Page 119 of Fierce-Michael

“Ready for this?” Alex asked him, coming to stand by his side while he broke the box down to put it aside.

“I’ve been here before,” he said.

“But not the center of attention like this,” Alex said. “Jolene is going to be watching you two like a hawk.”

“Nothing to see all that exciting,” he said.

Alex squinted one eye at him. “If you say so.”

“I do,” he said.

“Was Electra mad that Ty wanted to come to the party today rather than go to her house?” Alex asked.

“No,” he said. He looked away and Alex pulled him to the side.

“What’s going on?” Alex asked. “I know you. You can tell me to mind my own business, but I also know that, other than Owen, you don’t have many to talk to about this stuff.”

Owen was out of town again.

And he didn’t want to do it today either during a party.

“I told Electra to step up a few weeks ago and decide if she wanted to be a mother, continue as a glorified babysitter, or just move on.”

“Wow,” Alex said. “You said it just like that?”

“No,” he said. “I should have. But I didn’t. She has canceled on Ty a few times in the past few weeks on Tuesday and one of the Saturdays. I hated to be the one to do it this weekend, but Ty told her on Tuesday he wanted to come to the party.”

“So she jumped at it?” Alex asked.

“Yes. She said she’d take another shift at work.”

“Do you think she’s just passive-aggressively blowing Ty off?” Alex asked.

“I’m not sure. I’ll get to the bottom of it at some point. You know how she is. I’ll only let it go so long. I think she is playing games and trying to come between Kelly and me.”

Alex looked around and saw Kelly laughing with Cade and Ella. “It would take a lot for that to happen.”

“I know. I’m not worried in the least about it.”

Alex eyed him again. “Are you sure you’re not?”

“No,” he said. “And you should be enjoying your kids’ fifth birthday party and not talking to me about these silly things.”

“Then let’s go and enjoy the party,” Alex said.

“I’m notsure you’re doing that great of a job with Kelly and Michael,” Carolyn said later that night.

The party was winding down and it was one big success like it normally was.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jolene said. “They’ve been together most of the party having a good time and laughing.”

She’d seen Michael with his arm around Kelly and her playfully poking at her boyfriend. They even kissed once.

To her, that was a lot of progress.

If she felt that some of it might be forced, she was keeping it to herself.

Maybe they didn’t like all the attention on them.