“It’s about time you showed up. I wasn’t a hundred percent sure you’d make it,” Tori admonished as I greeted her with a hug.
“Hello to you too. I ran into traffic on the way over,” I lied.
“Un-huh.” Her honey eyes skimmed me from head to toe. “Lying ass,” she snarked.
I rolled my eyes playfully. I liked Tori. She and Jason had been married for the last three years and had a set of two-year-old twins, Amalia and Jason Jr.
“Don’t start with me, Tori. Where's my niece and nephew?”
“In the living room with their daddy and grandfather. Marjorie’s in the kitchen supervising the catering staff. Food should be ready soon. You missed hors d’oeuvres.”
“Oh, damn.” I snapped my fingers, sarcastic.
Tori shut the door and we headed toward the living room, which was off to the side, a few feet past the foyer.
“Auntie Nel!” Amalia shrieked as soon as she saw me.
I snatched her up as soon as she was within arm’s reach and planted a big kiss on her chubby cheek. Amalia was a few shades darker than her mother, closer to my skin tone, and looked more like her father, which meant she looked a lot like me. Often when I was out with her and Tori, I was mistaken for her mother.
“Hello, my little angel. I missed you.” She giggled and clapped as I nuzzled her little neck, inhaling her sweet scent.
“Down! Down!” she yelled, pointing toward the floor.
I placed her back on the floor, expecting her to go back to whatever she’d been doing, but instead, she grabbed my hand. “Come! J. J. see you.” She pointed to her brother, who was playing with toy cars on the rug.
“Hey, sis!” Jason greeted, standing, towering over me with his six-foot build. “You’re late.”
“So your wife already informed me,” I stated, looking around the room. We were the only ones in there.
“Pops and Marjorie went to check on dinner. It’ll be ready soon.”
“Cool.” I shrugged.
“How’s work?” I questioned Jason, as I had nothing else really to discuss.
“Busy, you know how it is. Or youwouldknow if you’d quit bullshitting and come to work for the firm that bears your namesake,” he scoffed.
I rolled my eyes over to my sister-in-law, who’d gotten down on the floor with the kids, gathering their toys together.
“Jason, leave your sister alone. You know that’s a sensitive topic,” she intervened, winking at me.
I smiled, grateful.
“Sensitive for what? I’m just saying, how the hell do you carry the name Combs, Esq. and not come to work for the very law firm that started it all? The top firm in the city, I might add.”
“Jay, give it a rest, would you? I just got here.” I was starting to get annoyed. Thankfully, before my brother could go on, we were interrupted by giggling in the hallway.
“Elliott, stop! We have guests,” a feminine voice purred. As they rounded the corner, Marjorie and my father were cheek to cheek, laughing and playful. The smile on his handsome face was effervescent and one I’d seen sometimes, but never directed at me. I swallowed down my bitterness and plastered a smile on my face just as his eyes left his wife’s and fell onto me.
“Chanel.” His voice held a questioning note in it. “You came.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Yes, Marjorie invited me.”
“Yes, yes. She informed me.”
I nearly took a step back as he made his way over to me, gripping me by the shoulders, and placed a kiss on my cheek. The move was so quick, I barely had time to realize what was happening until he was back at Marjorie’s side. My father rarely showed me any affection. I didn’t know whether to be surprised or leery. I briefly wondered if he’d heard about me taking on Michele Wyatt as a client, and he was trying to butter me up. I certainly wouldn’t put it past him. He didn’t become one of the best lawyers in the nation by playing fair.
“Hi, Chanel. I’m glad you came,” Marjorie began. “The chef has fixed a wonderful feast, so I hope you’ve brought your appetite.”
