“I’m all right. Jada, do not give her that purse.” I chuckle.
Meagan looks to Jada and then me. “You sure you’re okay? For a second, you looked like you were having a heart attack.”
I assess my emotions. The tightness in my throat is gone, and so is that rapid beating of my heart. Why do I care about a man who never valued or cherished me? A man who never looked at me like I was precious, even though I carried two of his children.Let him bring his fiancee to the party. Hopefully, he treats her better than he treated me.
“Yeah,” I admit. “I’m good.” And I was. I think the pain of seeing him with her for the first time is a natural reaction. But now that it has passed, I’m really good.
“I see the whole gang is here.”
Everyone in the room swings their heads toward the door. We all got distracted by how I felt that we weren’t paying attention to where Andrew and Kiely were. Now, they are standing in the entrance of the party room, hand in hand.
I once again take the two of them in, standing together so happily. I wait for the pain to hit me again, but this time it’s absent.
“I’m glad you guys could make it,” I say cheerfully.
“You are?” Pam mumbles beside me.
I cut my eyes to her with a warning before turning back to the couple.
“Cameron will be glad to see you.”
Andrew’s gaze narrowed at me before a slow smile spread over his face.
“Kiely picked out the perfect gift for him.” As he speaks, he brings Kiely’s hand to his lips and places a kiss on the back. The entire time he keeps his gaze on me.
Once again, I wait for the stab of pain, but it didn’t come.
“My baby has a knack for buying gifts.”
The baby in question lets out a giggle, causing Andrew to turn to her. They gaze into each other’s eyes. I swear I could roll my eyes from here to Timbuktu.
“I imagine it was easy for her,” Jada crossed her arms over her chest. “I mean, they are around the same age.”
Someone snorts, followed by a few chuckles. I fold my lips into my mouth to keep from laughing.
Andrew turned to glare at me as if I had made the comment.
“Well, Kiely, you can place the gift down on that table over there.” I point to the square table in the corner we’re using to hold all the gifts.
Kiely holds the bag out to me. “Can’t you put it over there?”
“Little girl, if you don’t—” Destiny grabs my mom’s arm, pulling her back to her side and cutting off her rant.
“Kiely, the table is right there.” I keep my voice light and sweet. I could have told her young ass to stick that gift down her throat. But I wouldn’t give her nor Andrew the satisfaction of knowing they bothered me.
“Come on now, Ella,” Andrew sneers. “Kiely doesn’t know anything about stuff like this. This is more your speed.”
Although the insult was subtle, I picked it up. His perfect Kiely didn’t have kids so she wouldn’t know anything about a birthday party.
“She doesn’t know how to put a fucking bag on a table?” Jada asks.
“Most people learned that skill in kindergarten.” Destiny’s tone is filled with condescension.
“Now ya’ll leave the girl alone,” Mama says with a stern look. “You know she’s only been out of grade school for a few years. These things are hard for her.”
Pamela burst into laughter, and soon the rest of the gang followed. I try to keep the peace and hold in my humor.
The smirk on Andrew’s face is long gone. He’s so angry now he’s damn near bright red.
