Page 9 of Saving His Heart
Standing in the great room entrance, she takes in the chaos, and I see the confusion.
I attempt to view everything as she sees it. A wall of floor-to-ceiling windows looking out over the ocean is across from us. The space is enormous. After all, it is the penthouse, but I did what I could to make it less pretentious when I moved in. I wanted a home, a place people could relax in, so there’s oversized furniture with pillows and throw blankets placed throughout the space. I had the room painted a warm dove gray with accents of navy strategically placed. But it’s the new wardrobe that is causing her face to scrunch.
“L-Lanie, what is all this?” Lexi asks.
Like Vanna White, Lanie tosses her blonde hair over her shoulder and makes a show of introducing the clothing. “This, my dear, is your new wardrobe. Isn’t it great?”
Worried about what is about to happen as I see ball-buster Julia stand, I take a giant step away from Lexi.
“Why would you do this?”
“Oh, we didn’t do it,” Julia begins. I try to tell her to shut the fuck up with my eyes, but she stares right back with a mischievous grin. “Doll,” she stresses the word, knowing I always use it to get her riled up, “you don’t mind if we give credit where credit is due, right?”
“What are you talking about?” Lexi screeches.
“Hold on,” my friend Dexter cuts in. “You were both so thoughtful …”
I look around, confused. Lexi appears guilty.What the hell is going on?
“Yes,” Trevor takes over, smiling like the Cheshire cat. “Imagine our surprise when we get a text last night from Lexi asking us to pick up new pots and pans, as a thank you, I assume, for Preston.”
Jumping up in an excitable way I’ve only ever seen from Lanie, she says, “Oh, then Jules and I got a text from Preston asking us to pick up these clothes.”
Not to be left out, Julia chimes in, “And here we were thinking you guys hated each other. There is some love here, isn’t there?” The hope in her voice churns my stomach.
Lexi has also taken a big step away from me, and I let out a sigh of relief. That is when I register what Trevor said.
Turning on Lexi, I feel my face grow hot. “You did what?”
“What didyoudo?” she yells back.
“I did what a friend would do when they have the means to do so. You, Lexi, do not. You have just over a thousand dollars in your account, and from what I can tell, no one in your industry will hire you right now.”Oh, shit. That was a mistake.
“How the hell do you know how much I have in my checking account, you entitled asshat?”
In my peripheral vision, I notice our friends watching us like a tennis match.
“I had Ryan look into you for your own safety. You show up here with nothing but the clothes on your back. Bloodied clothes, might I add. What did you expect me to do? Turn a blind eye? That is not what friends do. Not when you are so thin that if you turned sideways and stuck out your tongue, you’d look like a zipper! And I know, trust me, I know, we are not friends, but you are family now, and I take care of family even when they are being so stubborn they could make a preacher cuss.”
Turning my head, I see all our friends take a seat on the couch just as Trevor says, “Oh Lord, the southern’s coming out again.”
Is it?Jesus, I can’t deal with this girl.Why does she make my ass itch?Ass itch?I really am conjuring old grandad. I’m so lost in my head, I don’t notice Lexi heading for me until it is too late. The stinking girl flicks me, hard, in the forehead.
“I take care of myself. Do you hear me?” she seethes, poking me in the chest with each word. “I will never rely on a rich asshole again. Never again,” she cries and heads in for another flick. Or maybe she was going to punch me. I’m not really sure, but I cut her off by wrapping my arm around her neck and holding her in a headlock.
“You’re out of your mind,” Lexi screams, hitting and kicking, trying to break free.
I act on instinct. “Stop pitching a hissy fit and just let us do something for you,” I bellow, and then shock everyone by giving her a noogie.
“Oh my God. You are the female version of a Westbrook,” Trevor reveals in a moment of silence while Lexi and I struggle against each other.
“The two of you. You’re the same person. I can’t believe I didn’t notice it before,” Dex continues.
“No wonder you two can’t get along, look at you! You’re fighting like siblings.” Lanie says, turning to face her fiancé. “Sorry, Dex, you can’t name the group messages MLP now.”
“MLP? You’re joking,” I say, still holding Lanie in a chokehold. Having been through this with Dexter, and then Trevor, I know that MLP stands for Make Lexi Preston’s.
Finally, catching her wits, Lexi struggles again. “Let me go, you overgrown caveman.”
