Page 153 of The Alpha and His Song: Volume One

I asked, “Are you early because you want to get back to Sean?” Immy answered, “Yes. So go relax and take a bath. I’m going to decorate.” Immy had a bag with her that obviously held the decorations. I shrugged admitting, “A bath sounds nice.”

I ended up relaxing for about thirty minutes. I stepped out of my bathroom in casual clothes quickly spotting the outfit Immy had laid out. I couldn’t help but laugh. My friend had gotten some pretty cute lingerie and a comfy, but super cute outfit.

I put it on and stepped out into my living area. I gasped, “You did all this in thirty minutes?” Immy asked, “Do you like it?” She had turned the entire place into an intimate, romantic, cozy setting for two. I grinned saying, “I love it.” Immy squealed, “Yay!”

I looked around, “I still can’t believe you did this in thirty minutes.” Immy snorted, “It took seconds.” My friend was obviously exaggerating, but she was good at decorating. Immy added, “Daddy Ted is an event planner with Keaton’s mom.” I snorted, “Of course they are.” Because they owned the whole town, they obviously needed party planners in the family.

Immy chuckled, “I got the ingredients for everything you need to cook.” I gasped, “What? You did? Are you superwoman? How on earth did you have time to do all that?” Immy didn’t answer my questions, “Oh and I left a surprise in your bedside drawer. I’ll see you later.”

I hugged her, “You’re the best. Be careful when you leave, Ken is downstairs.” Immy laughed, “He won’t see me.” I liked her confidence. I offered, “I’ve gone down the back stairway to avoid him.” She smiled, “Thanks.”

I went into my room, then heard a loud pop and ran back out. I looked around, but nothing had made the sound. Immy was gone too. I went into the guest room, and the window was open. I ran over and looked out.

I didn’t see my friend anywhere though. I muttered, “Crazy girl, jumping out of the window. She must not be hurt though, or I’d see her.” I shrugged and started getting everything ready for dinner since I wanted to make everything from scratch. I threw my hair into a ponytail to get to work.

I had just put it into the oven when I heard my computer signaling a call coming in. I moved in there and smiled when I saw who was calling. I answered, “Hi, Caspian. I hear you had mob court earlier. The books will have to get right on that correction because they usually call them meetings, not court.”

My brother snorted, “I see. I’m still not in the mob. I called because I wanted to say Happy Valentine’s Day, little sister.” I nearly cried but managed not to. I whispered, “Happy Valentine’s Day, big brother.” Caspian smiled.

A woman entered the video frame and I recognized her instantly. I grinned greeting, “Hi, Serenity.” Serenity smiled, “Odette, thank you for answering. I’m sure Caspian would’ve been sullen for our plans the rest of the day had you not.”

I teased, “Well, we can’t have that. You look beautiful.” Serenity smiled, “As do you. What are you doing today?” I answered, “I’m making my song boy dinner. Despite his ex’s best efforts to have my song boy think he needs to fly me off to Italy for the day, I made our entire meal from scratch. Lux used to….” I trailed off and looked down.

Caspian prompted, “Lux used to make you food?” I nodded, “He did. He got pretty good at cooking. His dad’s wife taught him, but he learned so he could cook for me. Lux would make enough so that when he was gone at his dad’s I’d still have food.”

I laughed remembering, “Lux showed me how to heat everything up in the microwave. He’d pull up a chair to the counter for me to stand on so we could cook together. He even gave me little tasks to do. At the time, I thought I was such a big helper when in reality I probably made it ten times harder for him.”

Caspian told me, “I’m sure Lux treasures those memories, Odette. I’m also sure our brother misses you.” I wiped tears away, “I really miss him. How many Lux’s are there in our family?” Caspian snorted, “Quite a few.” I deflated.

Serenity chimed in, “While that’s true, there is only one other you could find where you are. Are you still looking for your Lux?” I shrugged, “Yes and no.” Serenity sighed, “Finding Lux Vennox scared you. You can still look for your brother.”

Caspian reasoned, “You can’t find Lux Vennox again given you already found him. The next Lux could be our brother.” I snorted, “Sure I could. You put Lux V somewhere else undercover.” Caspian smiled, “That’s a great idea.”

I rolled my eyes, “That you already thought of.” Caspian laughed, “Maybe. I do want to find you.” I sighed and sat back because the truth was, I wanted him to find me too. Caspian’s eyes narrowed, “You want me to find you, just tell me where you are.”

I muttered, “I didn’t say that.” Serenity laughed, “Caspian and I are somewhat experts in listening to what people don’t say. Your face and body language tell us you want Caspian to find you.” I retorted, “So find me, big brother.” I ended the call.

I put my head down on my desk, but my computer rang again. I answered, “What?” Caspian said, “Ironically, I don’t get hung up on by anyone but you Odette. Little sister, what is bothering you about that?” I asked, “Do you really want to find me?” Caspian answered, “Yes.”

I asked, “Then why haven’t you? I can’t be that hard to find. You know my fake name, I’m in school, and I took out a restraining order. Are you even looking for me?” Caspian promised, “If mom wasn’t so good at keeping things hidden, I’d have found you already.”

I asked, “What?” Caspian’s eyes swam with tears, “I am getting closer to you, Odette. When I do find you, I’ll show you the proof that I have been looking. All of us have. Serenity and all our brother’s songs are out there looking too.”

Caspian paused admitting, “We go when we can, but we don’t want to draw too much attention to ourselves. We don’t want the Merrick’s to know we know about you. I know people let you down, and I am truly sorry for that. I won’t though. I am looking for you because I love you, Odette.”

I wiped away tears, “I’m sorry. I’m not being fair, I just don’t understand why you haven’t found me.” Caspian sighed, “There are things I cannot explain over the video calls. I will explain everything to you when we can sit down in person. If you don’t want to tell me where you are, I’ll keep looking. I will never stop.”

I whispered, “Everyone leaves me, and I’ve let you in so much. If you guys stopped calling or….” Caspian interrupted, “That will never happen. You are our little sister.” I sighed, “Are you sure you want me as a little sister? I’m probably going crazy, and I’m a bit of a brat. I keep hanging up on you, won't tell you where I am, and I’m apparently upset you haven’t found me yet.”

Caspian laughed, “You are nowhere near close to my brattiest sibling.” I asked, “Which one is?” Caspian smirked, “I’ll let you figure that out.” I laughed a little, “Ok.” I added, “You and Serenity should go enjoy your Valentine’s Day. My song boy will be here soon, and I need to put the garlic bread in the oven.”

Caspian said, “Right, and your song boy’s name is…” He trailed off intentionally. I laughed, “I call him Key because I hear a song in my head when he’s around.” Caspian snorted, “Naturally.” I laughed and ended the call on a better note.

I finished the garlic bread and decided I needed another shower. I quickly jumped in and was finishing my makeup when Sassy started singing. CRAP! Immy! She had to get back here. I should’ve called her sooner. I texted her.

Me: RUN DO NOT WALK! Keaton is here.

I heard a knock on the door followed by that pop sound again. What was that? I looked around my room before giving up. To my surprise, Immy was in the living room. Jeez, how fast could she climb into the window? My friend could win a prize. I guess she had told me she’d had secret boyfriends before. Immy really had all this down to an art form.