Page 70 of The Prodigy 2: Rise of a Queen

Jaz backed out and closed the door.

Tears immediately filled his eyes. “My God. Don’t you look beautiful. You look just like your mama.”

I looked up and fanned my face. “Stop. Don’t make me cry.”

He jumped up and put his arms around me. “It’s okay, Sweet Pea.”

“What are you doing here?”

He sighed and took a step back. “I fought myself the whole way here. But I realized I couldn’t miss your big day. Well, your second big day.”

“But you did miss it.”

His shoulders dropped. “I know. I’m sorry. My flight got delayed, and then—”

“Flight? Since when do you fly?”

My daddy was notoriously cheap about that. If there was a way to get somewhere by land, he would drive. No exceptions.

“Your husband sent me a ticket.” His eyebrows knitted together. “You didn’t know?”

“No.”

“Well, I’m here. You didn’t need me to give you away. You’re a grown woman with her own mind. You can give yourself away.”

Fitting. Really fitting, given the kind of father he’d been. But so be it. It wasn’t the time to dwell on the past. It was my day, and he was here, and it was time to celebrate.

I grabbed his hand. “Come on. Let’s take a few pictures so we can eat.”

The reception was lit by the time me and Kari made our entrance as Mr. And Mrs. Jakari Windermere. The crowd cheered loudly as we made our way to the bridal table…on a raised platform with a velvet rope around it and security on each end. That was my idea.

Jakari picked up his fork and fed me a bite of stuffed salmon.

“How is it?”

“It’s delicious.” I swallowed and planted a kiss on his lips. “Thank you. For everything.”

“You’re welcome, beautiful.” He shook his head. “I almost fell out when I saw you. You look so damn good.”

“So do you.” I wiped my lip gloss of his lips. “How much did you have to pay my daddy to get him to come?”

Kari’s face fell. “You know what? Let’s just enjoy the day.”

I nodded. That was all the confirmation I needed.

“Nah. Baby, don’t cry.” He folded a napkin and patted my tears, which made me laugh.

“Jaz told you to do that?”

“Mm hm.” He kissed my lips, then my forehead. “He’s here, and that’s what matters. No more tears. Well, except for later when I’m balls deep in it. But for now, we finna turn up. Aight?”

I forced a smile. “Aight.”

And turn up we did.

First Jaz, now Kari. These Windermeres knew how to get me on the dance floor. The DJ was killing it, and I was having the time of my life. I even saw Dionne dancing, which was a moment. Kari kept giving me champagne, and it did help me loosen up. I forgot all about the bad shit until me and Kari sat down to take a break. I looked over just in time to see Gab, without her veil now, handing my daddy a drink.

I grabbed Jakari’s arm. “What the fuck? What the fuck is she doing?”

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