“Stay here for a sec,” Stella says, disappearing for a short while. When she returns, she hands me a can of Dr. Pepper. “It’s actually beer.” She winks. “The only drinks officially on offer are water or soda because my parents aren’t as cool as yours.”
I stare at her like she’s grown an extra head. Is she for real?
“Mom did go all out on the food though,” she continues, babbling away. “Anyway, we got creative and replaced some soda cans with beer, and we have more booze stashed in the garden for when the oldies retire for the night.” She waggles her brows. “That’s when the party will really get started.” She grabs my arm and pulls me forward. “Come on. West and Hazel are over here.” I let her haul me toward a table at the top of the room, just at the edge of the dancing area, while I surreptitiously scan the marquee for Kendall.
“I found him,” Stella says, shoving me down into an empty chair beside my best buddy. Hazel is perched on West’s lap, with her arms around his neck, looking all loved up.
“It’s about time, man.” West lifts his arm for a knuckle touch. “It’s not like you to be late.”
“Gayle has only asked us about ten million times when you were getting here,” Hazel adds, and I groan, swallowing a healthy mouthful of beer. I will need it to deal with her tonight.
Eyes burn into the side of my head, and I look around, my gaze instantly finding Kendall’s. She’s seated at the table next to us with some friends. Viola is on one side of her and June on the other. Shirley and her husband Adrian are sitting beside Viola, and all of them appear to be purposely ignoring the dickhead at the other end of the table. Curtis is talking to a couple of other neighbors, throwing back his head and laughing, like he hasn’t a care in the world. I visualize slicing his head off his shoulders, and it helps to take the edge off the rage bubbling underneath the surface of my skin, but only marginally.
Kendall stares at me for a few beats before getting up and walking in my direction. She is stunning in a lacy blue dress that is fitted on top with straps that crisscross over the shoulders and a skirt that flares out from the waist, ending just at her knee. She has silver sandals on her feet, and her hair is in some kind of braided design with soft blonde waves framing her beautiful face and hanging down her back. She looks pretty and young and elegant yet sexy, in an understated way.
“Your mom is definitely a MILF,” Bowie says, uncaring Kendall is in earshot. “How old was she when she had you? Like ten or something?” From the glazed look in his eyes, I can tell he’s already smashed. Otherwise, he would know to keep his stupid mouth shut. “She does not look old enough to have an eighteen-year-old son.”
“Shut the fuck up,” West snaps, pointing his finger in our friend’s face. “Show some respect.”
“West, language,” Kendall says, coming up behind me.
“You’d say worse if you heard what Bowie said,” West grumbles.
“It’s good to see you Vander.” She leans over the back of my chair, and it takes colossal willpower not to stare down the front of her dress. “West was worried you were going to be a no-show.”
I can tell from the look in her eyes she was worried about that too. Terrified what happened last week has driven me from my best friend. “I was in my studio and forgot the time. I would never miss West’s birthday.” I gesture around the room. “You did an awesome job. Everything looks great.”
“Wait until you see the cake,” Hazel says. “It’s freaking awesome.” She smiles over my head at Kendall. “I still can’t believe you baked it. You are so talented. You should open a bakery.”
Kendall’s warm smile is genuine as she beams at West’s suck-up of a girlfriend. “I love baking and cooking, but I have zero desire to open my own place. I don’t think I could handle the stress of it. I’m content with it being a hobby.”
“Speaking of cakes,” Curtis says, coming up behind her. “Should we cut it now?” He slides his arm around his wife and pulls her back against his body. Kendall is stiff in his arms, but I’m probably the only one who notices.
“People are still eating. We should wait for another half hour.” Her voice is clipped, strain underpinning her tone.
“Okay.” He eyeballs me as he brushes some of her hair aside to kiss her neck. I want to cut his lips from his face so he never touches her with his mouth again.
West watches his parents with curious eyes while I quietly seethe when Kendall brings her hands up over Curtis’s at her waist and holds on to him. She avoids looking at me, and that only pisses me off even more. I grip the edge of my chair and count to ten in my head. Anything to stop myself from lunging at him and ripping him off the woman who is mine.
24
KENDALL
I don’t know what Curtis is playing at, but I am going to fucking kill him for this. While he refuses to rush the divorce through, he has agreed to speak with the children tomorrow to tell them we are separating and he is moving out. He wants them to get used to the idea of us splitting up before formalizing the divorce. I know from speaking with my attorney and what I have seen of cases at work it will take months to finalize everything, but if he thinks I’m going to let him drag his heels indefinitely, he has another think coming.
I would’ve thought he’d want to be free of me as quickly as possible so he can be with his “serious” girlfriend. Perhaps she’s not as keen on the baggage he brings to the relationship and he wants more time to nail her down before dropping the bomb about the divorce. I don’t know. I have no clue what goes through his brain anymore, and I have no desire to decipher it. I don’t care about him. I just want him out of my life. Getting myself and the kids through it is my priority, as well as figuring out what to do about my feelings for Vander.
I have been a complete wreck all week. Unable to sleep, hardly able to eat, and barely functioning at the office. I can’t get him out of my head, and I’m still struggling to process the things he told me. The dream. Dee’s assertions. My beliefs on reincarnation and the memories flitting through my mind. Seeing Vander’s painting unlocked something inside me, and now I’m being deluged with images of a previous lifetime, and I’m so confused. It’s pretty freaking scary too. I wish I could talk to someone about this. I have been tempted to confide in June, but I’m terrified she’ll think I’m crazy and recommend a trip to the loony bin. So, I left a message with Dee, and I’m hoping she can fit me in for a private session soon.
“Darling.” Curtis approaches me as I stand, lost in thought, at the top of the marquee beside the cake, watching Vander entertain Gayle Turner with a growing pain in my heart. Vander is angry. That much I can tell. Though I don’t know if he’s angry because I ran out on him, stayed away from him all week, or if he buys into Curtis’s performance and thinks I have forgiven him. “Are we ready to do this?” he asks, sliding his arm around my back and gripping my hip with his hand.
“What are you doing?” I hiss, forcing my lips to smile instead of snarling at my soon-to-be ex-husband.