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“Fajitas,” I said with a shrug as the sound of sizzling pans filled the air along with the scent of onions and peppers mixed with steak, chicken, and, for some people, shrimp. For the few vegans in the room, we had tofu and black bean options. Everyone was already digging in.
“This is the best rehearsal dinner I’ve ever been to,” Howler informed me, already creating his first fajita.
Everyone seemed to agree with him, because they were making pleased sounds over the food choices. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Meredith poke at a fried pickle that was still on her plate, ignoring the main course completely. Apparently this wasn’t to her liking. The fancy-dress, five-course meal, regal reception would happen after our wedding the next day. For this, I’d wanted everything low-key to put our guests at ease—especially me.
The fajitas were a nod to the first meal I’d shared with Barrick—and Braxton, by default. We’d gotten takeout from the best Mexican restaurant in Northern Virginia. I’d had tacos, but the guys had both gotten fajitas. When Momma had asked me what I wanted served at this dinner, I hadn’t hesitated when I’d seen that fajitas were an option.
That night, after that first forehead kiss, I’d known I was falling. For the first time since my second knee injury, I hadn’t been frightened someone wouldn’t be there to catch me.
For the next few minutes, I was too busy stuffing my face to care about everyone else. Maybe Barrick was right, and I’d had such bad morning sickness because the baby hadn’t liked the discord between Dad and me. Now that the ache in my chest was nearly nonexistent, my appetite had returned with a vengeance, and I couldn’t get enough to eat.
Someone called for quiet, and all eyes turned toward my dad as he and Momma stood. I snuggled into Barrick, already knowing what was coming. I felt Barrick kiss the top of my head, and everything felt perfect.
“Emmie and I want to thank everyone for joining us tonight,” Dad began, glancing around at all the members of our crazy family. “Each of you has been there with us for every major step in Mia’s life, and we appreciate you being here for her magical day.”
He cleared his throat as it grew rough with emotion, and I shot him an encouraging smile when he glanced my way. “My little girl isn’t a baby any longer. Tomorrow, she will take another man’s last name. As she was growing up, I always feared this day. I worried that the man she chose wouldn’t be strong enough, worthy enough, for her. But then I met Barrick, and I knew that he was different. He loves Mia, maybe as much as I love my own wife. And I know that when Mia is with him, I don’t have to worry. She’s safe with him—not just her heart, but in every way.”
Dad lifted his glass of iced tea in our direction. “Thank you, Barrick. For being the man Mia loves, but also for saving my sanity along the way.”
“No thanks necessary, sir,” Barrick called over to him.
“I disagree, but we won’t argue over it here.” Dad took a drink from his glass. “Tomorrow is one of the biggest days of Mia’s and Barrick’s lives. Emmie and I might not be quite ready to let her go, but we’ve found we aren’t losing a daughter. We’ve added another son to our family…” He looked down at Momma, who gave him a warm smile, her green eyes glittering with tears. “And in July, we will be expanding our family even more as we welcome our first grandbaby!”
The response to his announcement nearly deafened me as everyone roared with excitement and congratulations. I’d already consulted Barrick while we were eating the appetizers, and I’d texted my dad that Beast was fine with him announcing our pregnancy. If anything, Barrick thought it was perfect because we’d waited so long to tell Dad, and he felt bad for keeping the secret. Giving Dad the glory of telling our loved ones—at least the ones who hadn’t already guessed—that we were going to be parents put a smile on my groom’s face as he sat back and cradled my head to his chest.
“She’s what?” I heard Meredith shriek, quieting the room effortlessly.
“Pregnant,” Momma repeated with measured patience. “Mia is due in July.”
Barrick’s mother looked over at us with an expression on her face that suggested we’d betrayed her. “And when were you going to tell me, Charlie?”
“You found out along with everyone else, Mother,” he told her with a shrug. “Mia wanted to wait until after her first trimester passed before making the announcement.”
“Mia wanted,” she sneered, and the entire room seemed to tense.
The snide way she looked at me wasn’t something I was unused to from her. Meredith had made it plain from the day we met that she wasn’t thrilled I was with her son. In her eyes, I wasn’t good enough. Although my parents were richer, held more esteem and power throughout the music and business worlds, it wasn’t the right kind of money and power. Both my parents had come from nothing, living in a trailer park in a small Ohio town until Dad’s band got noticed. Later, Momma had become the band’s manager, and she’d only made their popularity skyrocket.
Emmie Armstrong had the Midas touch. Any band she took on as a client always got a huge contract with the best record labels. If she decided she wanted to venture into other aspects of the music business, it didn’t take long before she was doubling her investment. Considering the childhood she’d had, it had to be Karma making up for what her own mother had put her through for so many years.
“It’s all about what Mia wants, right?” Meredith went on, making the room thick with tension and anticipation. I went stiff in Barrick’s arms, readying my body for whatever verbal blow my soon-to-be mother-in-law directed at me—but also waiting to see what my mom would do to the other woman. “This pathetic excuse for a rehearsal dinner. Where you live. When you get married, have kids, or even tell the important people in your life that you’re expecting. It all comes down to Mia, what Mia wants. What about me? Don’t my feelings on any of this matter?”
“No,” Barrick told her point-blank, his voice hard and full of warning for her to shut her mouth. “This isn’t about you. You should have learned that by now, Mother. Your feelings regarding my life with my wife mean nothing to me. Unless you’re happy for us, try to keep your mouth shut and stop playing the part of the toxic mother-in-law. It’s unflattering on you.”
She made a high-pitched sound that I was surprised didn’t break glass.
“Consider it like the color puce,” Barrick continued as if she hadn’t just nearly burst everyone’s eardrums. “As you’ve commented so many times, it doesn’t look good with your skin tone. Your unwanted criticism is just as ugly on you as puce, Mother.”
Lyla lifted her water glass in agreement. “Hear hear, cousin,” she said, toasting him. “Aunt Meredith, you should either keep your mouth shut or leave before someone shuts it for you.”
“I’ll second that.” Momma agreed in a voice that made many of the people in the room shiver. “This is a special occasion. Don’t ruin it for our children.”
“Ruin it?” She shrieked. “It’s already ruined. He shouldn’t even be marrying that piece of trash—”
The verbal blow struck me, but I tried not to flinch. Meredith wasn’t lucky enough to hide her reaction to the physical blow she took when Momma grabbed her by the back of the hair and rammed her head into the tabletop. Seller jumped to his feet, but around the room, my grandfather, dad, brother, and all of my uncles, along with my male cousins, were doing the same. More than half the men in the room were on their feet, ready to rip Seller apart if he so much as lifted a finger in my mom’s direction.
As if out of thin air, Rodger, and Marcus both appeared. They used to work for Seller, but now they had a contract exclusively with Mom. They were her bodyguards, my father’s safety net to keep his sanity when she went to work or had to travel without him. They were family, and they respected Momma. Their job might be to protect her, but they would have done so even if they weren’t paid to do it.
While the many rock legends and their offspring had a stare-off with the security expert, Momma was busy holding Meredith in place. “I suggest you apologize to the children,” Momma said through gritted teeth. “And if Barrick still decides he wants you to be at his wedding tomorrow, I suggest you keep your mouth shut the entire time.”
