Page 5 of Sweet Temptation
And I’m the kid.
Linc
Yup.
Lochlan
Sure are.
Lucky
Always will be.
LEXIE
The right time doesn’t exist.
Bend time to your will. Make it your bitch.
And make it the right time, right now.
—Lexie’s Secret Thoughts
Lexie
Hey. Landed. Grabbed my luggage and heading out of baggage claim now. Are you outside?
Linc
Look at the bottom of the escalator, Lexicon.
Stupid nickname... I look up, and my smile nearly splits my face in two as I step off the escalator and throw my arms around my brother.
“Missed you” is all I manage before he wraps one big arm around me and lifts me from my feet.
“Missed you too, sis.” Gently, I’m set back on the dirty airport carpet, and Linc takes my suitcases and carry-on.
Gotta love overprotective big brothers... No seriously, you’ve got to love them. My brothers learned from the best. Dad has never let Mom or me carry a thing. He’s barely let either of us lift anything heavier than a bowling ball, and Lincoln and Lochlan paid attention and followed suit. “Let’s get you home.”
A moment later, he tosses my pink suitcases in the back of the Jeep like they’re not so heavy they cost me extra on my flight, pulling the bungee across them both and locking them in place, then opens the door for me. “You ready to see Mom and Dad?”
I climb into his big-ass Jeep with its ridiculous monster tires and tie my hair back with the elastic tie that’s always around my wrist. I might make fun of Linc’s vehicle, but I love the feel of the wind in my hair when he’s got the top off this sucker. “I am if it’s just Mom and Dad.”
He has the decency to shrug and look away rather than lie to my face. “It’ll be fun.”
“I’ve been on a plane for hours. I’m not in the mood for the whole family.” Okay... maybe that’s a little selfish, but the last twelve months have been exhausting. Physically, mentally, and emotionally. Not to mention the toll it’s taken on my health. Not that I can say that to Mom or Dad without them having a fit. Convincing them to let me go to Paris was a fight nearly two years in the making. Admitting they had a right to be concerned would mean they’d never let me out of their sight again.
I need to get home. Take my meds. Do a breathing treatment and unpack my compression vest before I do anything else.
I love our family, but there’s a ton of them.
Literally.
If you put the whole lot of them on a scale, they’d weigh more than a ton.
Aunts, uncles, cousins, spouses, babies.
So many babies... But damn, they’re the cutest babies you’ve ever seen.
