Ari touched my arm. “Just give him some time. He’ll come around.”
“Yeah, you know how stubborn he is,” RJ added.
I watched Noah sit alone in a corner, arms crossed, jaw locked tight like he was fighting the whole damn world. My heart sank. I hate the distance between us now. Here I was happier than I had ever been, and the one person I wanted to bring into that happiness acted like he couldn’t stand being around me. And that hurt more than I’d ever admit out loud.
“Sis, come dance with me,” Rich said, already pulling me away from Ari and RJ before I could protest.
I let him lead me to the dance floor, laughing as one of those new songs the kids swore was a classic blast through the speakers. Rich started doing some goofy moves only he could pull off, and I followed right along.
“Thank you for not runnin’,” he said, turning toward me as we moved in sync.
“Please,” I laughed. “I don’t think your brother gave me much of a choice.”
Rich smiled. “Y’all perfect for each other, you know that?”
I froze mid step. Something in his tone made the words hit different. I turned fully toward him, seeing the love in his eyes for Seth, for me, for our family.
It warmed a part of me, I didn’t even know needed warming tonight.
“Thank you, Rich,” I said. “It helps having a brother like you around.”
I opened my arms, and he didn’t hesitate when he pulled me into a hug, strong and protective. Rich the brother most men pray for. The godfather kids bragged about. He loved S3 and Shiloh like they were his own, and I cherished that more than he knew. We stayed hugged up for a minute, just in that sibling love vibe, until a familiar voice cut through the moment.
“Let me steal my wife away from you,” Seth joked, sliding in like he owned the whole room because honestly, he kinda did.
Rich let me go with a grin. “Alright, alright. Lover boy’s here.”
Seth slipped an arm around my waist, pulling me right into him, his touch always warm and claiming.
“You worse than Shiloh. You hate for anybody else to have her attention,” Rich joked.
Seth smirked. “That’s the thing… I’m the only one who has her attention.”
Then he kissed me his lips laced with liquor. His hand slid down and grabbed my ass like we were at home, not at a whole party.
“Hey, husband,” I said, turning in his arms so I could dance with him.
“Hey, wife,” he replied, kissing me again asStillby Tamia started to pour through the speakers.
The song hit, and everything else faded. No guests, no noise, no stress.
Just us swaying, his hands on my waist, his forehead resting against mine. He looked at me, memorizing every inch of my face, and we were falling in love with each other all over again. And God I loved these moments. Where life slowed down and nobody else existed.
You could feel the night hold its breath for us. Just me and him. Loving each other since day one. We stayed tangled up with each other until the DJ cut the track and a deep voice came over the mic.
“I just wanna say a few words, if that’s okay,” a handsome older man asked into the mic. His face was familiar, but his name slipped my mind. All I knew was he was Iva’s father, the man who raised all those boys.
“Go ahead, old man!” Balblair yelled from across the room.
His father snapped his head toward him. “Watch your mouth, young blood.”
The room laughed, knowing they do this all the time.
Then he turned back to Seth.
“Seth… I watched you grow from a young boy to the man standin’ here tonight,” he began, voice steady and full of weight. “A man breakin’ generational curses.”
Seth squeezed my waist gently.
