And it didn’t make any sense.
Just then, my phone began to ring, I pulled it out of my pocket and sighed in relief when I saw that it was Leo calling on FaceTime. I quickly swiped to answer. “Hello, brother.”
I couldn’t help but roll my eyes when he did it the same way Damon Salvatore said it in Vampire Diaries. We used to watch it just to get references because girls were once obsessed over the Salvatore brothers and Leo and I made it work for us too. “Hello, Leo.”
He grinned and then Max popped in the frame and I couldn’t help but smile and wave. “Hi, Uncle Jules!”
“Hey, Maximillian! Did you keep on practicing the bike I gave you for Christmas?”
He nodded his little curly head excitedly. “Yes! Daddy and I are going to remove the trainer wheels soon!”
“Okay, not too soon or your Mom will kill me, kid,” Leo said, pulling the phone away from Max. When we had found out that Max was actually Leo’s son, it was hard for us to wrap our head around the fact that Leo was a father. He was an even bigger ladies’ man that I ever was, even before the entire situation with Amber.
“What’s up with the call?” I said, sitting down on one of the lounge chairs. From my view, I could see Audrey teaching Violet how to play the kalimba and I couldn’t help but adore the look on her face as she patiently explained everything to my niece.
“Well, apparently Milo’s phone is dead and so is his power bank, but he managed to send a text to Megan before his phone died that he had his flight changed and would be departing San Francisco in an hour and you need to get your ass to LAX,” Leo sounded so casual as he told me all of this and I listened intently.
“Why didn’t he just call or message me?” I asked with a sigh because now I had to rush Violet and Audrey so we could get on the road before we got stuck in traffic.
“You’re not his wife,” Leo drawled and chuckled, “oh and Ellie relayed everything to me. She was talking to Megan on the phone when Megan got the message and so she told me to call you because they’re still talking.”
“Alright. I better get Violet ready and tell Audrey…”
“Oy! I almost forgot!” Leo was grinning when I looked back at him on the screen and his grin was so big that it almost scared me. Out of my brothers, Leo was the one brimming with energy. Sometimes, I wondered how Eleanor dealt with him. “A little birdie told me that you had this pretty lady under your wing. First, Everett finally getting himself a girl and now you’re finally taking things seriously?”
I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. “That pretty lady is hired as my assistant so whoever that little birdie of yours was, the information wasn’t complete and you know full well that taking things seriously aren’t my thing.”
“Julian, I got married,” Leo said it in a way that echoed his own disbelief at the fact that he had committed himself to one girl for all of his life, “and I wanted to. You’re going to find that kind of girl that will make you reconsider everything you’ve thought about that part of life, Jules.”
I glanced at Audrey who was laughing at something Violet had said and then leaned to give Julio a kiss on the head. I remembered how her lips felt against mine, soft and a little chapped, and how her heated skin thawed my entire being. But then I also remembered how her eyes would flash with fury, brown turning into burning flames that could swallow me whole any time.
“Maybe you did but I don’t think I’ll be the same.”
Leo clucked his tongue and shook his head. “Don’t speak unless it’s finished, Julian. You better head over to the airport or else our older brother will skin you alive for being late.”
I bid goodbye to Leo and then went inside to tell Audrey and Violet that had to leave for the airport now because the flight from San Francisco would probably take the same amount of time we would take to go to the airport. Violet was excited and was telling Audrey all about her Dad, probably for the fifth time since Audrey got to the house this morning.
Audrey didn’t meet Mio when he had come to drop off Violet here. But Violet had made sure to show her a picture of the entire family. “On a scale of 1-10, Vi, who’s more handsome? Your Dad or Uncle Julian?”
I shot Audrey a narrowed look from my seat. We were near the airport and I glanced back at Violet. She got asked that question a lot since she was younger, and although I already knew her answer, it still wounded my ego. “My Dad, of course. Uncle Jules has pretty eyes but you have to see my Dad first to know why he’s so handsome. I wouldn’t be as pretty as I am if he wasn’t my Dad.”
Jesus, the way this kid spoke of her Dad, you would commend Milo for training her well. “Also, Mom said that personality is everything and Daddy is the sweetest!”
At that, Audrey smirked and slowed the car to a stop right outside the exit gate. “Personality is everything, huh? Then are you saying that your uncle isn’t as good or as sweet as your Dad?”
Violet was between us in a moment and was staring at me with her big blue eyes, and then she kissed me on the cheek. “Uncle Jules is okay but I heard he likes to break hearts so he can’t be up to par with Daddy yet.”
Audrey was biting down on her bottom lip to keep herself from laughing outright on my face and I grimaced, unsure of how I was meant to react. I didn’t want to argue because Violet was right but the way Audrey was looking at me made me feel conscious even if it was something that she had always known.
But Violet wasn’t finished talking yet and added something else to her statement. “Uncle Leo was a lot like him too until he met Aunt Ellie again and he became as good as Daddy. When Uncle Jules meets the right girl for him, I know he’ll be different too!”
I was surprised by her understanding of people but then she added, “And I hope it’s you, Audrey! I’d love for you to be my aunt!”
If Audrey was drinking something, she would’ve choked but then again, she just started coughing uncontrollably and I couldn’t help but smirk. In her seat, Violet cheered. “Look, it’s Daddy!”
She got out of the car and rushed to meet Milo but I get out of my seat before. But before I stepped out of the car, I turned to look at Audrey and winked. “It’s not funny when the tables turn and you’re the one in the hot seat.”
She ignored me and got out of the car to meet Milo and help him with his bags. But just she stood a shy away from him with wide eyes, staring at Milo who was wrapped in a hug from Violet. I stood right next to her and she leaned over to me to whisper, “He is the good-looking Hudson.”
I wasn’t sure if she said it teasingly but she did seem a little awestruck by Milo and I couldn’t help but scoff and nudge her with my shoulder, completely ignoring her and giving Milo a hug. I opened the back of Audrey’s car while Violet made the introductions between Audrey and her Dad. “Vi, told me a lot about you.”
“Isn’t she pretty, Daddy? I want her to be my aunt!” Violet announced, clinging to her Dad. I pursed my lips. She never really said this over the weekend and the way she casually dropped it now made me feel uncomfortable.
Audrey let out an awkward laugh and jutted her thumb to the car, and then without a word, went back to the driver’s seat. The drive back home was filled with conversation about Milo’s flight from San Francisco and why he had it changed. Apparently, the meeting he was meant to have this morning happened yesterday and he didn’t have anything left to do and he missed his daughter.