Finally Forever His

Three.

Jasmine.

Dinner.

Dinner is very heated for many, many reasons. Everyone decided to show up, much to my delight. We have everyone from the bridal party, including Kaitlyn. Then, there's Michael and his best man, followed by the groomsmen.

Some of the groomsmen happen to look around my age. They're probably the sons of Michael's other groomsmen. They are a sight for sore eyes, I'll tell you that.

     But that's only the tip of what really has the dinner heated—at least from my perspective. My mother and Michael are sitting together, hands joined, fingers intertwined.

     Her engagement is ring sparkling clean as if she just had it professionally scrubbed. They talk animatedly, answering questions from the wedding party, and discussing how the wedding shall go.

     Animosity nudges the back of my head, causing me to glare at my mom whenever she laughs at what Michael whispers in her ear.

     And whenever they decide to give each other a love-filled kiss on the lips. It irks me, and I can assure you that Jasmine Josefina hasn't had a complete turnaround from her old life.

     Rage can still coarse through my veins as fast as my blood like they used to. My hands can still twitch, ready to beat fear into another person because of my anger.

     But, I have matured, don't get me wrong. I've learned to keep that part of me tucked in a small box, away from the surface. My pandora box. I just haven't figured out how to burn it.

     Even that, though, isn't the main reason why dinner is heated. Liliana is sitting in my lap, bobbing her head to a song that's playing in the restaurant. Completely off beat, but we'll work on her rhythm some other day.

     She resorted to focusing on the music after she remembered what I said about Liam. It didn't hide the excitement displayed on her face, and the way her eyes lit up when she saw him.

     He gave her a dazzling smile, that made me trip on air. I hate being so caught up in my feelings like this. I wasn't supposed to be in New York this long, let alone take a trip to Louisiana for all this wedding stuff.

I'm running out of clothes!

     I wasn't the only one who seemed to be caught off guard by the handsome man I had the privilege to taste, many, many times. Liliana practically passed out when he smiled at her. She squealed and hit her head against my shoulder repeatedly.

     She concerns me sometimes.

Every time he talked, she just let out the cutest little sigh, resting her chin on the palm of her hand and looked at him admirably. I appreciate it, really. I thank God my daughter loves her father even though she only had one conversation with him.

I think she loves him a little too much.

Liliana being there led to many suspicious thoughts from the bridal party, especially my mother. As soon as she saw the cute little ginger, she asked me who she was.

"Liliana," I had told her, leaving out the last name for obvious reasons. "I'm solely responsible for her while her father isn't one-hundred percent active in her life at the moment." I answered truthfully, my voice unwavering when she asked why she was here.

     Of course, Rosalita wouldn't be my mother if she wasn't concerned by the fact that I'm twenty-two today, carrying a baby on my hip. Kind of similar to when she was twenty-two. She had a three year old—Daniel, my brother, and a two year old on her hip—Me.