Jacked (Trent Brothers #1)(147)

I ignored Cherise’s questioning eyes. She should know a man on a mission when she saw one.





A TRICKLE OF sweat dribbled down between my breasts from dancing. My chest heaved after Adam left me breathless.

Icing. Mmm.

My tongue searched for any remaining sugar.

Cherise had me pegged in her sights from the other side of the table. “Mmhmm,” she murmured, taking another bite of something that was coated in chocolate.

A tinge of embarrassment rushed over me, wondering how others perceived our little public display. The way she was nodding at me, it could have been one of several perceptions.

“Told ya,” Marcus drawled, clearly speaking to his wife.

“I’ve seen it with my own eyes now,” she added.

My cheeks were warm.

“So Erin…,” Cherise leaned up on the table, “you falling for our boy Adam? Because I got to tell ya, he’s a good man.”

“Cher,” Marcus groaned.

She shut him down with a glare. “I was just going to say that he’s been through a lot and I’d hate to see his heart get broken.”

Marcus rolled his eyes, clearly not supporting his wife’s intervention. It was quite the dynamic, seeing as Cherise was a tiny thing compared to the linebacker of a man she was married to.

I’d hoped Adam would come back soon before they accused me of something. I couldn’t see him anywhere through the crowd. “I think if anyone’s going to get hurt here, it will probably be me.”

Cherise’s eyebrows rolled up on her forehead. “How you figure?”

I’d think that was obvious. “Ex-girlfriends, enamored fan girls… He has a lot more options for variety than I do.” I took another bite of my cake, savoring a renewed taste of the memory of vanilla icing before the other thoughts took me down. “I see winos and crackheads with gunshot wounds. It’s not like my dance card has a waiting line.”

Her long fingernails twirled in my direction. I was thirty years old and I’d never treated myself to a professional manicure. “See now, that’s the thing. He isn’t like that.”

I met her head on, knowing her scrutiny was coming from her love for Adam. It was respectable. “I know.” Nikki was still watching me from the other side of the room. “I don’t think his ex got that memo though.”

“Psht. That girl needs to get a clue. That trip’s been over for a long time. She needs to move the f*ck along.”

“Cher,” Marcus warned low again.

She just ignored him, cutting into her cake with the side of her fork. “He’s different with you. I ain’t ever seen him like this. I gotta say, I’m liking it. ’Bout time he found his slice of happy.”

“Word,” Marcus agreed.

“I’m telling ya,” she answered.

Part of me had wondered how this evening was going to play out. Adam had forewarned me about Nikki being here but his partner’s wife was a bit unexpected. At least his friends looked out for him. That said a lot, actually.

“Adam tell you about Sadie’s birthday party?”

I tried to read her since it was appearing as though I should know what she was talking about. “Sadie?”

She dabbed her mouth with her napkin. “Our daughter. She’s turning two and we’re having a birthday party. You should come. Adam’s a great godfather, so he’ll be there.”

“He’s her godfather?” My mind flashed to a church scene, picturing him smiling fondly.

She nodded. “He didn’t tell you?”

“Mmn, no.”

“Well, it’s not this Sunday but next Sunday. Two o’clock. Make sure he brings you. We’d love to have you there.”

Mmm. Okay.

“I’ll tell him,” she added. “Those two have something special. Sadie lights up like he’s Santa or something when he’s around her. Adam’s great with kids. Who knows… you keep this good vibe going with him, you’ll be having your own babies before ya know it.”

Babies? Oh f*ck. My bite of cake hit like a bowling ball in my gut when I swallowed.

“Cher, getting ahead of yourself,” Marcus droned low.

“I don’t think so. He’s your partner; you going to deny that boy’s in love? You seeing what I’m seeing?”

“Yeah, but… not sure that’s any of our business.”

“Psht. Adam is my business. He’s your business, too. Someone’s got to make sure he stays the course. And look at her. Sweet and gorgeous and smart. The two of them will make beautiful babies.”

Babies???

I don’t want to have babies.

Babies made women insane.

Damning fingerprints.

Broken collarbones.

Perforated kidneys.

Buying ethylene glycol by the gallons. Why?

No.

No, no. no.

I won’t be a statistic.

It was hard to breathe.

Cherise going on and on about it; her insanity was shining through bright and clear.

Adam would want children. Wouldn’t he? “I don’t even know if that’s what he wants.”

I started sweating again without even moving. I needed air. Cold, refreshing air, preferably at sixty miles per hour while holding my head out of the window as I sped in the opposite direction of this table.