A Million Guilty Pleasures (Million Dollar Duet 2)

“Alexis Mavis the sports agent? Your husband is NFL player Brad Mavis, right?” my dad asked with an awed expression. Aha, so that would explain the salivating. The only other thing that could make a man react that way would be sports, and my dad was a fanatic.

“One and the same,” Lexi said with a red-carpet smile in place.

Oh, she was good.

Mack looked as confused as I was. I think I covered mine fairly well, mostly because I was distracted by the way Noah was breathing. Well, it wasn’t so much the way he was breathing as the fact he just was. Add to that the fact he was there and that he loved me, and I was pretty much done for in the coherency department.

“Didn’t Lanie tell you?” Lexi asked, looking to me and then back at my dad. She sighed and rolled her eyes in exasperation when I shrugged dumbly. “When Lanie got to campus, it turned out there was some mix-up on the dorm assignments—as in one less bed than they had originally thought. And well, since she was so late to report on her scholarship, she was pretty much left to fend for herself.

“I’m an NYU alum, and my husband and I were there to have lunch with the dean, but as we were leaving, we overheard all the fuss and wanted to help. Lucky for Lanie, we just happened to have an extra room in our penthouse off campus,” Lexi explained—quite convincingly, I might add.

“And you didn’t call us because …?” Mack asked, tilting his head to the side while giving me the same look he’d given me when I was younger and had gotten into something I had no business getting into.

“I, um …” I looked to Lexi for help.

“She was actually going to pack up and go back home, but I’m a strong believer in the importance of a good education, and I couldn’t let her give up because of a technicality.” I’d say she was laying it on a little too thick, but if it worked, I’d give her a standing ovation and nominate her for an Emmy. “Besides, Brad’s away for games a lot and I could use the company. She’s my date to a lot of social functions that Brad can’t make because of his schedule, which is where she met my dear, sweet cousin Noah.”

“Noah?” Mack asked, turning toward me. “Who’s Noah?”

“That would be me, sir.” Noah stepped forward with his hand outstretched. “Noah Crawford. It’s nice to finally meet you. Lanie’s told me so much about you and your wife.”

“She has, has she?” Mack asked, giving me another sideways glance. “Well, I wish I could say the same about you.”

I could practically hear his bullshit meter screaming high-pitched alarms.

“Yeah, um, sorry about that, Dad.” I stood and walked toward Noah to make a proper introduction and do some damage control. Noah put his arm around my waist and pulled me into his side, a sign that we were forming a united front, but really it was just incredibly distracting because I could both feel and smell him.

“Dad, I’d like for you to meet my … um, boyfriend, Noah Crawford,” I said, not really sure what to call him, which is probably why the whole thing came out sounding more like a question rather than a statement.

Mack looked at me and then Noah and then Noah’s arm, which was placed around my waist in a way that spoke volumes about our familiarity, and then down to Noah’s outstretched hand before he finally shook it. “The Noah Crawford, huh?”

“Of Scarlet Lotus,” Noah acknowledged before pulling his hand back and tucking it away in his pocket. “I’m really sorry to hear of your wife’s illness. Can I ask how she is?”

“She’s doing exceptionally well,” a voice said from behind us.

Everyone turned to see Daniel walk into the room with what I assumed was my mother’s chart in hand. He pulled up short when he saw Lexi standing beside my father. “I see you’ve met my daughter and my nephew,” he said with a grin. “Small world, eh?”

“Yeah, it would appear so,” my father replied, his tone signaling to me that he knew he was being bullshitted. “So about my wife?”

“The transplant was textbook smooth,” Daniel replied, his demeanor utterly professional. “From here, it’s a waiting game to make sure her body doesn’t reject her new heart.”

“Can we see her?” I asked.

“Right now, rest is imperative to her recovery. Any sort of excitement,” he said, looking pointedly at the various people in the room before settling on me and Noah, “won’t be good. So how about if we limit it to just you for now, Mr. Talbot? Sandra will take you to her in a few minutes.”

“But Lanie is her daughter,” Mack started to protest.

“I want to see her,” I said adamantly.

“And you will,” Daniel answered. “Just please, be patient. One at a time for now.”

“You go first, Lanie,” Mack offered, even though it was etched in every fine line of his face how badly he wanted to be at her side.

I gave him a reassuring smile. “It’s okay, Dad. I’ll get to see her later.”

“Why don’t I take you to get something to eat?” Noah kissed me on the temple and rubbed my back soothingly. “I was worried you would be so upset that you’d forget to, and I was right.”

He gave me that irresistibly sexy smirk, and I bit down on my bottom lip, trying not to attack him on the spot. My dad wouldn’t have appreciated that little porno moment.

“We’ll go with you,” Polly offered, linking her arm through Dez’s. It really warmed my heart to see my two worlds coming together so seamlessly.

It seemed silly to me now that I’d ever thought Noah’s life and mine were too different for us to ever have a life together. After all, when you took away the money and the fancy houses, cars, and clothes, weren’t we all still just human underneath? Money truly cannot buy you love, and even though it could change some people, that didn’t mean everyone who had a little of it were snobs. Truth be known, I was the snob for thinking Noah and his loved ones weren’t good enough to live in my world. Not only were they good enough, but they had already become a permanent fixture of it. I couldn’t remember my life before Noah, and I didn’t want to imagine the future of my life without him in it.

“Yeah, I think I like that idea. We’ll all go together,” I said as I pulled away from Noah and took his hand instead before I turned back to my father. “Tell Mom I love her and I’ll be in to see her as soon as I’m allowed, okay?”