I hug everyone as they pile into Kyle’s apartment. Charlie, Mallory, Baylor, Skylar and Piper have all come over to ‘keep me company’ while Kyle is at work and Caden goes to a late meeting. Seems I’m not even on bedrest anymore yet I still need babysitting.
I’m not complaining though, I’ve missed them all so much. Mallory even brought her daughter, Kiera, who is three weeks younger than Ellie. We sit them on a soft blanket next to the couch as I catch everyone up on my life.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you any of this when we talked on the phone earlier,” I say to Baylor after I tell them everything. “But I just didn’t have the energy to talk about it more than absolutely necessary.”
“Are you kidding?” she says. “I completely understand, Elizabeth. I mean, Alexa. Oh, wow, that is going to take some getting used to.”
“Please call me Lexi,” I say.
“So you’ve been running and on your own for over a year?” Skylar asks, her head shaking in anger over what I told them about Grant.
“Just about thirteen months,” I say.
“And you supported yourself with no identification, no address and no bank account?” Mallory asks.
“Well, I did some odd jobs before Ellie was born. Walking dogs, cleaning apartments, but after she came along, there was no way for me to work.”
“Is that why you came back?” Charlie asks. “You ran out of money?”
I shake my head. “Money was tight, but I was managing. I had sold some jewelry and I was babysitting for some of the moms I met at Mommy and Me.”
“Then why come back? Especially if you think he knows you are in New York?” Baylor asks.
I don’t even realize it when I look over at Kyle’s bedroom.
“Oh, my God!” Baylor squeals. “You’re in love with him!”
“I knew it!” Mallory yells.
“You owe me ten bucks,” Skylar says to Piper.
My jaw drops in disbelief. “You bet on me?” I ask, watching Piper get out her wallet to make good on her bet.
Skylar laughs. “We all knew you and Kyle were right for each other. Even Piper. But she pegged you for a runner.”
I look at Piper and her eyes look sad as they hold mine. But what I see in them is something . . . familiar.
“I’m still running, you know,” I tell them. “I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to resume my identity. He could come after me. After Ellie. I can’t risk that.”
“Kyle will protect you. Those Stone brothers are very good at protecting the ones they love,” Baylor says.
“It’s not like that,” I tell them. “Kyle and I aren’t together. He’s letting us stay here for our safety, not because he wants to get together with me. I blew that chance when I walked out of the hospital six months ago.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Charlie says. “I see that man once a week at dinner. He may say he’s over you. He may even think he is. But the eyes never lie. He’s lost, Lexi. Those weeks you were in the hospital, he was a different person. He’s always been happy, but back then he was, I don’t know . . . glowing, for lack of a better word. I’d never seen him like that before and I’ve not seen him like that since. That is not a man who just wants to be friends with you. Believe me.”
“I appreciate your support and optimism,” I tell them. “I really do. But I can tell Kyle is still very hurt and guarded, even now that he knows my past. He’s helping me because that’s who he is—a nice guy who helps people. A doctor who wants to change the world. He’d do it for anyone. Heck, he did it for me before he even really knew me.”
Skylar elbows Piper. “Care to make another wager?”
Piper rolls her eyes at her sister.
“Regardless, I’ll bet Ethan can help you with your Grant problem,” Mallory says. “He has lots of connections. Maybe even at Chicago P.D.”
Baylor and Skylar and Mallory all try to convince me to let Ethan help, while Charlie and Piper look at me with sympathetic eyes.
“No,” I tell them in no uncertain terms. “I already told Kyle and Caden that I don’t want Grant contacted. There are just too many laws that protect those who shouldn’t be protected.”
“She’s right,” Charlie says, coming to my defense. “We all know scumbags get away with too much as it is. She can’t risk her daughter. Are we in agreement, girls?”
All five of them put their hands on top of one another’s. Then they look at me and nod to the top of their hand pile. I place my hand on top and it somehow feels like in doing so, I’ve become one of them. A sister of sorts. Someone they will protect.
I’ve always wanted a sister. Now I have five.
Tears spill down my cheeks.
Baylor hugs me. “It’s okay, Lexi. We’re here for you, whatever you need.”
I nod, wiping the wetness from my face. “Thank you. I don’t even know what to say.”
“Say you’ll be my assistant,” she says.
I look at her with drawn brows. “What? Surely you’ve filled the position by now.”
She laughs. “I did. And it was a horrible train wreck. The girl didn’t know a hyperbole from a simile. She lasted about six weeks before I realized I was spending more time telling her how to do her job than I was doing my job.”
I shake my head. “I can’t,” I say with resounding regret. “I can’t work as Alexa Lucas. He’ll find me if I do. And I can’t get paid as Elizabeth Smith—I have no identification. No bank account or social security number.”
“I don’t care about any of that,” Baylor says. “You are exactly the kind of person I need working for me. The way you discussed books with me in the hospital tells me you know your stuff. You have a degree in literature, so I’m assuming you know what hyperbole is without me having to gouge my eyes out trying to explain it to you.” She laughs at her own hyperbolic joke. “And you can work part-time from home, right here from Kyle’s apartment. I can messenger over everything. And when we need to have meetings, I can come to you. And paying you under the table won’t be a problem.”
“But that’s not fair to you,” I say, wanting so badly to accept her offer, but not willing to do it if she made it out of pity. “You wouldn’t be able to deduct my pay from your taxes.”
“Gah!” Piper bolts out. “Do you know how much money she makes writing sappy love stories? People eat that shit up, Lexi. She’s rolling in it.”
“Says the fiancée of the football star,” Baylor scolds her youngest sister. Then she turns back to me. “I also wouldn’t have to pay your social security or your medical and dental. It would save me a lot of paperwork. It’s a win-win situation. Will you at least think about it?”
I shake my head. “I don’t have to think about it,” I say.
She looks sadly at the other girls.
“I don’t have to think about it, because I’ll do it,” I say, smiling. “I’ll take the job.”
She shrieks and pulls me in for a hug. “You won’t regret it,” she says. “I’m an awesome boss.”
I laugh. “Sure. As long as I know a hyperbole, from . . . what was that other fancy word?” I joke.
“See?” she says. “You’re a smart ass like me. I think we’re going to get along just fine.”
“So, you have a place to live and a job,” Mallory says. “Now we just have to work on the man.”
I sigh in frustration. “The man who doesn’t want a relationship anymore?” I ask her.
“Haven’t you learned by now that men don’t have the faintest clue about what’s best for them?” she asks.
I shrug. “Grant is the only man I’ve been with. I have no one else to compare to.”
“Well, take our word for it,” Skylar says. “They are clueless when it comes to matters of the heart. And sometimes we have to nudge their hearts in the right direction.”
“I—I don’t even know how to begin to do that,” I say.
Charlie laughs. “Ethan said Kyle was all frazzled when he called earlier. I’d say you know exactly how to do that.”
Before the girls leave, Charlie and Piper pull me aside. “We have some idea what you’ve been through,” Charlie says. “If you ever need to talk, you can call one of us. We’ve both been, uh . . . mistreated by men.”
I shake my head in sadness. “I’m sorry,” I say.
“We’re good now,” Piper assures me. “And you will be, too. We just didn’t want you thinking you were alone in this. Really, anytime, day or night.”
“Thank you. That means a lot to me.”
Once they leave and I get Ellie to bed, I sit and stare at the ‘fortune’ Kyle tried to throw away earlier. Then I think about what Skylar said about men needing a nudge in the right direction.
I send Skylar a text, hoping an offer I never took her up on six months ago still stands.