I shut the door in his face, though I was tempted to let him keep talking. Over the years, I’d found most people couldn’t keep their mouths shut, especially when I didn’t open mine.
But I wanted to be rid of this jackass so my brother could have some semblance of celebration. I hated the special day had been tainted for him.
Lexie patted the sides of her dress and flashed a saccharine smile. She pulled the keys from her pocket and dangled the large gold hoop from her fingers. “Found them.”
I snorted. I couldn’t help it. The past thirty minutes had gone from ridiculous to more ridiculous. Miss Feisty indeed.
Chapter Four
Lexie
Are you crazy?
Are. You. Crazy?
I’d not only taunted an officer of the law—but a federal one. I’d pulled the van into an empty spot by the curb just down the street from the old Grey Paws building. What I should have done was tell Eric we had to go and hightailed it out of there.
But he was happy with the dogs. I didn’t want to take that away from him.
And . . . I wasn’t ready to leave either.
That had nothing to do with the surly almost-jailbird. Definitely not.
I should leave.
We had dog food to make, and I’d promised Eric we could watch his pick of a movie tonight. Which would be Superman. Because it was always Superman.
I turned off the van and locked it after I slid out.
“Thank you.”
I yelped at the deep voice just behind me and spun. “Couldn’t you have cleared your throat? Or banged on the car? Or made any kind of noise?” I put my hand on my chest.
He was so close I got a whiff of his body wash or cologne or whatever it was. Why do you have to smell so good?
“Couldn’t you just say ‘you’re welcome’?”
Instead of backing away, he put his hand on the van above my head. Trapped.
I inhaled deeply, but the air tainted with his scent wasn’t enough to settle the ever-increasing speed of my heartbeats.
I am not in a closet. I am not in a closet.
My breaths came in jagged pants. Not now. Not in front of him.
I closed my eyes. Breathe, Lexie. You are safe. Breathe.
“Lexie?” Not seeing him was worse because it heightened my other senses. I didn’t just hear the concern in his voice, I felt it.
“Need . . . a . . . sec.” I held up my finger, but it brushed solid chest.
I tried to conjure up my happy place. The kitchen of our modest apartment with the tunes up loud, laughing with Eric as we experimented. The fingers of darkness threatened to snatch it away, but I concentrated hard.
A warm hand touched my cheek. My kitchen became clearer in my mind as I battled to beat the darkness back.
Hugs from my brother were the ultimate comfort, but something about the thumb that swiped over my tender skin soothed my racing heart. The hand was gentle yet sure. Strong and supportive.
I took in a couple of deep breaths as embarrassment washed over me. Lately, these episodes were few and far between and mostly attacked within the privacy of my own home.
My outer shell was all about the appearance of strength and confidence when most of the time I was anything but. Exposing my weakness, especially in front of him . . .
Why didn’t you leave earlier?
“Better?” That voice shook me from my inner thoughts. The thumb that had caressed my cheek now brushed over the pulse point in my neck.
I was better.
And worse.
But I’d be damned if I let him know that.
“Fine.” I popped my eyes open. He was too close. Too masculine. Too much of all the confidence I wished I could exude. His wasn’t manufactured. It was real. Like an anchor.
The way he scrutinized me was unnerving. If I only had his face to go by, I’d never be able to read what was going on in his head. His touch was the only indication.
He gave me a moment to compose myself without words. I appreciated that on some level he knew I didn’t want to talk.
Slowly the sounds of the city began to infiltrate my brain once again. A distant car horn. The squeal of brakes. The roar of a passing bus engine.
Beau’s nearby voice was a reminder of where we were.
I waved in their direction. “We should—”
“Why did you—”
“Hey, sis. Pepper is getting married, and she said I can be in the wedding.” Eric raced over to us, thankfully shattering the awkward moment.
“That’s great,” I said. Pepper’s getting married? When had that happened?
Gratitude filled me for her kindness to my brother. A wedding was a big day. And that she would include Eric meant so much.
“I get to pick the bow tie color,” he said excitedly.
“Oh yeah?” I shimmied away from Lincoln, finally able to take a full breath now that I was out of his space. “What are you thinking?” I linked arms with Eric, and we walked back toward our friends.
“Midnight blue.”
“Oh, nice.”
“What about red for love?”
Eric understood feelings and emotions in a way that most people didn’t. I’d never been able to accurately put my finger on exactly what it was that made him see things differently, but he was so in tune with how people felt it always amazed me.
“We’ll ask Pepper what she thinks.”
“Okay,” he agreed easily.
“Teague would like the blue.” There was that voice again, low and rumbly.
Eric wheeled around. “I knew he’d like that!” He lifted his hand for a high five.
Lincoln looked at it like he was unsure what to do. Eric met him more than halfway and smacked his hand after he slowly raised it.
“Hey, we could wear a vest like yours.” Eric looked thoughtful. “You can wear a bow tie and a vest, right?”
“You can wear whatever you want.”
I gaped at Lincoln. This man dressed better than any I’d ever seen. Every stitch of clothing he wore was meticulously planned. Nothing about him said he believed people could wear anything they wanted.
While I did believe that what people chose to wear was their business, I hated that Lincoln and I had something in common.
We both dressed for success.
At least I wasn’t stuffy about it.
Although he was devastating.
I didn’t like that he constantly caught me off guard. Not just today. He was abrupt to the point of being rude. But somehow it didn’t always seem to come from a negative place. He was concretely in control of every situation, while I felt like a fake pretending to hold it all together.
People had different reactions when it came to Eric. Most were kind, if not a little withdrawn. And I understood. They didn’t know how to handle someone who was disabled. It wasn’t that they meant to be cruel. They were just scared they’d say the wrong thing, or not know how to talk to them. Feared them for some bizarre reason.
I expected Lincoln to simply ignore my brother the way he did everyone else . . . except his siblings.
So maybe I was wrong.
Or overthinking.
Why do I always overthink?
“We decided on suits with vests and bow ties,” Eric announced as he dragged me forward.
Teague gave the side eye to his brother but fist-bumped Eric. “He’s going to make the suits a big deal.” He pointed his thumb at Lincoln.