My alarm goes off way too early for me. I set it to vibrate, hoping not to wake up Lexi. I lie in bed a little longer, staring at the ceiling. I blow out my cheeks letting out a silent breath, thinking about last night. So my body definitely isn’t broken.
It still feels.
It still reacts.
It still wants.
And it all begins and ends with Aiden. But I’m scared. Scared that when he touches me, I’ll go back to that hell. That my mind will take me prisoner again. It would ruin me. Ruin us.
I shake the thoughts from my head. I can’t think about that right now. I look over to Lexi, sleeping peacefully. She woke up once last night, screaming “no” over and over. It’s something I’m used to, but Aiden, he about had a heart attack running in here, gun drawn ready to attack. I silently giggle, remembering it.
Noise in the living room reminds me that I should be getting up. I slip on my robe and walk out of my room. I’m startled and let out a small scream at the sight of a man who isn’t Aiden. It’s not even light enough outside to brighten my living room and only the kitchen light is on. My reaction happens before I notice that it’s Max. I pick up a pillow from my couch and hit him with it.
“Geez, you scared the crap out of me.”
“Not my fault you’re jumpy,” he says jokingly, but he winces as soon as he says it. “Sorry,” he says, stuffing his pockets with his hands.
“It’s okay. I just wasn’t expecting to see you here.”
“Addie, what happened?” A small voice behind me asks. I turn to Lexi, and she’s rubbing her eyes. When she puts her hands down she sees Max.
“MAX!” she screams, running into his arms. He picks her up and throws her into the air. When he’s done, her little arms wrap around his neck.
“Hey, Lulu. I heard you had a rough day yesterday,” he says, squeezing her. His enormous arms almost hide all of her. I think Max loves Lexi as much as she loves him. It makes me see Max in a totally different light. He has a soft side that only Lexi brings out. It’s sweet.
She lays her head on his shoulder. “Yes, a bad guy tried to take me,” she murmurs. Her head shoots up, looking him in the eyes, “But I got his DAN.” She looks at me, twisting her lips and then looks back to Max. “I got his DNA. It made my hand hurt until I washed it off. I don’t like DNA on me,” she whines.
“Good girl.” Max chuckles. “Hey, do you like banana bread?”
Lexi’s face beams and mine … well, mine frantically looks around because where there is banana bread is where I’ll find my drink. When I spot it on the counter, I run straight to it. Max watches me suck half down in one sip and his eyes widen. I shrug and laugh.
“My mommy makes really good banana bread,” Lexi says as Max walks over to the kitchen with her. He looks at me, unsure what to say.
“I bet your mommy’s banana bread is a lot better than this store bought one,” I say, taking out a slice of the bread and handing a piece to her. “When I was little, my mommy and I used to make brownies.”
“Do you miss your mommy? I miss my mommy.” Her bottom lip sticks out.
“Every day, sweet girl.” My voice cracks with emotion. It gets me every time she asks about her mom. I glance at Max and his eyes gloss over. He looks away quickly. Yeah, Max, even big manly men like you can’t escape the emotional tug when it comes to Lexi.
The front door opens with Aiden and Damon strutting in. Aiden’s eyes meet mine, and he flashes a sexy, half grin, displaying a dimple. The one that always makes me melt.
“Aiden, I got banana bread.” Lexi holds out a piece for him to see.
“Let me see that. I need to make sure it’s not bad.”
“It’s not bad,” she says, looking at it while she holds it out.
Aiden walks over, holds her arm up, and acts like he’s inspecting it. “Hmm … I don’t know.” Suddenly he eats the piece of banana bread right out of her hand.
Lexi squeals. “Hey, that’s mine!”
“Do you want it back,” he asks and then opens his mouth.
“Yucky.” She wrinkles her little nose. I agree, that’s gross. He finishes chewing the bite and says, “Well, you’re right, it’s definitely not bad.” He pulls her out of Max’s arms, tickling her. She giggles and wiggles right out of his grasp.
Grabbing the rest of her banana bread, she narrows her eyes at Aiden and says, “Mine.”
Everyone laughs. She climbs the barstool, but struggles to get to the top. Damon gives her a hand.
“Hey, Lulu,” he says, sitting her on the stool.
“Hey, Peter Pan,” she giggles.
Max and Aiden both look at each other and throw their heads back, laughing. “Lexi, I thought we agreed, not Peter Pan. I’m a Lost Boy,” he says, standing tall. Lexi thinks Sydney looks like Tinkerbell, too. Damon came over with Sydney one day so Lexi thought they were together. She started calling him Peter Pan after that. He tried his hardest to get her to call him a Lost Boy instead, but it seems Peter Pan stuck.
She just shakes her head as she pops another piece of bread in her mouth. The guys continue to laugh and Damon flips them off. I’m standing back, adoring the camaraderie with Lexi and the guys, enjoying my drink and the bread. A little girl having three very large men wrapped around her finger is entertaining.
“I think I should check your bread, too,” Aiden says, walking up to me. I smile as I break off a piece and put it up to Aiden’s mouth. Instead of snatching it like he did Lexi’s, he sticks my entire two fingers in his mouth, sucking them as I pull them out. Heat spreads through me instantly. He flashes a sexy grin and winks.
“You’re not supposed to eat her fingers, Aiden,” Lexi exclaims.
“Yeah, Aiden,” I say sarcastically as I wipe off my fingers with the napkin I’m holding.
“I was just making sure it was good.” He leans overs and whispers in my ear, “And it was fucking delicious.” I notice Lexi hop off the barstool behind Aiden, and I look up at him pursing my lips. “She’s getting the jar, isn’t she?” I nod, putting my hand over my mouth to stifle my laugh. “Damn, she’s got good hearing.”
She stands in between us. “That’ll be two dollars.” She holds up the jar.
“Two?” His eyes start to move around as he tries to recall when he said two bad words. I mouth damn to remind him. “That is not a bad word,” he replies.
“Aiden, you won’t win. Just pay her.” Max chuckles.
After Aiden reluctantly pays her, I tell her to get dressed because we’re going on a trip.
Her eyes go wide. “Are you taking me far away from the bad guy?”
I bend down and grab her hands. “Yes, very far away. We are going on a plane.” Her eyes get even bigger. “Have you ever been on a plane?” I ask, wondering if she’s scared.
“Nope. Are we going to Disneyland?” she excitedly asks. Why the hell does she think we’re going to Disneyland? When I don’t answer her right away, she continues. “My friend went on a plane and she went to Disneyland.”
“Sorry, sweet girl, we’re not going to Disneyland.”
Her shoulders slump. “Oh.” She sighs. Holy shit, how do parents deal with letting their kids down?
“But you’ll have fun where we’re going. You get to meet my aunt in Texas.” My words are rushed as I swing her little hands.
“Is she nicer than my aunt?” she asks. That is definitely a yes. I still can’t believe what a bitch Lexi’s aunt was. It’s horrible to say because she’s dead now, but wow.
“She will love you, Lexi. And she has horses, cows, and chickens. You will have so much fun,” I say excitedly. I know I’m exaggerating how much fun she’ll have, hoping to make her forget about Disney. “Oh, and we’re going on Max’s airplane.”
She whips around to Max and runs to him. He swoops her up in his arms. “You have a plane?” she asks. It’s so cute how animated little girls can be.
“Yep.”
She puts both her hands on Max’s cheeks and puts her face right up to his. They are touching nose to nose.
“Can you take me to Disneyland?” She stares into his eyes. So much for trying to get her to forget.
“Lulu, for you, I’ll take you anywhere.” She screams and wraps her hands around his neck. I narrow my eyes at Max and cross my arms. He must understand why I’m irritated because he adds, “But not this trip. You need to go to Amy’s house this time.”
She looks at him. “Okay. But do you pinky promise you’ll take me to Disneyland?” He looks at me, tilts his head, and shrugs. I shrug back, not having a clue.
“Lulu, I don’t know what that means.”
She sticks her pinky out and says, “You have to wrap your pinky with mine and promise you’ll take me to Disneyland.”
He does as she says, and then she runs to the bedroom to get dressed. I look at Max and giggle. “You’re such a pushover.”
“There is no way in hell that I’d be able to tell that little girl no. Those eyes are like voodoo, it’s fu…” he stops himself, “…freaking ridiculous.”
We all laugh, glancing at her bad-word jar. I doubt she ever had that much money in her jar from home. We’re so bad.
“Well, brother, looks like we’re all going to Disney after this,” Aiden says, getting off the couch, slapping Max on the back.