Play for Keeps (The Devil's Share #6)(2)

“They can thank Bryan for those suits. She brought me three different choices and all I had to do was pick a color.”

Of course Bryan picked the suits. Lexi couldn’t be bothered with small things like our freaking wedding. I was feeling a little blue about the whole thing, which was really making me feel like a pussy. “When are you girls headed out to meet the florist? Did the signage proofs come in?”

“They did and they are perfect. But now I’m trying to get the images done for Mason Maxwell’s album. They need to be sent off by this evening if we’re going to get it on iTunes by next week when his tour starts.”

I hung my head. “So what does that mean for your appointment with the florist, Lex?” Mason Maxwell had been an artist at RiffRaff when Harlow’s dad was running things. Mason was one of the few artists that Lexi’s mom had fallen in love with. She’d kept him on and transferred his handling to us at the Austin location since he was born and raised in south Texas.

True, he was a big deal, brought in a lot of money…. But still. This was our wedding.

“I have it handled. B and Lo are going to do it for me and then we’ll all meet at the house for Friday Family Dinner.”

“Lexi, you were the one who set up this meeting. You were the one that said this needed to be done by today.” The flowers were the one thing Lexi had seemed picky about. Call me crazy, go ahead, but I was pumped when she was barking at the florist last week.

“And it will be. That’s why God invented bridesmaids.”

I snorted. “Kitten, I don’t think God invented bridesmaids.”

“Well, history then, or the universe or wedding planners. Whoever.”

She was distracted, her voice sounded far away. She was, once again, trying to do thirty things at once, none of which had anything to do with the life we were starting together.

“Where is Halen?” We had a nanny, but Lexi didn’t really like leaving Halen with her for more than a few hours. Halen usually ended up playing in her Pack ‘N Play in Lexi’s office.

“She’s with me, but Lo is coming to grab her in a few minutes. She’s going to go help pick out flowers for Mommy and Daddy’s wedding, isn’t that right, baby girl?” I could hear Halen giggling in the background. Lexi might be turning into a workaholic and she might not give two shits about our wedding, but she was an amazing mom. Halen worshipped the ground Lexi walked on.

“Okay. Well, then I guess I’ll see you tonight?”

“Yep. Love you.”

“Love you too, Kitten.”

I hung up and let out a deep sigh. I was trying really hard not to get all crazy emotional and butt-hurt about this. But skipping the florist was just another thing in a long line that made me wonder if Lexi even wanted to get married.





Chapter Two





Lexi

I had been in the office in front of my computer for over eight hours straight. My eyes hurt and my brain felt like sludge. But I was all caught up. The new logos and signage for the Austin division of RiffRaff were finalized and off to the printer. Mason Maxwell, our biggest solo artist, had a banging album cover. Better than his first cover by a long shot. And last but not least, the programs for our wedding were done and headed to Florida.

The wedding programs were a surprise for Dash. We had invited just close friends and family to our little beach nuptials so I had gone super custom on everything. The programs were full of fun family pictures and little blurbs about why we loved our wedding party so much. I’d been asking Dash questions about his bandmates for the last couple months so I could get his take on things. I hoped everyone liked them.

I packed up my laptop and twirled in place twice, checking the office for anything else I might need to take home. Nope. Good. I was off. Finally.

“Hey, look, Halen, Mommy’s home.” Harlow bounced my daughter up and down, tickling her tummy and making her giggle.

“Come here, sweet baby, Mommy missed you this afternoon.” I took her in my arms and snuggled her to my chest, breathing in her scent. I hated being away from her, even if it was just for a few hours. I smiled when she said “Mama” in her tiny baby voice. She said a handful of words: Mama, Dada, Dags, Milk, Lukey, and Landry. Everything was pronounced like you’d think a baby would pronounce things. Except for Landry, she said that with perfect clarity. “So, how was the florist?”

“Super fast and easy. They had everything done exactly like the images you sent them. Peonies and roses. So we just signed off and took this one with us to lunch.” Lo reached out and tickled Halen again. “The guys are all on the back patio and the steaks just went on the grill.”

I looked around the kitchen. “Where’s Landry?” She was usually knee deep into cooking whatever was up.

Lo gestured with her head toward the back door. “She’s out back. They brought their crazy dog over. And she’s throwing the ball for him and Louie, trying to tire them out.”

When everyone was over, including all three dogs, things got chaotic. “Is there anything else that needs to be done? I can always help with the sid—”

“Nope. All the cooking is done, just waiting on the steaks.” Lo smiled brightly.

Too brightly. No one ever let me cook. I rolled my eyes and headed out to the back patio of my new gorgeous Austin home.