Kiyah
“Give someone else a turn!” Casey shouted, throwing a balled-up napkin at Ronan, who was feverishly scrolling through the karaoke selections.
“Why? So y’all can make my ears bleed? No thanks,” he replied.
“I’ll have you know that I have the voice of an angel,” Kieran boasted while not so stealthily sneaking a flask from Nori. I rolled my eyes. I knew they were trying to be respectful of Grant, but his vices shouldn’t stop their lives.
“I’ve heard you sing in the shower—try again,” Ronan remarked, finally making his selection. Grant returned from the buffet and wrapped an arm around the back of my chair.
“That’s your third trip to the buffet for sliders,” I mentioned.
“Worry about your waistline, and I’ll worry about mine.”
“Oop!” Daisy reacted.
“This wedding reception might turn into a divorce party,” Ms. Simone said to Mom.
“Let’s hope not,” Mom replied with a heavy sigh as Ronan belted out the lyrics toCrazyby Seal.
I smirked.
“Stop, you guys. Maybe I like my men a little soft,” I teased, snuggling closer to Grant and rubbing my hand over his stomach.
“I prefer a curvier woman, if I might say so myself,” Kieran volunteered.
“We know!” everyone chimed in. It was no secret to anyone that Kieran preferred plus-sized women because he enjoyed cuddling and loved to eat.
“Listen, I’m waiting on the cake. And you can reserve the smart-ass comments about my waistline because I’m lucky to be alive after that ambulance mowed me down,” Burgess exclaimed.
“Give it a rest, Burgess. It was 25 years ago. You don’t see me bitching and moaning about being creamed by an 18-wheeler,” Uncle Ant mentioned as he lit his cigar.
“That’s because your payout was astronomical. I wouldn’t be complaining either if I’d gotten all that money. I was stuck with some crackpot attorney.”
Uncle Ant rolled his eyes. “We had the same attorney, you dolt.”
“Yeah, well, I only walked away with $4.8 million after the exorbitant attorney fees. I can’t do shit with that.”
Nori squinted at Burgess and said, “Do you hear yourself?”
He snorted and said, “I’m surprised you can hear yourself. Daisy didn’t hide your hearing aids?”
We all gasped.
“What?” he asked with a shrug. “We’re gonna pretend that didn’t happen?”
“Enough,” Dad said, lifting a hand. “Burgess, you received a fair settlement for non-life-threatening injuries. Furthermore, your settlement bankrupted the company, and you knew my fee before you accepted representation. And if memory serves me correctly, your fees were higher—not by much—but still.”
“I was in a coma for a year, missed my daughter’s birth, and live with permanent facial disfigurement and agonizing leg pain,” Uncle Ant mentioned.
“Pfffft,” Burgess responded, waving Uncle Ant off. “You were ugly before the scars.”
I laughed when Burgess ducked when Uncle Ant threw a roll at his head.
“You missed,” Burgess taunted.
“Just like you on the putting green.”
A low, collective “ooooh” from everyone made Burgess’s back straighten, and I wondered if the two men would resort to fisticuffs. Burgess was drunk and running his mouth, and Uncle Ant was three sheets to the wind, and his patience was thin.