“I’ll think about it,” I reply, reaching into my pocket when my phone vibrates.
Can’t these assholes give me one night of peace and quiet?
But it’s not one of our guys asking a stupid question for once, instead, it’s a motion alarm.
At Cruz’s house.
I open the exterior cameras, checking each one to see if I can pinpoint what set them off, but as I flick through the frames, I start to think it was probably a squirrel running in front of one of them in just the right way for it to go off. There are a few of the little fuckers that like to torment Mr. Whiskers outside the back door, so I wouldn’t be surprised if our resident grumpy cat had a visitor or two.
“Everything okay?” Lexi asks, her brows dipping into a concerned frown.
I nod. “Just the cameras at your brother’s house. I think Mr. Whiskers had his friends over.”
She snorts and immediately covers her face as she dissolves into a fit of laughter, the sound making my chest warm. I drop my phone to the table in favor of watching her. It’s been too long since I’ve seen her laugh like this, since I’ve seen her so carefree, and there’s a part of me that wants to believe it’s because I’m here. Because she knows I’m a safe place for her. But I shut the dangerous thought down immediately.
One day the date she goes on won’t be a bust, and I’ll have to watch her have her happily ever after with someone other than me.
But for now, I can enjoy these little moments with her where no one exists but the two of us.
EIGHT
LEXI
Being around Colten has always been easy, even with the crush I’ve been harboring for over a decade.
He’s safe, predictable, and one of the only people I’ve ever truly trusted.
Maybe it’s the scars we share from having shitty fathers, or the fact he’s always right there when I need him, or how he helped me get over my first heartbreak by doing all my favorite things with me for a whole day.
A seventeen-year-old Colten in the lingerie section of Macy’s will never not be my favorite memory.
He may look every bit like a Mafia underboss, but on the inside, he’s gentle, and I’ve always admired how he held on to himself as he transitioned into a role that forced him to be ruthless.
There’s no one else I’d want to see at Cruz’s side, though, because I know without hesitation that he has my brother’s back the way no one else ever would.
“Those squirrels thrive on teasing him,” I say, drinking the last of my wine.
I don’t drink often, partly because I did more than enough of that in college, but mostly because my dad was a mean drunk. Ormore accurately, he was a mean everything, but liquor took away his inhibitions, and he didn’t bother pulling punches.
It was those times that he didn’t care if anyone knew what happened behind closed doors, and they account for some of the worst times of my life.
“It’s his karma for how much he fucks with Cruz.”
I giggle and reach into my purse for my phone. As someone who has an online identity, it’s rare that I don’t check my phone for extended periods of time. Sure, an hour here or there, and when I sleep, but aside from that, my phone is basically glued to my hand, and although I try my best to have as much screen-free time as possible, I’m not always successful.
A little part of me is disappointed when I don’t find a message from him, but then he was the last one to reply, so I shouldn’t be surprised.
“We should head out so you can get back to your life,” I say, pushing myself to my feet. I’m glad I went with the romper tonight, because it meant there was a lot less room for wardrobe malfunctions.
God, wouldn’t that have made for quite the addition to the night?
“There’s nowhere I need to be, Wildcat. Have another drink if you want.”
I shake my head. “I’m tired, and I’m ready to put tonight behind me.” It’s the truth. I am tired, the wine bringing a soft warmth to my body that tells me I’m going to have the sleep of my life tonight.
Plus, I’m feeling just inebriated enough to send another racy photo before I crash.
Colten gets to his feet, throws a few extra bills on the table despite the fact Nico already left a sizable tip on his way out, and then meets me at the edge of the table.
