Lilac Page 60
So that’s what her squealing was all about.
I was surprised she hadn’t ripped into me, but then again, I wasn’t. I would have seized any opening for this moment, but until now, she hadn’t been ready to listen. Another time and I would have laughed or made a joke, but at the moment, I was feeling a little dead inside.
“Tell me you forgive me.” It sounded like a demand, but we both knew it wasn’t. I was begging at this point, and I wasn’t the least bit ashamed.
Braxton was back to not looking at me again when she shrugged and offered me a nonchalant answer. “I’m working on it.”
My phone notifying me of a text kept me from begging her to work faster, damn it. Sighing, I checked my screen.
Houston: Where are you?
I texted back using one hand because the other was busy toying with the ends of Braxton’s hair.
Fuck off. I’m almost there.
My phone buzzed again since I’d put it on silent. This time it was a text from Rich since Houston had used our group chat.
Rich: Lol. I doubt it. Let us come help you.
Houston: Before you fuck it up for all of us.
Our gushing waitress returned to take our orders, and while Braxton told her what she wanted, I texted Houston and Rich the name of the restaurant. Maybe I could use some help since Braxton held onto her grudges so tightly, you’d need the jaws of life to pry them apart.
Feeling Braxton nudge me, I looked up from my phone to see the beaming waitress waiting for my order.
“Hey, sweetheart. I’ll take three Porterhouses and a side of fries. I want two of those steaks cooked medium and one medium-rare. I’ll also take some of those mini crab cakes you charge a left nut a piece for, the creamed spinach, and some bread for the table. Oh, and a coke and water.” I winked at our waitress as Braxton gaped at me.
“Are you really going to eat all of that?” she asked me.
“Not for me.”
Just as the waitress pranced off with our orders, Houston and Jericho entered the room, which saved me from having to explain further. She didn’t say anything when they slid into the booth across from us.
“I hope your luck was better than mine,” I said to kill the awkward silence. Braxton cut her gaze at me, so I guess I wasn’t as cryptic as I thought.
“I lost ten grand,” Houston announced as I put my hand on Braxton’s thigh. She’d worn a skirt today.
“How? It was a cheap bet.”
“He wasn’t betting on the horses,” Rich answered with a smirk.
My hand paused from inching up Braxton’s leg when I caught his drift. Each time I forgot why I hated my friends, they reminded me. “Night’s not over.”
“You know I can leave, and then you three won’t need to talk about me like I’m not here…because I won’t be.” She pushed my hand off her leg, and it felt like I’d taken three steps back from the half a step I’d gained.
So much for help.
Our food came, so I shut the fuck up and ate as I thought of my next move. I’d been honest. I’d been sincere. I didn’t know what else I could do to get through to her.
“What does your medallion mean?” she asked me out of the blue halfway through our meal. Houston and Rich both paused mid-chew as their gazes darted between Braxton and me.
Swallowing my food, I sat back as I looked at her. My appetite was gone. “What makes you think it means something?”
“You never take it off.”
I could tell by her tone that she wouldn’t just shrug it off if I chose not to give her the full and honest truth. Fuck. “Instead of a car for my sixteenth birthday, my father gave me this.”
Lifting the heavy chain off my neck, I slipped it up and over my head for the first time in six years. Before Braxton could react, I placed the medallion depicting a man with the head of a lion forging a sword around her neck. The rest of the crest included the family name and “solum initium est” engraved in the platinum. I don’t remember the exact value, but it was somewhere around a hundred and fifty thousand.
“Just before he kicked me out and left me with nothing, he told me to pawn it because it was the last cent I’d ever get out of him.”
“But you didn’t.”
It wasn’t a question since she wore it around her lovely neck, but I answered her anyway. “Nope.”
“And that’s why you’ve never taken it off and always wore your shirt open,” she pieced together out loud. I could see the wheels in her mind turning as she looked at me. “You knew he’d be keeping tabs and wanted him to know that you didn’t need his money.”
“Yup.”
I let myself be an open book as she studied me, but I didn’t mention my father’s offer to give me everything I once thought I wanted if I quit Bound and came home.
Nodding once, Braxton signaled that her curiosity was settled, and I released a quiet breath for small favors. My old man was the last thing I wanted to discuss while trying to win over my girl. I never thought I’d be capable of wanting more after watching my parents crap all over their marriage. I couldn’t risk anything giving me second thoughts. Spending another moment without Braxton was crippling enough. No way was I willing to go the rest of my life.
We headed back to the bus after eating, but by then, the night was no longer young. I still had no idea where I stood with her.
Instead of asking, I watched her disappear inside the bedroom that was now hers after we assured her it was fine. It’s not like we were planning to bring groupies on board.
“So what happened?” Rich asked the moment we heard the shower turn on.
I shrugged as I flopped onto the couch. “We talked, I told her everything I’d done wrong, and that was it.”
“She didn’t say anything else?” Houston questioned with a frown.
“Nope.”
“Did you apologize?” Rich asked me like he really believed it wouldn’t have occurred to me on my own to do so.
“In a way.”
“In a way?” they both echoed like some jackasses.
“She wouldn’t let me, and…I don’t blame her.” I had no idea why I was coming to her defense like she could hear me and would forgive me on the spot. If only. “Look, there’s no rush,” I lied as I put my feet up on the table. “The tour doesn’t end for another nine months. One way or another, she’s all ours whether she wants to be or not.”
“Do me a favor and don’t say that to her,” Rich advised.
I waved him off. “I’m done listening to you. All you’ve done is dig us into deeper shit.”
“He’s also the only one of us who’s ever gotten a woman to marry him,” Houston pointed out.
Barking a bitter laugh, I leaned my head back against the sectional and closed my eyes. “He was the only one dumb enough to ask.”
I knew the three of them were waiting for some kind of sign or answer from me. My heart knew what it wanted, but my head still wouldn’t agree. I knew the only solution to my dilemma was to sit them all down at once. I just didn’t know what I’d say or what I’d do once I did.
Would I say yes and take a chance, or would I turn them away out of pride? I wasn’t all that convinced they’d suffered enough.
I certainly had.
Sighing, I finished pulling my wet hair up. I didn’t realize until I looked in the mirror that I was still wearing Loren’s medallion. I wasn’t sure if he meant for me to keep it, but I liked wearing something that belonged to him, even if it was temporary.
Smiling, I left the bathroom only to find the bedroom occupied. The room seemed ten times smaller with three rock gods invading it.
Houston sat at the edge closest to me, Loren at the foot of the bed, and Jericho taking up the opposite edge. I stupidly thought I had until morning before I was forced to face them again. I could see the restraint dwindling in their eyes and knew my time was up.
“Come sit down,” Houston told me.
I garnered by his tone that it wasn’t up for debate. “What are you guys doing in here?”
“Waiting for you, obviously,” Loren answered. The glare he bestowed on me was full of accusations.
“Sit down, Braxton,” Houston ordered once again.
Huffing, I stormed over to the bed. I felt their eyes on me as I climbed the mattress, braced my back against the headboard, and held my legs up to my chest with my arms wrapped around them. It was all the distance I could put between them and me. All the protection I could hope for.
Jericho chuckled as he read my mind, and a teasing light entered his eyes. “That won’t help you, baby.”
My lips parted slightly as I felt my legs tremble. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know how to fight these feelings they evoked. They obviously knew how to wield them against me.
“Now that we’ve had your undivided attention,” Loren stated, “you have ours.”
“Tell us what you’re thinking.” The request had come from Houston.
“I don’t know. I’m not done yet,” I snapped.