Until Lexi

23

JAKE

“Noah knows about Mercy.”

“That was fast,” I murmur, lifting brow and watching as Lexi steals the cup of coffee from my hand. She takes a long drink and sits down next to me, curing up against my side.

“Good?” I ask sarcastically.

“Need a little sugar.”

“Smartass,” I say, smacking her thigh playfully. “So, how’d he take it?”

“Well… when she said she was going to break the news to him… I thought that meant she’d do it gently.”

“I’m guessing she didn’t?”

“She dropped that shit like a bomb, Jake.” She laughs, and I don’t have a tough time believing it. I can only imagine how the conversation went down. “But… she said after the initial shock wore off, Noah’s first question was when he could meet Mercy.”

“Told you.”

“You did,” she says simply, tilting her head to press a kiss to my jaw. “She’s gonna stay out there for a couple days to spend some time with her newfound brothers before Mercy gets brought into the mix.”

“She’s meeting Adam?”

“Yeah. She said Noah’s going to take her to Adam’s shop this afternoon.”

“Shit,” I say, blowing out a breath. I lift my hat to run my fingers through my hair. “Guess that means I need to call Adam before she drops the bomb on him, too.”

“She definitely will if you don’t get to him first.”

“All right,” I say, tapping her thigh. “Jump up so I can grab my laptop from the counter. I think this conversation needs to happen as face-to-face as I can possibly get.”

Grumbling, she starts to move, but a little voice calls out from the kitchen.

“I gots it, Mister Jake!”

Wide-eyed, I glance down at Lexi. Her smile lets me know I have nothing to worry about. I’ll admit, I haven’t spent much time around kids. Trusting a five-year-old with expensive electronics isn’t something I’d normally do.

Lexi’s right, though (of course). Mercy calmly walks around the couch clutching my laptop tightly in both hands.

“Here, Mister Jake.” She holds it out, waiting until she’s certain I have a hold of it before she lets go.

“Thank you, Miss Mercy. I appreciate your help.”

Her little cheeks turn pink, and she giggles, then ducks her head and runs off down the hall toward her room.

“I think someone has a crush,” Lexi whispers through her laughter.

“I-I…” I close my mouth, giving up. I have absolutely no fucking clue what to say about that, but I guess I’m glad Lexi finds it so funny.

“It’s adorable how flustered you are,” she teases, rubbing my thigh. “Now call your friend before Hurricane Riley blows through and ruins your chance.”

She’s right.

I get everything set up on the computer and position it on the coffee table in front of me. “Are you sticking around for this?” I ask Lexi before I make the call.

She snuggles closer into me. “Yeah. I’m too comfortable to move, pretend I’m not here.”

“Yeah right,” I mutter, clicking the button to start a video call.

“Jake! I almost forgot what the hell you look like, man,” Adam says when the call connects. His eyes flit to my left and I know it’s coming. “She’s much prettier to look at, though. Hey, sweetheart. I’m Adam.”

“She knows who you are,” I tell him.

“Yeah? Why don’t I know who she is? I thought we were tight, Jake?”

“Fucker,” I mumble, not missing the way Lexi’s body shakes against me. “Adam, this is my girlfriend, Lexi.”

“Nice to meet you, Adam,” she says through her laughter.

He grins, knowing he’s being annoying as fuck. “You found a little more than my sister over there in Tennessee, huh?”

“The love of my life,” I admit, shocking the hell out of them both.

I may have told Lexi I love her, but we haven’t talked about it. Maybe this will help her see how serious my words were. It’s not a phrase I’d utter unless I meant it.

“But that’s not why I called,” I tell him.

His demeanor shifts, his expression hopeful. “Does that mean you can finally tell me everything? I’m dying to meet Riley, man.”

“You won’t be waiting much longer,” Lexi singsongs.

“For real?” Adam asks.

“Yeah… but look,” I blow out a breath. “There’s some shit you need to hear first.”

“The kinda shit that wasn’t yours to tell?” I nod, watching Adam sit back in his chair, crossing his arms behind his head. “Floor’s yours, man.”

“You know I found Riley… who is definitely related to you, by the way.”

“How—”

“Let me get this out,” I plead, scrubbing my hand down my face. “Fuck. I should have waited and let Noah tell you.” Lexi sits up and starts rubbing my shoulders, trying to help me relax. “Look, when I found Riley… I also found a little girl. One who looks extremely similar to Noah.”

I see Adam’s lips part, but I hold up a hand, imploring him to let me finish.

“Turns out, one of Riley’s foster sisters used to have a thing with Noah. She admitted that there was a chance the little girl could be his.”

“And you wanted to know for certain before you said anything.”

“Yeah.”