Promises Forgotten
Chapter 31

Why am I so f*****g nervous? I wiped my palms on a chair before lacing my fingers together. Evie had yelled at me ten minutes before to stop pacing, so I sat down but now I was stuck. Taking deep breaths, I tried to calm myself. Red carpets, charity auctions, tv interviews and I was never as f*****g nervous as I was now. Looking at my watch, we were already 10 minutes late.

“Evie, we needed to leave like…20 minutes ago.”

“Z, you ask me to hurry up one more time, I’m gonna make you go in there alone.”

My heart sank and I shut my mouth. Leaning my head back on the chair, I closed my eyes trying to think of something else. Four days. Four days since the wedding. Three from when Jason yelled at me when I said I wasn’t coming back with him to New York. In all my years being his friend, I don’t think I had seen him that angry. I didn’t bother trying to explain, though. He wouldn’t understand. Probably the only person who would have understood would have been my grandfather.

“Alright. We can go now.”

The door to the bathroom opened and I took in Evie. She had a 50’s style floral halter dress that we had bought yesterday after needing some dry clothes from our fountain excursion. Her hair was curled and fell in ringlets down her back. For the first time since the wedding, she was wearing makeup. Slight eyeshadow, eyeliner, and then a red l*p to match her dress. She was wearing wedge heels that matched the dress as well. I gulped.

“You look beautiful.”

She smiled and lifted up one leg. “Why, thank you, my champion. Shall we go?”

Nodding, I got up and shook out my hands. Her usual smirk came over her face as she watched me.

“Don’t be nervous. They are family.”

I scoffed. “That’s what makes me nervous.”

She rolled her eyes and opened the door for me. “Not your kind of family. Real family. Family that gives a damn about each other and won’t throw each other under the bus at the smallest sign of weakness.”

This made me chuckle. “I’m sure you’ve got some bus throwing in your family.”

“We do, but usually it doesn’t result in millions of dollars being tossed around.”

Taking her arm, we walked out of the hotel and down the street. It was still fairly crowded considering it was the middle of the week at 6 in the evening. Our pace was slow and we just enjoyed the walk. She led me to the alley we went down our first night. Smiling, I made sure to hold her hand this time as she walked down the second alley.

The park wasn’t empty, but it was nowhere near as crowded as it had been that first night. There were still families mulling about but no food tucks or music in sight. We crossed through the park and headed down the sidewalk for a couple more blocks. I could hear the yelling, laughter and music before I saw the house. Evie looked up at me and squeezed my hand.

“Relax, Z. You look like you’re going into a business meeting.”

Taking a deep breath, I could only nod. We got to the house and it was overflowing with people. A bunch of kids were out front playing and she opened up the gate to the front yard.

“Evie!” Most of the kids came running to her.

My eyebrows shot up as she laughed and nearly fell. Immediately, my hand went to her back to help hold her up. She picked up one of the smaller girls in a bright green dress.

“Hey! ¿Cómo estás?” [How are you?]

“¡Buena, prima!” A couple of the kids called back. [Good, cousin!]

She kissed the cheeks of the girl she was holding. “How are you, Miss Nevaeh?”

“Feliz, hermana.” [Happy, sister.]

“Is it ‘cause I am here now?”

The little girl nodded and Evie bushed her nose against the little girl’s, who laughed. She set her down and the girl ran off.

“She is Ron’s youngest. She was born after I left for LA, but she is so freaking cute. I love her so much.” Evie smiled at me and took my hand. “Come on. We need to go in.”

Walking into the house, I was shocked at just how many people could fit in the space. Everyone was mulling around, talking, sitting, drinking, yelling, laughing, chatting and it was daunting. Nothing in my life would ever come close to what I was now tossed into.

“Evie! Darling! ¡Estoy tan contenta de que estés aquí!” [I’m so glad you’re here.] A woman came up and hugged Evie. She placed k****s on her cheek and her forehead. For a moment she pulled back and gave me a judgmental look. “¿Quien es el abogado?” [Who is the lawyer?]

Evie laughed and shook her head. “This is Z. I met him a few days ago. He was my plus one for Christina’s wedding.”

The woman eyed Evie and then eyed me. “Z, huh? What makes you think you’re good enough for my mija?”

The back of my neck started to break out in sweat and I opened my mouth to reply when I felt a strong arm come around my shoulder.

“Sweetheart, don’t scare the poor man. Evie brought him here. Obviously he means enough to her to not give a shit about your opinion.” Evie snorted. “It’s good to see you again.”

I turned and was able to shake hands with the chef that Evie spoke to the first night we were together. “Nice to see you again, sir.”

He laughed. “No. No sir here. It’s Ron and that’s my beautiful, lovely, wonderful wife Stella.”

“Oh no. What did you do now, pendejo?” Evie crossed her arms over her chest.

“I’ll tell you later.” Stella glared at Ron before turning back to the stove where there were pots on all four burners. Evie came over to her and immediately stepped in to help. I smiled as I watched her taste the different pots.

“Us businessman need to stick together. The women will mow us down.”

I looked at Ron and realized he was actually dressed much like I was. “Do you own businesses?”

He nodded. “Four, actually. I’m a restauranteur. I’m currently working on a fifth and it keeps me busy.”

“The food truck, then?”

Ron smiled. “Just a hobby. I like jumping in every once in a while and getting my hands dirty. My wife cooks mostly at home so it’s really the only time I get to flex my culinary muscles.”

“He is the reason why I decided to also go to culinary school. He helped me get my scholarship from them as well.” Evie called out.

“She cooks better than I can now. It’s the worst.” Ron grumbled and I smiled.

“I’ve been all over the world but I have never tasted anything like what I had at your truck. It was one of the best things I have ever had.”

Ron laughed and clapped his hands. “At least someone appreciates me around here!”

“No empieces, pendejo. O te haré ir a otra carrera por cerveza.” [Don’t start, a*****e. Or I’ll make you go on another beer run.] Stella glared from the kitchen.

“It tastes fantastic, Mamá.” Evie kissed her and the agitation on Stella’s face melted away.

Walking out of the kitchen, Evie poked Ron in the chest. “You owe me one. Don’t f**k it up.”

“Gracias, mija.” [Thank you, daughter.]

Evie took my hand and dragged me out of the house into the back yard. There were still more people outside. She opened up a cooler and handed me a beer. Grabbing the can opener on the wall, she opened mine and hers.

“Cheers.” She knocked the glass against mine and took a sip.

Taking a sip myself, I moved out of the way and behind her. My hand went to her waist and she chuckled.

“You okay, champ?”

“I didn’t even know what to say. Are all these people family?”

She laughed. “Mostly. Aunts, uncles, cousins twice removed. Friends that are closer than the twice removed cousins.”

“Ron owns restaurants?”

Evie nodded and took a sip. “Yeah. He’s actually a really prominent figure in Las Vegas. He’s on the council and everything.”

I took a sip, my mind mulling over all the facts thrown at me. “Why…”

“Do you remember what I said about my dad the first night we met?” My head cocked to the side and I looked at her face. She was smiling, looking up at me. “When my dad was looking for a place to live, he didn’t look at the area, but at the fact that it was a neighborhood?”

Nodding, I remembered her telling me about that. She said she moved around a lot because of money and lack thereof.

“Some families have lived in this same neighborhood for over four or five generations. You might have a shit ton of money or make it big, but what are you without family? The people who held you up when you were small and in diapers. It doesn’t help that Ron has five kids, but it takes a village. If you have your village here, why bother going anywhere else?”

I rested my chin on her head. It was an entirely new concept for me. In the world of billionaires, everyone was out for themselves. Sometimes even family fought each other. I knew there were some internal struggles with my uncles and my dad after my grandfather’s death. Cousins popped up every now and again asking for money, but it was never what I was witnessing here. It made me wonder if I could even call what I had family. Adrian was my brother and I had raised him best I could after our mom died, but our relationship became strained after my dad started focusing on me taking over the business.

“You’re overthinking things.”

My thoughts were interrupted by Evie, who placed a delicate k**s on my lips. “Sorry.”

“It’s a lot, I know. Trust me, I know. Imagine coming into this as a teenager. You’re doing better than I ever did.” She smiled and took a drink of her beer. “At the end of the day though, we are just here to enjoy the company, good food, and music. Why be alone when you can share what you have with others?”

Nodding, I kissed her forehead and caught the eyes of Ron who had a smirk on his face. He turned, though, and put his hands to his mouth.

“¡La comida esta lista!” [The food is ready!]

I looked down at Evie.

“He said food is ready. Now begins the real battle. If you’re not quick enough, you don’t get the good stuff. Come on!”