“You don’t have to stay,” her sister said tightly.
“Oh yes I do.”
“I’m sorry to be so much trouble,” Lexie murmured.She was struggling to keep her purse on her shoulder.It was tiny, but the strap was long and delicate.The combination was a little too much.
“It’s okay, hon,” Roxie assured.“I’m feeling a bit tipsy too.”
“I’m so tired.”Tilting her head back, Lexie let the night air slide over her hot face.
“It’s just up these stairs.”
They stopped at the stoop one door down from the bar.It opened to two first-floor apartments and a set of stairs.Roxie started climbing.The staircase was empty, but the area was clean and well lit.Still, the beat of the music penetrated the walls, and the crowded sense of the bar seeped over into the private dwellings.
Cam’s gaze swept the corners of the staircase.The sense of awareness he had seemed ingrained.“How many flights up?”
“Two.”
“I’ll take her.”
Lexie swatted at him when he reached for her again.“I’m fine.”
His eyebrows rose, but then a corner of his mouth lifted.It stopped her in her tracks.She’d never seen him smile before.She’d thought it physically impossible.
Roxie hovered three steps up.“You two aren’t going to start making out again, are you?”
Lexie flushed.She grabbed the railing and started upwards.Every move she made was precise, just half-time.She finally got her purse looped over her shoulder so it wouldn’t slide off, and she tossed her hair back with pride.The move was too quick, though, and she shut her eyes.
“Spinning?”Roxie asked.
“Just a twirl.”
She felt Cam’s touch on her waist, only this time it was farther down, closer to her hip.Lexie tried to go faster, knowing he wouldn’t let go until they were all the way up.The contact burned, the ball of his hand brushing with every flex of her butt.
Roxie fished her keys out of her pocket when they made it to the third floor.Up here, the music was muted.Only a soft, persistent beat made it all the way upwards.
Lexie’s gaze swept the apartment with interest as she entered.Roxie flicked on the lamp by the sofa and looked around anxiously.She straightened a pillow on the couch and tidied up the magazines on the coffee table.The one-bedroom apartment wasn’t that large, and she didn’t have many belongings to fill the space.What she did have, though, was style.Her taste was offbeat and quirky.Half rocker, half New Age, but it suited her.
Lexie’s lips pursed when she saw the scene out the living room window.On the third floor, the apartment was above the trees with a perfect view of the Cobalt River.Not too high, and not so far to fall.The moon reflected off the water, making it look like flowing black silk.“It’s beautiful.”
“Yeah, it’s why I took the place.Normally, I’d prefer to live farther away from work, but I couldn’t pass it up.”
Lexie wandered around the cozy apartment.“I love it.”She swept her fingers through the beaded fringe that hung off the lampshade and sighed.“My mother is the only one who decorates at our house.”
“You still live at home?”
“I made it as far as the guesthouse.Pathetic, isn’t it?”
Cam caught Roxie’s eye.“It’s expected.They all still live at the manor.”
The manor.Lexie grimaced at the bad taste it left in her mouth.There was no way she could have gone back there tonight.Not with the way she was feeling and acting.Not after what had happened this morning when her family had turned on her.
She focused her blurring gaze on her twin.This afternoon was the first time she’d felt totally accepted.Free to be herself—or somebody entirely different.She’d been comfortable enough to let down her guard, to not care what people thought, and she loved her sister for that.The bond she’d felt when they’d first looked at each other had snapped into place.It wasn’t going to yield.Ever.
Tears pressed at Lexie’s eyes, and she blinked fast.Nobody liked a weepy drunk.
Roxie dropped her keys onto the breakfast bar that separated the kitchen from the living area.“Well, it’s not manor-ish, but it is home.Welcome to Chez Cannon.”
She rubbed her hands on her jeans, while Cam stood like an immovable force in the middle of the room.Lexie wasn’t sure what to do.If she sat, she might not get back up.Instead, she let her purse and jacket tumble onto the chair.Even they were becoming too heavy for her.
