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“Addie, what happened?” A small voice behind me asks. I turn to Lexi, and she’s rubbing her eyes. When she puts her hands down she sees Max.
“MAX!” she screams, running into his arms. He picks her up and throws her into the air. When he’s done, her little arms wrap around his neck.
“Hey, Lulu. I heard you had a rough day yesterday,” he says, squeezing her. His enormous arms almost hide all of her. I think Max loves Lexi as much as she loves him. It makes me see Max in a totally different light. He has a soft side that only Lexi brings out. It’s sweet.
She lays her head on his shoulder. “Yes, a bad guy tried to take me,” she murmurs. Her head shoots up, looking him in the eyes, “But I got his DAN.” She looks at me, twisting her lips and then looks back to Max. “I got his DNA. It made my hand hurt until I washed it off. I don’t like DNA on me,” she whines.
“Good girl.” Max chuckles. “Hey, do you like banana bread?”
Lexi’s face beams and mine … well, mine frantically looks around because where there is banana bread is where I’ll find my drink. When I spot it on the counter, I run straight to it. Max watches me suck half down in one sip and his eyes widen. I shrug and laugh.
“My mommy makes really good banana bread,” Lexi says as Max walks over to the kitchen with her. He looks at me, unsure what to say.
“I bet your mommy’s banana bread is a lot better than this store bought one,” I say, taking out a slice of the bread and handing a piece to her. “When I was little, my mommy and I used to make brownies.”
“Do you miss your mommy? I miss my mommy.” Her bottom lip sticks out.
“Every day, sweet girl.” My voice cracks with emotion. It gets me every time she asks about her mom. I glance at Max and his eyes gloss over. He looks away quickly. Yeah, Max, even big manly men like you can’t escape the emotional tug when it comes to Lexi.
The front door opens with Aiden and Damon strutting in. Aiden’s eyes meet mine, and he flashes a sexy, half grin, displaying a dimple. The one that always makes me melt.
“Aiden, I got banana bread.” Lexi holds out a piece for him to see.
“Let me see that. I need to make sure it’s not bad.”
“It’s not bad,” she says, looking at it while she holds it out.
Aiden walks over, holds her arm up, and acts like he’s inspecting it. “Hmm … I don’t know.” Suddenly he eats the piece of banana bread right out of her hand.
Lexi squeals. “Hey, that’s mine!”
“Do you want it back,” he asks and then opens his mouth.
“Yucky.” She wrinkles her little nose. I agree, that’s gross. He finishes chewing the bite and says, “Well, you’re right, it’s definitely not bad.” He pulls her out of Max’s arms, tickling her. She giggles and wiggles right out of his grasp.
Grabbing the rest of her banana bread, she narrows her eyes at Aiden and says, “Mine.”
Everyone laughs. She climbs the barstool, but struggles to get to the top. Damon gives her a hand.
“Hey, Lulu,” he says, sitting her on the stool.
“Hey, Peter Pan,” she giggles.
Max and Aiden both look at each other and throw their heads back, laughing. “Lexi, I thought we agreed, not Peter Pan. I’m a Lost Boy,” he says, standing tall. Lexi thinks Sydney looks like Tinkerbell, too. Damon came over with Sydney one day so Lexi thought they were together. She started calling him Peter Pan after that. He tried his hardest to get her to call him a Lost Boy instead, but it seems Peter Pan stuck.
She just shakes her head as she pops another piece of bread in her mouth. The guys continue to laugh and Damon flips them off. I’m standing back, adoring the camaraderie with Lexi and the guys, enjoying my drink and the bread. A little girl having three very large men wrapped around her finger is entertaining.
“I think I should check your bread, too,” Aiden says, walking up to me. I smile as I break off a piece and put it up to Aiden’s mouth. Instead of snatching it like he did Lexi’s, he sticks my entire two fingers in his mouth, sucking them as I pull them out. Heat spreads through me instantly. He flashes a sexy grin and winks.
“You’re not supposed to eat her fingers, Aiden,” Lexi exclaims.
“Yeah, Aiden,” I say sarcastically as I wipe off my fingers with the napkin I’m holding.
“I was just making sure it was good.” He leans overs and whispers in my ear, “And it was fucking delicious.” I notice Lexi hop off the barstool behind Aiden, and I look up at him pursing my lips. “She’s getting the jar, isn’t she?” I nod, putting my hand over my mouth to stifle my laugh. “Damn, she’s got good hearing.”
She stands in between us. “That’ll be two dollars.” She holds up the jar.
“Two?” His eyes start to move around as he tries to recall when he said two bad words. I mouth damn to remind him. “That is not a bad word,” he replies.
