Lexi, Baby Read online

  Adam looked between Lan and me. “Looks like you two worked things out.” Then he turned to Trish and grinned. “You’re a hot mess,” he called out to her and I heard Trish growl “asshole.”

  He held up his hands defensively. “Hey, I just call it like I see it, honey. You’ll feel better when you eat; food’s ready.”

  “Yeah, and Uncle Adam let me make all the pancakes!” Layla exclaimed happily.

  Now my happy mood was slowly slipping away.

  “Layla, why do you keep calling him Uncle Adam?” I asked her curiously. Layla’s eyes moved to Landyn and then came back to me.

  “Because he’s my Uncle, duh, Mama!” Layla said sassily as she put a hand on her hip and worked her neck back and forth as if to say “booya!”

  Geez! She might as well have snapped her fingers at me too.

  I had to force myself not to lecture her on talking to me that way. However, I did give her a warning look just before turning my attention to Lan, who had a very unmistakable guilty look on his face.

  “What is she talking about?” I asked him suspiciously.

  The whole room grew quiet; not that it wasn’t already quiet, but it had now grown so quiet I could nearly distinguish each person’s individual breathing pattern. It was creepy.

  As I waited for a response, I caught Landyn and Adam and Layla looking back and forth between each other. Now I was getting pissed.

  “What?!” I shouted.

  Still no response.

  I continued to look between the two men waiting for either one to answer me when, out of the blue, it dawned on me…

  Now that they were standing together in the same room with hardly any clothes on, I could easily compare. The answer was staring me in the face; I just had to put the puzzle pieces together.

  Was it the body? Maybe, they had the same muscular build, but Landyn was possibly half an inch taller.

  Was it the face? No, they had different face shapes, one was square and rugged, and the other was round and baby-faced. Their skin coloring and texture was identical though.

  Was it the eyes? Yes, it was the eyes. The color wasn’t the same, Adam’s green, Lan’s amber, but Adam’s were just as bright as Landyn’s. They were the exact same shape and they both had extra-long unruly eyelashes.

  And the hair! Even though Adam’s hair was in a short buzz cut, I could tell it was jet black and thick, just like Landyn’s.

  There was also a little something in Adam’s face that said he was older, but not by much. Maybe it was the deeper laugh lines he had in the corners of his eyes.

  “You have got to be fucking kidding me!” I shouted when I finally put it together. I felt like I had been slapped.

  “You’re brothers,” I hissed furiously without even needing them to confirm it. “I can’t believe you’re brothers and neither one of you told me!”

  “Holy cow,” I heard Trish say from somewhere behind me.

  “Layla, cover your ears and don’t listen,” I ordered even though I knew little Ms. Nosey Rosy would be eavesdropping. I still waited until she did what I asked before facing Landyn who looked sheepish.

  “Is that why you got so mad when I was thinking about telling Trish how hot the detective was? Because he was your brother?” I watched Landyn’s remorseful expression rapidly change to anger. His lips grew tight, a muscle ticked in his jaw and his narrowed eyes hit Adam’s like this situation was his fault. I could feel the energy radiating off Landyn’s fury infused body.

  “Oh, don’t even pull the macho man, possessive guy crap with me now Lan. You know I’m stupidly, madly in love with you even though you make me want to pull out my hair most of the time. I’m mad at myself for not figuring it out myself. You two look so ridiculously alike.”

  I turned to Adam. “And you’re such a jerk, flirting so shamelessly with your brother’s woman. You were just using me to bait him weren’t you?”

  I didn’t let him answer and took a deep breath.

  “I knew you two were having some kind of secret mind reading conversation last night. How did I not realize this?”

  I turned to Trish. “Why didn’t you see this?” She opened her mouth to speak, but Landyn butted in.

  “Baby, I was going to tell you, but I assumed I’d never see him again and I didn’t want you to get involved. I told you that the other times I’ve seen him were only by chance. We’ve always known who each other were, but other than that we haven’t talked, at least not until you came back into my life. You brought him with you and now he’s not leaving. I got here at two this morning. It took me nearly two hours to find out exactly where he lived, but I knew he’d keep you with him.”

  He quickly glanced at Adam and then back to me. “We talked about a lot, Lexi, and we’re going to get to know each other. It seems that in just one night you’ve made quite the impression on him and he wants to get to know us as a family.”

  I was stunned. I looked to Adam.

  His eyes were already on me. “Brother or not, if he fucks up again, I’ll be waiting to steal you away.” He sounded completely serious, but the twinkle in his eyes gave away his mischievousness.

  “Watch it,” Lan mumbled. “You don’t know me well enough to joke around with her like that.”

  I sighed. Adam grinned. I heard Trish’s broken sobs behind me.

  “Please tell me my life won’t always be like this,” I begged out loud to anyone who could tell me otherwise.

  Epilogue

  Two year anniversary

  It was our two year wedding anniversary today and we spent part of it putting the finishing touches on an ad we were working on for the bar. Final revisions just so happened to be due today which was a bummer.

  I helped out in the bar when I could, but it was mostly to feel like I could be more than a wife and mother. Not that I didn’t love being a wife and mother, because I did; it’s what I lived for. But I liked feeling in the loop with life outside of taking kids to school, cooking and cleaning.

  As I looked down at Lan sitting behind his desk while I gave him suggestions, I couldn’t help but be physically aware of how edible he looked in his tight white shirt and jeans; one particular muscle straining against his zipper. I started massaging his shoulders and before I knew it, I couldn’t keep my hands off him.

  My hormones needed him. We needed a quickie.

  That’s how we ended up on the couch in his office…

  “Lexi, baby, we’re supposed to be working,” Landyn breathed in my ear as he slowly worked my clit.

  “Mmmm hmmm…” I moaned as I lifted into his hand.

  “Lan, please hurry,” I begged. Immediately he filled me with his cock and didn’t stop moving. His hand fisted in my hair and he forced me to look into his eyes. Possession was written all over his face and I was astonished to see he was still on fire for me. That he was still desperate for me after all this time and everything we’ve gone through.

  After two kids, a couple more barely there stretch marks and boobs that breastfed two babies instead of one, he still wanted me more than ever before.

  “I love you,” he murmured just before taking my mouth with his. The hand squeezing my ass tilted my hips up and angled them in a way that pushed him into my g-spot. I licked my lips and moaned against his mouth.

  “Just what I was waiting for, baby. Keep licking your lips for me.” His movements gradually became harder and harder until finally he slid in one last time and didn’t pull back out. He continued to work his hips so that he rubbed against my sweet spots, both inside and out.

  “Lan!” I called out as I came so hard everything went black for a split second. After a few more harsh pumps I heard him grunt into my neck just before he bit down softly and came inside me.

  “Are you okay?” he whispered in my ear. I nodded. He lifted off me and I frowned. I hated his body leaving mine. “I’m just getting something to clean you up,” he said right before walking to the bathroom and coming back out with a washcloth; one of the man
y I kept in stock for occasions just like this.

  After he cleaned me up we got dressed.

  “Are you still cooking tonight? You sure you don’t want to go out for dinner?” Lan asked. “I could make reservations at that seafood place you like.”

  “No, I have something special planned for us, and Trish offered to keep the girls at her apartment tonight. I think she’s still leaning on the girls to keep her occupied.” I shook my head at the thought of my best friend. “No matter how hard she pretends, I know she’s not back to her old self yet.”

  After two years of hoping, Trish had yet to hear anything from Tony. She tried repeatedly for months to talk to him to no avail. Sure enough she heard plenty about him from other women. Tony had since become closely acquainted with most of the women Trish and I knew.

  It was obvious this was planned on his part and I even understood why he did it, but because I knew the whole story and Trish was my best friend, it was very disturbing. Last I heard he moved away.

  My best friend wasn’t the same anymore. Sure, she acted the part well enough, but she lost all her spark. She threw herself into work at the veterinarian clinic and she had no outside life other than me, Landyn and my girls.

  Oh yeah… and Adam.

  “Lexi, baby, Trish is a grown woman. She’ll be okay,” Lan said, breaking into my thoughts.

  “I know that, but I can’t help but worry. I wish she would meet someone else so Tony would become only a memory. I almost wish she would hook up with your brother.” I made it sound as though Adam was a last resort and Landyn rolled his eyes at me.

  “Tell me again why you asked him to take you to the grocery store and not me. What time is he picking you up?” He sounded annoyed, but I couldn’t ruin the surprise for Lan.

  I looked at the clock. “He should be here already. I told you, I have a lot of things to buy and I need help,” I rose up on my toes to kiss him.

  “I’ll see you in a couple of hours. Don’t come home without calling first,” I ordered.

  His eyebrows drew together. “What are you up to?”

  “I told you it’s a surprise. Don’t spoil it.” I lifted again to give him one more kiss.

  “I love you,” he whispered.

  “I love you too.”

  Outside, I met Adam at his Tahoe.

  Adam had become a permanent fixture in our lives. He was the brother I never had. I could honestly say that I loved him like one. He was always with us and always driving Landyn nuts because he never stopped flirting with me.

  Trish and I kept our promise of trying to find him a good woman, but they never made it past the first date. He never got serious about any of them and there were a few that wanted it; badly. This man had so many secrets and it drove me crazy.

  “I can’t believe you’re pregnant again.” Adam said as he drove out of the parking lot cutting off my thoughts.

  “I know, neither can I, but this is it, no more kids,” I told him. I loved both my girls with all my heart, and I would love this baby just as much, but three was the perfect number for me.

  “Do you want it to be a boy?” he asked as he glanced at me questioningly. I thought about how to answer. “I know the right answer should be ‘I don’t care as long as the baby’s healthy’ and I really do feel that way, but after two girls, I’d honestly like a little boy. It would add a different dimension to the house.”

  “A boy would be fun,” he said wistfully.

  “Don’t you want kids, Adam?”

  He glanced at me. “I love kids Lex, you know that, but I worry about what kind of father I’d be, or husband. Look at the kind of father mine was; the way he treated his own son… sorry, sons and wives. I’m afraid I’d turn out just like him.”

  I was almost speechless… almost. I had heard a few horror stories about their father, but both Lan and Adam tried to keep me in a bubble so I was pretty sure I hadn’t heard the worst of them.

  “Adam,” I spoke softly. “You could never be like your father. You treat my girls as though they’re yours. They love you and I know you love them. I can only imagine how you’d feel about your own.”

  “You’re right Lex, but it takes a mother and a father to make a family. I might be good at the baby making part, but I haven’t found the future mother of my kids yet, and I refuse to just be someone’s baby-daddy; I want the whole package, white picket fence and all. If it doesn’t happen, then it wasn’t meant to be.”

  He could be so depressing sometimes. I didn’t mention the fact that he already had the house and white picket fence; he just needed the family to fill it.

  Adam parked when we got to the store. I got out the SUV, he met me on my side and I continued to speak as we walked. “Trish and I have gotten you tons of dates, but you always find something wrong with them. You have to give them a chance Adam.” I stopped quickly in front of him and spun around. He looked down at me questioningly.

  “And you have got to stop having sex with them before you even get to know them. You’ll never find out if they’re mother material that way,” I hissed at him through my teeth.

  He grinned at me. “No can do Lex. What better way to find out if they’re mother material?”

  Unbelievable!

  “You’re an idiot,” I determined for the thousandth time since I’ve known him, and then I walked away and into the store.

  While we walked around picking up all the ingredients to make Landyn’s favorite filet mignon with mushroom wine sauce dinner, and surprise “We’re having another baby” cake, Adam kept throwing random items into the cart and it was really grating on my nerves.

  “Would you stop that?” I nearly shouted after taking out the second package of Double-Stuf Oreo cookies he threw in my cart. When Adam didn’t come back with a smart ass remark, I looked up at him to see that his back was stiff and he was staring straight ahead.

  Great, what now?

  Ryan stood a few feet in front us looking back and forth between me and Adam. He was with a woman; a beautiful redheaded woman who was staring at Adam in horror.

  *****

  I hadn’t heard anything about Ryan since he got out of jail after serving his time. A week after his attack on me and from what I heard, a drunken bender, he finally showed back up at his parent’s house.

  Adam continually kept me and Lan up-to-date with the progress of the case. Everyone assumed Ryan would get off with nothing but a slap on the wrist, but it just so happened that Landyn knew “someone of importance” that worked in the legal system. Apparently, they were in the military together.

  Ryan eventually served six months in jail, twelve months’ probation and was ordered to attend anger management upon release. I knew the day the verdict was coming down, but I refused to go to court and watch; Adam called me with the news.

  It was exactly three months after Laura was born that Adam came to the bar after closing to let me know Ryan had been released…

  Landyn was just about to lock the doors when Adam showed up. As soon as he walked through the door I knew something was up. He walked straight up to me with determination set on his face and in his stride.

  I was leaning against the bar and my eyes traveled to Landyn who looked just as curious as I was. When Adam made it to me he grabbed my arm and pulled me into his embrace.

  I was stunned at first and then grew worried. “Adam, what’s wrong?”

  When he spoke his voice was remorseful. “I have bad news.” “What?”

  I heard his long exhale. “Ryan was released earlier today. I just found out, I’m sorry.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief because I thought he was going to tell me something way worse. “Adam, it’s not your fault. We all knew he was getting out soon.” His arms tightened at my response and I glanced again to Landyn who was now glaring at the hold Adam had around my waist.

  Shit!

  “I know it’s not my fault, but if you were hurt because I wasn’t able to at least warn you, it would have killed me. Over
the past few months, I’ve fallen in love you and my nieces and I’ve only loved two other women in my life, one being my mother.”

  My eyes grew round and I pulled back from Adam as far as he would let me. “What?” I whispered.

  “What the fuck do you mean you love her?” Landyn shouted offensively. He was now standing at my side and it sounded like he was keeping a very small hold on not ripping Adam apart.

  Adam pulled away from me a little further, but still kept an arm around my waist as he turned his body to face Lan.

  Adam grinned and one eyebrow rose. “I meant that I love her as a sister jackass. I honestly don’t know how the hell she puts up with you.”

  I breathed another sigh of relief. He never stopped harassing Landyn and I should have known better. Landyn narrowed his eyes at Adam. “Well then, I’d appreciate if you’d stop groping my wife.”

  He wasn’t groping me, but I could tell Landyn was still mad. I looked up at Adam and he looked down at me smiling before he let me go and turned back to face Landyn. “Don’t worry brother, I love you too.”

  He turned back to me once again. “Lex, I’m here for you if you ever need anything, and I’ll especially be here when you’re ready to leave this asshole,” he said pointing toward Landyn.

  I shook my head at him trying to hold in my laughter. “Adam thanks for coming by, but you better get out of here before Lan bursts a blood vessel or something.”

  Adam smiled once again before bending and placing a light kiss on my forehead. He turned, glanced at Lan, smirked and walked away. “Love you too brother!” Adam called out once more right before walking out the front door.

  I couldn’t stop myself from laughing at the shocked expression on Lan’s face. He looked lost. I started laughing so hard, I was doubled over slapping my palms on my thighs. “Babe, you look like no one has ever told you ‘I love you’ before. Do I not tell you enough?” I cried through my laughter.