Page 63 of Amor Prohibido

She gasped, grabbed it, and ran it under her nose.“Cubano.”

“Sí. I bought it a while ago, intending to share it with you tonight. But since you went and got knocked up by my best mate, you can’t have any.”

“You’re such a dick,” Jax huffed.

“Then,”Darren continued, “I was going to share it with my brother from another mother, but he went and knocked up my little sister. So, I might have to settle for this guy.” He threw a thumb over his shoulder at the young bartender, who looked up at the unexpected inclusion in our conversation.

“Ha-ha funny, asshole. If anyone’s sucking on the end of that big fat one, it’s gonna be me and you,” I yelled a little too loudly and a little too aggressively.

As soon as the words slid off my tongue, I wanted to punch them from the air, then give myself an uppercut. It sounded like Darren and I would be sharing a big ol’ cock and I was vehemently insisting on having a dirty drag on it.

Darren was mid-drink and balked. He clamped his lips closed and slapped a hand over his mouth and nose in an effort to stop the beer from spraying everywhere. Painful choking sounds bubbled in his throat as he tried to swallow. Jax clutched the edge of the bar, laughing like she would never come up for air, complete with wheezing and snorts. Our barman went beet-red and mashed his lips together in an extreme effort to maintain professionalism. And fucked if I was sticking around with the three of them in hysterics at my expense.

“There’s non-alcoholic punch at the table. I’ll go get you some,” I grumbled at J.

She waved me off with a floppy hand, too consumed with hilarity to speak yet. Tonight was all about her, and I was glad to see her having a good time so far, even if it was at my expense.

I tapped my pocket and felt the tiny contents still safely hidden. Relief coursed through me—I would have scoured the earth to find it if it was missing. At the drinks table, I’d just poured J a large glass of fruit punch when a commotion at the door pulled my attention left. Lozza. Had. Arrived. With Marc hot on her heels and looking rather bashful at their entrance.

I followed to them to the bar, where J and Lozza exchanged a fierce hug.

“What took you guys so long?” Jax sassed into Lozza’s shoulder.

My eyes narrowed on Marc when he dipped his chin to hide his smirk. Lozza, however, was shameless.

“We had something to take care of.” She grinned, which would have been fine in itself, but she went on to make throaty growls while wiggling her eyebrows up and down.

Marc at least knew how to handle her. He lightly slapped his hand over her mouth and pulled her back against his front, then hooked an arm around her waist to lock her down. Loz bucked and tried to break free, making us all laugh harder.

Jax leaned into me when I handed her the drink, and I couldn’t help skimming my hand over her bump. I loved how it felt; surprisingly hard and nice and round.

“C’mon, sweetheart, let’s find us a table.” I set a guiding hand on J’s lower back, and we made our way as a group to one of the large, round tables and claimed it as our own.

By now there were lots of new faces circling the room, and Jax tugged me back to my feet to introduce me to some of her school friends. She was completely glowing from their compliments and congratulations. The few who hadn’t heard about her pregnancy openly stared at her like they couldn’t believe their eyes. Either that or they couldn’t get over how much of a fox she was. It didn’t escape my attention how her guy-mates looked her over like a piece of candy begging to be licked.

Mum, Dad, Maria, and Steve made their grand entrance all at once; Mum and Miri locked arm-in-arm, eyes darting everywhere and nattering with excitement. Dad and Steve casually strolled in behind them, deep in conversation—Dad with his hands characteristically hooked in his pant pockets, and Steve gesticulating wildly with one hand.

Our mums spotted us and sashayed over like they were the opening act on Broadway. I didn’t blame them; they had both aged beautifully and held a youthful air about them that always made me smile.

“There you are, my beautiful girl,” Mum gushed, hugging the life out of J.

I came up for air when Miri released me from her embrace, then hugged Mum. Dad and Steve wandered over, each holding a glass of scotch and swirling them like connoisseurs. Their conversation halted as we exchanged various greetings. Steve’s icy reception toward me had mostly melted. He appreciated me stopping by last month to sit down and talk. There were still subtle undercurrents of disapproval, but for the most part, he had come around to the idea of being a grandpa. He hadn’t been thrilled about me asking for his permission to propose to Jax, but reluctantly consented after I reminded him that he married Maria after only knowing her for a short time.

As the night progressed, the room lit with conversation, clinking glasses, music, laughter, and dancing. The hors d'oeuvres also started circulating. Anyone who complained they couldn’t get full off hors d'oeuvres just didn’t hit them hard enough. I was on a first-name basis with four of the serving staff and both bar staff within an hour, and they were really nailing their service. However, I needed to lay off the rums for a bit; I had to be on my game and not slurring when it came to the speeches.

I smirked while watching Callie, Lozza, and Jax on the dance floor, and a sense of nostalgia settled over me. Even more so when I glanced at Darren and Marc, who also had their eyes trained on the trio.

“Damn,” Marc muttered against the neck of his beer.

Lozza started rubbing Jax’s stomach, almost erotically, causing Jax to throw back her head in laughter.

“Daaaamn,” Marc muttered again, while Darren chuckled and shook his head.

“Okay, I think it’s time for speeches,” I declared, resisting the urge to join Jax for an encore of our last dance party.

Approaching the band, I indicated one more song to the lead singer, then waited until they finished the set. I used that time to mentally run through my game plan.

The dancing crowd expressed their displeasure when the music stopped, then expressed it louder when I took the mic. Their good-natured jests and cheers morphed to laughter as soon as I started speaking.

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