“Papi.” He put a hand on my chest and stepped within my bubble. We were close,veryclose. The proximity had me holding my tongue. “I’m not sure if it’s work or if something else is going on in your life, but it reminds me of the Xander I first met.”
Years ago, Alejandro had been standing at the bar trying to get himself another gin and tonic. Two guys decided they wouldn’t take no for an answer. He had been polite when he refuted their advances, but I had broken a nose, arm, and half a dozen fingers when they didn’t take the hint. If it hadn’t been for Alejandro dragging me off them, I’d have crushed one of their skulls with a bar stool.
“Ouch.” That hurt more than I cared to admit. Here I thought I had been making progress.
“Bernard is the dad of the group. Griffin is our baby brother. Xander, you're the overprotective big brother. You don’t get mad at us. Youneverget mad at us.”
“It’s happened before.”
“Tell me when. I’ll wait.”
“I…” I sorted through the numerous times Bernard had to talk me down. I might have threatened to kill Griffin’s boss, Alejandro’s co-workers, and basically every man who broke up with any of them. “Well, damn.”
“I thought therapy was doing you some good.”
“Wait.” I had never told any of them about seeing a therapist. Granted, I had only gone a half dozen times before I decided reliving my childhood was counterproductive. “How did you know about that?”
“I have my ways.”
“Thank God you’re cute.”
“I do every day.”
“Take care of yourself, handsome. I rather like my big brother willing to defend my honor. But let it be for a good reason and not because you’re a giant man-child having a tantrum.”
Speechless. Nearly. “Wait, who are you in this dysfunctional family?”
“The sexy middle child.”
He patted me on the cheek before sliding his arm through mine again. Apparently, we had moved past the pep talk portion of the morning.
“Tell me about Aiden.”
“It’s not a thing,” I repeated myself, hoping it’d sink in.
“Somebody protests too much. Stop being a jerk and tell me about him.”
“He has a knack for being in the wrong place at the right time.”
“So you two have that in common.”
“He works at Revelations with Griffin’s boyfriend. I’m not sure what he does right now, but he thinks he blew his chance at being a reporter. He’s trying to make a name for himself.”
“Ambition? So far, it sounds good.”
“He has this naïve belief that he can make a difference by reporting the truth. Can you believe it? When has the truth done the world any good?”
“’Cause lying is such a noble pursuit.”
“That’s not what I mean.”
We stopped in front of Alejandro’s building. This part of the Ward had a smattering of old mills that had been converted into industrial-style apartments. It served as Alejandro’s base of operation, or his den of sin, depending on who you asked.
“I need you to close your eyes.”
Eyes narrowed, brows scrunched, and a sour expression tugged at my lips. I was about to protest, expecting him to slap me across the face. It took a moment before I remembered being shot and the lack of bullet holes in my skin. Suddenly, nothing Alejandro could manage seemed to be worrisome.
“Do it, scaredy-cat.”
