Page 39 of Search My Soul (Taylor Family Saga #3)

The house was filled with all sizes of pink decorations.

Romi was a girly girl through and through, and she loved everything with sparkles, glitter, and bows.

I was greeted by a balloon arch in the foyer, followed by the sound of music and laughter.

The smell from the kitchen caused my stomach to rumble, reminding me that I hadn’t eaten today.

If my Nana didn’t pass on anything else, she taught all of my sisters how to cook.

Well, everyone except Lovely, who could barely boil water.

It was the reason I spent so much time at Patience’s house.

I was able to get a plate without the lectures that I usually got from Nana.

“You made it.” Patience smiled brightly as I entered the kitchen. I smirked when I saw the spread covering the countertop. My sister swore she wasn’t gonna overdo it this year, but I knew her better than that. Patience loved birthdays, and she especially loved going all out for her daughter.

“I thought you said this was gonna be a simple birthday. Ain’t shit simple about any of this,” I teased, kissing her on the top of her head.

“You already knew that I was lying from the beginning, so I don’t even know why we are having this conversation.” She giggled, turning her attention back to the food.

“Damn, it smells good as fuck in here. Do you need me to help you take some of this food out?”

“Actually, yes, you came right on time. The tables are already set for the food so all you have to do is set the pans on the burners outside. I’ll start the fire in a minute.”

“What’s good, family?” Duke shouted as he walked into the kitchen. I wasn’t expecting him to be here, but I guess it made sense. Duke was something like a brother, in which case he was a brother to my siblings as well.

“What up, bro? I didn’t know you were coming.

” The two of us slapped hands before he made his way over to Patience.

She seemed to have some sort of attitude with him, but she allowed him to hug her anyway.

I side-eyed their interaction before focusing my attention on the tray of deviled eggs in front of me.

With her attention focused on Duke, I was able to sneak one.

It tasted so good that I grabbed another one without a second thought.

“Of course, I’m here. Romi is my favorite girl.

She video chatted me bright and early this morning to make sure that I was coming with a nice big gift for her.

” The two of us both laughed because that was Romi down to a T.

We spoiled her so much that she didn’t have any shame asking for anything she wanted.

“She called me too. I couldn’t answer her FaceTime this morning because I was busy, but she made sure to call me back to let me know that she expected me and my gift to be in attendance.”

“Speaking of being busy, you seem to be preoccupied lately. I called you this morning too, and you didn’t answer, but I don’t recall us having any business this morning.” I hadn’t expected Duke to call me out like that.

“Damn, what are you my bitch or something? Do I need to check in with you every day?” I replied. Truthfully, I had been so caught up with Neeya lately that I haven’t been available to anybody the way I normally was, unless it was business. I always made sure to prioritize my money.

“You’re full of shit. You and I have each other’s location. I know for a fact that your ass was at home all morning, so what were you busy doing that you couldn’t answer your phone?”

“Yeah, I’d like to know the answer to that as well. You were supposed to come over to my house for dinner the other night, and you never showed up. That’s not like you,” Patience added with her arms folded across her chest.

“I was busy. That’s all y’all need to know.

The last time I checked, I was grown.” Picking up a tray of food, I headed outside.

I needed an excuse to get away from them before they started pressing me.

I didn’t have a problem with my family knowing about my personal life, but this was the first time that I actually had a personal life to share.

If I’m being honest, I wanted to keep her all to myself. My family knew some of the darkest parts of me, and internally, I wondered if she would still have a soft spot for me if she knew who I really was.

Just thinking about it made me feel soft, hell.

From the moment I saw her at the club, things shifted for me.

I couldn’t seem to get her off my mind, and now that we had been spending so much time together, those feelings only intensified.

I craved to be in her face, and whenever she was gone from me, I missed her presence.

None of it made sense to me because I’ve never felt this type of connection with anyone before.

I’ve always been a fuck ’em and leave ’em on kind of dude, but things were different with her.

One minute I was saying fuck a relationship and fuck love, then the next thing I know, I’m ready to hide in the bushes to make sure she wasn’t fucking with nobody else.

“Uncle Soulie!” Romi squealed as she barreled in my direction. After setting the food down, I turned and opened my arms to her. She giggled as I held her up in the air while spinning her around.

“Happy birthday, Romi girl!” I kissed her on her cheek as she hugged my neck. She was a copy and pasted version of her mother, and it made me smile seeing the younger version of Patience.

“Did you bring my gift? Did you bring my gift?” she asked repeatedly, wasting no time.

“Is that all you care about? I thought you wanted to see me.” I pretended to be offended, but she gave me the side-eye. I guess my acting wasn’t as strong as I thought it was.

“I love you and I always want to see you, but it’s my birthday.” She made a good argument. I couldn’t deny it.

“Yes, I brought your gifts. I’m gonna put some on the table as soon as I get done helping your mom with the food.

Are you having a good time?” I asked, taking a moment to look around.

The entire backyard was decorated for a princess.

There were two large bouncy houses along with a waterslide.

The tables were all decorated with pink tablecloths and decorations with her picture in the center.

Giant pictures of her were placed on these stands around the tables as well.

The gift table was already full, and the party had just begun.

“Yes, I’m having a great time. My friends said that this is the best birthday party they’ve ever been to.

” She smiled, showing off the two missing teeth in her mouth.

Romi wore a pink dress with leggings underneath.

Her hair was decorated in long braids with hints of pink throughout them.

A few braids were in a ponytail with a giant pink bow on top.

My heart melted just looking at her. She carried a lot of features that reminded me of my mother and that made her even more special to me.

I already knew my mom would be spoiling her if she was here, letting her get away with murder the same way that we do.

“All right, well I’ll come hang out with you a little bit later, okay?”

“Okay! I’ll be at the bouncy houses. Make sure you take your shoes off! Love you!” She blew me a kiss, then scurried off to be with her friends. Once I entered the kitchen, I noticed the tension between Duke and Patience. They changed their demeanor once I walked in the room.

“Y’all are harping on me, but it seems like I’m not the only person who has secrets around here,” I noted.

I’ve always felt there was something off about the relationship between Duke and Patience, but I never dwelled on it too long.

Duke and I were notorious for running through these hoes back in the day, and he held the same stance I used to as far as relationships.

He’d been in a few over the years, but they never lasted.

Whenever we would ask him about it, he would just give us a short response about how it didn’t work out.

She had ugly feet or too many kids. We would always laugh it off and go about our business.

Duke and I were basically brothers, but we stayed out of each other’s personal lives.

Unless it was a domestic situation, I tried my best not to involve myself.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.

Duke and I were talking about the gift he bought for Romi.

I don’t think it’s appropriate for a six-year-old to have a diamond tennis bracelet.

She can barely keep up with her lip gloss and her toys from day to day.

Then he bought her this big ass Barbie jeep and a matching Lambo like his.

” Patience rolled her eyes in annoyance.

“What’s wrong with that? I think that’s a great idea.

It’s not like you don’t have a space for them.

As for the bracelet, it’ll match perfectly with the diamond teardrop necklace I bought her.

Romi isn’t your average little girl, Patience.

She has a bunch of rich ass uncles in her life.

We aren’t buying any cheap jewelry or fake toys over here.

” I shrugged, grabbing another tray of food.

Duke followed suit and grabbed one as well.

“She’s still a little girl though. What happens if she breaks or loses those expensive pieces?” she argued.

“Then we buy her new ones,” Duke answered, taking the words right out of my mouth.

Instead of replying, Patience groaned and focused her attention back on her food.

After a dozen trips to the kitchen, we finally had all the food set up.

Since Patience was busy, I went ahead and lit the burners for her.

“Now that we aren’t around your sister, are you gonna tell me what’s been going on? I normally stay out of your way, but it’s not like you to go missing like this.” Duke stood in front of me with his hands and his pockets.