KANDY

To be completely honest, I was nervous as hell, and it didn’t help that I was feeling queasy and exhausted. I was standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling mirror in our bedroom, studying myself in a peach, knee-length dress. It was perfect for fall, with sleeves and all. I paired it with wedges, but I couldn’t ignore the small bulge at my mid-section. It wasn’t the baby yet—probably more bloat than anything.

“God, I look so gross!” I groaned.

“Cut it out!” Cane yelled from the bathroom. “You do not look gross. You look beautiful.” He came out of the bathroom, his hair gelled back. He wore black dress pants with a long-sleeved gray button-down. He looked good, and what else was he going to tell his hormone-crazy fiancée? That I was fat?

“I can’t even suck in anymore. I’m so bloated. My stomach just sits there.” I poked my pudge, and he chuckled, moving closer.

Grabbing my hand and tipping my chin with the other, he said, “Stop it. You are the most beautiful woman on this planet. Even sexier now that you’re carrying my baby.”

I couldn’t fight my smile.

“Where are you guys going?” I looked at the door, and Lora was standing between the frames, looking us over.

“Having dinner with a sponsor.” Cane released me to face his sister.

“Oh! Think they’ll mind if I tag along? I’m starving!”

“It’s bad manners to bring more mouths to feed, Lora,” Cane stated.

“The guy’s rich, right? I’m sure he doesn’t mind feeding another person!”

He sighed. He knew he wasn’t going to win this fight.

“I’m going! Mom’s not cooking tonight because she has a date with Andy. I need food in my belly, so wait for me!”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Cane called just before Lora could take off. “A date?”

“Yes, a date.” She smirked. “Andy is kinda cute, too.”

“She didn’t tell me anything about it,” he muttered.

“Don’t take it personally. I forced it out of her.”

“What?” I laughed. “How?”

“I grabbed her phone when she wasn’t looking, asked her what all the smiles and giggles were for. I also saw her with a shopping bag and checked it. It was a dress. Scandalous, showed a lot of leg.”

“Jesus,” Cane groaned, rubbing his forehead.

“What? She can’t hide shit from me, okay? I know her like the back of my hand. Anyway, wait for me! I’ll meet you downstairs.” She trotted off, and I looked up at Cane as he glanced at me.

“Your sister is a hot mess. Hope you realize that.”

He let out a belly deep chuckle. “Trust me, I’ve known it for years.” He picked up his cufflinks from the dresser. “Not sure what my life would be like without her, though. We’re eight years apart, and I thought I was fine as an only child, but when she came along, it was easy to forget what it had been like before. Siblings are annoying, but they make life much more interesting.”

“I bet.” All this sibling talk reminded me of Frankie. I’d texted her a few times over the weeks, and she said she was going to come visit over the summer but never got around to it. I didn’t fault her for it, though. I knew she was busy with working, her mom, and Clay.

Deep down, I hoped she’d ended that situation with him. Frankie didn’t need that complication in her life, and at the end of the day, she knew it wouldn’t have been right for them. But, life is life, I supposed. Shit happened, and I couldn’t blame her for how she felt. Sometimes love and lust chooses you, not the other way around. I, of all people, knew exactly what that was like.

We took Cane’s Aston Martin to Mr. Miller’s mansion in Concord. His home was probably three times bigger than Cane’s, with green grass and freshly trimmed hedges and so many lights on the lawn. I was kind of glad Cane was a minimalist. This mansion looked complicated. I was certain that if I lived there, I would get lost.

Cane parked in the large driveway behind two silver SUVs. My heart clanged against my rib cage as we walked to the door. I had my hand in Cane’s, and Lora was following behind us.

Cane rang the doorbell, and when it opened, we were greeted by an older man. I would have assumed he was Mr. Miller, but the black and white tux and white gloves gave him away. He let us inside and said, “Good evening, Mr. Cane. Miss Jennings. And…” The man looked puzzled as he spotted Lora.

“Lora Cane,” she filled in as she walked past him with a big smile on her face. “Don’t worry, I’m just the tagalong. No formalities for me.”

“Very well, Miss Lora Cane. I’m Brandon, and I will be taking care of you all this evening. Also, I don’t think Mr. Miller will mind that you have joined us. There is plenty of wine to go around, plus he loves having company.” He extended his arms, putting his attention on me. “Can I take your jacket?”

“Oh—yeah, sure.” I shrugged out of my leather jacket and handed it to him. He folded it over his arm and then turned to Lora, but she was already shrugging her way out of her jean jacket. She dumped it on his arm and continued her smile.

“Thanks,” she breathed. “Where is this wine you were speaking of?”

Brandon turned to hang the jackets on the coat rack in the corner. “Right this way.” He led the way down a wide-open corridor. The floors were made of dark hardwood, the ceiling so high you could jump on a trampoline in this place. There were brown beams in the ceiling and paintings on the walls, all of them splashed with colors and made up of random things like houses, planes, and boats. No family pictures, though.

“Lora,” Cane hissed as she met at his side. “Have some class, will you? You already aren’t supposed to be here.”

“Class?” Lora laughed. “What the hell is that?”

“I’m not kidding,” he mumbled.

“Neither am I. Never heard of it.”

I couldn’t help laughing.

“Don’t encourage her,” Cane said in my ear.

I pressed my lips, but my smile couldn’t be contained. We finally made it to a foyer. A black piano was in the corner, right in front of a large bay window. There was a man at the keyboard playing a sweet, welcoming melody.

“Wow…this man went all out for this dinner, didn’t he?” Lora looked all around.

“I’m sure he isn’t the one who set this up,” Cane said, slightly agitated.

“What do you mean?”

“Cane!” A voice chimed to our right, and we all looked to find it. Of course it was Eden. And of course she looked very pretty. She wore a halter-top black dress that hugged every curve her body. Her hair was dark, straight, and sleek, and her makeup looked like it’d been done professionally. If she’d hired a butler and a pianist, I’m sure she’d hired a makeup artist too. She strutted toward us in her high heels, focused solely on Cane.

Cane stood where he was.

“I’m so glad you made it!” She was still chipper, still ignoring her other guests.

“Eden, you remember my fiancée Kandy.” Cane draped an arm around my shoulder.

“Of course how could I forget her fresh, youthful face?” Her smile was forced as she met my eyes and then extended her arm, offering a hand. “I didn’t get to formally introduce myself.”

“That’s okay,” I said evenly. “No formalities for me.”

Lora cracked up at that one. “Oh, boy.”

Eden looked from me to Lora, narrowing her eyes. “I’m sorry…who are you?”

“Oh, I’m Cane’s sister. I was informed the guy who owned this place was rich, and I didn’t know what I wanted for dinner, so I just tagged along. I’m certain there will be plenty of food.” Brandon walked around Eden with a tray of wine glasses, offering one to Lora. Saved by the butler.

“Thank you, Brandon,” Lora said.

Brandon offered one to Cane, me, and Eden, but Eden didn’t take one. I grabbed mine, but didn’t sip.

“Well, anyway,” Eden sighed. “Dinner will be right this way.” She turned and walked back down the hallway she came from. We followed after her, Cane’s hand dropping to grab mine. Eden’s walk had far more hip swaying than necessary—just another desperate attempt to grab attention.

“Damn, that bitch is desperate,” Lora snickered over her glass of wine. I grinned. I was glad Lora came. She lightened the mood, and had no filter whatsoever. I also could tell she’d already gotten under Eden’s skin.

Eden rounded a corner, and we were met with a large dining table surrounded by six seats and topped with fresh, steaming food of all sorts. A man was standing in the corner with a cellphone pressed to his ear. He had brown skin and dark brown eyes, his head bald and a graying beard. He looked to be in his sixties.

“Dad, your guests are here.” Eden met up to him, and the man looked over his shoulder. He wrapped up his call and then turned to look at us with a warm smile.

“Mr. Cane!” he bellowed, raising his hands in the air. “I am so honored to have you here!”

“The pleasure is mine, Mr. Miller.” Cane released me to shake his hand.

“And I see you brought two lovely women with you,” he noted, looking between me and Lora. “Which one is the fiancée?”

“She is.” Cane gestured for me to come closer with a cock of his head. “Kandy, this is Gerald Miller. Gerald, Kandy.” Cane looked at Lora, who was sipping her wine. “That wild thing over there is my sister,” he teased.

“Whatever, dude.” Lora lowered her glass and shook Mr. Miller’s hand after he’d gripped mine.

“Well, I’m happy to have you all here. I’m sorry Mrs. Miller can’t join us tonight. She’s in Dallas, visiting her sister, but on the other hand, the food was just finished by my chef, who makes terrific soul food. Come on”—he lifted a hand toward the table—“Sit. Let’s eat.”

For the most part, dinner wasn’t too bad. Mr. Miller was a nice guy, but I did notice Eden trying to give Cane seductive eyes. She would cut her eyes at me, here and there, when she thought no one else would notice.

“Kandy?” Eden called. “Something wrong with the food?”

I looked up. “Oh, no. Not at all. I’m just not very hungry right now.”

“Really? Who comes to a planned dinner without an appetite?” Her smile was faux.

“Actually, she has a very good reason for not eating,” Lora cut in, finishing whatever bite of food she’d taken.

“Oh yeah?” Eden lowered her fork. “And what reason might that be?”

“What? Can’t you tell?” Lora laughed.

“Lora, not now,” Cane hissed.

“Tell what?” There was annoyance in Eden’s voice. She really didn’t like Lora. It was comical, really.

“She has a glow to her, you know? And they mostly say that about women who are expecting or getting laid really good.” Lora picked up her wine glass and sipped, like she hadn’t just dropped a bomb on the table.

“Lora!” I gasped.

“Oh, wow? Are you really?” Mr. Miller asked, his eyes lighting up as he looked me over. I forced a smile, wanting so badly to cut my eyes at Lora. She’d had one too many and her I Don’t Give A Fuck attitude was showing more and more.

Cane pressed his lips and nodded at Mr. Miller when he swung his eyes over to him. I could tell he didn’t want to talk about it right now, but also didn’t want to be rude by changing the subject. “Yes, we are.”

“Oh, man! Congratulations! I tell you, having a kid…there’s nothing like it. They bring a lot of joy to your world.” Mr. Miller reached over to rub Eden’s shoulder. “If it weren’t for Eden, my country club would be a sitting duck.”

Eden forced a smile at him before looking between Cane and me. “A baby, huh?” She sat back in her chair and took a few hard gulps of wine. “No wonder you haven’t touched your wine.”

I smiled, like, really smiled at her.

“I almost forget what it’s like having a baby,” Mr. Miller went on, like he was in a daze. “It’s been so long. You know, I keep telling Eden to get a husband, get married, live a good, happy life, but she’s a workaholic like her father, I suppose.” Mr. Miller went on and on, and Cane nodded and chatted with him, but I couldn’t help passing glances at Eden.

During the rest of dinner and even through dessert, I noticed Eden was no longer looking at Cane so much, but at me. Lora was having a field day with all of the food, especially enjoying the six-layer chocolate cake for dessert.

Now, I wasn’t a big fan of doing petty things, but when it came to women who thought they were better for Cane than I was just because they were older, I wasn’t above throwing a little shade. So whenever Cane looked at me and asked if I was okay, I’d say, “Yeah, babe. I’m okay,” loud enough for everyone at the table to hear me clearly. And when he grabbed my hand and kissed my knuckles like he always did, I blushed and giggled. Okay—the blushing thing I always did, but the giggling was to amp the dramatics.

When it was time to go, I almost skipped out the door. Mr. Miller said goodnight to all of us at the front door, and Eden did the same, though this time she decided to hug us. She hugged Cane first, of course, but it was a small hug. A simple one. No full body contact or her groin meshing into his. A friendly hug, which confused me. She started to hug Lora, but Lora held up a hand.

“Shakes only, lady love.” Lora extended her arm, and Eden was perplexed, but took Lora’s hand anyway, giving it a shake.

And then Eden was facing me. She let out a long sigh, looking me all over. “What a lucky girl you are,” she sighed. “Especially to have such a great, handsome man.” Her eyes shifted over to Cane’s, who’d narrowed his in exchange. She then looked over her shoulder at Mr. Miller, who was talking to Lora about something pertaining to his country club. “One thing Cane probably didn’t tell you about me is that I grew up with a single mother. It was hard watching her sometimes. My father had an affair with my mother, and having me changed everything for her. Luckily, I’m not the kind of woman who would feel proud about coming between a child and his or her parents. I watched it all my life with my mother, and it was the worst feeling in the world. Maybe that’s why I am the way I am.” Her smile was small. “Have a great night, Mrs. Cane.”

I gave her a nod while Cane tugged on my hand.

“Have a good night, Eden.” Cane lead the way to his car, Lora trailing behind us.

“I’m so confused,” I said when we got inside and the doors were closed. “What in the hell was that?”

“That, I assume, was her way of saying she would back off.” Cane and I looked ahead at Eden, who was walking back inside with her father at her side. I could tell Mr. Miller really did love her. He was proud of Eden—probably proud to be able to call a child his own, period.

“Huh.”

“Bitches get weak when babies are involved,” Lora slurred, and I laughed. She’d clearly had one too many glasses of wine. “I can’t wait to see what your baby will look like, Kandy.” Lora leaned between the console, and Cane chuckled, glancing over as Lora twirled a loose piece of my hair. “You have such great skin and nice cheekbones, and Cane has those weird eyes that always seem to change colors with the seasons or his emotions. That baby is going to turn all of us to mush.”

I couldn’t fight my grin. I was glad she was speaking the baby into existence, and not treating it like a maybe or a hopeless feat. I needed to do the same, because this baby was going to happen. I was going to have him or her, and I was going to love the baby with my whole heart.

Lora finally sat back and rested her head on the window, watching the streetlights, and Cane grabbed my hand, bringing it on top of the middle console and squeezing it.

He didn’t have to say much in this moment. His full smile said it all—he couldn’t wait to see our baby too.