I respected her positivity.
Hell, I respected her in general.
But I knew, as the days progressed, I’d probably see more tears as life continued to spin out of control for both of us.
I was on the same ride as her. Selfishly, it felt more painful because I was powerless to stop anything.
I could hold her hand.
Kiss her tears.
But in the end that’s all I had, and it sucked.
My mind went back to the phone call in the hospital. Tex had yet to get back to me, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything good or bad.
Family dinner would at least take my mind off the emotional day. By the time we arrived at Nixon’s, Andi was back to her usual self. She even had a marker and was going through the list that she’d somehow confiscated from its hiding place in my office.
Just thinking about my office made my vision flash to the black folder. What if she read it? What if she found out secrets about me even I didn’t want to know? And why the hell did I care?
“Origami,” she announced. “That’s next.”
“The hell it is!” I shouted. “How is that even honeymoon-related?”
“You’re rich,” she stated. “Therefore, our honeymoon wouldn’t have stopped at the African safari.”
“Oh?” Her reasoning was exhausting. I pulled into the driveway and shut off the car.
“Japan.” She nodded confidently. “You would have taken me to Japan, and how can you go to Japan and not learn the art of origami?”
“I’m not folding paper.”
“You are.”
“Not.”
“Are…” Andi unbuckled her seatbelt and leaned across the console. She unbuckled mine and trailed her fingers slowly up my stomach.
“Seduction?” My eyebrows arched. “Isn’t that a bit above your usual tactics?”
“You kissed me, therefore I figured it would probably work this time…”
Damn her. “You may have a point.”
“After origami, we can bake.”
“I hate to ask…” I groaned. “…but why the hell do we have to bake a cake?”
“Because when I did my Internet search, almost every single honeymoon couple goes to those all-inclusive resorts where they teach you how to bake, but learning how to grill a fish is stupid. Who doesn’t know how to make salmon?”
I wanted to point out that I’d probably have to look it up online but kept my mouth shut, knowing Andi she’d just add it to the list of honeymoon activities.
“But cakes? Muffins? Chocolate? Come on, that’s way more fun. Besides, I’ve always wanted to be a cake boss.”
“How about you just pick one or the other?”
Her fingers gripped the front of my shirt; she gave a little tug. Our mouths nearly collided. “Well, we do have fifteen other activities that come to mind.”
My eyes focused on her mouth. “True.”
A loud horn honking interrupted our little discussion and then banging on my side of the window startled me.
Slowly, I looked over my shoulder.
Tex was waving a gun around and grinning like an idiot. I was going to shoot him.
We didn’t have the best of relationships — not that either of us actually tried to be nice to one another.
“Family dinner!” he shouted against the window.
“Why is his gun out?” Andi asked.
“Guns to Tex are like water to fish.”
“Both need it in order to survive?”
“It wouldn’t surprise me at all if his skin was starting to actually grow around the trigger.”
Andi scooted out of the car and met me on the other side. She took one look at Tex and then in seconds had the gun out of his hand.
One minute it was in his hand…
The next it was in hers.
I stared dumbstruck.
Tex’s mouth dropped open. “What the hell, Andi?”
I think I fell in love with her a little bit right then. I patted Tex on the back and whispered. “Remember, she’s on my team.”
“Damn straight I am, partner,” Andi said in a southern accent then handed Tex his gun. “Let me know if you need pointers later.”
Tex’s eye narrowed. “I wasn’t prepared.”
“Well maybe you should be… next time.” Andi gripped my hand in hers. “After all, terror comes in all sizes.”
“Don’t I know it,” I grumbled under my breath.
Tex laughed softly and followed us inside. “You’re alright, Andi.”
“I’m more than alright. I’m amazing,” she announced.
Nixon was at the head of the table pouring wine. His eyes met mine briefly before he looked back at Andi. His lips curled into a mocking grin.
Whatever, shit face. Yes, we were getting along. No need to go and celebrate or anything.
He looked about five seconds away from patting himself on the back like he was the one responsible for fixing things, when really it was…
Well, I don’t know. Maybe insanity… or just time.
She was growing on me — like a freaking weed I couldn’t get rid of, only prettier and funnier. Damn it!
“Sergio’s doing honeymoon activities with me on account that we can’t travel out of the country without getting shot at by the FBI or my father,” Andi blurted out to the entire group
All talking ceased.
I briefly contemplated crawling underneath the table and rocking back and forth; maybe then they’d think I’d gone insane and stop staring at me like I was the freaking Grinch who’d finally managed to grow a heart.