CHAPTER 23 DANNY
The doorbell rings a few minutes after we get back to my place, and everyone is upstairs getting unpacked and settled as I grab snacks for the boys out of my pantry.
I have one of those snack size bags of popcorn in my hand as I wonder who the hell is ringing my bell, and I toss the door open, expecting to see one of my buddies.
It’s not a buddy.
It’s a woman wearing sunglasses and a sweatshirt with a hood pulled over her head, and a man in a black shirt and black jeans stands behind her as if he’s fading into the background.
“Lex,” I whisper, shocked that she’s actually standing on my front porch as my jaw slackens a little.
“Hey,” she says softly, offering a little wave as she pulls her sunglasses off. “Got room for two more at your Thanksgiving table?”
I freeze as it takes a beat for her words to actually register. “Holy fuck, yes! Yes. Come in!” I reach out and grab her around the waist, hauling her into me, and she giggles as she holds onto my biceps for balance. I drop my mouth to hers.
“What are you doing here?” I ask against her mouth. I pepper kisses there as she moves her hands from my arms to my face.
“I had to see you.” She kisses me back, those same peppered kisses between her words.
I finally pull back and open the door for her security guy to come in, too. “Welcome,” I say, holding out a hand to him without hesitation after I close the door behind them.
He nods as he shakes my hand, and clearly, he’s a man of few words. “Gregory,” he says his name.
“Danny,” I say.
He nods again and glances around as if he’s casing the joint.
I hear my mom’s voice upstairs as she yells something across the hall to my sister, and both Alexis and Gregory turn in that direction as they look up.
“My family is here. Hope you’re ready to meet them,” I say, my eyes lighting up.
“Oh, God,” she says. “As if I wasn’t nervous enough to spring this surprise on you.”
I grab her into my arms and press my lips to hers again. “Best. Surprise. Ever.”
We’ll get to the hows and whys and logistics later.
For now…I’m just glad she’s here.
We head into the kitchen, and I offer my two new guests a drink. They each opt for water.
My arm is looped around her waist and her hood is down when my sister walks down the stairs first.
“Dan, was someone at the do—” she freezes as she sees who’s with me. “Oh my God,” she says, flapping her hands up and down with excitement. “Oh my God, Alexis Bodega is standing in my brother’s kitchen. Oh my God!”
Alexis offers her the same wave she gave me a few minutes ago on my front porch, and she leans into me. “Wait until she hears that you just kissed me, too.”
I press a quick kiss on Alexis’s cheek.
Anna puts a hand on her forehead. “I think I’m going to faint.”
I laugh. “Lex, this is my sister, Anna. Anna, meet Alexis Bodega.”
“I’m part of the Bodegiacs! I’m a huge, huge fan! When my brother said he was seeing you, I didn’t believe him. But you’re here! You’re really here! Oh my God!”
“Dude, Anna, chill,” I warn. “She’s usually not quite this over the top,” I tell Alexis.
She laughs, and steps forward, and takes my sister into a hug. “It’s so, so lovely to meet you, Anna. Danny has told me so much about you and the boys that I feel like I already know you.”
“Oh, God. Don’t listen to him. I’m sure he told you all the worst stories.”
“I would never!” I protest with a laugh.
“Mom!” Anna screams with Alexis still standing in her orbit after their hug. “Mom, get down here!”
“I’m so embarrassed,” Alexis says with a laugh.
I toss my arm around her again and draw her into me. “I’m so glad you’re here. I have no idea how you made this happen, but it doesn’t matter.”
My mom walks into the room, and her eyes widen when they land on Alexis.
They widen further when they land on Alexis’s security guard.
Oh Jesus.
Now that is something I was not prepared for.
“Whoa,” she breathes.
“I take it this is your mom?” Alexis asks me.
I chuckle. “Yeah. Mom, this is Alexis.”
“I know who you are,” my mom says. Alexis moves toward her to hug her, too, and my mom says, “I’m Tracy. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Danny has said such wonderful things about you, and I know what a talented and giving young woman you are.”
“Thank you,” Alexis says. She squeezes my mom for a beat, and I feel an unexpected wave of emotion hit me at seeing them together.
It’s far stronger than I would’ve imagined it would be.
“And this is Gregory,” Alexis says, nodding toward the man. “He’s my…well, his official title is security guard, but he drives me everywhere, protects me, and is basically my best friend.”
Gregory’s face doesn’t slip into a smile, but his eyes do soften for a beat as he nods at my mother and my sister. “Pleasure,” he says.
I glance at my mom as I get the feeling that if anyone could get that guy talking, it’s her.
We hear a loud bang followed by a cry from upstairs, and Anna snaps out of it. “Oh, shit!” she says as if she just remembered she has kids, and they are, in fact, upstairs, and now one of them is crying.
She turns and races up that way, and Alexis looks alarmed for a beat, but then the crying stops.
“My nephews,” I say in answer to the question she didn’t ask. “They’re always getting up to mischief. Never a dull moment when they’re both awake, that’s for sure.”
She giggles.
“I was just about to place an order for pizza. Anyone have any requests?” I ask.
“Oh, would you mind getting a salad for me?” Alexis asks, and then she pauses. “No, wait.” She shakes her head. “This is a holiday weekend, and I’m here to celebrate with my boyfriend and his family.” She slaps a hand over her mouth as her eyes widen, her cheeks turning the color of a strawberry.
I decide not to let that slide. “Did you just call me…your boyfriend?”
“Oh God. We haven’t said that yet, have we? Okay, so let me amend it by saying—”
I interrupt her when I walk over toward her and stand in front of her. I lean down and press my lips to hers. “Don’t you dare amend a thing, Bodega.”
She looks up at me from under lowered lashes, clearly still embarrassed, and I just offer a cheeky smile before I return to my task of ordering dinner. “Hey Watchdog, you got any preferred toppings?” I ask Gregory.
He doesn’t appear ruffled by my nickname, and I find myself wanting to get him to crack that stone cold expression that’s always on his face. “No preference,” he grunts.
“You?” I ask Alexis, and she shakes her head.
“I’ll eat whatever you order.”
Lucas always asks for bacon pizza, so I order an extra large one of those for both him and Alexis. I order three other pizzas, too, and some appetizers, which is obviously way too much for five adults and two kids, and since I’m feeling in a rather giving mood, I shoot Rush a quick text.
Me: My sister just got to town, and I ordered way too many pizzas if you’d like to join us. Fair warning, her kids are here.
He gets back to me right away.
Rush: Thanks for the invite. On my way.
Now there’s another shock.
He must really be interested in my sister…which, like, why? She’s my sister. But okay.
Anna is still upstairs with the boys, and Gregory heads out front to grab the bags from the car after I tell him he’s welcome to stay here.
I have a five-bedroom house—the primary bedroom is mine, obviously, and my mom has her own room, my sister has her own room, and the boys share the room with the bunk beds whenever they stay here. That leaves one bedroom, which I offer to Gregory so Alexis can stay with me.
I help him carry the bags upstairs, and Alexis peeks her head into the boys’ room.
“Hey! You’re Alexis Bodega!” Lucas says.
He’s only six, but he’s smart as hell, and since his mother is a Bodegiac, I’m not shocked he knows who she is.
“I am,” she says.
He narrows his eyes. “Prove it.”
She raises both brows and glances at me. “Tough crowd,” she says. “Okay.” She clears her throat and starts singing her most famous song. “A little bit pure, a little too na?ve, a little too honest. Reaching for top, always trying your best. It’s the age, the age, the age…of innocence.”
I stare in awe at her raw talent as she sings the words everyone in the room knows, but we sing it and sound like a bunch of squawking toads. She sings it and sounds like a fucking angel.
“More, more, more!” Leo says as he claps his hands together.
Anna’s sitting on the floor with him as she wipes his face with a tissue. His eyes are rimmed in red, but the angelic voice stopped the tears from whatever trauma they were dealing with up here, and both boys start to dance as Alexis picks up the song where she left off.
It’s incredible. She isn’t just a natural with that voice of hers, but she joins in with them and dances around the room. They laugh with her as they make an immediate bond, and for just a second, I glimpse the future as I see her doing this exact same thing with our kids.
It’s that same future I never knew I wanted, but now that I’ve had the vision…it’s everything I need.