“Hey,” he said, the Southern lilt to his voice evident enough to turn the heads of the women waiting next to me.
“Hi. I’m just going up to change.” I looked him up and down, trying not to dwell too long on his perfectly fitted suit or the intentional stubble lining his jawline. Maybe that’s what had caught the attention of the women standing next to me. I swallowed. “You look really nice.”
“Thanks. Is everything set with the band?”
I nodded. “Soundcheck is done and they’re in the green room.”
Alex smiled. “You did good, Dani.”
“I’m still nervous. You don’t think Isaac has figured it out, do you?”
“I’m positive he hasn’t,” Alex said. “I’m not proud of how many lies I’ve told to keep him in the dark, but he doesn’t have a clue. He might be a little disappointed we don’t actually have Harris Town booked, but I think he’ll forgive me once he sees who is going to close the show.”
The elevator had come and gone and then arrived again since we’d started talking. When the door slid open a second time, I stepped inside. “Going up,” I said awkwardly. Going up? I fought to keep a straight face despite my stupid comment.
Alex nodded. “I’ll see you shortly.” He held my gaze with an intensity that nearly made my knees weak until the doors closed, cutting me off from view.
A low moan escaped from somewhere behind me and I turned to find an older woman standing in the corner of the elevator, her handbag clutched to her chest. “To have a man look at me like that,” she said when we made eye contact. “I’d hold on to him.”
I managed a smile. I’d tried that once before. Was it possible I wanted to try again?
Chapter Twenty-Six
Alex
I didn’t exactly have a reason to hang around the hotel lobby. And there were any number of things I could have done to keep busy across the street at the venue. But I had my phone on me. If anything were to go wrong, I’d know and could be there in a matter of seconds. That argument worked for a solid twenty minutes before I nearly caved, deciding I couldn’t wait any longer before checking in with Isaac in person. But then the elevator doors dinged open and I’d never been so happy to have wasted twenty minutes playing Ball Blast on my phone.
Dani stepped off the elevator, wearing a red dress that both hugged and flowed at the same time, flattering her figure in an understated, classy way. I’d spent time enough around women who dressed in a way that begged for attention; that wasn’t Dani. She exuded confidence, poise, elegance.
She smiled as she approached in a way that filled me with hope. She’d pushed me away, and I respected her need to do so. But maybe she wouldn’t push me away forever. “You’re still here,” she said.
“Yes.” I slipped my phone into my pocket. “I realized I hadn’t yet defeated level one hundred and twelve on Ball Blast and it really felt important that I take care of that. Now. Here. In the lobby of this very elegant hotel.”
She raised an eyebrow and I shrugged. “It seemed like an appropriate location for such an important task.”
“I’m sure.” Her eyes said she completely understood why I was still around, but they also said she didn’t really mind it.
“You look beautiful.”
Her eyes dropped to the floor, but only for a moment before she met my gaze head-on. I’d always loved that about her. She never shied away from a compliment. “Thank you. I thought the dress felt like Christmas.”
“Ah, see? I had the same thought.” I motioned to my red and green striped tie.
“I noticed that earlier,” she said. “Very festive.” She motioned to the front doors of the hotel. “Shall we?”
As we turned, we both froze, until Dani reached over and gripped my hand. Sasha and Alicio, as well as Gabriel and Victor, were directly in front of us, not ten yards away.
“What are they doing here?” Dani asked, her voice strangled and small.
“Having a family dinner, apparently.” The restaurant in the hotel lobby was nice enough to warrant their patronage, but still. What were the odds?
Dani dropped my hand, and slipped an arm around my waist, turning me slightly so she could lean up on tiptoe and whisper in my ear. “We’re together, all right? Dating again. Desperately in love. And we can’t wait to see them at the wedding next week.”
I leaned back and looked at her, a question in my eyes. “What? Why?”
She pressed her body against me, placing a small kiss just below my ear. “Trust me.”
Sasha noticed us first. Her eyes narrowed before she slid an arm through Alicio, pulling herself closer to him.
Dani tugged me forward. “Sasha,” she said as we approached, a wide, genuine smile on her face. “It’s so lovely to see you again.” She let go of my arm and leaned forward, giving Sasha air kisses on either side of her face.
I pushed my hands into my pockets, nodding a brief acknowledgment to my stepfather, and brothers. Gabriel, at least, extended his hand. “How are you, Alex? Merry Christmas.”
“Thanks. Same to you.”
He looked over his shoulder at the rest of his family. “We didn’t know you were in the city or we would have asked you to join us.”
It wasn’t true, but I appreciated that Gabriel would try and make me feel better anyway. “That’s all right. I’m working tonight, actually. We’ve got a thing across the street.”
“Oh. Cool.” He looked at Dani. “You’re back together?”
I nodded, wishing I didn’t have to lie to say yes. “Yeah. We are.” Dani still spoke to Sasha, her expression warm, her body language open. What was she doing? “I’m bringing her to the wedding next week.”
“You’re coming to the wedding?” Victor said, suddenly joining the conversation.
Alicio turned as well, his eyes meeting mine.
“I did receive an invitation,” I said hesitantly.
Alicio smiled tightly. “Of course. If you want to come, we’d love to have you.”
“I think it’s great that you’re coming,” Gabriel said, though his kindness did little to kill the tension that hung in the air around the rest of us.
Dani slipped her arm through mine. “Ready to go?” she whispered. She turned back to my stepfamily. “It’s so good to see you all. Merry Christmas.”
We pushed through the hotel lobby doors and moved toward the crosswalk at the corner. Dani gripped my hand so tightly, I almost couldn’t feel my fingers, but I was glad of it. The pain kept me anchored against the waves of feeling washing over me. Anger. Resentment. Sadness.
I didn’t want to be a part of the LeFranc family. I didn’t like what they stood for. I didn’t care for their lifestyle. And yet, seeing them all together like that, imagining my mother on Alicio’s arm instead of Sasha? It burned worse than I wanted it to. They were the closest thing I had to family, even though they were the furthest thing from what a family actually should be. I stopped on the sidewalk, overwhelmed by a surge of loneliness so intense, I could hardly move.
Dani paused and turned to face me, nudging me toward the building behind us, out of the main path of the sidewalk. A sharp wind blew past and Dani drew in a breath, closing her eyes for a moment.