Fusion (Explosive #5) (45 page)

“Whatever you say, sis. All I know is you two were as close as two friends can be, and then he left town and you never talked to him again. I’ve always wondered why that was."

“You’ve never asked.”

“Would you have told me?”

“Umm…no, but bring over a bottle of wine for this week’s episode of The Vampire Diaries and maybe, just maybe, Elijah and you can convince me to spill,” she said.

“Yeah, right. You’ve waited ten years, so I have a feeling getting anything out of you will be damn near impossible. Guess I better bring two bottles to get those lips loose." I laughed, but I was secretly wondering how much wine it would take to get it out of her.

"You're on," she said, a smile in her voice.

I probably should’ve felt guilty for being so manipulative. I didn’t. The truth was I’d have done anything for Lexi to be happy again, even if it meant I had to push her in the right direction. When we hung up, I was more convinced than ever that I was doing the right thing. And I couldn’t freaking wait to see how it would pan out.

I wasn’t sure how I’d gotten stuck with giving Ava another lesson about bad words, but I had. Sierra should’ve known better. That girl had me wrapped around her tiny fingers so tight.

Even still, when Sierra blew me a kiss and went to get her phone, I scooped my baby girl up off the floor, pulling her into my arms and tickling her as I carried her down the hallway to my room.

Once I’d set her down on the bed, I grabbed the chair from Sierra’s vanity and set it in front of her. Sitting down, I was eye level with Ava, giving her my stern dad face. Her lower lip was already trembling. Fuck me. She knew I was a sucker for her tears, but I was determined not to fall for it that time.

Good luck with that, right?

“I love you, Daddy.”

Damn, she was already breaking out the big guns.

I tried to mask my grin, but it was no use. Her big, blue eyes were staring at me so intently, so earnestly, that I couldn’t help it. I beamed at my precocious, conniving little girl.

“I love you, too, baby.”

“Is Mommy mad at me?” she asked, looking as forlorn as a four-year-old possibly could.

“No, of course not. Why would you ask that?”

She let out a deep sigh and studied her tiny hands. “I said a bad word.”

This girl.

I placed a finger under her chin and lifted it until her eyes were on mine. “Mommy’s not mad, Ava. She just doesn’t want you to say the bad words, okay?” I leaned in close as if to tell her a secret. “She’d be in trouble with Grandma if she heard you saying bad words.”

Ava’s eyes gleamed. “It’s gonna cost ya, buster!” she said, wiggling her eyebrows then holding her palm out. “Gimme a buck or I’m gonna rat you out.”

I groaned. Sierra’d been right. Letting her stay up and watch those mob shows with me had ended up biting me in the ass. Still, I was up for negotiations.

“I’ll make you a deal, Ava. Every time you hear me or Mommy saying a bad word and you
don’t
repeat it, you’ll get a buck. How does that sound.”

She tilted her head to the side as she mulled it over then nodded. “I’m in,” she replied.

“No repeating ever. Capisce?”

She stuck her tiny hand in mine, and we shook on it.

“Capisce!”

After pulling my wallet out and handing her dollar over, I gave her a kiss. She scrambled off the bed, and I followed as she ran down the hallway to where Sierra was just hanging up the phone.

“Mommy, look! Daddy gave me a dollar!” Ava held the bill up, waving it in front of Sierra’s face.

My wife’s eyebrows drew together as she gave me a curious look.

I sighed. “She hustled me, baby,” I said, placing my hands on her hips and pushing her back against the counter.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“When we fu—uh, mess up and she doesn’t repeat it, she gets a dollar.”

Sierra’s eyebrows rose.

I held my hands up. “She threatened to rat me out to Grandma. What could I do?”

“Jeremy, she’s four.”

“Yeah, and if you and I don’t start biting our tongues, she’s going to be the richest four-year-old on the block. That or your mom’s going to kick my ass.”

I felt a tug on my jeans before I even realized what I’d said. When I looked down, Ava was standing there with her hand out.

“You said the A-word, Daddy! Pay up!”

With a groan, I pulled my wallet out and paid up. She scampered off, squealing about putting her money in her piggy bank.

Sierra laughed, shaking her head. “You’ve created a monster, Jeremy.”

I gripped her hips and drew her to me. Then I wrapped my arms around her back. She placed her hands on my chest and slid them up to go around my neck.

I leaned down and nibbled on her ear. “Nah, baby.
We
created that little monster.”

She shivered as I trailed kisses down her neck. It amazed me that, after twenty fucking years, I still affected her this way.

After an impromptu make-out session in the kitchen, which was interrupted by our little monster, we made dinner—one of my favorite parts of the day. Regardless of how long my day at the office was or how much Ava wiped Sierra out, we always made dinner together. We’d been doing it since we’d lived in her parents’ house, and it hadn’t changed after seven years of marriage. On occasion, Ava would help out.

“So, what was that phone call?” I asked, remembering how the whole paying-Ava thing had begun.

A beaming smile formed on Sierra’s lips. She leaned her hip against the counter, watching as I cut up peppers. “I may have planted a seed a few days ago, and it may have sprouted today,” she said cryptically.

I set the knife down and gave her my full attention. “What’d you do?” I asked, unsure if I even wanted to know.

She grinned. “I
may
have sent Jace a second reunion invitation.”

“Why? He already RSVP’ed and said he was coming.”

“Because I
may
have put Lexi’s number on this one. He
may
have just called her,” she said, practically squealing the last bit.

I raised an eyebrow. “And let me guess. That was Lexi calling to rip you a new one?”

Sierra clapped her hands, her face animated and radiating her satisfaction. “Yes! And it was amazing,” she said, whirling around.

“Amazing, huh?” I wasn’t quite buying it.

“Jeremy, she was breathless. Sure, she sounded mad, but I could hear it in her voice.”

“Hear what?”

“Excitement. She was
excited
.”

It was my turn to smile. “Then I’d say well played, baby.”

As Sierra and I went back to making dinner, I couldn’t get my mind off my sister-in-law. I’d been a little skeptical of Sierra’s plan to bring Jace and Lexi back together. But maybe, just maybe, it was exactly what Lexi needed to move on with her life. And, if she needed a push or two from us, then she’d get them.

Because, at the end of the day, we were family, and we’d do anything to make Lexi smile again. No matter what it took.

THE MONTHS LEADING UP
to the reunion both dragged and flew by. They dragged because I was anxiously awaiting the moment Jace and Lexi would be together again. They flew by because, by the time we were boarding the airplane, I couldn’t believe we were finally on our way. Nerves twinged in my belly as I wondered if I’d made the right decision. When I glanced next to me and saw my sister, I knew I had.

Ever since the phone call with Jace, there’d been a lightness around her. As if some weight, even if the littlest amount, had been lifted from her shoulders. Maybe there was even some hope deep down in there somewhere. I was feeling hope by the bucketfuls. I couldn’t quite put my finger on what had changed in her, but something had definitely shifted. The old Lexi was starting to emerge, and I hoped that, after this weekend, she’d be back in full form.

“Guess what, Aunt Lexi?” Ava’s excited voice broke me from my thoughts. Sitting next to Jeremy, she leaned across the aisle to get closer to my sister.

“What’s that, Ava?” Lexi asked, looking around to make sure Ava wasn’t in anyone’s way.

“I get to spend the night with Gramma and Grampa!” she exclaimed.

Shit.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

I’d told Jeremy that we should’ve kept that to ourselves.

Lexi gave Ava a smile before turning to me. It faded as she raised an eyebrow. “Gramma and Grampa?” she repeated.

I wasn’t sure how to play this, so I just waved it off. “You know how the Banks clan can be. Jay and Lydia were really excited about it being Ava’s first time at the beach, so they decided to spend the week in Navarre playing golf and visiting old friends.”

Lexi’s mouth dropped open. “So you
don’t
need a nanny?” she asked.

“Not tonight, but I’m sure they’ll be busy the rest of the time.” I put my arm around her shoulder and squeezed. “That means you can come hang out and see all the old gang tonight!”

“Great,” she muttered. Then she shook her head and stuck her nose back in her book.

She pretended not to care, but her cheeks flushed pink, giving her interest away. Lexi was going to see Jace again. I couldn’t wait.

Lexi’d been quiet ever since we’d landed at the airport. I had a feeling she was reeling from the change of plans, and a twinge of guilt crept in the back of my mind. But hey, why not rip the Band-Aid off, right? The sooner she and Jace broke the ice, the better. And I was sure it’d melt in two seconds flat.