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Alex swept a few stray hairs behind her ear, the papa pride still rolling off him like sunbeams. “So, what do we need to talk about?”
CHAPTER15
ALEX
Alex set his gaze to stern. “AJ, where did you get that watch?”
AJ’s eyes darted to his shoes. “I…it was a gift.”
“Gift?” Alex repeated, his voice tinged with skepticism. He’s always found bullshit unappetizing. Today, the delivery of it by his possible son had him fired up. “AJ, I know you know better than to take things that don’t belong to you. My bank account is still weeping over Paco’s car. But lying?”
AJ’s hands flew out from his sides. “I’m not lying.”
“Really?” Alex’s lifted a hard brow.
AJ arms tightened in front of his chest. “Really.” His eye contact was off, his stance—shifty—and Alex’s human lie detector instincts were screamingBullshitall over the place.
Alex held up the watch, monitoring everything. The pulse in AJ’s neck. The nervous tap his finger did at the side of his jeans. That clench in his jaw that hardened the lines of his face.
Fuck, it was like looking in a mirror.
Simultaneously, the two of them raked their hands through their hair. “Fine,” AJ finally blurted out. “I did it.”
A explosion erupts in Alex’s fine tuned mined. “Lying is not okay,” he snaps, eyes wide, hands on his hips.
“But stealing is?” AJ smirked under his breath.
Smart ass.
Frustrated, Alex barks back, “No! Now…”Fuck, what the hell does he do with this kid. He pointed a cross finger up the stairs. “Go to your room. You’re,um, grounded.” He nods decisively. “Yes, that’s right. You, sir, are grounded. No gaming. No laptop. No phone.”
AJ’s hard demeanor cracked like candy. “You can’t do that. I need my phone.”
“Well, too bad!”
Madison peered in from the other room. “Alex, can I talk to you for a minute?”
Torn between his level-headed wife and this insane, bizarro 15-year-old hellion version of himself, he acquiesced. “We’ll discuss this later. Go to your room.”
AJ didn’t stomp up the stairs. No. Like any teenager caught between tough love and their dark, rebellious side, he moved up the stairs, teen angst heavy with every step.
With the shake of his head, he turned to his wife, taking in her adoring gaze and knowing grin. “What?” he asked, shrugging.
“You can’t take his phone.”
Alex counts on his fingers. “He stole. According to the laws of the state of New York, he stole so much, it’s technically Grand Larceny in the Second Degree. And then, he lied about it.” He pointed to his chest. “I’m his fathe—.” Alex stopped himself from saying it, quickly recovering with, “I mean father figure—yes. Exactly. And I call the shots.”
Madison rolled her eyes.
“Don’t roll your eyes at me.” He lifted his chin in defiance. “He loses all privileges, period. Electronics are the bare bones minimum. He’s lucky I don’t have him churn butter and get water from the creek.”
She nodded. “I agree. But he needs his phone. What if his mother calls?”
Still fuming, Alex began pacing. “Well, where is she?”
“Calm down. I know. He’s gone a little too far.”
“A little too far?” He smiled and pointed to his dark, wavy head of hair. “Don’t get too attached. I might lose all of it by Christmas.”
