for our attendance. Fuck, how had this backfired on me already? It was my idea!
Okay, so who was more likely to host an event? The younger brother or middle
brother? From what I could remember, the younger brother was younger than I was,
while the middle was slightly older and married. But what if the younger brother
was having a big stupid pool party or something? Couples tended to throw parties
more often and the more I thought about it, the more it made sense.
“We’re going to your middle brother’s house,” I said confidently, hoping like
fuck I was right.
“How do you know it’s not my middle brother’s in-law’s house?”
My brows furrowed in frustration. “The simple fact that you are asking me that
question tells me you are trying to lead me astray, and I do not appreciate your
desperate and slimy tactics of diversion. Now, answer my question.”
Darren chuckled again. “Your deductive reasoning is impressive.”
“I was a law student at one point,” I mentioned sourly.
Darren nodded, his demeanor almost proud. “You were correct in your
question.”
Goddamn right.
But five questions left. I had the who and the where, but now, I needed the why.
“Will there be more than fifty people there?”
“Yes.”
Okay, that was kind of a lot of people. I supposed I should get the obvious
question out of the way.
“Is it just a simple get-together?”
“No. It is not a simple get-together. You need to be more specific than that. You
have three chances left.”
“Fuck,” I whispered under my breath.
“Watch it,” Darren warned, his grip tightening on the wheel.
Okay, so everyone was gathering for a specific reason. What reason got people
together? The holidays were over so maybe it was more personal?
“Birthday?”
“No.”
Fuck, two.
“I’m wearing white, so it’s obviously not a wedding. That is not a question!” I
blurted quickly. Darren just laughed.
“Retirement party?”
“No. Last chance.”
I groaned aloud now, and Darren laughed at my frustration. I had one question
left, and it had to be my golden ticket to sitting behind the wheel of this beautiful
beast.
It couldn’t be a baby shower; men didn’t attend those and women didn’t wear
white to bridal showers either, another event men didn’t normally attend. Maybe it
was a man’s event? I was obviously there to look good, maybe even distracting? I
had only one conclusion for that.
“All right,” I said, blowing a strand of loose hair out of my face in exasperation.
“How about a poker tournament?”
“Is that your final question?” Darren asked.
I huffed again, my arms folded over my chest as I glared at him. “Yes,” I bit out.
“I’m really going to enjoy that mouth of yours on me later tonight,” he affirmed
arrogantly.
Son of a bitch!
I groaned out loud, but Darren just laughed.
“You played well, Jaden, but the odds were never in your favor.”
“Why would you say that?”
“Because I know how to tip the scale in my favor before you can even
comprehend what you’re agreeing to. I am not easy to beat.”
I scoffed, nudging further into my seat. “I could beat you at plenty of things.”
“I doubt it.”
I turned and scowled at him. “Don’t be so cocky. I have a feeling I’d have quite
the advantage in a game of Limbo.”
Darren full on laughed, and I found myself grunting with frustration.
“We’re here,” Darren announced a few minutes later. I turned my head from my
sulking position to look out the window and noticed we had turned onto a private
road. Passing through a black gate, expensive cars lined the side of the road while
young men in obvious valet uniforms jogged to the front. When Darren finally
pulled up to the house, my door was immediately opened, and I stepped out to eye
the gorgeous mansion in front of us.
Just as Darren was rounding the hood of the car, my eyes locked on a very
professional and extravagant looking sign that read: “In Welcoming of the Birth of
Baby Ella Davis. Congratulations to Daniel and Katherine Davis.”
My jaw dropped so fast I felt it crack.
“A baby shower? You brought me to a frickin’ baby shower?” I said
incredulously.
“Keep your voice down,” Darren admonished sternly, pulling me to the side
while more cars pulled in.
“Why didn’t you tell me this was where we were going?”
“You said you wanted to guess,” Darren said nonchalantly.
It felt like my eyes were going to bulge out of my head.
“I had ruled showers out of my head since men don’t typically attend them.”
“A fair assumption, but in this family, every achievement is celebrated by both
women and men.”
“So you thought you’d just blindside me then?”
“You would have complained the entire ride here, and I didn’t feel like pulling
over every five minutes to shut you up.”
“Then why bother to bring me? I suck at this kind of stuff.” My voice was quiet,
but I couldn’t hide the high-pitched squeak that came from whispering so loudly.
“The idea sounded entertaining,” he said with a half-smile.
“What could possibly be so entertaining for you? It’s not like you’re going to let
me talk to anyone.”
“On the contrary, I’m prepared to let you talk quite a bit. Your presence has been
requested, after all.”
I jerked my head back, astonished.
“It was?”
“Multiple times actually, and I have finally decided to oblige those requests.”
“By who?”
“My family,” Darren answered slyly.
My eyes avoided his to latch on to anything else as I tried to wrap my
