Better than Sexy (The Sexy 3)

This was exactly the kind of situation she’d feared. The notion of his parents finding out who she was and hating her for being Vic’s sister, and now she was grieving and the man she loved couldn’t find it in his heart to be there for her. And she couldn’t even be angry at him for it.

“I think a family-only burial is a good idea,” her mother said, breaking into her thoughts. “I’ll make the arrangements,” she said, choking over the word.

With a nod, Vivi tried not to think about how difficult it was going to be to put her brother in the ground without Landon by her side. She was going to be there to shore up her mother and help her get through the loss of her son.

But who would be there for Vivi?

* * *

Landon joined Tanner and Jason at the bar, his heart with Vivi as she walked herself out the door and to the Uber that waited to take her to her mother’s place. He couldn’t go with her and pretend to care that she mourned the bastard who’d killed his twin. But he should have been there for her, to help her through her pain.

How?

How the fuck did he do it?

“Landon? What’s wrong? You’re pale as fuck and you look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

He swallowed over the lump in his throat. “Pour me a shot.”

Tanner narrowed his gaze. “Since when do you drink?”

“Vic’s dead. Now pour me a shot of whiskey.”

Eyes narrowed, Tanner poured and slid the glass across the bar.

“What do you mean Vic’s dead?” Jason asked, leaning in on the counter.

Around them, the crowd danced and thought they were going to see their big act tonight. One of them would have to go onstage and disappoint the people, but a death in the family was an understandable reason for a cancellation.

Landon blew out a breath and repeated what Vivi’s mother had told her without feeling the sense of satisfaction he once thought he’d experience if the bastard turned up dead. Instead he was worried about Vivi, but instead of being there for her, he’d frozen inside.

“Hell, we should all do a shot,” Tanner said, pouring two more and raising his glass. “To Levi.”

Landon raised his gaze. “My brother wouldn’t celebrate Vic’s death, and fuck, but I can’t either.” Nausea filled him at the all the emotions whirling inside him, each fighting for dominance.

“Where’s Vivi?” Jason asked, and Landon shot him a grateful glance for thinking of his girl.

He curled his fingers into tight fists. “I fucked up. She got the call from her mother and took an Uber to be with her. I was paralyzed with shock and relief, mostly, which makes me feel guilty now. I’m glad her brother is dead. By the time my head and heart kicked back online and I accepted that this was a loss for her, she was gone.”

“Okay, I say we do the shots anyway. This is an occasion to mark, one way or another. We no longer have to worry about the bastard in this world,” Tanner said.

Needing something to ease his pain, Landon lifted the glass and downed it in one gulp, feeling the unfamiliar burn in his chest. It’d been a long while since he’d drunk. He and the guys knew how ironic it was that they didn’t consume alcohol yet owned a bar. But the opportunity had arisen and it worked for them.

With a glance at one another, Jason and Tanner also finished their shot.

Tanner nodded in satisfaction. “Now what are you going to do about Vivi?” he asked.

Knowing he’d made a royal mess of things, Landon hung his head. “I should have done something more than put a hand on her shoulder like a stranger would. I should have told her I’m sorry. Except I’m not. I am sorry for her loss but not that Vic is dead, and that really complicates things.” He blew out a breath, surprised life could take such a drastic turn in a matter of minutes. Then again, hadn’t he learned that lesson years ago?

Jason frowned at him. “I think you need to get your head on straight and figure out how you’re going to handle everything when it comes to Vivi. From the end of this gig to the death of her brother. Either you’re in and you’re there for her … or you’re not, and everyone, even Vivi, would understand why.”

“You’re not suggesting I go to a funeral for the bastard?” Landon asked, horrified.

“No. I don’t think even Vivi would expect that.”

Except he hadn’t seen the look on her face when he’d just told her to go. No emotion, no expression, nothing. True, she’d tried to hide the hurt, but he’d seen the pain flowing through her anyway.

Fuck.

“I need to let my parents know about Vic,” he said, addressing the other thing on his mind because figuring out how to deal with this situation with Vivi wasn’t something he knew how to do.