“I just don’t want them to be a handful for you.”
“They’re not. And even if they were, that’s what aunties are for. You had a big night. You’re supposed to enjoy your weekend.”
I smiled, but I still felt guilty. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. Just stop worrying. If that man wants to keep celebrating you, let him. Enjoy it. Your mom is coming to relieve me in a few. I’m good.”
I exhaled slowly. “Okay.”
“Thank you. Now get off my phone.Bye.”
“Bye,” I giggled and hung up.
I set my phone in my lap and looked out the window as we pulled up to the brunch spot. Sincere had made reservations that morning to celebrate my show, and he’d reserved a private room for me, Aria, and Legend. When he told me Aria had invited the rest of the Cartiers and their spouses, I got anxious.
It also made me wonder, again, what we were.
Sincere acted like we were together. He moved like I was his. But men did all the right things and still never committed. I wanted to ask him what I was to him, but I was scared of his response. I didn’t want to hear anything that would disappoint me and force me to make decisions I wasn’t ready to make.
Sincere pulled into the valet lane and glanced at me. “You good?”
“I’m good,” I lied automatically through a smile.
He leaned over and playfully bit my ear, and my body reacted instantly. “Good. C’mon.”
The moment we stepped out of the car, the cold slapped me in the face. It was January and only fifteen degrees. The wind cut hard, and I tucked my chin and hid behind the fur of my cropped faux-fur jacket as we hurried inside.
A DJ played a track that made women throw their asses and men bounce, even while they waited for tables and ate. It was packed with people already tipsy off unlimited mimosas at noon.
A hostess led us down a hallway to the private room.
As soon as we walked in, my body tensed when I saw Tempo. It always did. I knew she was happily married to Big A. I’d watched her with him at Christmas and New Year’s and seen how obsessed she was with her husband. I knew she had no interest in Sincere.
But she was still intimidating.
Tempo was stunning. She was rich, poised, and successful. She belonged in this life. I still felt like I was walking into it with my shoes on the wrong feet. And I was the first woman Sincere brought around them after that toxic breakup, so I knew eyes were on me every time I showed up.
Sincere felt it. His hand found my waist immediately, firm and steady, and he pulled me closer to his side like he was anchoring me.
I forced my face to relax. “I’m fine.”
He didn’t argue. He just kept his hand right there and guided me forward, leaning down to my ear. “Don’t shrink.”
My anxieties loosened.
Despite my nerves, he always made sure I felt chosen.
The private room settled into that loud, rich kind of comfort the Cartiers and Co always had. Waiters kept sliding in and out, refilling glasses before anyone even knew it was almost empty.
Saint eyed Zahra as she allowed a waiter to refill her glass. “Zahra, baby, if you let these mimosas sneak up on you, don’t cry to me. I’m not carrying you up out this bitch.”
Zahra rolled her eyes at her husband. “Yes, you are, and you know it.”
Legend sucked his teeth. “I don’t know why that nigga frontin’.”
Naturally, the men bunched up with their drinks and their business talk, and the women drifted together.
Aria groaned as she eased into a chair. “I’m so fucking sick of being pregnant,” she groaned as she kicked off her heels and revealed swollen ankles.
