“I’m watching you,” Viktor warns. “I’ll be watching you like a hawk.”
I nod at him, but Matty is the one who laughs. “What is it with you and the guys your daughters bring home? You just hate them all.”
“I don’t hate Gabriel,” he retorts and now everyone laughs. “What? He took her away to live on a farm.”
“She ran to him,” Matty goads and Viktor glares, “willingly.”
“When your daughters bring home a man to you”—now Matty glares—“we’ll circle back to this conversation.”
I walk into the house and follow the noise to outside. I see they have a tent set up outside, with round tables filling the backyard. Kids run around chasing after each other, and then I hear a shriek. I look over to see Lexi sitting there looking at me and shaking her head. I walk toward the table of women. “Oh my Lord,” one of them says, and then Lexi gets up and comes to me. She’s wearing another pair of jeans and a one-shoulder cream shirt. My hands comes up to rub her arms when she stands in front of me.
She lifts both of my arms to the sides and then looks behind me and then comes back to the front. “No battle scars.” She laughs and I pull her closer to me.
“I haven’t told you that you look beautiful today,” I say, looking into her eyes, seeing them clear and carefree, “and I missed you.”
She steps closer to me. “Yeah, is that so?”
I nod my head. “Yeah, baby, that is so.”
“I sort of missed you too,” she admits, looking up at me and one of my hands goes to her neck.
“Keep that thought in mind,” I tell her. “You’ll have to show me how much you sort of missed me.” I kiss her lips.
“What was all that guys meeting about?” she asks me.
“Can we talk about it later?” She nods her head.
“Ready to meet the girls?” I don’t know if she’s asking me or telling me. “Because they are ready to meet you.”
“Is that so?” I smile at her and can’t help but kiss her again.
“He looks at her as if there is no one else in the room,” one of them says, and Lexi laughs under my kiss.
“That’s my aunt Zara,” she mumbles. “My mother’s twin.”
“Oh, there are two of them?” I deadpan. “Fun.” She laughs as she spins around and slips her hand in mine as she turns and heads toward the table.
“Ladies,” she sings and I have never met this Lexi. I suddenly hate Trent even more for suppressing her. “I’d like for you guys to meet my boyfriend,” she says, giggling.
“Whoa,” Zara says, getting up and coming to me, “he’s got a title, people.” She smirks. “Hey, Kirby.” I’m expecting for her to extend her hand but she comes in for a quick hug. “I mean, Lexi’s boyfriend.”
“I like the sound of that.” I look back at Lexi, who lifts one of her shoulders and bats her eyes.
“It’s nice to meet you.” A woman holds up her hand. “I’m Zoey”—I look at Zoe—“with a y, named after the best one at the table.”
“Oh please,” Zara groans, and I know it’s Zara because Zoe puts her hand in the air like she’s raising the roof. The two of them are identical and it’ll take some time to get to know which one is which. “It’s nice to meet you,” she says to me and I nod my head.
“Likewise,” I reply.
“Let’s sit,” Zara suggests, leading me to the table, with me looking back at Lexi, who just giggles. I’ll make sure I do whatever I need to do for the rest of my life to hear that giggle.
I sit at the table and look around it. “Okay, ladies.” I look over and hold out my hand for Lexi, who comes to stand next to my chair. I take her hand in mine, kissing the top of it before I let it go. She wraps her arm around my shoulders and I hold her around her waist, pulling her to my side. “Fire away, I am an open book.”
“I have one,” Zoey says. “Are you close to your parents?”
“No. My father passed away when I was very young, and my mother remarried someone who was not a nice man. He died and is probably rotting in hell, and then my mother passed not too long after him.”
“Well, that’s a buzzkill,” the girl with black hair states. “I’m Gabriella, by the way. Welcome to my home.”
