Our mother died when I was sixteen. Eventually my stepfather took his real daughter and moved to Galveston. If not for Ida Sue, I probably would have wound up in an orphanage. She took me in, took the necessary classes to become a foster parent, and never once made me feel like anything less than her own child. Heck, she even called me Buttercup when I was little because she said the dark centers of the flower reminded her of my eyes. It didn’t make sense, but I was just grateful to belong.
I would have brought Ida Sue and Jansen with me tonight, but Tommy’s ex-wife Cynthia will be there. I’m pretty sure Ida Sue would end up in jail by the end of the night if I put her in the same room as Green’s ex. I wouldn’t be able to blame her. Actually, I probably would have cheered her on because I can’t stand Cynthia. I don’t like the fact that she’ll be at this dinner, but Tommy says that as the mother of his daughter she needed to be there because she’s part of his family. We fought about it a couple of times, but in the end, I gave in mostly because I got tired of listening to him justify it. It became clear that he wasn’t going to change his mind.
With a sigh, I shake away my thoughts. I’ve put it off long enough. I walk to the door, gather my small purse, wrap, and the keys lying on the small table by the door. I take a deep breath to try and steady my nerves, then open the door.
A small gasp of surprise leaves my lips when I find White standing there looking devastatingly handsome in black casual slacks and a Kelly green pullover. His sandy-brown hair is a little on the shaggy side with small curls around the ends. Everything about this man always makes me happy. The fact that his hair looks rumpled and in need of a cut only makes him more appealing.
“White! What are you doing here?” I whisper so quietly I’m surprised he can hear me. I wasn’t ready to face him this soon.
“We need to talk, Kayla. Fuck, you look beautiful.”
His compliment takes me aback. I’m not used to him talking like that—especially about me.
“Um… okay. Is something wrong?”
“How come I’ve never seen you dress like this before?”
“Because we never go anywhere other than Hooters or the movies. Actually, we hardly ever leave our apartments together. I’d look pretty silly wearing a dress for that.”
“If I’d known you had shoes like that, I would have made sure we went somewhere just so I could see you in them,” he says, staring at my feet.
I look down at the black stilettoes I’m wearing—that even I have to admit are pretty spectacular. Still, his response is annoying.
“Can we forget about your previously unknown shoe fetish and instead concentrate on why you’re here before you make me late?”
“I’m here to take you to the family dinner.”
“I… you’re what?”
“Mom said you were having a family dinner with Tommy’s family tonight. We couldn’t let you show up without someone in your corner. Since I’m the one least likely to spear Cynthia with my steak knife during dinner, I was elected. Later on, you can explain to me why Tommy’s ex-wife is at the dinner.”
“But, you don’t want me to marry Tommy,” I tell him.
“I don’t,” he agrees. “But I care about you, Kayla. You have a family dinner and you need your people around you. You’re going to get it. All of us offered, but I didn’t figure you wanted your fiancé pissed because someone killed the mother of his child. So, you get me.”
“All of you?”
“All of us. Even Green.”
“Wow.”
“So are we ready? Where’s Tommy?”
“I’m meeting him there.”
“Shouldn’t he have picked you up? You are meeting his fucked-up family, after all.”
“It’s just a ten minute taxi ride, White. I offered to meet him there,” I tell him, leaving out the part that I really didn’t want to talk to Tommy either. I’ve been having second and third thoughts about this wedding, and they only seem to get worse after spending time with Tommy.
“Okay, then. We’ll take my car,” he says standing to the side and holding out his arm. “Come along, my lady. Your chariot awaits,” he jokes, his blue eyes sparkling with humor. This is the White I love—the White I fell in love with.
And this is the White I can’t think about—especially tonight. “You’re more than a little scary right now,” I tell him, not confessing why I find him so frightening.
Flustered, I turn and lock my door and then take White’s hand. It will be nice to have him there tonight. Tommy is a good person. Unfortunately, the rest of his family is more like Cynthia, and I’m dreading them more than I could ever say.
“Live dangerously, Buttercup,” he says, and I smile despite my nerves. With White’s help, I can make it through tonight. It’s good he’s here, even if it was a surprise.
CHAPTER 4
WHITE
“I just find it strange that my son’s fiancée is escorted to a family dinner by another man,” Tommy’s mother says for the fourth time.