Elude (28 page)

She took my words to heart, sobbing her little heart out, while I hugged her, kissed her face, squeezed her hands, and told myself not to break.

When she quieted down about a half-hour later, I set her back and looked at her tear-stained face.

"I was your punishment." She sniffled.

"Wrong." I tilted her chin up. "You were my gift."

Sergio

COMING HOME FROM THE HOSPITAL WAS
bittersweet. Damn, I was using that word a lot lately. After spending a week there, I was more than ready to be home — and so was Andi.

She was getting weaker by the day.

Watching someone you love deteriorate before your very eyes was indescribable. I was getting healthier; she was getting sicker. And there was nothing I could do to stop the clock; it seemed each minute I took in a hearty breath I noticed hers was more labored. She'd done three transfusions over the last week, and though she said they'd helped, I knew they'd only done so much.

"Home!" Andi spread out her hands then clung to me to keep from falling. Her balance had been seriously suffering, and I knew it would only get worse.

I had to blink back tears. Soon my house would be silent again — no more baseball bats and pans, no more arguing, yelling, fighting.

I pushed the morose thoughts away just as the doorbell rang.

Frowning, I set Andi down on the stairway and walked over to answer the door.

"Do you have Cheetos?" Bee asked, hands on hips, then pushed past me. "Phoenix promised you'd have Cheetos." She walked briskly by and gave Andi a high five on the way to the kitchen.

"Sorry." Phoenix moved into the doorway. "She's on a Cheetos kick. God help me if this pregnancy has her eating every color of the rainbow. You know how I feel about color," he joked. Once upon a time he refused to eat anything that wasn't a leafy green — long story.

He pushed past me, carrying two duffel bags. "My old room, okay?"

"Okay?" I repeated. "For what?"

"Aw," Tex's low voice crooned, "did you really think you would get rid of us so easy? Dibs on the bigger room. Mo wants the attached marble bathroom!"

Tex shoved past me. Mo kissed me on the cheek and followed.

Nixon and Trace were next. Bags in hand. Trace winked and skipped after the rest of the group while Nixon shrugged. "We're family. Family sticks together."

Chase and Mil drove up and parked directly in front of the door. Mil was yelling at Chase for driving too fast, and Frank was climbing out of the back seat, looking like he was going to puke.

"Frank too?" I frowned.

"Frank gets lonely!" Chase yelled up at me. "Imagine that? He actually likes having us around."

Frank rolled his eyes and grabbed his bag from the car. "I do love getting talked about as if I don't exist."

I couldn't hold in my smile. While the rest of the gang had just one duffel bag, Frank had a duffel bag, a garment bag, a hat, and a cane. A man after my own heart, he even worsewore scarves. He probably had a closet that made mine look small and cheap.

Frank pointed up toward the house. "I'll just take the room farthest away from my granddaughter."

"Good idea," I choked.

Once everyone was in the house, I went back to grab Andi, only to find her missing.

Laughter echoed out of the kitchen. I followed it.

Wine was open. Lots and lots of wine.

And Andi was talking animatedly about our honeymoon list. Oh shit. She actually had it pulled out.

"We went from thirteen to—"

"Andi." I coughed and shook my head.

"Damn," Chase grabbed the Cheetos from Bee. "The story was just getting good."

The doorbell rang again. "What the hell?"

Nixon moved past me. "It's probably Ax and Ames, the last of the crew. I'll get it."

Sure enough, Ax and Amy walked into the kitchen.

I looked around and fought to keep my emotions from getting the best of me.

It was suddenly so loud in that house that I couldn't even hear myself think. Mil and Chase were arguing. Typical. Mo was punching Tex in the shoulder repeatedly. Andi was singing the Russian national anthem. Frank was finding more wine — smart man. Nixon and Trace were kissing, moving on, and Ax and Amy were opening the fridge. Phoenix was trying to pry the chips away from Bee, and Chase was reaching past Mil to grab them.

"So," Andi said loudly, "you guys are all staying the night or what?"

The room fell silent.

"What?" She looked around. "Did you not like my rendition of mother Russia?"

Chase bit down on a Cheeto. "Doesn't matter how loud you sing it, honey. You're Italian now."

"Oh really?" Andi's face lit up. "How do you figure?"

"You fight like hell." Tex nodded in appreciation. "Married one of our men… risked your life to save his. I'd say you're more Italian than Russian."

Andi beamed. "Does that mean I have to drink wine now?"

"You and your vodka," I muttered.

"Admit it." Chase chuckled. "You scrunch up your nose at wine to piss Sergio off."

Andi grinned. "Guilty."

"Real mature, Andi." I wrapped my arms around her from behind and set my chin on her head.

"So…" Andi shrugged. "…you guys are here for a while then?"

Thank God, she didn't say
the end
.

"Yup." Nixon nodded. "Now what's for dinner?"

All eyes fell to Chase.

"Damn it." Chase slammed his hand onto the counter. "I'm not your bitch. You can't make me cook every night!"

Mil whispered something in his ear.

Chase's grin grew to epic proportions. "Homemade lasagna okay?"

Phoenix groaned. "I don't even want to know what my sister just uttered."

"Nope." Chase bit down on his lip and started swiveling his hips. "But just so you know. We're trying to get pregnant… and we're trying really, really, really hard."

"Say hard again," Tex joked.

"Hard," Chase whispered, this time in Phoenix's ear.

Phoenix raised his hand to smack Chase away, but Nixon intervened. "So lasagna."

"Buzzkill," Chase accused.

Frank moved to the middle of the room. "There is not enough wine."

"What?" I frowned. "I have an entire cellar."

Fighting erupted again. I could have sworn I saw Chase pull out a gun on Phoenix. I turned to Frank and nodded. "I'll make some calls."

"Good man." He patted my shoulder. "Good man."

Andi

CHASE WAS AN EXCELLENT COOK. IF
I hadn't already been dying, his homemade lasagna would have seriously done me in. The room was buzzing with conversation and laughter — it felt like a real family. One I was a part of.

Frank had already gone upstairs for the evening. Apparently, his being old meant he was not only allowed his own bottle of wine during dinner — but also an eight o'clock bed time.

Bee yawned and put her head on Phoenix. "Bed?"

"It's eight," Chase pointed out.

Mil whispered something else in his ear.

He gripped her by the butt and heaved her over his shoulder. "Which I've always said is the perfect time to hit the sack." He slapped her ass and moved out of the large dining room.

Everyone else made similar excuses. I knew what they were doing, giving me and Sergio some time together.

Sergio walked over to me and slid our honeymoon list across the table. "Pick one."

"Only one?" I jutted out my lower lip. "How about two?"

His blue eyes narrowed as a few pieces of long hair fell across his face. I loved that he was growing it out; it made him look even more like the duke from my romance novels. "Fine, two."

"So I say we work on number four out of our thirteen? And…" I tapped my chin. "…this one."

His eyebrows shot up. "You've really never done that?"

"Have you?" I countered.

"If I say yes, will you judge me?"

"Absolutely."

"In my defense, I wanted to see what all the fuss was about." He crossed his arms.

"Oh really?"

He swore. "Fine, up you go."

He walked over to my chair and lifted me into his arms, carrying me effortlessly into his giant media room. It wasn't just a theatre room. It was like an actual theatre, with games lining the walls, movie posters, a full bar, and a hot tub.

Semi-ridiculous. Then again, I imagined he had enough money that it had just seemed practical. Why party outside the house when you can have the party inside?

"Pick your poison." He sat me on the leather couch and walked over to the bar.

"Hmm… in my fantasies, all the bartenders are shirtless."

Without arguing he peeled the shirt off his body and braced his hands against the counter. "Better?"

"Hmm…" I rubbed my lips together. "…flex."

He glared.

"Flex!" I shouted. "It's part of the list."

"The hell it is," he grumbled then flexed.

"I really like your abs." I tilted my head. "They're tight. How do they get so tight? And your ass…" I fanned my face. "C'mon, turn around and bend over."

"I'm a person, Andi." He slammed his fist onto the counter, his lips curving into a gorgeous;
I may need to take a cold shower
smile. "Drink?"

"Sprite," I decided. "You really won't bend over?"

He ignored my plea and made my drink then walked over to the couch and set it in my cup holder. His naked chest brushed my fingers as he leaned over and then kissed me on the head. "So, ready to bang out that list?"

"Bang." I laughed. "Good one."

"I thought so." He lifted me into the air, sat down, then placed me on top of him. "
Frozen
singalong — and then we work on number four."

"Is it wrong to have sex after
Frozen?
" I grimaced.

Sergio shrugged. "Just don't start singing that you want to want to build a snowman while we're in the middle of it, and we'll be good."

"I don't know that song." I frowned.

"Oh…" Sergio clicked on the giant TV. "…believe me, you will."

I cried.

It was pathetic. But the whole
sister saving her sister
thing really did me in. Probably because I knew I'd never actually meet my real sister. I'd heard about her, known she existed, but would never know that type of affection. Feeling sorry for myself was stupid, but I was still a bit bummed about it.

"So…" Sergio turned off the TV. "…thoughts?"

"I suddenly want to build a snowman."

"Told you so."

The room was quiet. I felt relaxed and surprisingly not dizzy, probably because I was sitting down.

Sergio shifted me on his lap so that I was facing him. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking…" I ran my hand up and down his abs. "…that I'd really like you to kiss me."

"I can do that."

"And after you kiss me at least four times, I think you should take my clothes off."

Sergio's mouth met mine. He whispered against my lips, "Consider it done."

"And…" I pressed my finger to his mouth. "…I want you to go really, really, really slow."

"Uh-huh."

"And then fast."

He laughed. "Okay."

"And then slow again."

His lips lingered over mine. "How about you just let me do what I do best?"

"And what's that?"

"Love you, of course."

Sergio

I CARRIED ANDI UP TO OUR BEDROOM
and silently hoped that the surprise I'd planned for her wouldn't be ruined. I'd never taken her on a honeymoon, and she was right. She deserved one.

So I brought the honeymoon to her
.

I carefully opened the door and set her on her feet.

Andi covered her mouth with her hands then spoke between her fingers. "What did you do?"

"Well, someone…" I grabbed her hand and led her through the room. "…said I would have taken her to Africa." A few stuffed lions and zebras lined one side of the room. "And then she said I would take her to China." Chinese food was on the table with perfect little origami creations; chopsticks were placed across both plates.

She nodded, tears welling in her eyes.

"But she was wrong."

"What?" Andi wiped at a few spraystray tears and turned. "She was?"

"Yup." I turned her around to face the other side of the room. Her back was to me. I wrapped my arms around her and whispered, "I wouldn't have stopped at Africa or China. I would have taken her to London." A small Ferris wheel was outside, facing the window. "It's not the London Eye but… it will have to do."

Andi didn't say anything. So I walked her closer to the window and pulled the curtains. "But who stops at London?" I whispered, my ears grazing her ear, my tongue trailing the soft skin. "Especially when France is so close." A miniature version of a lit-up Eiffel tower stood next to the Ferris wheel.

"And then…" I turned her back around to face me as I pulled a small postcard out of my pocket. "…when all was said and done, I would have taken you home."

I handed her the postcard of the Kremlin.

Andi's hands shook as she took it, her eyes sad. "I've never been."

"Well, it was a bit hard to find a miniature version of the Kremlin. Believe me, I tried, so I figured a postcard would work just as well."

She frowned. "How do you figure?"

I grabbed the pen from my back pocket. "Because you can write it as if you were there and send it to whomever you want."

"But if I've never been—"

"The colors…" I twirled her around to face the window. "…I've heard are like fireworks…" I checked my watch and sighed in relief as the first blue firework went off. "…constantly changing before your very eyes." Another firework, this one green. "The building itself looks magical, almost unreal, but it's the color of the building that creates an atmosphere of pure beauty." More fireworks filled the sky above the house.

Andi covered her mouth with her hands.

"And just when you think you've stared long enough, just when you think you understand the beauty it represents…" The fireworks went crazy; it looked like hundreds of them were going off. "…it surprises you again."