Page 18

“Yeah, girl. Are you good? Do you need anything?” My heart pounded like I was about to get caught sneaking a boy out of my room, and I was sure that shit showed on my face, but Cruz gave zero fucks.

The nigga didn’t even give me a chance to get rid of her before he gently pushed me aside and opened the door.

Avery was mid-sentence when her eyes landed on him, widening in shock before sliding over to my ass.

Even Maasai was caught off guard, but he played it off much better than his wife, who was still looking at me questioningly.

“Sup y’all?” Cruz spoke coolly, stopping long enough to dap up Maasai.

“What’s good, bro?”

“Not shit, but I’ma meet y’all at the boat. I gotta hit my villa quick before we head out.” He kept it short, swaggering off onto the lit-up path with three pairs of eyes looking at him. Like clockwork, Avery and Maasai’s heads swung right back to me, but I was too stunned to speak.

“Cruz?” Avery finally shrieked, face lit up with shocked excitement for no damn reason. “Now you know you gotta spill,” she insisted as I massaged my forehead.

“Baby, you gone have to gossip later, we need to be heading to the dock.” I breathed a sigh of relief when Maasai stopped her from dragging me inside to talk about the bullshit that had just happened. She sucked her teeth and pouted at the interruption but didn’t argue.

“You’re lucky, heffa. You escaped tonight ’cause we’re on a time crunch, but I’m on your ass tomorrow. Shit, you better hope I don’t stop by this muthafucka when we get back,” Avery threatened.

“Yeah, ayite! Yo’ ass gone be too busy to stop over here tonight.

I don’t know what the fuck you talkin’ ’bout!

” He laughed, giving her a little squeeze that had her blushing despite giving him a stern look.

“Let Keyani be great, you already know she gone fill you in later.” He tried to say that last part lowly as he guided her away and winked at me over his shoulder.

He’d done me a favor by distracting Aves, but the thought of what Cruz would tell him had me more tense than I already was.

“Night y’all. Be safe,” I called after them, already closing the door as I spoke.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ma be over here bright and early hoe, so get some rest!

” Avery’s words reached me before the door could latch.

I leaned against it and took a deep breath, trying to ground myself after the last fifteen minutes of chaos I’d just had.

Not only was I about to need another shower, but my high was blown, and I knew my thoughts were going to be consumed with what a mad ass Cruz was about to go do.

“Mommy?” I cursed under my breath, hearing Kari’s soft voice through the darkness. Shaking off my emotions, I got in mommy mode so I could go see what she wanted. At least she’d give me a distraction from my thoughts.

The next couple of days were uncomfortable to say the least. Cruz was right back to giving me the cold shoulder, which was hard to ignore considering that he was the best man and I was the maid of honor.

We still managed to do our required duties, but he always looked like he’d rather be with anybody else every time, and whenever I tried to bring up what happened or lack thereof, he cut that shit short.

I appreciated that he was adult enough not to bring the kids into our issues though.

It was as if nothing happened when it came to them.

That gave me some relief, but I was still feeling a way about how he was acting toward me.

After I finally told Avery what happened, she got on my ass for using her phone call as an excuse to push him away.

In her opinion, I was letting past experiences close me off from men, which was only partially true.

Another big issue was that I needed to be focused on getting my life back together before I got caught up in a man.

She still didn’t know about my ass quitting the club, and I wasn’t going to tell her either, not until after her wedding, or maybe even after the baby was born.

Hopefully, I’d get lucky and find another job so I wouldn’t have to tell her at all.

“Do we get to really eat at a rehearsal dinner?” Kani asked as I finished putting on my makeup in the bathroom mirror.

It was finally the night before the wedding, and all that was left was the last run through and the rehearsal dinner.

I’d gotten a break from Cruz the day before because we’d dedicated it to the bridal party and groomsmen, practicing our separate dance numbers for the last time.

The wedding and dinner rehearsal would require us to be in close proximity once again though, and I was anxious as hell.

“Uhh, yes baby, we’re really gonna eat.” I never stopped lining my lips as I spoke to him through the mirror. He propped himself up on the vanity next to me with his hand tucked under his chin and sighed heavily.

“Good, ’cause I’m starved!” he huffed, and I had to side eye him because he’d literally been eating all day.

Since the kids’ random growth spurt, they’d both been eating more, and all the activities we’d been doing on the island only made it worse.

Before I could remind him of the sandwich he’d just had, he asked, “Is Cruz gonna be there?”

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at the mention of that nigga since Kani was watching me.

Cruz might’ve been one of my least favorite people at the moment, but the twins didn’t know that.

The way they’d grown attached to him over the last few days was already insane to me, but I wasn’t going to ruin it by making it obvious that I didn’t like his ass.

Kani was so far gone he’d been talking my damn ear off about the man’s car and shoe collection, and while I didn’t think he was the best person for my baby to admire, he wasn’t the worst either. Forcing on a smile, I nodded.

“Yep, everybody who’s going to be in the wedding will be there.”

“Cool!” he shouted happily and ran off. A few seconds later, I could hear Kari squealing and knew he’d told her the “good” news.

With him gone, I let my true feelings show and made a face at their elation.

At least they were happy about seeing his ass.

Putting my pettiness aside, I finished my makeup and checked myself out in the large mirror.

The mint green, chiffon romper was a perfect fit and showed off my fresh tan.

I’d accessorized with stacked gold bracelets, chunky hoops, and a pair of gold sandals that showed off my white polished toes.

Since it was backless, I wore my braids up in a bun, and I had to admit I felt just as good as I looked.

After finishing up, I did a quick check of the kids to make sure they hadn’t ruined their clothes already.

Thankfully, they remained clean and unwrinkled, but I knew that wasn’t going to last long.

We headed out to the beach at the same time as everyone else, where Athena had set up an arch, aisle, and chairs so we could do the run through and know our marks.

“I just know this ain’t all she got done so far with as much as my sister paying.” Gabby already had her nose turned up as she arrived with AJ’s wife, but before I could say something to her messy ass, Maagic spoke up.

“Girl, clearly she told us yesterday that this is just for us to do the rehearsal. They’re preparing the blowhole deck now, but Athena and my brother want to surprise Avery with the finished product.”

“Shit, my bad, I didn’t hear that part,” she snickered jokingly and took a seat.

I pressed my lips together so I wouldn’t call her out on why she hadn’t heard it, and as if he knew I was thinking about him, Cruz came swaggering down the aisle in an all-white ensemble.

He was with Aw’sum and Maasai, looking completely unbothered like he’d been for the last couple of days, until his gaze landed on me and turned steely.

My treacherous coochie still clenched at the sight of him, but my face matched his energy, and I wasted no time ignoring him until it was time for us to assemble and walk down the aisle together.

Even then, our interaction was stiff and not at all like we’d just been dry humping on my balcony.

I was going to be so happy when we finally left the island and went back home where I’d rarely see his stupid, handsome face.