AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Hi! I brought you something.” I pull a miniature Ferrari from my purse, handing it to him.
“Wow! Cool.”
Lori nudges him. “What do you say to Aunt Summer?”
“Thank you, Aunt Summer.”
“You’re welcome.”
Lori and the third sister, Hailey, pull me into a group hug.
“Wow, I love the smell,” I say as a delicious whiff drafts in from the kitchen. “You made red pepper quiche?”
Val winks. “Of course. Thought making your favorite might give you an incentive to visit us more often.”
“She cooks Landon’s favorite when he visits too,” Will informs me. “It’s only my pleas for baked Camembert she ignores. Discriminating much?”
Val bumps her shoulder into his forearm.
“We can’t have Camembert every Friday, you big oaf. Besides, Jace can’t eat all that fat. Not on his meal plan. We can’t have our star losing his edge, can we?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” I say, “I’ve watched Jace play. I’d say there’s no danger in him losing the edge.”
Jace nods. “True, but my coach would jump down my throat if I didn’t respect the meal plan. I’ll make an exception for you, though.”
“More proof of discrimination,” Will whispers to me conspiratorially.
“Let’s set the table,” Val announces. “The quiche is almost ready.”
Ten minutes later, we’re all sitting around the table, enjoying Val’s cooking.
“How come you’re in LA?” Hailey asks. “Work or pleasure?”
“Both,” I say vaguely. I trust them, but the fewer people know about Alex and me, the better.
“Why aren’t you staying with me? You always stay with me,” Val asks, pointing her fork at me. Oh man, I hate lying.
“We’re a group, so it was easier.” Which is not exactly a lie, though that doesn’t ease my conscience.
“Have you seen Landon lately?” she continues.
“Not as much as I should, considering he’s so close. But he’s turned into a workaholic.” He’s always had a solid work ethic, but after losing his wife, the whole thing escalated.
“We know. He’s like a robot,” Lori complains. “We’re working on turning him human again, but are failing in grand fashion.”
“Have you tried emotional blackmail?” I suggest. “Always works on my brothers.”
“We tried,” Val says. “But maybe we missed something. Give us pointers.”
Jace grimaces. “No, no, no. Don’t do that, or Will and I will be toast too.”
The whole table starts laughing. The evening flies by as we rehash old and dear memories. But as nine o’clock approaches, my thoughts flit more and more to Alex. I need a plan of attack to soothe him. Now, I didn’t get to be twenty-eight without facing my own shitty periods, but my entire dealing-with-crap arsenal might not be enough for this occasion. Still, some tactics are clear winners.
I excuse myself from the table, heading to the foyer where I left my purse and phone. I want to call the hotel, make sure they have cheesecake with caramel topping ready when I return. A lot of caramel topping.
I have three missed calls from Preston, three from Alex, and a message.
Alex: Can’t make it to our date tonight, and we have to cancel the weekend plans. I’ll explain everything later. Be careful when you get back to the hotel. It will be crawling with paps. I already talked to Preston about security.
