“Please.”
“Now that you’re dressed, it’s time for you to leave,” Lily said.
“Lily, that’s enough!” Stefan loudly voiced. “You will not be rude to our houseguest. You know better than that.”
“Whatever.” She shot me and Stefan a look and walked out the sliding door off the kitchen.
“Where are you going?”
“Down to the beach!” she shouted.
“I’m sorry. Do you take anything in your coffee?”
“No. Just black. You seem to have your hands full with her. Is your ex picking her up today?”
“Uh, no. Lily lives with me full-time. Her mother dropped her off for my weekend visit six years ago and never came back.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.” I frowned for I didn’t know what else to say.
“Thanks, but I’m not. I love my daughter very much and she’s better off with me.”
Okay. I had this guy pegged all wrong.
The sliding door opened, and an incredibly sexy man stepped in.
“Hey, bro—” he glanced over at me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you had company.” The corners of his mouth curved upward. “I’m Sebastian, one of Stefan’s brothers.” He extended his hand.
“Alex. It’s nice to meet you.” I lightly shook his hand.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Alex.” He looked over at his brother. “Anyway, I just stopped over to borrow a couple eggs.”
Stefan narrowed his eye at him.
“Right. Go ahead and take some.” He shook his head.
I couldn’t help but snicker to myself as I took my coffee cup to the table and sat down. After Sebastian left, Stefan grabbed a plate with three apple turnovers on it and set it in the center of the table.
“Have one. My brother’s fiancée made them and they’re amazing.”
“Which brother?” I arched my brow as I grabbed one.
“Sam. I’m sure he’ll be strolling in soon. How did you sleep?”
“Great. You were right. That bed is very comfortable.”
“Good.” The corners of his mouth curved upward.
“It must be tough being a single dad and raising a nine-year-old.”
“Lately it has been. I had a nanny for five years who took care of Lily while I worked. We called her Nanny Kate. Three weeks ago, she was diagnosed with stage three pancreatic cancer and moved to Maryland so her sister could take care of her.”
“Oh gee. I’m sorry.”
“She and Lily were very close, and Lily is having a hard time adjusting without her. She normally doesn’t display that kind of behavior. She’s a terrific kid.”
His phone rang and when he pulled it from his pocket, he told me he had to take the call and he’d be right back. Pulling out my phone, I dialed Ryan’s number and a message came on stating that the number was no longer in service. Suddenly, a sick feeling rose in the pit of my belly.
“Everything okay?” Stefan asked as he walked back into the kitchen.
“Yeah,” I spoke with uncertainty. “So, what are we going to do about my car? I need a car.” I could feel the sting of tears in my eyes.
“I’m going to pay for all the repairs. I already called the body shop when I got up and told them to go ahead and fix it along with mine.”
“And how long is that going to take?”
“They said most likely three weeks.”
I placed my hands over my face.
“Is there anywhere you can go?”
“Yeah. I need to get to my boyfriend’s house in Oceanside.”
“You didn’t mention a boyfriend last night,” he said.
“It’s a long story. Listen, I appreciate everything you’re doing and have done already for me, but is there any way you can drive me to Oceanside? I mean, it’s your fault that I can’t get there.”
“Have you forgotten that I also don’t have a vehicle at the moment?”
“Shit. Right.” I placed my hand on my forehead.
“You know what? I’ll borrow one of my brother’s cars and take you.”
The sliding door opened and when I looked over, another hot as hell man and a pretty woman walked in.
“Hey, we just popped over for a second.”
“Told you,” Stefan said as he looked at me.
“Hi. I’m Sam and this is my fiancée, Julia.”
“You’re the one who made these delicious apple turnovers?” I asked.
“I am.” She grinned.
“They’re so good. It’s nice to meet both of you. I’m Alex.”
“I’m glad you stopped by,” Stefan said to his brother. “Can I borrow your car so I can drive Alex to her boyfriend’s house in Oceanside?”
“You can borrow my jeep,” Julia said. “Sam and I have some running around to do so we’ll only be using one car.”
“Thanks, Julia. I appreciate it,” Stefan said.
“Are you taking Lily with you?” Sam asked.
“I don’t have a choice.”
“She can come with us,” Sam spoke.
“Are you sure?”
“Of course.” Julia grinned.
“Thanks, you two. I appreciate it.”
Chapter 6
Alex
Lily walked in and hugged her Uncle Sam and Julia. Then she turned to me and steadily narrowed her eye.
“Why are you still here?”
I watched as Stefan took in a sharp breath.
“Go put your shoes on. You’re spending the day with Uncle Sam and Aunt Julia.”
“Why? Where are you going?”
“I have to drive Alex somewhere and it’s kind of far.”
“So, she is leaving?” Her frown turned into a smile.
Brat.
“Come on, Lily, let’s go get your shoes so we can go,” Julia said as she took her hand and led her out of the kitchen.
“Good luck,” Stefan said to Sam.
“She’ll be fine.”
We walked over to Sam’s driveway, and I climbed in Julia’s jeep while Stefan put my suitcases in the back.
“Give me the address so I can put it in the GPS.”
I pulled out my phone and brought up Ryan’s address. The feeling inside me grew more intense as I thought about what I’d heard this morning when I dialed his number.
“Is Alex short for something?” Stefan asked.
“Alessandra.”
“Nice.” The corners of his mouth curved upward. “How about a last name?”
“Clark.”
“Alex Clark. Where are you originally from?”
“Ohio.”
“I can’t say I’ve ever been there.”
“Have you always lived in California?”
“Yep. Born and raised. Did you move to Seattle for work?”
I didn’t feel comfortable talking about my life with him, so I opted not to.
“Not really. If you don’t mind, I really don’t want to talk.”
“Yeah. Okay.” I saw his brows furrows under his ray bans when he glanced at me.
The truth was, I’d never told anyone about my life, even Ryan. He only knew what I wanted him to know. I figured once I got to his place and we spent time together, I’d tell him everything.