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“Let’s get the deluxe,” Tasha said. “Daniel can pay the bill for all the trouble he caused.”
Harper added, “Will deserves to pay part of it, too, for the things he said to Cal.”
“They all do,” Ari added.
“At least he jumped in the water to pull them apart,” Paige said. “Evan just wrapped himself around me as if he thought I’d be injured in the flinging of limbs and fists.”
“He was right to watch out for you,” Ari said. “Those guys were crazy. Who knows what would’ve happened if one of us had gotten in the middle of it?” Her eyes were wide, her tone harsh.
“I appreciate that Sebastian jumped in,” Charlie said. “But I’m still angry with him for the way he lashed out at Cal afterward.”
“Suffice it to say,” Kelsey said, “all of the men are in the doghouse right now. Even Tony. I can’t believe he got into it too.”
Chi coughed dramatically. “I agree they shouldn’t have done it, but you have to admit that was one hell of a fight. Cal might be ten years older, but he sure as heck held his own.”
Her words seemed to ease all the tension, and suddenly they were laughing. It felt so good to laugh. As though her worries, her fears, her anger were finally lifting away.
“How is Cal?” Tasha asked. “He looked pretty bad.”
“No worse than Daniel,” Ari proclaimed.
“He deserved it,” Tasha huffed. “But Cal was defending you.” She held Lyssa’s gaze. “He really cares about you.”
Lyssa felt speechless and more than a little teary-eyed at the support of such wonderful, amazing women. “Thank you,” she said, her lip trembling.
“Oh, Lyssa.” Kelsey wrapped her arm around Lyssa’s shoulders. “It’s going to be okay. You and Cal will figure it out, and the boys will get over it, and we’ll all be one big, happy family again. Very soon. We’re all here for you.”
“I’m not crying about my brothers or Cal or how we’re going to resolve everything that’s gone so wrong.” Her voice was shaky. “It’s that I’m so glad I have all of you as my family and my friends and my soul sisters. You’re the absolute best.”
And just like the soul sisters they were, they didn’t push her about her plans with Cal. They didn’t bombard her with opinions on what she should do. They simply ate sandwiches and cake and took a few precious moments to relax together.
When they were stuffed to the gills, Lyssa asked, “Do you want to see the sonogram?” She dug in her purse for her phone, and everyone wooted with joy.
“I’m so glad we’re pregnant at the same time,” Paige said, her eyes shining.
Lyssa reached across the table to hold tight to Paige’s hand. “Me too.” Then she laughed, feeling a sudden joy. “Anyone else who wants to join us in this baby-making thing is absolutely welcome.”
Ari winked, Rosie smiled…and was that a sparkle in Harper’s eyes?
They were a club, they were family, they were Mavericks. They supported each other, and they’d support her no matter what happened with Cal.
Their love gave her the strength to know exactly what she had to do.
Chapter Thirty
Cal hadn’t been able to sleep since the moment he’d left Lyssa. He’d worn a path in the carpet, pacing back and forth all night and on through the sunrise. He wanted to call her. He wanted to rush back to her apartment.
But he knew it was futile if he couldn’t change. It was the only way he could ever have her back.
He’d been like this since his father had blown the family sky high. They’d never been able to put the pieces back together. At that point, Cal’s life had become all about books and spreadsheets and business mergers. If he had a problem, he tackled it by learning, gaining knowledge, analyzing all the angles, working through every possible solution. Thinking his way through, never feeling his way. And in all that, he’d forgotten how to feel with his heart. His decisions were based on logic and ethics, not on what his heart felt. He’d never actually let his heart feel.
Until Lyssa.
But even with her, he’d let his fears and his demons rise up over everything, even his heart.
He finally threw himself on the couch, scraping his hands through his hair, his bruised fingers aching, his head throbbing. Outside, the sun had climbed higher and higher in the sky. Time was running out.
And his demons were still running amok.
The only way he’d win her back was by facing down those damn demons. By facing what his father had done. By facing how he himself had dealt with it in the aftermath.
There was a box somewhere. In a closet? In a drawer? In a filing cabinet?
He found what he was looking for in a folder filed under F for Father. Or F for Failure. Or maybe it was for Family.
