24. Landry
CHAPTER 24
landry
Daisy takes one for the team by going in to pick up JD’s tux at our first stop of the morning, and my dad brings his out to the car next. He doesn’t say much, of course, only asks if I’m proud of myself after the way I behaved last night.
“Of course not,” I tell him with a sigh. “I’m on my way to apologize to Loren.” Then he grunts and walks away.
I received similar messages from both my mom and Lilley this morning, though my mom at least cared enough to ask how I was feeling before she recommended that I check in with my sister. Lilley’s message, however, sounded more like “I hope you woke up feeling shittier than our new brother-in-law did during your toast last night, asshole.”
It’s nothing I don’t deserve, I know. And once I got Daisy to reenact my big speech, I actually wished my hangover had been worse.
Now I’m sitting here in Blake’s driveway, staring at the front door.
“Good luck,” Daisy says, reaching over to pat my thigh.
“You’re not coming in with me?” I whine. “You know I’m not good at apologies.”
She shakes her head. “I think you need to handle this one on your own, big boy. Especially if you want to continue playing N’oncle Lan to those baby girls.”
I take a deep, fortifying inhale. “You’re right. I just wish I knew what to say to make up for this.”
“Be honest, speak from your heart,” she says plainly.
“And never get to see my nieces again?” I reply, smirking.
“Come on, Landry. You’re obviously sorry for what you said. So tell her that, nothing more and nothing less. She doesn’t need to know why you said it, only that you know it was wrong and you’re sorry for hurting them.”
“But I didn’t mean to hurt them. I was trying to be nice, and it came out wrong.”
“Stop worrying about being misunderstood. This is about making Loren and Blake feel better.” I furrow a brow at her, and she sighs, shifting her position in the passenger seat to face me. “Think of it as triage or first aid. You’re going in to stop the bleeding, and you can treat the minor scrapes and cuts later.”
I shake my head. “How do you do it? You always know the right thing to say.”
She blushes and smiles shyly, obviously pleased. “If only that were true.”
“Maybe you just speak my language, then,” I mumble, and she turns her eyes to mine. My chest warms, so I clear my throat and force myself to look away. “Okay. I’m going in. Wish me luck.”
I don’t wait for her to reply before I get out and walk up to the front door. I knock a few times, but there’s no answer, so I pull out my phone to text Loren. I’d sent her a message earlier saying I’d be there in a while to pick up Blake’s tuxedo, but she’d left me on read .
I knock one more time before I cross my arms and shift my weight, preparing to leave, but the door swings open to reveal my sister wearing a robe and looking disheveled.
“Um, hi. Good morning. I’m here for?—”
She glares and shoves a garment bag at my chest. I take it, and her eyes flutter, a momentary crack in her resolve to stay mad at me. Then she spins on her heels and swings the door closed behind her.
“Lo, wait,” I call out, stepping forward to hold it open. “Can we talk for a second?”
“I’m a little busy.” She crosses her arms and refuses to face me again.
“I know, but?—”
“Can’t keep my husband waiting,” she says as Blake rounds the corner in a pair of shorts. He ignores me and shoots Loren a secret smile that makes me want to gag, but I fight to keep my expression neutral.
“Coming back to bed, Agnes?” he asks in a sultry tone, tilting his head in an invitation.
I lift my sunglasses and cringe at the pain. “I won’t keep you long, I promise. I just want to apologize for last night. Then I’ll leave you to get back to …” I swallow hard and force myself to smile, “your honeymoon activities.”
Blake leans down for a kiss, sliding his hand around to cup Loren’s backside before he pulls away and shoots me a look. I expect to see his trademark cocky grin aimed my way, but I get a silent “hurt her and die” warning instead. It only adds to my overwhelming sense of guilt, and I lower my gaze as I agree to his unspoken terms with a nod.
“I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me,” he says quietly before he saunters away.
Loren turns to face me again. “You’ve got thirty seconds.”
I frown. “You okay? You look?—”
She holds up a finger. “I look like someone who needs to get rid of her dickhead brother so she can get back to having sex. Twenty seconds.”
I wince. “Right, sorry. Um, look, Lo. I just wanted to apologize for what I said last night. It was completely inappropriate, and …” I bite back the urge to add something in my defense, to tell her I only said it because I’m always worrying about her. But Daisy was right before; my reasons don’t matter right now.
“There’s no excuse for it, and I’ve never regretted anything more. I was wrong. I’m sorry for hurting you, and even though you deserve to stay angry with me forever after this, especially after all the other times I’ve been an ass, I hope you can forgive me one day.” I gulp as my voice gets thicker. “I love you, and I’m so glad you’re happy, you know, with Blake.”
She turns her lips to the side and looks away as her eyes start to water. “Okay.”
I nod and blow out a breath. “Thank you for hearing me out. I’ll get out of your way now, so you can finish your …” I gesture with an awkward wave.
This time a smile creeps across her face. “Sex? With Blake?” she volunteers, staring me down and looking for my reaction. “My husband and the father of my children, the man, the myth, the legend, also known as Blake ‘the Snake’ Bourgeois?”
I force my expression to remain neutral as she narrows her eyes at me, daring me to flinch. “Yeah, that guy,” I choke out.
“The same man who cried when he saw me in my wedding dress yesterday, who punched you in the face when we were kids because you hurt my feelings, and who’s currently in the kitchen fixing me a sandwich?” she poses, lifting an eyebrow.
“Yep. That’s the one,” I grind out. “Just … freaking … love that guy.”
“Good, so do I. Thanks for coming by and for volunteering to return the tuxes. Hope your hangover lasts three days,” she returns. Then she grins and flips me off as she steps toward the door.
I can’t help but smirk. “Love you, too, Lo-Lo.”
“Agnes, you wanna pickle on this sandwich or what?” Blake calls out loudly.
“Only if it’s slathered in peanut butter,” she returns, shutting the door in my face. Then I hear what sounds like muffled footsteps and a squeal from Loren, and I shiver in disgust.
Daisy looks like she’s about to explode by the time I return to the Jeep. “How did it go?” she asks before I can sit.
“Better than expected,” I say with a sigh. “I may be scarred for life, but it sounds like she’s willing to forgive me.”
“I’m proud of you, Landry,” she continues before she cringes. “Sorry, I forgot?—”
“No, thank you for helping me get it right this time. I appreciate your help,” I tell her, and she smiles shyly.