“She was full of adrenaline.”
Their sister had led a very careful, tightly wound life until they’d met her.More and more, she was learning to spread her wings and fly.
“I bet Zac had a good night,” Roxie said dryly.
Lexie tilted her head.Her hair was held back in a clip, but one tendril slipped forward across her temple.“How was Billy’s?”
Roxie actually felt herself blush.Hell’s buckets.That was twice in a week that she’d done that.
“We rumbled and then we made up.”She held up three fingers, just letting them peek over the edge of the table.
Lexie’s eyes rounded.“So, things are going well?”
Roxie’s shoulders dropped, and she scrubbed her hands over her face.“I don’t know how they’re going,” she replied honestly.
She rested her hands into her lap and looked out the window at the row of shops across the street.One, in particular, caught her eye.
“Sex has never been the problem.”Her teeth caught her cheek at the half lie.The act itself had never been a problem.The implications… Now there was a hot potato.
“You still have feelings for him,” Lexie said softly.“A blind man could see that.”
Roxie couldn’t deny it.Billy could light her up one moment and rip her to shreds the next.
Reaching across the table, Lexie caught her hand.“Don’t shut him out, Rox.He’s special.”
“You’re just entranced by his green eyes.”
Lexie let out a sigh but didn’t let go of her hand.“They are dreamy.”
“And then there’s the sexy mechanic thing.”
“That hot body and the leather…”
“Whoa, Nellie.”
Lexie smiled.“And he’s yours.”
The intimate acknowledgment and support from her sister made Roxie squirm in her seat.Billy hadn’t really been hers for a very long time.They might still have the hots for one another, but their real relationship… That one deep down?It had fallen apart years ago.She was the one who’d sent the divorce papers to make it official.
Lexie sealed their hands palm to palm, fingers weaving tight.“I don’t need to know all the details—although Maxie wants to—but we both like him.A lot.What we like most is the way you are around him.”
“A crazy sap?”
“Yourself.”Lexie pressed her lips together as if she didn’t want to say anything more, but then she continued.“Sometimes I think you put on a front or hold yourself back around me, because you’re afraid of how I might react.Like I might be surprised or disapproving.I hate that I make you feel that way.”
Roxie quickly shook her head, even as her throat got thick.She’d been pretending most of her life, putting on the masks that teachers, foster parents, and social workers wanted to see.
She just didn’t want Lexie or Maxie to ever go away.
Lexie squeezed her hand tighter when she didn’t answer.“You don’t do that with Billy.I honestly don’t think you can.”
“But things are so complicated between us.”
“Like they were between me and Cam?”Lexie whispered.“They always are with the ones who matter most.”
They both sat back in their seats, somewhat embarrassed when the waitress dropped by with their check.The air around the table was heavy, and the mousy little brunette seemed to realize she’d stumbled into something at the wrong time.She swept up their empty plates, but a knife clattered onto the table as she spun away in retreat.
Lexie squeezed Roxie’s hand one more time before letting it go.“And youarea crazy sap.”
