He reached his hand across the table and placed it on mine.
“Just so you know, I’ll listen anytime you want to talk.”
“Thanks, Stefan.”
“You’re welcome.” A small smile crossed his lips. “We should probably head back to the house.”
We gathered up our garbage and walked back to the car.
Chapter 20
Stefan
Listening to her dream of finding her prince charming was hard to hear, and I prayed to God she wasn’t looking at me to be him. I had too many issues as far as relationships were concerned and being someone’s prince charming wasn’t in my life plan. I liked Alex. She was gorgeous, sexy, funny, sweet, and she took care of my daughter as if she was born to be a mother. But I couldn’t risk anything with anyone because of Lily. I’d seen the damage and the destruction failed relationships caused us growing up, and I wouldn’t put my daughter through that. Besides, I wasn’t about to break our pact like Sam did.
When we arrived home, I poured myself a scotch and took it over to the couch while Alex went to her room and changed. Looking at my hand, the swelling had gone down, but it still hurt like a bitch.
“Are you okay?” Alex asked as she walked into the room.
“Yeah. I’m fine.” A small smile crossed my lips. “We should head over to Sam’s.”
I stood up from the couch, walked over to the closet and grabbed my guitar.
“You’re bringing your guitar?” she asked.
“Yes, ma’am.” I grinned. “I’m not sure if I’ll be able to play because of my hand, but you will. Can you sing too?”
She looked down in embarrassment.
“Well?” I asked.
“I’ve been told I can carry a tune.”
“Good. Then you can entertain us tonight.”
“No. I don’t think so.”
“So, then you’re lying about knowing how to play the guitar?”
“No. I’m not lying.”
“Then what’s the big deal? It’s us. We all sit around, play and sing. It’s fun. And now that you’re a part of our group, you have to do it. It’s a requirement.”
“Does Julia?”
“Well, no. She doesn’t know how to play the guitar. As for singing, she’s not bad. Come on. Let’s head over and get the party started.”
I walked over to the refrigerator, grabbed a six pack of beer and we headed out the door. When we stepped inside Sam’s house, Alex went to help Julia in the kitchen while I went out on the patio where Simon and Sam were standing.
“How was your day at the pier?” Simon asked.
“It was fun.” I brought the bottle of beer up to my lips. “Where’s Sebastian?”
“He’s on his way from the restaurant,” Sam said. “Did you and Alex have a talk?”
“We did, and it’s cool. She said she doesn’t see me any different than the first night she met me.”
Simon let out a laugh. “I’m not sure if that’s a good thing. I was there, remember? I saw the way she looked at you with such hate and anger.”
“She said I redeemed myself when I let her stay at the house, douchebag.” I playfully punched his arm with my bad hand. “Shit!” I shook it.
“That’s what you get for punching me, douchebag.”
“I made the mistake of asking Alex today what her dreams were as a kid.”
“And?” Sam asked.
“She told me she always dreamt that Prince Charming would ride up on his white horse and take her away from her life. She said she always had a fantasy that someone would rescue her. The perfect man, her person, and her knight in shining armor.”
“Wow. That’s deep,” Simon said. “Considering she lived with an alcoholic father most of her life, I really don’t blame her for wanting that.”
Sebastian showed up with the food and we all sat down around the table and ate. I stared at Alex as she and Julia talked and laughed at the other end. There was an instant friendship there, and that made me happy.
After we finished eating, we took our beers outside and sat around the firepit. The air was quite chilly, and the warmth of the fire felt good.
“Alex told me today that she plays the guitar.” I grinned.
“Whoa. Do you really?” Sebastian asked as he glanced over at her.
“A little bit.” A shy smile crossed her lips.
“Hand her your guitar, bro, and let’s have a listen,” Sam said.
I reached over, took my guitar out of the case and handed it to her.
“Listen, guys, I really don’t—”
“Doesn’t matter,” I said. “You have no choice. Your first mistake was telling me you could play. Your second mistake was telling me you can sing.”
“You can sing?” Julia asked.
“Not really.”
“I think you’re trying to pull one over on us,” Simon said. “You show us what you’ve got, and we’ll show you what we can do.”
“Fine.” She sighed as she set the guitar on her lap. “What do you want to hear?”
“Anything you can play.” I smiled.
She started to strum the chords to a familiar tune.
“Yes! Coldplay!” Sebastian shouted.
She started to sing the lyrics to Yellow, and I nearly lost my breath. Simon and Sam, who were sitting across from me, stared at me with widened eyes. Her voice was pure magic, haunting, and incredibly beautiful. She strummed the last chord and we all sat there in silence staring at her.
“Damn,” Sebastian said.
“That was beautiful.” Julia wiped her eyes. “You need to play at the coffee shop. No, you have to play at the coffee shop.”
“What?” Alex asked as I wouldn’t stop staring at her.
“You’ve been told you could sing? Really, Alex? Damn, you’re way too modest. You put us to shame.”
“Stop it.” She laughed. “I want to hear you.”
“I’m afraid I can’t play with this hand. But, as soon as it feels better, I’ll play something for you.” I gave her a wink. “Anyone up for another beer?” I asked as I stood up.
I walked into the house and Sam followed behind me. Opening the refrigerator, I grabbed the beers and handed a couple bottles to him.
“What the fuck was that?” he asked. “She had Julia in tears.”
“Yeah, bro. Trust me. I know. I’m just as blown away. I didn’t expect that at all.”
“She could be a professional. I think she really missed her calling,” he said.
“I agree with you one hundred percent.”
Chapter 21
Alex
After a fun night, Stefan and I headed back to the house. We both drank a few too many beers and the lemon drop shots really made my head spin. We walked into the house and Stefan set down his guitar. As I kicked off my shoes, I stumbled and grabbed onto his arm.
“Whoa. Are you okay?” He grinned.
“I’m fine.” I grinned back as I wrapped my arms around his neck. “Do you want to fuck?”