“Of course, dear,” she answers as we stand. “I’ll text you when I have them.”
She gives us all the smooching cheek kisses before we exit the restaurant. I wipe the lipstick off as Gage does, making Alessa laugh. We slide into the car, and head back to the house. Alessa’s phone constantly rings the whole trip, and Gage rolls his eyes, indicating this is the norm for her. No wonder she was stressed enough to drink last night. She’s running a criminal empire and dealing with all our bullshit. I need to talk to Gage. Somehow, we need to make this easier for her. First, I’m going to start by talking to her.
When we get back to the house, I take my chance. “Can we talk now?” I ask.
We’re both putting this conversation off. Gage kisses her cheek, gives me the thumbs up behind her back, and disappears into the back of the house.
She nods, motioning for me to follow her up the stairs. She climbs onto her bed with her legs crisscrossed underneath her getting comfortable. I slide up the bed so my back is against the headboard.
“I’m so fucking sorry for lying to you, Baby,” I start. “I never thought I would fall for you the way I did, but I knew by the second date that you were mine.”
“I lied to you too, Leo,” she says softly, looking at her hands in her lap. “I knew when I accepted the first date that there was something about you. I was drawn to the light in you.” She looks into my eyes. “No more lies. I can’t handle anymore.”
“You didn’t lie to me for gain like I did, and for that, I feel like shit.” I lean up and grab her hand. “I never want you to feel from this point on that I’m being anything other than honest with you. I love you, Alessa.”
She pulls her hand away, and I frown. “You know how I feel about you. I just feel like we should table that for now.” She holds up a hand when I open my mouth, a soft smile on her lips. “We need toget to know each other. The real us. You also need to accept that it won’t just be us in this relationship anymore.” She stretches her legs out and lies on her back on the bed. “I don’t know where things stand with anyone but you and Gage,” she turns her head to look at me, “but I need you to know I’m not giving up on any of them.”
“I need you to know I’m not giving up on you. On us.” I lay beside her, turning my head to see her eyes. “I don’t care what that involves. I’m in this for the long haul, Baby.”
“Are you sure you’re okay with this, Leo?” she asks.
“I wasn’t,” I tell her honestly. “Until I saw how you responded between Gage and me.” Watching her come undone for Gage was the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen. I saw her body’s reactions and the emotions slide over her face. I’m addicted to that sight now. “Everything else will work itself out.”
“Even with Ryder?”
“Ryder and I have a long way to go,” I say with a chuckle. “But if he wants you as much as he says, he will do whatever it is to make you happy.”
Her eyes turn sad, and I hate it. “Ryder has never left before. No matter how mad we’ve gotten at each other, we always work it out.”
“That’s before feelings were involved, Baby,” I sigh. “You guys will work it out.” I grab her hand and lace our fingers, kissing the back of her hand, and lay them down on the bed. She leaves it this time, even squeezing it.
“I figured you were hoping we wouldn’t.”
“I’d never want anything that would make you unhappy.” I reach up with my other hand, running my knuckles down her cheek. “I’ll do everything in this world to make sure you stay happy. Even if that includes Ryder.” I rub my thumb on the back of her hand. “What happened last night?”
She sighs. “I don’t know,” she answers. “I told Ryder I had feelings for you, and the look in his eyes broke my heart.” That made sense why he was pissed off enough to leave. How does she not see how much Ryder is in love with her? I’m not going to be the one to tell her; he needed to man up and tell her himself. “I just needed outof the house and ended up at Skyline. When I started drinking, I knew my places would call Ryder.”
I chuckle. “You know Mateo called me, right?”
“That traitor,” she gasps, clutching her chest in mock outrage.
“He was worried about you. They both were.”
“I know.” She turns her head to me again. “I gained a lot of respect for your brothers last night. They entertained me for hours and never left my side.” She rubs her hand down my face. “I still have some shit to work through when it comes to them, but I’m trying. For you.”
“I get it, Baby. I appreciate that you’re trying with my brothers, but do it for you. Not me.” I still didn’t know what happened with Frankie completely, but now didn’t seem like a good time to ask. This is the most we’ve talked about since all of this went down, and I wasn’t messing it up now. Something told me she would shut down if I did; she could tell me on her own time.
She rolls over onto her side, kissing my lips before wrapping her arms around my neck, holding me tight. I could feel relief flood my system. Is everything perfect between us? No. But I’m going to make damn sure that they are.
Between Gage and me, we could get this woman anything she ever wanted.
Starting with getting Ryder back home.
Chapter 15
Holden
Iwaited fifteen minutes after I heard Les and Leo walk downstairs before I searched for her to make sure she was okay. I watched them bring her in last night, and I’ve never seen any of them have to carry her into the house. I find her on the back patio by the pool, but she isn’t alone. Gage is kissing her deeply, with Leo sitting on the other side. She turns from Gage, and Leo kisses her the same way. I know I should walk away, but I find myself frozen to the spot one step outside the door. I should be upset that she just kissed me, but I wasn’t. I heard a lot more around the house than they thought, and I’ve listened to Les and Gage talking. I heard him tell her she could have whoever she wanted, including all of us. I’m just happy that I even have a chance with someone like Les. I don’t care who else is involved.
