Any trace of a smile defuses from my features. “Emilia died.” I hear the words tumble from my lips, but they sound foreign. It never feels right that my sister isdead.
Lex straightens as if I just electrocuted her. Those large doe eyes of hers round out the size of golf balls. A moment of stunned silenced bounces between us, thickening the air with a palpable grief, but our gazes have locked and remainunbreakable.
After a few hypnotic moments, Lex collects her things and zips through the doors, back into the heat of a sweltering Hollow Brookafternoon.
I was looking forward to seeing her tonight at The Pelican, and now after this awkward exchange, with the ghost of my sister lingering between us, I’m not so sure. For whatever reason, sharing my sister’s death even topically with Lex had the power to rip that wound right backopen.
Lex and Emilia, my twin wounds. How I wish I could heal them both. How I wish I could have the two of them back in my life where theybelong.
* * *
The Sloppy Pelicanis a glacial oasis compared to the triple digit humid hot box otherwise known as Hollow Brook. That partially explains the elbow-to-elbow room at the establishment. The other part is due to the fact the 12 Deadly Sins are playing here tonight. Bryson, one of the owners at the Black Bear, called and asked if the Sins could play at The Sloppy Pelican. It’s their house band, and so the fact he offered means a lot. I know for a fact they have a huge following that extends far past the borders of Hollow Brook, thus the wall-to-wall bodies in here tonight. Bryson’s brother-in-law, Blake, is the lead singer of the band. He introduced himself when the band arrived, along with his wife, Annie. I remember Annie. She was in the news not that long ago. She was born deaf and had an implant put in to give her the gift of hearing. I remember thinking,now that’s a miracle. I might have even shed a tear or two. Hell, I know I did. It was Emilia who forwarded the story to me. It was always Emilia showing me the human interest pieces, pointing out that life was still good even though my broken heart insisted itwasn’t.
Lex walks in with that gorgeous mane of hair trailing her like a river of fire, those lasers she sees the world through already cutting me down to size, and something in me warms at the sight of her. And then she does the unthinkable. Lex pauses mid-flight and gives a slight wave before getting right to herstation.
She waved. At me. The fact she didn’t highlight her middle finger leaves me more than stunned. Not that Lex has ever stooped to such levels. Her own boycott on expletives has always amused me. That, much like her need to barricade her heart, was because of her mother. I wish I could heal her wounds. I’d love nothing more than to sew her heart up with mine, stitching them together—two ragged halves to make a whole. I’ve always believed that Lex was my other half even that first day we met. Just as I’m about to segue into an entire mental montage of our entire relationship from start to finish, a body crashes into mine. I look down to find Abby Wilcox pressed to my chest with her tits pinned so tight against my body it feels as if I’ve just fallen against apillow.
“Watch it, cowboy.” She gives a little wink but doesn’t move aninch.
I take a full step back and look up just in time to see Lex glance away with ascowl.
“Yeah.” I frown over at Abby. “I should watch it.” Odd thing was that I wasn’t the one in motion. Shewas.
She reaches up and curls her finger under my chin, and instinctually I flinch. “But while I’ve got you here—is there any way I can get you to help me out with a few tips and tricks on how to make it in this crazy world? Waitressing is a great gig, but I’ve got a mountain of debt and a degree that could use some dusting. I hate being busted. You’re a smart man. I’d love to spend some time with that brain of yours.” Her eyes drift down to my crotch. “Among otherparts.”
And there it is, the overt invite she’s been hinting at for the last fewweeks.
“I’ll see what I can do—about thebrainstorming.”
Her lips twist with annoyance at the last part of that sentence. “Goodenough.”
“My father also owns and operates Collins Enterprises. It’s the umbrella company he uses to acquire new businesses. You might want to check in with HR and see if they’ve got anywhere they can plug you in. Feel free to use my name. It’s quite possibly the only place on earth it does any good. But if I’m about to lose you to my father, give me a heads-up. I’d appreciateit.”
Her arm swivels around my waist like a cool slithering python, and a dark laugh brews in me. It was girls like Abby that I tried to fill the void with when things fell to shit with Lex. But now that’s she’s here, in the very same room, I’m afraid nothing in Abby’s bag of tricks will have an effect on me. Carefully, I peel Abby’s arm from my body, and we end up doing an odd little dance in the process. I glance up to find Lex outright glaring at the two of us, and this time she doesn’t bother to lookaway.
“What’s this?” Abby follows my gaze. “Oh, hon, her bark is worse than her bite. Who does she think she is staring down the boss like that? Don’t you worry. I’ll set her straight.” She makes a move in that direction, and I pull her back gently by the hand. Oddly, it looks like yet another dance move as she twirls and curls right into the crook of myarm.
“Don’t worry about Lex,” I say and I nod over to the station Abby should be tending to. “I’ll take care of hermyself.”
Abby offers a dark giggle. “Sounds like something I wouldn’t mind you initiating on me sometime.” She gives my ass a quick pinch. “You better watch your back. The girls around here are tougher to handle than you think.” She takes off with a bounce in her step, and I can’t help but shake myhead.
“Don’t I know it,” I whisper as I take off for Lex. Truthfully, I could have blown it off, been happy that Abby is busy doing what I pay her to, and left it at that. But Lex is here, and I can’t deny the gravitational pull any longer. I need to be next to her even if it’s simply to sayhello.
Lex says something to a customer she’s tending to, and the entire table breaks out into laughter. She offers a sly wink to the merry bunch before taking off and bumping straight into me. Her body adheres to mine, and unlike the repulsion I felt with Abby, this is a private heaven that I don’t dare back awayfrom.
“Hey,” I say as my heart ratchets up again, thumping so hard I’m sure she can feelit.
“Huh.” She takes a step back, her stance suddenly set in defiance with her knee turned out her left hip hiked up. “It seems bumping into women is suddenly your new specialty. Is that how they taught you to cop a feel in law school? Make it look like an accident and that way your victim might actually apologize toyou.”
Any trace of a smile I might have had slips right off my face. “I don’t need to invoke juvenile moves to get any action,Lexy.”
“Aarrggh!” Her face turns purple with rage as she hikes up on her feet. “I abhor that name, and you know it! I demand you rescind and never call me that again.” She takes a step in close and the warmth of her body touches over my chest, reminding me I’ve gotten a little too close to theflame.
Our eyes latch, and I can’t find the words, nothing clever, nothing serious as shit, and nothing in-between. A part of me demands to know how she could not ask anything about Emilia after the way we left that conversation this afternoon. It’s most likely too painful. I getit.
Just as I’m about to suggest we both get back to work, a familiar dark-haired ponytail bops in this direction—Teagan. She’s full on vamped out with a skirt that’s a little too short, a top that I can garner too much information from, and high heel shoes that seem to lift her a foot in theair.
“Hey, big bro!” She leaps over me and offers a quick embrace. “Shep brought a few friends and me over tonight to check out the Sins.” She hitches her thumb my way while shaking her head at Lex. “He thinks he’s it now that the big boys have jumped on stage.” Her shoulders hike to her ears as she bleats a little laugh. “And he totally is.” She lets out a scream and hugs me all over again. “I can’t believe you pulled this off! I might actually want to hang out at this place now. Thanks for upping the cool factor. It’s about time.” She leans into Lex once again. “It was beyond embarrassing telling my friends that my brother owned the old miners’fartdowntown. But now I might actually spread the word.” She gives me a little hip bump. “Oh, hey!” She bounces in front of Lex, and I can tell by that look on Lex’s face she’s getting ready to bolt. “I know we haven’t always seen eye to eye but I also know you have great taste—pun intended—and I would love it if you could spare a few ideas for this party I’m having here in a few short weeks. Is there any way we can get together sometime? The clock is ticking, and I really want everything to be perfect,” Teagan pleads with those watery eyes of hers, and Lex gasps as if she doesn’t know what to do withher.
