Page 64 of Big Red

Cara snorted while shaking her head at her mother. “Ma, why are you sitting over there lying to the girl like this?”

Crystal gasped with her mouth hanging wide open. “I am not lying. Your father and I always talked about our problems.How would you know anything? We made sure to keep all our problems away from you all.”

“Okay, let’s have a little story time, shall we? When Dad used to work those occasional late nights, I used to wait on the steps for him to get home. Sara was too scared to get caught, so I would be alone. One night, Dad came in, and I guess he was stressed about something from work. You asked him how his day was, and he snapped at you. You remember what happened next, Mother?” Cara asked with a mischievous smile.

Crystal palmed her face, shaking her head as her shoulders sagged in defeat. This had me, Will, and the rest of the ladies on the edge of our seats.

“Oh, don’t get quiet now, Ms. Talk it out,” Cara taunted. “Dad took a seat at the table after going on his little rant. Mom grabbed a cast-iron skillet off the stove and clocked his ass right upside his head,” she crowed.

I slapped my hands over my mouth while the rest of the room erupted in laughter.

“Wait, she… did what?” Sara got out in between breaths.

“Mama knocked Dad smooth the fuck out. And then stood over him, and said, ‘don’t start no shit, won't be no shit’ then walked away leaving him on the floor.”

“Crystal!” Victoria shrieked before cracking up with the rest of the ladies.

“Okay! It wasn’t my finest moment, but he never raised his voice at me again, so…” She shrugged her shoulders before taking a sip of wine.

“See, she likes to play innocent like she doesn’t know why all her kids got a few screws missing. We get that from her,” Sofia teased.

“Whatever.” Crystal rolled her eyes, not having a rebuttal.

“But seriously, Alice, think of all the time you spent with Declan and then compare it to Red. If you don’t see anydifference between the two, then move on. But if you do see the difference, don’t let fear be the reason you miss out on the man of your dreams.”

My bedroom door is thrown open, snapping me out of the memory. Will comes strutting in with a gleeful smile.

“Get dressed, bestie. Me and the ol’ ladies have a surprise for you.”

“What kind of surprise?”

“If I tell you, then it isn’t a surprise. Now, get dressed. You got thirty minutes.”

Will leaves, and I drag myself out of bed. I don’t know what the occasion is, so I go for a simple green spaghetti-strap dress and wedge heels. After touching up my hair, I walk down the stairs. All of my roommates are there waiting with big smiles.

Will holds a blindfold and twirls his finger, motioning for me to turn around.

“You’re making me nervous.”

“Don’t be. I got a feeling you’re going to love this.”

I hold on to Will as he leads me out of the house. We walk for what feels like forever. My heart feels like it is beating out of my chest. When we finally stop, we’re still outside. The surface under me is no longer grass. It feels like a hardwood floor.

Will grabs the blindfold but whispers in my ear before removing it, “Remember what I said last night.”

I have to blink a few times before my vision zeros in on what’s in front of me. My mouth drops open as my eyes land on Red, Cindy, and Colt dressed up in front of me. Colt and Red both have matching button-down shirts paired with slacks. Cindy is in a beautiful baby-blue dress that matches her eyes to perfection.

That’s not all, though. There is some kind of a see-through platform inside the pool that we’re standing on. Fairy lights arehanging up, surrounding the area, and rose petals are scattered everywhere.

Everyone is out here to witness this moment.

I’m completely speechless.

No one haseverdone anything like this for me.

Cindy and Colt watch me with beaming smiles as Red looks a bit nervous. Stepping a few feet forward, he holds a hand out to me. Swallowing down my nerves, I grab it, allowing him to pull me closer.

“First, I want to apologize for what I said to you that day. I was an asshole, and I let the stress of everything going on around me consume me. It’s not an excuse, and I was wrong. To see you look at me the way you did that day nearly destroyed me, kitten. I’m not going to act like I’m perfect because I’m not. I’ll make more mistakes down the line, but one thing I will never do is belittle you or speak to you out of anger.”

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