“What in the hell is wrong with those two?” she asks angrily, and I’m buoyed by her spirit. She’s not broken. She’s pissed.

“They’re acting like brats,” I tell her simply.

“Ugh,” she says in frustration, and stomps her foot. “Why can’t they just get along for my sake? I mean, how hard is it to be nice to each other on my birthday?”

I shrug, because if I knew the answer to that, this shit show would have never happened. “I suspect they both care for you a great deal, but they’re letting their petty differences overshadow that.”

“Well, glad at least someone in this family has some common fucking sense,” she mutters, then she dips her head in apology. “Sorry…excuse my language.”

My hands come to her shoulders and I give an encouraging squeeze. “Listen, honey…this is all new and everyone’s trying to find their footing.”

“No,” she says angrily. “We’ve had weeks to come to grips with this. Weeks in which Roman’s come to care for me and weeks in which Gray has accepted a new sister into her life. They’ve had weeks to get over this shit, and I’m so damn tired of listening to them tear each other down, trying to be supportive so their opinions matter to someone, all while walking a fine line so I don’t offend them at any given time, I want to just slap the shit out of them.”

I chuckle, then I laugh, because an image of Lexi doing just that is as funny as it is appealing.

“Perhaps now is the time to make your feelings known,” I suggest to her. “Maybe you need to quit playing so nice with them.”

Something resolute filters into Lexi’s eyes and she squares her shoulders, tilting her chin, which is an exact replica of mine. “You’re right. Give me your car keys.”

“What?” I ask dumbly as I reach into my pocket.

“I’m leaving,” she says sweetly, but with a tinge of menace in her voice. “You can go back in there and tell everyone I said thanks for a lovely birthday, and in case you’re missing my meaning, that’s me being sarcastic.”

“Okay,” I say slowly as I hand her my keys. “What do you really want me to tell them?”

“Tell them to bite me,” she says as turns toward the garage that sits off to the right of the house but is attached by a glassed-in walkway. “Now, I assume you have some way to open this garage from the outside so I don’t have to walk back into that house?”

“There’s a code panel,” I tell her as I follow along behind her.

“Good,” she says, her voice now determined and making me now feel slightly sorry for both Roman and Gray for whatever lesson she’s about to teach them. “Tell them they are both forbidden from contacting me again until they work their shit out. If they can’t, then…well, tell them again to bite me and have a nice life.”

I grin to myself, because Lexi’s is too damn adorable in her ire, and yet I have no doubt she means every word she’s saying. This daughter of mine is confident enough in herself that she’s never going to settle for anything less than she deserves, and I can’t say I blame her. She deserves the world.

Within minutes, I’ve got the garage opened, accepted a fiercely hard hug from Lexi, and watch as she drives my vintage Jaguar—which I never let anyone drive—away from her family, her man, and her birthday party. When the headlights are out of sight, I turn back to my house with a determined step.

It’s time for Brian Brannon to say what’s on his mind now.

Chapter 27

Roman

I stare at my phone, willing it to do something.

Willing it to play “Happy,” by Pharrell Williams, which Lexi had programmed into my phone as her ringtone. I thought it was ridiculous, yet loved it all the same.

Anything other than this silence, which I hate, yet I don’t expect anything different, because Lexi told Gray and me, through Brian, with some very harsh words that we were to leave her alone unless we worked out our shit.

Needless to say, that hasn’t happened, although I’m wondering why because I’m so rattled by the thought of not having Lexi that I’m willing to kiss Gray’s ass in any way necessary to make things right with my girl.

When Brian came into the living room, his face a mask of thunderous rage, I actually felt like a twelve-year-old kid who got caught sneaking cigarettes in the backyard. And he laid into Gray and me with such venom that for a moment I was afraid he’d have a stroke or something. By the time he’d finished with both of us, telling us we’d both driven Lexi off from her birthday celebration, I don’t think I’d ever felt lower in my life.

Then he promptly told everyone except Georgia to leave his house, and in his exact words, “figure our shit out” or be prepared to lead a life without Lexi in it.

As I was getting into my car, I glanced up at the front door and saw Brian standing there with Georgia by his side. Her arm was around his waist and she was pressed against his side. Brian’s shoulders were slumped in disappointment, but Georgia said something to him—I can’t imagine what—and his head tilted down to look at her. His face was gentle and he nodded before bending to give her a kiss.

I’d like to imagine she told him everything would work out okay, and that Brian’s nod of affirmation was because he had confidence in Gray and me to figure this out.

Hope he’s fucking right.

Of course, I ignored Lexi’s request we not contact her and called her before I’d even made it out of Brian’s driveway. And of course, she didn’t answer. I left her a short voicemail just saying I was sorry, and then…well, what else could I say. I hung up feeling completely out of sorts and lost.

And now here I sit, nursing a glass of scotch as I sit on my couch in a dark living room and stare at my phone resting on my thigh. Desperately missing Lexi, and vainly hoping she’ll call.

When my phone does ring, it doesn’t permeate my fog at first that it’s not Lexi’s ringtone and I jump and grab for it. It falls off my thigh to the floor, and in my haste to lunge for it, I slosh half my scotch over my stomach and crotch.

“Fuck,” I mutter as I put the glass on the coffee table and nab my phone from the carpet. I don’t recognize the number but I answer it anyway. “Hello?”