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“Or that.”
He suppressed her giggles with another kiss that had his brother shouting from across the room they needed to get a room.
Four hours later, from the moment the party started to him holding the woman he loved in his arms, the party ended. People said their good-byes and left. Along with his brother, Jezebelle, Gabby, Dane, Mia, and Jaxson, they had the room cleaned up and put back to normal. Mia and Jaxson left first. Dane and Gabby shortly after.
“I’ll go put these presents in the car. Why don’t you grab Amelie and change her before we leave.” Genevieve wrinkled her nose.
When he picked up Amelie and smelled the foul order permeating the air, he grimaced. “How about I put the presents in the car?”
He’d done his fair share of poopy diapers, but it didn’t mean he wouldn’t try to pass it off to someone else.
“Your turn, mister,” she said, laughter in her eyes, then swiped a kiss to his cheek and one to Amelie’s. “Plus, I said we should just do a cupcake. You insisted on the six-inch cake.”
All good points. The smelly diaper was worth it, remembering the wonderful fun his daughter had devouring the cake.
“Okay, fine. You win. I’ll take the diaper.”
Genevieve grabbed the bags filled with presents, smiled, and walked out of the room.
“Come on, stinky girl. Let’s take care of that diaper.”
They didn’t have changing stations in the bathrooms. It was a bar. People shouldn’t be bringing babies into a bar. But it was his bar, and if he wanted to have her party here, he would. He brought Amelie upstairs to Ricky’s place and changed her diaper like a pro, although he held his breath most of the time. Seriously foul-smelling diaper.
When he was done, he blew raspberries on her belly, laughing at her squeals and giggles that erupted. He had finished dressing her when he heard the loud boom, felt the building rattle.
He picked up Amelie, holding her close. “Shit, what was that?”
Corey raced downstairs and skidded to a halt when he saw the car sitting half inside the building, half on the sidewalk. It had rammed into the bar, knocking the top-shelf bottles onto the floor, smashing them to pieces. Not that it mattered because the whole front door was gone, the windows shattered. The bar in the front crushed.
He looked around, people standing around looking as dazed as him. No one appeared hurt. Jezebelle appeared out of nowhere.
“Here. Let me take Amelie. Brick called the police. The guy in the car is passed out. Maybe drunk. Maybe a medical issue.”
Corey nodded and passed Amelie to her. “Everyone okay?”
“No one was sitting at the bar on that end or standing near the door, thank God.” She pressed Amelie close, cheek to cheek, swaying her as if trying to calm her down. Although Amelie wasn’t upset. It was more likely to calm herself down.
He hadn’t even been downstairs when the car rammed through the building, but he’d felt the building shake, and his nerves were rattled enough from that.
Ricky was standing in the threshold of the back room, his phone to his ear. He scanned the room again, talking on his phone.
“Where’s Genevieve?”
Jezebelle froze. “She hasn’t returned from the car.”
Corey’s heart slammed in his chest. Then he rushed forward, climbing over the car and through the wreckage until he was out in the humid air, the sun shining down, mocking him. As if it were a pleasant day still.
“Oh, God, no. Genevieve!” Cory crumbled to her side, pushing the person who had been kneeling beside her on the sidewalk.
Her hair was matted with blood, her left arm was bent in an unnatural position. Her eyes were closed and he was afraid to check for a pulse. No sign of life seemed to be present.
It couldn’t be happening. Not again. Not to someone he loved more than life itself.
“Dude just came out of nowhere. The lady didn’t even see it coming. He rammed right into her. I swear she flew ten feet in the air.”
Corey looked behind him to a young kid, maybe in his twenties, shifting on his feet, his eyes wide, his hands fidgeting. The lady he had pushed away touched his shoulder. “I called 9-1-1. An ambulance is on the way.”
He barely nodded that he heard. His hand slid under hers carefully. It felt frozen to the touch. Which was so odd as it was such a hot day out and if she weren’t breathing, her body wouldn’t go cold that fast.
