AKA Lexi Frost (Lexi Frost Series)

by Tori Brooks

  “You’re underfoot,” Teri told him.

  “Becky and Michelle are here. You can’t reasonably expect me to stay out there.” He looked up at his mother with big green eyes, begging her not to give him away. He was a cute kid, Paul had to admit. He looked younger when he looked helpless and hopeful like this.

  “If I go around to the other side of the bar and Teri moves over so you’re not underfoot, hopefully no one will notice you’re there,” Paul volunteered and walked around to the dining room side of the bar.

  “And if anyone comes looking,” Teri continued, “Paul and I can simply start kissing until they get freaked out and leave,” she winked at Paul.

  “That should work,” Paul agreed with a grin.

  “Cut it out, that’s gross. Paul, I thought you were trying to make points.”

  “Well, I think it’s more important to just be myself, don’t you?” Paul called over the top of the bar.

  “Whatever.”

  “Anyway, Dev’s games aside, that’s what I was doing in Miami,” Teri finished answering Paul.

  “Makes sense. I’m curious about the pictures now.”

  “Sorry, had to dump them to take pictures of In Like Flynn.”

  “Mom? You met In Like Flynn? Really?”

  Paul almost winced at Dev’s interest.

  “Nicholas was interviewing the photographer while he was taking pictures of them. Troy something,” Paul said helpfully.

  “Cool. Bet Kenny’d want to know if you could introduce him. He’d probably love to ask Zane about a million questions,” Dev said.

  “Why Zane?” Paul asked. “I thought Flynn was the lead singer.”

  “Yeah, the singer is kind of the voice for the band, but not always who makes the band in terms of style and sound. That’s Zane. He’s the one who makes the real decisions. It sounds like Charlie’s leaving, so Zane will be the first to scout who’s going to replace him.”

  “Hey, did Dev make it in here?” Jess poked his head in the patio door beside Paul.

  “Sorry, honey,” Teri called without hesitation and Jess disappeared. Paul looked at her. She nodded for him to close the door again. Paul closed the door and Teri answered the unasked question.

  “Jess and Dev play a lot of jokes on each other. If he’s looking for Dev, it’s probably not a good thing.”

  “Right. Good to know.”

  The patio door opened again and Kenny slipped in. He closed it behind him and seemed surprised to see Paul sitting at the bar instead of beside Teri. He walked into the kitchen, giving Paul a wide berth, and noted Dev’s position on the floor. Nodding in understanding, Kenny left again without a word.

  “Kenny seems to think I bite,” Paul said after the door was closed again.

  “He’ll be fine. I meant to have a talk with him this morning, but he was gone until just before you got here.”

  “Why do you need to talk to Kenny?” Dev asked.

  “It’s nothing, baby,” Teri answered automatically.

  “Mom! I told you, don’t call me ‘baby’,” Dev snapped.

  “Sorry, can’t be helped.” Teri pulled plastic wrap over the potato salad and put it in the refrigerator. Then she started cleaning up.

  “So, Paul, how’s Kayley doing? I kind of feel guilty when I think about her.”

  “She’s on vacation in Europe. Italian Riviera right now, I think. Don’t worry, I keep an eye on her and she’s fine.”

  “Who’s Kayley?” Dev asked. Paul wished he could see his face when he asked that. The tone sounded innocent, but the question wasn’t.

  “Ex-girlfriend,” Paul answered when Teri hesitated.

  “Why does Mom know her then?”

  “Well, we were still going out when I met your mother. They’ve met a couple of times now. Kayley explained our unusual relationship. It was a little different from what Teri’s used to.”

  “Unusual how?” Dev’s tone gave away his concern this time. Paul didn’t need to see his face to see the frown.

  “Kayley and I were together mostly so we had someone to be with. We weren’t in love, although we’d been together for several years. When I met your mom, I didn’t have to tell Kayley how I felt, she knew me well enough to see it. She wasn’t upset or hurt by it, in fact she gave me advice and tried to help me get Teri’s attention.”

  “Is she the one who told you to send all those flowers for the last couple of weeks? ‘Cause those were a waste. Nicholas threw them out.”

  “No, Kayley’s having fun and I didn’t want to bother her yet for advice. That was Lia, my secretary.”

  “Speaking of flowers.” Teri got a large vase out of the pantry and filled it with water. She took it back over to the counter in front of Paul and started to put the roses in it.

  “Oh! Those ducks are cute!” she exclaimed, “I didn’t notice those before.”

  “What’s the point of roses on their own?” Paul smiled. Teri leaned forward and kissed him.

  “None of that!” Dev protested from beside her feet. “Ow!” he exclaimed. Paul looked at Teri questioningly.

  “He hit my leg so I kicked him back.”

  “Okay,” Paul nodded. “So, Dev, given any thought about what you’re going to do after high school?”

  “Kenny’s hoping we’ll have a name for ourselves by then.”

  Kenny came back inside just in time to hear his name mentioned. “I what?”

  “Hope the band will have regular gigs soon.”

  “Yeah, hopefully. Why?”

  “They don’t have backup plans if that’s what you’re wondering,” Cassie said, walking in from the living room. “Mom, Tiff and I are taking Becky and Michelle home.”

  “Okay. Thanks for letting me know. Actually, wait a sec.” Teri finished arranging the flowers and ducks and pushed the vase toward Cassie.

  “That is so cute,” Tiffany gushed, taking the vase and setting it on the dining room table.

  “What’s with the ducks?” Kenny frowned.

  “Inside joke.” Teri waved to the girls, “Okay, I’m done here,” she announced.

  “When do you expect Nicholas?” Paul asked.

  “Any time, actually.”

  “When the girls come back, how about we start barbecuing then?”

  “Sounds good. Tiffany doesn’t live far away. Let me start pulling things out.” Teri turned back to the refrigerator. “Dev, you’re in the way, baby, move it.”

  “Mom!” He protested the affectionate nickname again, but he did vacate the kitchen, skirting Paul as he rushed out the patio door.

  “Why do we need a backup plan?” Kenny confronted Paul while Teri started to pull out a tray from the refrigerator.

  “Wait, let me give you a hand with that,” Paul called, holding up a finger to indicate Kenny should be patient, and quickly moved to assist with the tray. He set it on the counter and looked it over. “That’s quite a bit of meat.”

  “There are a lot of growing boys in this house.”

  “I forgot how much they can pack away,” Paul agreed.

  “So why do you think we need a backup plan?” Kenny asked again, a little louder this time. Paul turned to face him.

  “You’re shooting for the making it in the music industry, Kenny. I’ll be honest, it’s not my area of expertise, but the odds strike me as being against you no matter how good you are. It’s always a good idea to have a backup plan. If it’s something related, then that’s even better. Dev and Bryan are still in school, but have you and Jess looked at continuing education?”

  “There’s not a course at the community college for rock star, and Jess isn’t academically minded.”

  Paul caught the hostile edge in Kenny’s tone. It didn’t surprise him and it was why he didn’t really want to have this conversation with Kenny just yet. There wasn’t any trust established between them, and he would just come across as interfering.

  “What’s your biggest challenge where the band is concerned?” Paul asked.

>   “What do you mean?”

  “What makes you reach for an aspirin or want to beat your head against the wall?”

  “He means what makes you want to beat Jess or Dev?” Bryan clarified, coming in. “Hi, I’m Bryan. I assume you’re Paul.”

  “Good to finally meet you, Bryan. Is suppressing the desire to beat Jess and Dev the biggest problem?”

  Bryan shrugged. “Probably just seems that way.”

  “Well, think about it, Kenny. While you’re waiting for your big break, think about how to make the most of the next couple of years while you’re awaiting Dev’s graduation. Psychology, marketing, writing classes.”

  “I’m a musician,” Kenny protested.

  “And from what I understand, you keep the band together and make the decisions. So in your spare time, maybe management classes.”

  “In my spare time I’m a musician.”

  “Doing what?”

  “Writing songs and learning the trade the best I can from where I am.”

  “Can you elaborate?” Paul settled himself and put on his interested-and-attentive face.

  “I learn all I can about the big names, not the groupie crap like favorite color or birthdays or whatever. I look at their lives and compare it to their songs. Also how they can describe something simple, but do it in a way that is elegantly emotional and makes you think, or feel, or brings your own memories to mind.”

  “You’re serious about this,” Paul realized.

  “You’re the stalker, I would’ve thought you’d figured that out by now,” Kenny retorted and stormed out the back, leaving Paul in a stunned silence.

  Later, after most of the kids were on dates or at a movie, Paul, Teri, Nicholas and Kenny sat in the dimly-lit backyard listening to crickets chirp and mosquitoes hit the bug zapper up by the house. Paul held Teri comfortably in his lap, she seemed to be content curled up with him.

  “So, you’re married,” Kenny said casually. He was coolly silent while Paul barbecued various cuts of meat, fruit, and vegetables, and Paul let it pass. He wanted to speak to Kenny privately anyway. The teenager had to know about his marriage to Sara and that needed to be addressed. Kenny also clearly didn’t like him and held a lot of sway with the boys, which amounted to two thirds of Teri’s household.

  “Kenny!” Teri sat up. Paul pulled her back down into her former position.

  “It’s fine. Yes, Kenny, I’m still married. Unfortunately that’s unlikely to change.”

  “So how’d you manage to talk Teri into sleeping with a married man?”

  “Kenny, this is not appropriate.” Teri prepared to continue her reprimand, but Paul stroked a finger teasingly across her lips to keep her quiet.

  “Actually I’m dying to know that one myself,” Nicholas added almost conversationally. His smile was friendly, and Paul still took Nicholas to be an ally. A little friendly banter was always enjoyable he decided.

  “You threw Flynn Peterson her direction,” Paul admonished lightly, dropping his hand from Teri’s lips to rest across her hips.

  “I did. It made you do something beside send her flowers because, let’s be honest, that wasn’t working,” Nicholas explained as casually as if they were discussing lawn care over a golf game.

  “That’s fair I suppose,” Paul agreed with a nod.

  “So how’d you talk her into -” Nicholas started again, but Teri interrupted.

  “No, wait a sec,” Teri sat up and looked at Nicholas, who cringed in anticipation. “You put Flynn on that plane to pick me up?”

  “I ran into Flynn the night before the flight and tipped him off. I set up a shoot with In Like Flynn again, by the way. I didn’t expect Paul to be on the flight, especially since he was supposedly avoiding Seattle.”

  Paul nodded. “That was an accident. I was supposed to fly out the night before, but something came up at work. Then the red-eye had to make an emergency landing in Denver, so I got routed by the airline up to Seattle then back down to L.A. It was a mess. I actually fought them on it because of the Seattle stop, but the alternative was to be late for the meeting and that was unacceptable. I gave in, reasoning that you would have flown in the night before.”

  “So what if Flynn succeeded in picking me up?” Teri stared hard at Nicholas.

  Paul laughed at the idea, but noticed Nicholas was still uncomfortable. Well, no time like the present to spread a little goodwill and bail him out.

  “Flynn’s married, honey. Really married. Not the -” Teri put a hand over Paul’s mouth. “I want to hear Nicholas wiggle out of this one.”

  “What Paul said.”

  “But you didn’t know he was married or you wouldn’t have encouraged him to begin with.”

  Nicholas sighed. “I figured Paul wouldn’t let him keep you even if Flynn did manage a date or two. I wasn’t overly worried.”

  “So my preferences were never taken into consideration? You bet on Paul, assumed Flynn didn’t really have a chance, and led him on anyway.” Teri’s voice sounded dangerous, and Paul felt for his new ally. Kenny was following the conversation thoughtfully, which concerned Paul more than Nicholas’s predicament. Paul trusted his instincts and they told him to stop this immediately.

  “Teri, honey, leave Nicholas alone. Flynn knew the score and he had no business pursuing you in the first place. I’ll tell you more about that later if you like.” He turned back to Kenny. “Back to the question at hand. Yes, I’m still married. I don’t want to be, but it’s unlikely to change any time soon. I promise it’s not for a lack of trying.”

  “You could get a divorce if you wanted to,” Kenny countered.

  “Kenny, I know it seems simple, but sometimes there are farther reaching effects to an action than someone intends. This isn’t a simple situation. I know your father’s firm put out a request for information about me. I assume that’s where this started.”

  “I spoke to Blaine.”

  “Blaine couldn’t tell you the entire story because I seriously doubt he knows it. I can’t see Sara telling him the truth, it would ruin her credibility with him.” Paul hesitated and finally looked to Teri for direction. She shook her head not to tell Kenny.

  “He said you’d say anything to get her back and you couldn’t be trusted,” Kenny said.

  “No doubt,” Paul nodded. “Blaine isn’t fond of me, none of my kids are. I tried to do the best things for them, even when it made me unpopular. I still do. Sara and I both made mistakes. I didn’t want to put down their mother, so I didn’t expose hers like she did mine. I’m still covering for her in a way, that’s why I can’t force the divorce. Blaine only sees me twice a year when I make him collect his allowance in person. He hates me for it, but I want to keep communications open. I have to believe that someday he’ll have the life experience to realize I’m not the bad guy.”

  Kenny looked doubtful. Teri reclined against Paul’s chest, and gave a supporting argument.

  “What matters isn’t the details so much as Paul explained his position, I thought it over and accepted it. I’m not happy that he’s still married, don’t get me wrong, but I understand why he can’t sue for divorce.” Teri hesitated and looked at Paul for a moment then back to Kenny. “The kids don’t know why I was upset and I don’t plan on telling them any of this.”

  “I’ll keep it to myself,” Kenny promised, his eyes still on Paul.

  “Kenny,” Paul said, “you were watching out for Teri when you started looking into my background. I’m not angry with you for that. It was inconvenient, but I appreciate she has people who are willing to watch her back. I should have told her earlier, so it’s my own fault all this happened. If I’d explained it earlier there wouldn’t have been this drama. I’m sorry if your part in any of this has made you uncomfortable.”

  “And Blaine?” Kenny asked.

  “I wish I could believe he was doing what he felt was best for his mother. I think he was really just trying to get back at me.” Paul paused; Kenny looked miserable.

&nb
sp; “Kenny, Sara and I have been separated since Blaine was young, it’s always been harder on him than Olivia or Chad. He got in fights defending his mother’s name. He saw the looks, saw her get dressed up and leave when I was away on business. He was old enough to know what was happening, but only chose to understand that Sara wasn’t happy with me. He’s fiercely loyal to his mother. I took him to baseball games, fishing, camping, skiing, helped him with school homework and projects, gave him advice on girls, tried to help him find a direction in life and be supportive; in short, to be a father. But in the end, he blames me for Sara’s unhappiness. I tried to divorce Sara several times, I offered generous settlements, and she refused. Suing for divorce is not an option at the moment.”

  “At the moment?” Nicholas asked.

  “If there were a plane crash that killed off a half-dozen specific people, I might give it a go.”

  “In three states. Aren’t you in an unusually optimistic mood?” Teri kissed him briefly.

  “I managed to get you back. I have to believe in miracles.” Paul smiled at her. Teri rewarded him with a long kiss.

  “Oh, I really don’t need to see this,” Kenny complained, throwing himself against the back of his chair.

  “You’re living here, get used to it,” Nicholas laughed.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Paul, we can’t just alternate between Seattle and New York,” Teri said as the driver dropped Paul off at his office. Paul spent a week in Seattle, survived, then returned to New York. After only four days Teri missed him and flew out to New York for a long weekend. They discussed it a little while cuddling in bed last night. But only very little and she didn’t really feel anything was resolved.

  As long as it was summer, and Nicholas could watch the kids, she shouldn’t worry, but she did. Kenny wasn’t happy. Dev wasn’t happy. Teri liked to have loose ends like this tied up into neat little bows whenever possible. There were enough loose ends dangling in her life already. Teri assumed Paul, being a businessman, would feel the same way, so his failure to take the morning off to address the problem irked her.