AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You just like my cooking,” she argued.
“Well . . . that too,” Bently conceded.
“She’s taken,” Mikel growled as he walked towards them, extending a hand to his wife.
Remy stood back up, her husband possessively wrapping his arms around her.
“Come on, bro. Maybe we could share. We could be brother-husbands.” Bently smirked.
Andre shook his head. Bently never stopped. “It’s a good thing your brother knows you’re full of shit.”
“I don’t share.” Mikel smiled and kissed Remy hard on the lips, his hands wandering to her backside as he lifted her against him.
“Come on, now. This is a kids’ party—your kid. Keep it PG, man. No matter how long you two are together, she’s still my sister.”
Mikel turned to face him as his grin widened. “If I had listened to you the first time you told me that, we wouldn’t have the birthday girl herself.”
Bently erupted in laughter as Andre shook his head, trying to hide his smile. Seeing his best friend and his sister so happy brought the familiar pang of pain, knowing he’d never have that. He could never trust another woman like that again, and a union without trust was no relationship at all.
The cake was cut and the birthday girl opened all her gifts. Where was Mia? Guilt weighed heavily on his shoulders. He’d kept her away from this, and she was all alone. Maybe it was for the best if they stayed apart from each other. They were like fire and gasoline, and the only thing that could come from that combination were ashes of destruction.
Lyra ran up to him with the Katherine Johnson Barbie doll he’d gotten her. “Uncle Andre! Thank you so much for my present. I love it!” she squealed, holding the doll close to her chest with a yoga mat decorated with the solar system in the other hand.
“Did I get the right one?” he asked.
“Yes. Did you know Katherine was the woman who used math to help the astronauts get home safely from their trip to the moon? She was like a human computer she was so good at math. Mommy says if I want to be an astronaut, then I have to learn a lot of math too.” Her words came in rapid succession.
“Well, I guess you better get to it, then, huh?” He tugged on one of her long braids. “Who gave you the yoga mat?” Andre asked, searching the small crowd once more.
“Mia!” Lyra yelled as she ran back to her grandparents.
Mia is here? Where?
“She came this morning before the party started to drop off the gift,” Remy said from behind him.
Andre turned to face her. Phoenix nursed from the carrier tied around his sister.
“Oh.” He nodded.
“Look at you trying to pretend your eyes haven’t wandered to my back door every five minutes since you got here.” She laughed.
“I have not.” Had he?
“What is stopping you? Mia and I have hung out a few times, and I think she’s a genuinely good person. She’s been through a lot. She lost both her parents.” Remy continued, but Andre got caught on that one detail. She’d lost her parents? He’d called her a spoiled princess that day, making some stupid comment about her mother and father spoiling her before she’d run off on the verge of tears. What a fucking idiot!
“You were right. I was mean to her. I apologized already. But, Remy, I’m not looking for a relationship.” Ever.
“Say that first part again, please?”
He rolled his eyes. “You were right.”
She smiled. “Wow, Andre Stone. I never thought I would hear those words from you.”
“Don’t get used to it.”
“You know you could have saved a lot of heartache if you’d listened to me and Bently about Tiffany. We told you the woman wasn’t good for you,” she said.
It was like he’d been addicted to Tiffany—the highs, the lows—a ride he couldn’t get off. They’d burned hot and then it just fizzled. But he’d stayed with her out of obligation and because of the chemistry when things did happen to go right.
