EXILE
Inside Lula’s place, I stood in the family room next to her while everyone broke into groups. In the kitchen, Nova stared in awe at the people around her. I smiled at her opportunity to make friends.
My amusement faded when I noticed Rowdy standing next to her. Their gazes met, and he smiled in that “soft” way men do when they’re trying to get a woman to lower her guard.
“Is your brother flirting with my sister?” I asked Lula.
She glanced at Rowdy and shook her head. “No, that’s the way he looks when he’s being nice to a fox who isn’t related to him. Trust me that when he lays on the charm, he can set a woman’s panties on fire with just his gaze.”
“That was overly graphic.”
“Imagine my horror the first few times I witnessed Rowdy unleash his guy powers on an unsuspecting woman,” Lula said, grinning at the thought. Brushing her cheek against my arm, she murmured, “I know you’re worried about Nova, but she’s fine. Look at how happy she is surrounded by my people.”
Lula wasn’t wrong. My sister was giddy as she listened to Sabrina and Xandy tell a story about Tricky as a dumb kid.
“All the girls wanted to date him because he was hot and rich,” Sabrina explained. “Each dumbass thought she could fix his other problems.”
“Cher thought that, too,” Vanessa said, killing the fun.
“Yeah, but she has always been a daft bitch.”
Vanessa narrowed her gaze at Sabrina before shrugging. “She used to read classic novels to Tricky in an attempt to fill his head with knowledge.”
Sabrina threw her head back and laughed way too loudly. “Yeah, I remember that. What a waste of time. No way does Charles Dickens have the power to give that ding dong a clue.”
“Wait, is this guy your friend or not?” Nova asked.
“He’s like family,” Sabrina said immediately. “That’s why it’s okay to talk shit about him. I wonder what we’ll say about you when you’re not around?”
Nova’s eyes widened, and she looked to me for help. “Why me?”
“Your brother and my sister are in love,” Sabrina said and gestured at us. “I think they’ll stick, which means you’re my family now. I’ve got to razz my people. It’s just who I am.”
Nova found my gaze again and smiled in a way that reminded me of when she was a kid. My sister was always so hopeful that each new home and family might be the good one.
Lula checked her phone, likely wanting to make sure no one forgot to pick up Dillon from school.
I followed her gaze as it moved past the people on the deck to where Zodiac talked with Clint and Elle.
The latter was more focused on the dogs than on my president.
After a few minutes, she walked inside and joined Lula and me.
“I’m going to pick up the kids at school,” Elle announced, looking confused before suddenly smiling at me. “You know, I don’t think seducing Zodiac for info was ever going to work. Good thing Lula was able to charm you instead. A lot of people dodged a bullet there.”
Lula snorted. “How exactly did you plan on seducing a man when you’ve never successfully done so before?”
“I was planning to get only a little wasted. Just enough to overlook all the nasty horrors involving a man’s body,” Elle said and looked me over as if imagining my nasty horrors. “Men have weird armpits and knees. Anyway, I don’t have to do that now.”
“He wouldn’t have told you anything anyway,” I said, winning a frown from Elle.
“I can be quite persuasive.”
“Can you, though?” Sabrina asked, suddenly behind us. “I feel like you haven’t ever persuaded anyone of anything ever.”
“Go hug Vanessa and stop hounding me.” Elle shoved Sabrina away and then frowned at me. “Do you really doubt I could seduce your pervy president?”
“If you want him naked, just ask. No seduction necessary. But, no, I don’t think he’d fess up any secrets to you.”
“That’s lame,” Elle said, glaring at me. “You’re lame. And he’s lame. And touching men’s hairy butts is lame.”
“Stay away from men’s asses, Elle,” Ford declared from the deck.
“You heard him,” Elle told me. “I don’t have an option in the matter now, so stop hounding me.”
“I’ll try.”
“Good, because I need to pick up the kids.”
“You’re not going alone, are you?” Lula asked, losing her amusement.
“No, I’m bringing your brother. Rowdy, come join me for the ride.”
“Alright, but only if you promise to stay away from my hairy ass.”
Rolling her eyes, Elle headed for the door. Rowdy grabbed a handful of chips and followed her. I watched them go before eyeing Lula.
“You should keep Elle away from Zodiac.”
“Why? She’s nearly thirty and perfectly capable of telling him to fuck off if she wants.”
“He’s got his mind set on sleeping with her.”
“Like, hold her down and force her kind of ‘mindset’ or he’s just going to look at her ass a lot like he’s been doing since she arrived?”
“He won’t force her.”
“Are you sure?”
“If I thought he was the kind of guy to do that shit, would I leave him alone with my sister and nieces?”
Lula sized me up in her lawyerly way. “I want to say that men make mistakes when they’re too close to predators. But I think you’re paranoid enough that you wouldn’t let your guard down.”
“Thank you, I guess.”
Smiling suddenly, Lula shrugged. “I want to be smart and protective of my people, but I also have this wildly unabashed crush on you. It’s really difficult not to simply nod approvingly at everything you say.”
Despite grinning at her, I struggled with my mood. Everything shifted so fast today with the arrival of Nova and the girls. Then, Tricky arrived to start trouble. As soon as he was gone, everyone embraced a party atmosphere.
Outside, Elle’s dog ran around with Xena and Ramen. Nearby, Zodiac joked around with Clint, who had lost his edginess once Elle was gone.
Sitting on the couch, Lula’s mom doted on the girls. Skylar remained wary and likely in need of a nap. Lyric, though, showed off for Bebe by doing dances and jumping jacks.
In the kitchen, Nova laughed in a weirdly unguarded way. I’d never seen her act so goofy before. She thought Sabrina, Xandy, and Moe were hilarious. I also noticed her whispering to Ivy.
Skylar eventually decided her mama was having a suspiciously good time and came to supervise.
I watched my family bond with Lula’s and tried to picture what next week would look like. A week ago, Lula was nothing more than the Crimson Guard’s lawyer. I never imagined sharing her bed, let alone owning her heart.
The future felt chaotic. Where would we live? How long would Zodiac’s patience hold out? Could Nova deal with me living only part-time in Baton Rouge? Hell, I wasn’t even sure how Dillon and my nieces would get along tonight. How could I imagine a month from now?
Giving up on guessing the future, I wrapped an arm around Lula’s shoulders and enjoyed the positive vibes currently around us.