"Shannon!" I threw my arms around his neck and kissed his scruffy cheek. God, he looked really good all dressed up so suave and smooth.
"You're looking good," he complimented me with a half wink. Grabbing the cups and plates, he helped me carry them out to the dining room. "Jared's in there with Emily. Man, she's getting so tall!"
"She really is. You know, it's hard to watch her grow up so fast. I wish she could've stayed a baby longer. Kindergarten this year!"
"You're doing a great job, Kris." He placed everything down on the table and I glanced over at Jared. It was a bittersweet feeling watching him play with Em. I was still in love with him, that much was painfully obvious as I took in every single detail about the way he looked. His hair was lighter and was getting so long that he had it up in a bun. His constant refusal to lace up his boots made me smile and the long sleeved blue jean shirt had been a permanent part of his wardrobe lately.
He finally made eye contact and gave me a small smile. God, this was going to be awkward as hell. It already was, my mom had been a cheerleader for Jared during our brief reconciliation, but that changed after the falling out. She sat next to Connie, making small talk, but refused to even look at Jared.
I took my place near Matt and Ashley. Ash leaned over to whisper in my ear. "Damn, he looks great, but that brother of his looks even better!" Her focus, of course, was on Shannon, who was standing next to his mother and giggling at Jared pretending to be dizzy. Emily finally let go of her dad to go play with her friends and Jared wandered over toward me.
"Hi." He offered, shoving his hands into his pockets and narrowing his eyes at me. All of this time later and that intimidating stare of his always made my heart beat faster.
"Hi," His handsome baby face was now clean shaven and made him look even younger than he really was.
"Thanks for inviting me." He smiled, looking down at the floor and then back up at me. "You need me to help with anything?"
I knew right off that I had to give my brother Bobby a break. I'd been relying on him to come over and help out with lifting or fixing things when they broke. He and his buddy picked up the cake earlier. I looked at Jared as I stepped away from Ash. "Well, you could bring the cake out." He followed me into the kitchen. "Emily wanted a princess cake and she specifically requested teal and purple."
Jared looked at the cake and grinned, "Wow! I need to get a pic of that." He pulled his phone out and snapped a photo. He carried the cake to the table and I let him gather the kids and lead everyone into singing happy birthday.
Emily was having such a good time and it was nice to see her and Jared interaction together. The awkwardness seemed to fade for the most part, but the conversation between us was still limited. He stood next to me while eating a slice of cake. The entire time I could tell that he wanted to say something, but never did.
A little later, uncle Shannon sat with Emily, handing her each gift to unwrap. I was already cringing at the huge mess I would have to clean once the party was over. As if he read my thoughts, Jared leaned closer. "Let mom take her after the party, and I'll stay and help you clean up."
"Deal." There was no way I was going to pass up an offer of a helping hand. Shannon staggered over with an armful of Emily's gifts. "I'm going to put this stuff in her bedroom."
Picking up the rest, I followed him up the stairs. She got a lot of new toys and clothes. Once inside, Shannon grabbed the toys from my arm and tossed them on the bed. He then closed the bedroom door. "Kristen I know that it's really none of my business, but I think that you should talk to Jared. I know he misses you and I know that you miss him. You're both too stubborn to give in and just talk. It's so obvious that you still love each other and it would be so much better for Emily if you guys would work things out." He sighed, "There, I said it."
I giggled, pulling him in for a big hug. "It's not going to happen, but thanks for your concern. However, I do think, that you should go out and talk to Ashley. That girl has had the biggest crush on you since forever."
He shook his head, "So, I've heard. Can you please at least think about what I've said?"
I put my hands on my hips. "Can you please think about what I've said?"
Stepping in front of me, he turned the doorknob and muttered, "Fine."
