cousins—chimed in as he joined us. “God, Stella you grew up fast.”
“Don’t let the suit fool you,” I said with a wink. Pretty soon I had a posse in pursuit of my sister and was about to send out a search party when I spotted her in a private bar in the back of the club, pointing to her empty shot glass. “Just one more,” she said with a slur.
Oh shit.
“No more,” I snapped as she held up the tequila shot and smiled at me. I took the glass from her and warmed my insides with its contents.
“Paige, we have to get going,” I said as I gripped her to me, trying to decipher her clarity through inspection, and then glared at the bartender. He looked me over with appreciative eyes. “Really?” I deadpanned. “Get real,” I snapped as Reid walked through the door.
“Oh, my God,” Paige said looking between us. “You made it!” She sprang from me into Reid’s waiting arms, and they hugged each other in greeting. Paige was leaking in a sappy puddle, a mix of tequila and jitters, but I saw it. The genuine love between the two of them, the friendship they missed on both parts. Guilt weighed me down as Reid looked over at me as Paige gushed. “It feels like it’s been longer,” she said, dabbing at her tears as if she were a silly woman. And she was, but it amazed me the gravity of the situation. It all came back to our decisions: mine to kiss him, our decision to be together, and how it had affected all of us in some way.
He stared at me with drawn brows, trying to read my thoughts as I looked on at Paige, who was truly happy to see the friend she had before her sister drove a wedge between them and rock ‘n’ roll ate up the rest of his time, and his attention.
Reid being Reid bent down to whisper to her, making her smile.
“So, are you staying for dinner?”
“Yeah,” he said as he looked over at me. “If that’s okay.”
“Of course it is!”