She had to hold back something for herself. Otherwise, she’d allow him to get too close and just like before, she’d end up hurt.
Not this time. Not ever again.
His eyes roamed over her, searching her features to see if there was anything more to her response. She schooled her features, trying to keep him out because the alternative wasn’t something she could allow.
She stepped out of his embrace, leaning to pick up her clutch on the couch.
She looked up to still find him watching her from the same place she’d left him. This was a power struggle. They both knew it. But the difference was this was a game to him, something he was doing to get his kicks. And if she didn’t remember that, she’d wind up worse than she was when he’d decided to leave before.
She had to win this battle. There was no other choice for her.
“We wouldn’t want to keep your mother waiting. Coming?” Her tone was suggestive, and the wry lift of his mouth told her he hadn’t missed her play on words.
He grabbed his suit jacket from the back of the sofa, hanging it over his arm.
“I certainly plan to.”
***
“Ladies and gentleman if I can have your attention for a moment.”
Tomasso watched his father stand in front of the fireplace in the great room. That was always the place where all the big family announcements were made, so it didn’t surprise him to see his dad standing there with his mother beaming proudly by his side.
His parents shared something special, something that he’d always wanted for himself. Without thinking, he placed his hand on the small of Najah’s back, keeping her close to him.
He’d kept her close all night. Whether by touching her or watching her wherever she was in the room. And no, he wasn’t being creepy. At least he wasn’t trying to. He was just drawn to her energy.
“As a father, watching your kids meet their milestones in life…well, there’s just nothing like it. Standing here tonight, watching my son, Tomasso. get ready to take one of the biggest steps a man can take, it just does my heart proud.”
There were celebratory noises made throughout the room, his family cheering him, cheering them, on.
“Najah, the day my son met you he came home with wide puppy dog eyes, and he said, ‘Dad, I just met my future wife.’”
Everyone in the room laughed including Tomasso, because he remembered that conversation like it was yesterday.
“I thought it was just teenage hyperbole, but then he brought you home, and after watching the two of you together for four years, I knew my son was right.”
Najah snaked her arm around his waist, and it steadied him, made him feel planted into the ground.
“When you meet the love of your life at fourteen, the likelihood is high that you’ll have to go your separate ways so you can learn and grow. And when it came, it pained all of us. But just fifteen short years later…” The room erupted in laughter, and even Najah looked up at him, giving him a genuinely amused smile. “He brought you back home to us and we were overjoyed because you are our daughter, and this is where you belong.”
The “here heres” and whistles filled the air as Ernesto lifted his champagne glass and waited for everyone else to follow suit.
“To Tomasso and Najah. No matter what trials life brings you, may you always find your way back to one another. May your love always be your North Star.”
Fingertips tapped against glasses, signaling the crowd was waiting for the happy couple to kiss. He looked down at Najah and he saw something there, something genuine that he couldn’t quite place. She wasn’t acting, and neither was he. Could he dare allow hope to grow that maybe she was coming to trust him, if only a little.
“And since we’re talking about beginnings. We have to come full circle and talk about endings too.”
Najah’s brow furrowed, not understanding what his father could be hinting at. But Tomasso had a good idea as he saw his father’s business partners stand to his right side.
“I’d like to announce my retirement from the Triple M. And my wedding gift to my son once he’s married, is that I am naming him as my successor.”
The tightness in Tomasso’s chest lessened. His father had done it. Hell, he and Najah had done it. This plan had finally come together, and they’d managed to save his father’s legacy.
But the straight and harsh lines of Najah’s face told him the celebration was indeed over. Once she uttered the most dreaded words a man could ever hear, telling him, “We need to talk.” He was absolutely certain the party was done.
***
