Page 43 of The Dom

Nate

As Ashlee and I walked up the short walkway to the front steps, I held her hand with one of mine, and the other stayed in my pants pocket, firmly wrapped around the slim button that was connected to the vibrator in Ashlee’s underwear. I wasn’t going to turn it on just yet but knowing I could was enough.

Before I could decide which hand to use to knock, the door flew open, and Mom was there. New wrinkles at the corners of her dark eyes. Gray and white mixed in with her platinum blonde hair. Changes that I hadn’t watched happen because I hadn’t been here.

The smile was still the same, though, as was the enthusiastic way she threw her arms around me. At five foot eight, she was taller than Ashlee, but she somehow felt more delicate in my arms.

A wave of guilt washed over me. I might not have ever been her favorite, but she loved me, no matter what I’d done. No matter how much friction I’d caused.

I hugged her back, grateful for the hand Ashlee had at my back, a simple touch reminding me that I wasn’t alone. She grounded me in a way no one else ever had.

“Come in, come in,” Mom finally said, pulling away. She wiped at her cheeks, not bothering to try to hide the tears that had been there. She’d never been an overly emotional person, but she also had no issues with showing her emotions, not like the Lexington men.

I followed her inside, reaching back for Ashlee’s hand as she came after me. Inside was the usual awkward shuffle as shoes came off and jackets were hung, all within a small space before we moved into the living room. Dad pushed himself up from his chair as we entered, coming over to stand next to Mom.

“Mom, Dad, this is Ashlee Webb, my girlfriend.”

“It’s wonderful to meet you both,” Ashlee said with a smile.

Mom went in for a hug as Dad and I shuffled our feet and tried to pretend that we weren’t looking each other over. His hair was grayer than it was ginger now, and most of the top was gone. His eyes were still the sharpest sort of blue, missing nothing.

He’d finally started softening a little, I saw. Physically, at least. I’d gotten my broad shoulders and build from him, my height from both he and Mom, but he’d always intimidated me. Not that I’d ever let it show.

“You can call me Tabitha,” Mom said to Ashlee. “And you can call him Lex.”

I was suddenly glad that Mom had put that out there because I hadn’t even thought of what I’d do if Ashlee called my father ‘Mr. Lexington.’

“Nice to meet you.” Dad’s voice was gruff but polite.

“You too.”

Movement from behind my parents caught my attention, and I saw my older brother and his family coming into the living room. They must’ve been waiting in the kitchen, either not wanting to overwhelm Ashlee or because Mom had asked for a minute or two with just her and Dad. The latter made more sense. I could see some of the worry on Mom’s face ease when neither Dad nor I started sniping at each other.

“Ashlee, this is my older brother, David, and his wife, Julia.”

David was even bigger than I remembered. At least two inches taller than me and a good thirty pounds heavier. Next to him, Julia looked even more delicate than usual. She was actually the most like I remembered. She and David had been high school sweethearts, so she’d been around for pretty much all of the drama between my family and me.

“Nice to meet you.” Ashlee stepped forward with her hand out.

To my relief, both David and Julia shook Ashlee’s hand and greeted her politely. Hanging back behind their parents were the niece and nephew I barely knew…and that was being generous.

Catherine hadn’t even been a toddler the last time I’d seen her, and I’d never even met Jacob. I always sent gifts for their birthdays and Christmas, letting Mom give them to the kids to make sure no one threw them out, but I didn’t know if they could connect my face to my name.

“These are our kids,” Julia said softly. “Catherine and Jacob.”

Both kids waved at Ashlee and me, the expressions on their faces saying they could sense the tension but didn’t know why. I appreciated that. I hadn’t known if David had been bad-mouthing me all these years. Maybe, if things got better, I’d be able to thank him for it.

The backdoor closed, and I didn’t need the sudden silence to know who’d just come inside. A moment later, my little brother walked into the living room. L.A. had agreed with him. He’d always been a good-looking kid, but now that he’d lost the last of the baby-face he’d had even through college, he was a handsome man. And a little taller than David, I saw. Not as broad, but Joshua had always been leaner than David and me.

Movement to his left drew my attention to a short woman with jet-black hair and an expression on her face that said she didn’t take shit from anyone. I wondered if she was the reason Joshua had come back to New York after all these years. Between the way she carried herself and the way Joshua looked at her, I had a feeling she was one of the few people who could get my stubborn-ass brother to do anything.

I knew the feeling.

“Ashlee.” Joshua nodded at my girlfriend, who nodded back. “Nate.”

“Hey, Joshua,” I said, hating how unsure I felt. Ashlee squeezed my hand, reminding me that I wasn’t here alone.

“This is Trissa Harring, my girlfriend.”

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