“Josh couldn’t make it,” she said. “Family matters.” Gosh, she hoped he and Evie were getting on. Hoped he would find some sort of peace if his sister came back into his life. And maybe one day he’d come to believe in love. Too late for her, but she wanted him to be happy. He deserved happiness.
“What a surprise.” Her grandmother sniffed. “Lost interest already, perhaps? Or I think it’s more likely he was never interested in the first place.”
Lexi shrugged. “It doesn’t matter what you think.” That was one good thing about the whole Josh debacle—her grandmother’s cruel jibes had lost any power to hurt her.
“I believe you’re mistaken in that. All I want is my due. Your father was my son after all.”
“He left you plenty.”
“He left you more.”
“Maybe he knew you’d waste it.”
“Really, Alexia. What I do with my money is really no concern of yours.”
“How about what you do with my money?”
“I have no clue what you’re talking about. I believe you’re the one in the wrong here. How will it look when it gets out that you had to pay a man to marry you?”
Lexi felt the nausea churn in her stomach. Just once, she’d like her grandmother to surprise her and behave nicely.
“I always knew that a man like that would never be interested in you.”
It was official, her grandmother was a bitch. Lexi clutched the envelope in her hand and decided she was actually going to enjoy this.
“Actually,” Harry said. “That’s not exactly true. They can’t keep their hands off each other.”
She shot him a look of surprise. He was standing up for her?
He shrugged then patted her arm. “Hey, what are brothers for?”
She gave him a smile and turned her attention back to her grandmother.
“This is really none of your business, Harry.”
“Of course it is. I was sent to spy, after all. I’m just reporting back.”
Wow, Harry had grown a backbone after all these years.
They started bickering among themselves, and she let the conversation roll over her for a minute, until her ears started to hurt. Why couldn’t she have a nice family? But in a way she did. She had Jean and Tom and Sarah. And for a while she’d had Josh.
But that hurt too much.
Time to move this on and get out of here and back to…what? A house without Josh.
She cleared her throat. No response, so she banged a spoon on the table and finally everyone fell silent.
“Right,” she said, “the reason I asked you to meet me here today is—”
A commotion at the entrance made her turn her head. Josh stood in the doorway, and her heart melted. Had he come to help her face her grandmother before he walked out of her life forever? He was still wearing the same clothes from yesterday and looked a little the worse for wear…and totally gorgeous.
A waitress was talking to him, gesturing to something beside him, and she dragged her gaze from Josh. A big black dog stood at his side. Toby. With a red bow around his neck.
What was going on?
He spoke to the waitress and pointed toward their table. The girl’s eyes widened, then she gave a quick nod and a grin and let Josh and his companion past.
“Alexia?”
Her grandmother spoke from beside her, but Lexi waved a hand at her distractedly. “Shh.” She couldn’t take her eyes from Josh. He caught and held her gaze as he came toward them. Pushing back her chair, she got to her feet and took a step closer.
Josh came to a halt a foot away.
She licked her lips. “How did it go with Evie?”
He smiled, his eyes crinkling. “Wonderful.”
“I’m glad. She still loves you.”
“I know. I think maybe I might be lovable after all.”
“I think so.” She glanced down at the dog. “And Toby likes you.”
“Hmm. But Toby needs a permanent home,” he said. “And he reckons my loft apartment isn’t suitable.”
“He can come home with me.”
“I’m afraid me and Toby are a family now. Where he goes, I go.”
She sniffed. “Oh Josh. You’re always welcome in my home. For as long as you want.”
“How about forever?”
She wiped her hand over her eyes and bit her lip. “Forever sounds good to me.”
She was hardly aware of her grandmother standing and coming around the table to halt beside them. “I think it’s about—”
She turned to her and held up a hand. “Grandmother, I love you. But if you say one nasty thing to the man I love, I will cut you off, and you will never get another penny from me.”
“Alexia!”
“Shut up.” She turned back to Josh. “Where were we?”
He grinned. “You were offering me a forever home.”
“There is one problem though.”
“There is?”
“The offer comes with strings attached. Lots and lots of strings.”
He took a step closer, cupped her cheek with his palm. “Strings don’t scare me anymore. Not when they tie me to you.” He lowered his head and kissed her until the room faded and everything vanished but Josh. She pressed herself against him, breathing him in, filling her senses with him.
This was her biggest fantasy, the one she had hidden even from herself, buried in her subconscious—the one where Josh came and claimed her for the entire world to see. Where he told her…