“Oh, yes! Have Jah and Nairi lay down the rose petals starting from the patio doors to the ceremony arch. I want Titan to start recording as soon as they reach the door, and Judith will be there to meet Shabu. You come next to grab Savvy, and boom.”
“Where will you be?”
“Off to the side, micromanaging to make sure y’all don’t mess it up.”
Relic chortled. “Sounds about right. A quick secret for a secret?” he asked, taking her aback.
Kennedy gnawed her inner cheek, mulling it over but then conceded since there was a possibility they wouldn’t get the chance again. She nodded.
“If you had the chance to choose again between being my business partner or taking the date, which would you go with?”
“Business partner,” she answered him without pause. A beat of silence passed before she expounded, “If we had gone on adate, you would already be disinterested and on to the next bitch by now. You?”
“Either. I think, regardless, you would be standing in my bedroom right now. We might have taken a different route to get here, but the destination would be the same. How much do you hate me?”
“I—” She stopped talking as fast as she started, and her lids squinted. Relic chuckled as her eyes rolled while she confessed, “It’s low. I actually forgot to hate you this week.”
“I could tell. You have a question left if you want it.”
“Are you nervous about today?”
Relic ignored the sudden lurch in his stomach from a question heavier than Kennedy could ever fathom. A faint pounding started behind his ears to allude to an oncoming headache, while tension tightened his muscles and put an ache at the nape of his neck. He realized his ailments were written over him when Kennedy let her waxed brows set into a line while her forehead creased.
“I’m nervous,” he admitted, watching as her features relaxed. “You’d think this shit was real, or that it’s me, the way my stomach is fucked up.”
“Your head has been fucked up, too. You’ve been all over the place today, but I don’t believe it has anything to do with the party. We’re close, aren’t we? I can handle it if you tell me how many days are left.”
“I’d rather you not know. My brother should be here soon, so put on your heels and come down.”
Kennedy pushed out a frustrated breath when Relic walked away with that assertion. Her heart jolted with a slice of hope when he stalled at the door before turning to face her.
“Where’s your necklace?”
Her hand gravitated to her skeleton key necklace she had tucked inside her dress. “I have it on. You?”
Relic dug in his collar to flash his evil eye necklace at her before dropping it back into its hiding place. She gave him a soft smile.
“See you downstairs.”
He tipped his head and waltzed off as Kennedy sat at the edge of the bed to put on her heels. She found herself gazing around his room, reminiscing about the short time she’d spent in his home that seemed more like years. How she’d taken over his closet with her possessions, filled his bathroom with hair products that drove him insane since he hated the smells, and spent more time inside his luxury bedding than him. She exhaled, slipped her pearl painted toes inside her sandal heels, and then stood. Relic was in his head enough for them both, so Kennedy had to remain focused to move the day along.
She went into the bathroom and cleaned her items off his porcelain countertop before stuffing it inside her hair care bag to store beneath the sink. As much as she hated it, she skipped wiping down and sweeping since their guests of honor would show up at any moment. After snatching up her metallic silver mini bag off the bed in passing, she hurried downstairs to check on the final details before the party commenced.
Loud voices met her at the foyer before she wandered into the kitchen, running into a house full of people who should have been outside. Los was on his knees, changing Parlay on the floor, who was guzzling down a bottle, and Pierre was struggling to hoist the champagne fountain off the island while Paris clung to his leg because he followed his father like a shadow.
Tima and Toot were helping their mother take the last of the food trays outside to set out, and Relic was off to the side, talking to his uncle who looked more like him than Akon’s sons did, from their broad builds to the stern facial expressions. He was a handsome man, so at least Kennedy knew Relic would still lookgood in the future. That single thought made her expel a sharp breath before she clapped her hands for everyone’s attention.
“I hate to rush y’all out of the house, but I need y’all seated in the next few minutes. Where is Ms. Judith?”
“Someone call my name?” Judith waltzed through the patio door, dusting her hands on her apron. Her brow rose after Kennedy raised her hand. “Can I help you, honey?”
Kennedy ignored the snippiness in her tone and told her, “Shabu should be here soon, so can you let them deal with whatever’s left? His sash is on the island. Make sure to put it on him before he walks out the door.”
“Child, what are you talking about?”
“You have to walk him out like a mock wedding. Did Relic not explain this to you?”
Shock spread over Judith’s face, and Kennedy glared at Relic over her shoulder. He shrugged.
