“Cool,” Xavier answered. He gave me another squeeze on the hips before letting me go. He stared down at me, his eyes asking a question I wasn’t quite sure of.
“She’ll be fine. Go ahead. We’ve got girly things to discuss,” Tori broke up the moment.
Was that a concerned look he was giving me?
Reluctantly, he withdrew from me and gave Tori a nod, then headed up the driveway toward the gate that separated the front and back yards.
“Girl! You know how easily your brother could’ve been out here catching you two making out instead of me?” Tori began as soon as Xavier’s back disappeared behind the gate.
“That’s probably because your ass was out here snooping, just waiting.”
“Ouch!” she yelped when I pinched her arm.
“That’s for telling Marjorie’s ass about Xavier and me to begin with.”
Her face took on a sheepish expression, and I was glad she didn’t try to lie.
“Okay, in my defense,” she began, “Marjorie is like a spy or something. She was talking about one thing, asking about you, and it just so happened I said Jay and I saw you the other night at the club and you left with Xavier—”
“You told her I left with Xavier?” I screeched.
Her eyes ballooned, shoulders spiked up. “I’m sorry! My bad. She was talking a mile a minute, and the kids were running around, and I couldn’t focus too much on the conversation, and it just slipped out.”
I stepped back, crossing my arms over my chest, giving her the stink-eye.
“You can’t be mad at me. I’m the mother of your adorable niece and nephew. And besides, youcamewith him. It got you another date.”
“I didn’twantanother date,” I claimed through clenched teeth.
“Oh? Why?”
I rolled my eyes to the side to see another car pull up. From that angle, I could make out that it was Jamal, and it looked like he’d brought a guest with him.
“I just didn’t. Anyway, we’ll finish this talk later.”
Tori’s shoulders slumped in relief at the same time Jamal approached us.
“What up, beautiful people,” he greeted as he embraced Tori, then me with a kiss on the cheek.
“Hey, Mal.”
“This is my friend, Amber. Amber, these are my cousins, Tori and Chanel.” He spoke to the petite woman at his side. She wore a dark pleated skirt that fell well below her knees and a sleeveless ruffled white top.
“Hi.” She gave a short nod to Tori and me as her hands were full with some dish wrapped in tinfoil.
We told him everyone was out back and they turned and headed in that direction. I gave Tori a knowing look with my eyebrow quirked. She laughed.
“Girl, you know how Mal is with these women.”
“Unfortunately, I do. He reminds me of my father, or worse,hisfather with his commitment-phobic ass.” My father and Jamal’s father were brothers and had many of the same womanizing traits. For both men, it led to them eventually losing their wives. It just seemed my father fared better than Jamal’s those days.
Tori and I eventually made our way to the back where my nose was hit by the succulent smell of grilled chicken, beef and pork for tacos along with an assortment of fruit salad, pico de gallo, corn salsa, mango salsa and grilled vegetables.
“Thought you might want one of these.”
My eyes closed when the deep, rich and warm voice floated over me from behind. It almost felt like my most comfortable blanket had come to life and wrapped itself around me. Xavier held out a freshly made frozen strawberry margarita. I looked over to see a familiar face behind the bar in my father’s backyard.
“Is that…?”
