Little did he know, he didn’t even have to worry about me getting with another man anytime soon.
Not with a belly full of his offspring.
4
TARIQ “REEK” HORTON
By the time the baby shower ended, the front drive looked like a damn boutique loading dock.
So many gifts had been stacked by the door that one of the event planner’s staff had to go get one of their empty U-Hauls to load them in.
I stood at the rear of one with Big A and Saint, passing oversized gifts up into the truck while the rest of the fellas brought more from inside.
“Lil’ man won’t need for anything for years,” Big A muttered, setting a giant motorized car in the back.
Saint grinned like he was high. “They didn’t play about the king.”
I looked over at the mountain still coming. “This baby got more designer before birth than most grown women have in their closets.”
That part wasn’t even an exaggeration. The gifts were crazy. Someone gifted a stroller system that probably cost more than somebody’s first car. There was even tiny Louis Vuitton luggage, Baby Dior, and Burberry blankets. Legend and Aria had gifted him a high-end nursery set. Icon and Livia had bought enoughclothes to stock a children’s boutique. Sincere and Rhythm had gotten one of those high-tech bassinets that basically rocked the baby for you. Then the rest of the family and their rich-ass friends had piled on.
Saint’s son was already getting treated like the next little prince of the Cartier family, in the same way Icon and Legend’s kids had.
“I told Zahra we should’ve just asked for gift cards,” Saint said.
Big A barked out a laugh. “Nigga, your wife would’ve never let that happen. She wanted the whole experience.”
“Well, she got it.” I nodded toward the inside of the truck. “And then some.”
We stood there for a few more minutes, getting the last of the gifts loaded. Sincere and Prodigy carried out the final big boxes. Wise came behind them carrying a Chanel baby bag.
I had been watching him push up on Ava and Ava smiling all in the nigga’s face. I hated every second of it. That gave me foreign feelings I didn’t even want to unpack.
Once the last of the gifts were loaded, I jerked my chin toward the side of the venue and told Wise, “Come here. Let me holla at you.”
He followed me, asking, “What’s up?”
I tried to sound as calm as possible as I told him, “Back off Ava.”
His brow lifted. “Oh, my bad. I didn’t know she was yours.”
“She’s not mine,” I bit. “But she won’t be yours either.”
Wise looked at me for a second, caught off guard. So, I smoothed it over. “Ava is Saint’s little sister. That isn’t the kind of situation you play with if you’re trying to keep things smooth on the business side. You’re eating with the Cartiers. It wouldn’t be a good look for you to start fucking around with the littlesister of the man feeding you, if whatever you’re trying to do with her goes left and now Saint got a problem.”
Wise nodded as his confused expression turned into understanding.
“You got too many women at your disposal to be sniffing around any Cartier women. Move around. Leave her alone.”
He nodded once. “I feel you. Respect.”
“Good.”
He glanced back toward the venue, then back at me. “For what it’s worth, I wasn’t trying to disrespect nobody.”
“I know.”
He gave me one more look, then walked off toward his brother and cousin.
