41. Lockheart
LOCKHEART
I need to up my game. The presents and my daily declarations of how much I love her and need her have done what they were supposed to and reaffirm how appreciated and loved she is.
I’ve also shown her every time I’ve worshipped her beautiful body.
Now she needs the reassurance I’m in this for life.
She needs to one hundred percent believe I’m not going anywhere.
That I won’t suddenly start resenting her for what's happened in the past. She’s ready to say yes this time. I know she is.
It’s why I’ve called in the big guns. It’s why I’m pacing Brady’s living room, why I’m indulging his face grinning back at me in a too-wide, too-knowing smile.
His phone starts to ring, and when his quick glimpse at the screen confirms it is who we’re expecting, he presses the button to answer the call.
I take a few deep breaths and swallow down the surge of nerves threatening to spill over his rug.
The big screen on his wall starts to flicker as the call is connected to it, and when I wipe the sweat from my brow, Jaxson chuckles.
I hit him with a glare, but it just makes him laugh even more.
Sometimes I question why I tolerate him and other times I can’t function without him and his stupidity.
The screen flashes on and I turn to watch the show that’s about to start.
“Hey y’all. I’m so happy to help you.” Penny’s the first to speak and I smile broadly at her. She’s the one I wanted, but apparently you can’t plan something with only half of the Brady siblings. Hence why I’m rolling my eyes at Jenson and Jameson grinning back at me.
“Hey brother, I knew you’d need my expertise when it came to women. It’s alright though. A lot of men are inferior to me. Just ask old Jaxson over there.”
Folding my arms over my chest and scowling isn’t going to cut it with Jenson, so instead I laugh and turn to look at Jaxson, who has a smirk on his face.
“Interesting you say that. When I asked Edie and Angie…” I quickly look over at Jenson and notice there’s only a ghost of a grin left on his lips.
Jaxson was right. He does have a thing for her.
“They both said I should listen to Jameson. Why would that be?”
Jaxson’s grin threatens to take over his entire face but Jenson glowers back. “No idea. I’m questioning Edie’s common sense seeing as she’s fucking the less intelligent Brady.”
“Don’t talk about her like that.” The words fly out of my mouth with a note of protectiveness I didn’t know I felt about Edie, but she’s been a rock for Nicole and I’ve come to really like her.
“Watch your mouth, asshole.” Both Jameson and Jaxson speak at the same time but Penny cuts across both of them.
“Jenson Brady, you speak like that again and I’ll do more than tell Mama. Have some damn respect or I’ll drive over there and teach you some.”
I roll my lips to hide the smirk from my face because Penny is scary as fuck right now.
“Tell him, sis. You were always my favourite.” Jaxson winks at the screen but Penny just rolls her eyes.
“Obviously The Bridesmaid is deeper into his head than any of us thought. I wonder why?” Jameson purses his lips in thought while Jenson looks thoroughly chastised.
“Right. Let’s get back to business—”
Before I can continue, the door slams and Edie comes running into the living room.
“Did I miss anything?” Her cheeks are tinged red from running and she pushes the glasses up her nose as she stands at Jaxson’s side and leans up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek.
He wraps his arms around her, his hands landing on her arse and kisses her on top of her head.
“Nothing apart from Jenson getting told off by Penny.”
Her snort-laugh is adorable and followed by her hand slapping over her mouth and her cheeks blazing in embarrassment.
Jaxson moves her hand from her mouth, laughing softly as she buries her face in his chest, “Where were you anyway?”
“Trying to convince Angie to come with me.” She mumbles into his chest and then raises her head and looks tentatively at us all. “She was all ready to, and then when I said the rest of the Brady clan were calling in, she bailed. Gave me a lame excuse about remembering something for work.”
The whole time she’s been speaking I’ve been watching Jenson, and the highs and lows of his emotions were written all over his face. Something went on between those two, but I don’t have time to find out right now.
“Can we please get back to me and my problem? I’m getting nauseous looking at Mr. and Mrs. Perfect over there.” I pout and flop onto the arm chair opposite the screen.
“He always does this when I kiss Eddie. He pretends he’s a love grouch, but secretly he loves love just like the rest of us. Nicole’s softened him up. Obviously his right hand wasn’t cutting it all the years he was single.”
Brady is so busy cackling at his own joke, he doesn't see the cushion flying through the air until it hits him in the face. Edie does, though, and she ducks with perfect timing. His surprised oof brings me a satisfaction like no other.
“Fucking idiot. Whenever you kiss Edie, you end up groping the poor girl. She always looks like she’s getting mauled by a bear. You need to learn some etiquette.” I smirk when his eyebrows join together and he pouts a little.
“Enough!” Penny jumps in and stops our bickering.
“I’m sure Edie loves what you do to her.
” The lady in question nods her head emphatically and I cover my eyes and groan because if I don’t I’m going to grin and I don’t want them to know I love love like Brady said.
“In fact I know she does. We’ve spoken, in depth.
I’ve told her time and time again that I don’t want to hear details about my dang brother, but she won’t stop. ”
Penny narrows her eyes at Edie, but even though she’s blushing furiously, she just shrugs her shoulders and grins. Brady looks far from embarrassed. He sits down on the sofa next to Edie, crosses his legs at the ankles and places his hands behind his head.
“Don’t look so smug. I’ve spoken with Nicole too, and she’s very satisfied. Very satisfied. I don’t mind hearing more info from her because she isn’t bumping uglies with a Brady. Bravo, Lockheart.”
I don’t really know how to respond, so I just dip my head to her in acceptance, hoping that’s the end of it and we can get back to the reason I’m even here for this family gathering. But I should’ve known that’s not Penny’s style.
“I’m glad they are really,” she rambles on.
“I didn’t want to have to give you all a lesson about sharing and caring.
If you take, you have to give, it's part of the rules. Just stop!” She points her finger at Jameson who’s sitting next to her with his mouth open, ready to speak, but he stops and grins instead. “Right. What ideas do we have?”
I shift on my chair, sit up straighter, and then slump back down. I avoid all the stares and stay silent.
“Are you kidding me? You have no ideas at all? Damn I’mma need to do this by myself? Jameson, any ideas? Edie?”
Edie whips her head to the screen at hearing her name, offering, “I have one. It’s something Nicole said a while back but I don’t know how receptive Lockheart will be to it…”
“This is fucking brilliant.” Jaxson sits back in his chair, his hair a mess where he’s run his hands through it. His polo shirt button’s undone, and he’s fanning himself with a piece of discarded paper like he’s just run a marathon, not planned an epic proposal.
“It’s like something you’d see in a movie,” Jenson declares, holding the side of his head in his hands, his normal banter levels depleted as he sags back into his chair.
“I think this might be your best work yet, Penny,” Jameson mutters while running his hands over the handwritten brainstorming notes he was in charge of taking. Penny dusts imaginary dirt off her shoulder and winks from the screen.
“How? Where? Just…” I start to utter but stop when a hand is placed on my shoulder. I turn my face to see Edie smiling gently at me.
“It’s for Nicole.”
I nod, my smile lighting up my face as she squeezes my shoulder a little harder and steps back over to Jaxson. After a couple of seconds of silence a flicker of doubt crosses my mind.
“Are you sure we’ll be able to get everyone on board?” I’m a little scared this amazing feat won’t be able to happen, and now I've seen it, I know this is exactly what I need to do for Nico.
“You need to trust in the process. We all have our parts to play. Jaxson will speak to the people he needs to and we’ll sort everything out.
You guys just have to make sure you win and grab your dancing shoes.
” She wiggles her eyebrows as I grin at the others and thank fuck that I have these amazing people in my life.