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“He wasn’t an alcoholic… I just don’t like it.” When I pulled back, Anthony’s expression was torn between relief and spiteful disgust, but I didn’t dwell on it as I climbed out of the car. Shutting the door behind me, I rolled my neck and shoulders, flexing my fingers wide and curling tightly to get rid of the dark vibes that tainted my very smell. Ducking into the passenger seat, my body warmed at the intense stare he gave me, and I cracked a smile when Antonya’s wandering eyes met mine. “Hi, baby girl. Ready to p-l-a-y?”
“She’s just going to sleep through the afternoon, babe. I’m honestly surprised she’s even up. You fed her right before we left.” Anthony made an honestly impressive attempt to be cheerful and upbeat, and I flashed him a grateful smile as I unbuckled Antonya’s seat belt. “Then again, she did eat immediately—not like usual.”
“She’s two and a half months old, Anthony… you heard the doctor the other day—she’s going to start being more active.” He only rolled his eyes at me before shuffling out of the driver’s seat, and I turned my attention to our daughter to carefully extract her from her car seat. “There she is! ?Who is such a good girl??”
“I’m going to have to get a proper lock for the guest bedroom, then, huh?” Choking lightly at the jibe, I sucked in a sharp breath as Anthony rounded the front of the car. His hands wrapped securely around my waist, and my smile strained at the knowledge that he had no problem grabbing my ass in public. “Relax. I’m your dirty little secret, remember?”
“This isn’t 2005, you know.” Holding Antonya to my chest, I carefully backed out of the back seat, and my ass-cheek twitched when Anthony’s jeans brushed against the skirt of my dress. “I don’t care, everyone pretty much knows about it anyway.”
“Knows about what?” Tracy’s curious tone drew my gaze, and I watched her saunter down the walkway with a big smile stretching her lips and hands outstretched eagerly. “Everyone knows this little cutie is gonna have such a good time with Auntie T? Right!”
“What happened to the second babysitter?” Frowning under furrowed brows, I watched Tracy shrug carelessly, and she scooped up my daughter so I could shut the door firmly. “She canceled? I thought you organized it weeks ago?”
“I did, but her dog ate two remotes and, like, six empty water bottles, so she needed to take it to get emergency surgery. It’s not a big deal. Everyone was worried about the logistics of today, so this just makes things easier.” My eyebrows shot up at that, and Tracy shot me a wry smirk as she held Antonya firmly against her chest. “I didn’t ask, honestly, I almost think she’s lying. Anyway, you go on and enjoy. I got this. Everyone else is already here.”
“Uh, okay.” Taking Anthony’s hand, I followed Tracy back towards Marissa’s house, and he laced our fingers together. The smell of the grill permeated the entire area for at least a block, and I knew that at least three dozen people had shown up for this party. The sun hid behind huge, fluffy, white clouds, and there was no breeze to cool the 90 degree temperature.
Thankfully, Marissa had a sizeable pool in her backyard, and I’d worn a bathing suit underneath my dress.
“So… is no one worried that your mom will show up?” Posing his question just as we made it to the front door, Anthony cast me a sidelong glance even while I shook my head instantly.
“No, she won’t. She shows up for the big things, but aside from that, will rarely do more than call. That’s how she hasn’t found out about Antonya yet—she doesn’t care unless it feeds her twisted sense of motherly pride.”
“But she does care… just… in an old-fashioned way, and she can be really mean when her way is challenged.” Tracy spoke over her shoulder, and I huffed in agreement as we crossed the threshold and into Marissa’s space. My eldest, youngest sister’s home was typical suburbia perfection, and we wandered to the staircase at the opposite end of the living room before Tracy stopped at the bottom step. “By the way, did you guys ever find out who that guy was from your work?”
“Oh, yeah. My father hired him. I gave him a call and made it very clear that if he came anywhere me or Hailey or any of you that I’d put his ass in jail.” Just thinking of that day that seemed longer than just two and a half weeks ago seized the muscles in my abdomen. Squeezing Anthony’s hand, I ground my teeth absently as my gaze dropped to Antonya. My memory of the incident didn’t come with any threatening vibes, but it still made me nervous to think someone had been watching me and I never knew.
“Yeah… well, hopefully he listens to you. You know what they say—the goal of being a parent is to make sure your kids are better than you were.” Leaving us with that short, parting sermon, Tracy made her way up the stairs with soft babbles and smooching noises trailing behind her. Inhaling a deep breath, I closed my eyes to force away the feelings that had bubbled up since the car ride, and Anthony wrapped his arm around m
y waist to pull me to his side.
“Why didn’t you tell your sisters before now? You know they worry about you, Hailey.” Exhaling slowly through flared nostrils, I looked back on these past two weeks as the sounds of muffled, rambunctious conversation floated in my ears. Anthony was patient with me, but I really didn’t have an answer for him.
“It just never came up again, I guess. We had a bet going that Marissa would get pregnant again, and that took up a lot of time.” Grunting absently, Anthony didn’t press the issue, and I opened my eyes and threw back my shoulders with a slight nod. “Right, let’s go. I really hope this doesn’t get crazy.”
Chapter 24
Anthony
What I suspected the real reason was that Hailey didn’t want me at this party became apparent as soon as we stepped into the backyard. Someone had recognized me instantly, and I had to force a smile for the first time in a long ass time. Business talk droned in one ear only to get pushed like sewage out the other, and I was one more ‘Mr. Richards’ from jumping in the pool.
Hailey and I hadn’t even been here ten minutes, and some guy I didn’t fucking know was laughing buddy-buddy like in my face.
“Why are you laughing?” Next to me, Hailey’s dull, monotone question caught the guy off guard, and he clamped his mouth shut to stare at her with wide eyes. For the first time, I noticed that he wasn’t in shape, but he wasn’t overweight; he was also younger than me, and there was a star-struck twinkle in his light brown orbs. “That joke wasn’t funny, Dex. It’s not even applicable to the situation—you just took a different joke and added context that made it confusing and tacky.”
“Well, pardon me for not being original, H.” That familiar sensation that I was being lied to weaved between my spinal vertebra, and I pursed my lips tightly together. Dex glanced nervously at me, but he must’ve realized—finally—that I wasn’t interested, and he wasn’t interesting. “Anyway, I’m going to go get another soda. It was great talking to you, Mr. Richards.”
Dex stuck out his hand for a shake, but I only stared at him through narrowed eyes. The sweat beading his forehead became thicker, a droplet slipping down the side of his face, and his friendly smile faltered noticeably. Awkwardness stiffened his strides as he walked away, and I waited until he was out of earshot to speak up.
“Is he always such a… an idiot?” I barely registered anything Dex had said; it wasn’t anything that hadn’t been spewed at me before by countless other people just like him. Against my bicep, Hailey nodded firmly at my question, and I reached up with my free hand to swipe my jaw roughly. “The things I do for you, babe—”
“Hey, now! I’m not the one with pedigree here, Anthony.” Chuckling at her high-pitched protest, I shook my head slightly before scanning the vast backyard. Aside from the adequately sized pool that took up a took up a chunk of the back corner, there was a shaded seating area that stretched down to the back porch. The rest of the yard was coated in thick, healthy grass, and there were a few games set up. Most every face was unrecognizable to me, but I didn’t worry about that so much. Catching sight of the impressive, expensive grill-slash-bar-slash-island opposite the sliding glass doors to the house, my mouth watered as the smell of cooking meats intensified.
“Are you annoyed?” The question caught me off guard, and my gaze flew to Hailey as she stared at me with unbridled uncertainty. “I made you come because Marissa invited you, but I knew it might not be the most comfortable situation to be in…”
“I’m not annoyed, babe… I just forgot what it was like for that to happen. Honestly, I’m glad no one else has tried to rush me.” Dropping a kiss on her crown, I squeezed her to my side, and she sighed heavily. Gazing out across the yard, a light sensation filled my chest at the utter lack of attention I was getting. As haughty as it sounded, I was used to being fawned over; everywhere I went, someone wanted something for some reason.
But a harsh clatter from the fence’s side gate facing the road sent a cold prickle down my spine, and Hailey stiffened under my arm. Everyone seemed to freeze around us, and I twisted to catch sight of a familiar, beet-red, wrinkled face that I had hoped never to see again.
