Keeping Her (The Lexington Series Book 2) (31 page)

He blushed. “Oh Luce for real?” he
asked and I nodded. He sighed and bent down and placed a kiss on my cheek.
“Congrats, I’m so happy for you guys it only took forever.”

I smiled. “No it didn’t, it just took
a while. We still have forever.”

Landon grabbed my hand and laced our
fingers together. He feathered a kiss across my forehead. “We need to go take
pictures baby.”

I pouted. “Do I have to? I’m hungry
Landon can we eat first?”

He shook his head. “So that you get
barbeque or something on your dress for the pictures?”

I nodded. “That would show that I am
a
very
satisfied new bride.”

“Pictures Lucy.” Landon demanded

I stomped my foot. “Fine!” and let
him lead me away.

We all took pictures together and at
one point Nick and Mel had to stand together. All of our pictures had everyone
tightly knit together with people hugging and throwing their arms around each
other except for that one. They looked like two lost monkeys I tell you. They
were avoiding eye contact and touching and well, everything. When we were done,
we were ushered over to the large tent and I gasped when I entered. Erica had
done an amazing job recreating one of my paintings. When I began thinking of
the perfect wedding I had painted it and Erica stole it and told me I was off
the wedding planning committee. That was fine by me because I was super busy
with my paintings which had gone into high demand and Erica is way better at
this then me. Sure over the years I’ve learned how to be an awesome party
planner with the kids but my specialty lies in securing and booking things, I
sucked with the actual decorating.

They announced for us to come to the
center of the platform that they brought in to be a dance floor. Landon led me
to the middle of the floor as everyone gathered around to circle us. He spun me
in a circle then pulled me close. He’s always been a great dancer even though
he wasn’t one for dancing really. He mainly dances if it’s like dry humping the
freak but never slow dancing outside of events. I loved it when we slow danced
together to me it was kind of erotic.
All of Me
by John Legend began
playing and Landon began swaying to the beat.

“You look beautiful Lucy.”

I blushed and smiled. “You don’t look
so bad yourself Landon.”

He bent down and gave me a small kiss
and I sighed and leaned my head on his shoulder. “Landon?”

“Hmm?”

“You remember about a month and a
half ago when I was sick with the flu and I couldn’t even get out of bed so you
had to take care of me?”

“Yes, you were pretty gross.”

I rolled my eyes. “Well you remember
how the day I woke up feeling better you pounced on me like a crazed animal.”

He laughed. “Yes, I had to go three
days without you I was desperate.”

“You’re just a hornball Landon.
Anyway, I had my suspicions but I waited until yesterday to find out.”

He frowned in confusion. “What are
you talking about Luce?”

I picked my head up and looked into
his eyes. “I’m pregnant.” His face broke out into a huge grin. “Apparently with
all the medicine you were giving me you forgot my birth control pills.”

He laughed. “Best decision I ever
made.”

I arched my eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

He shrugged. “Lucy you expect me to
apologize for not giving you your birth control pills? I knew I didn’t give it
to you I didn’t forget. I was going to tell you to stop taking them starting
today and I already threw them all away as an incentive. I want more kid’s baby
and I’m tired of waiting. I understood we already had Max and Dean and we were finishing
school then just beginning our careers so we were careful and avoided
conceiving. I didn’t want you to have to sacrifice another year of your
education and we already had enough on our plates. But we’re both established
now and comfortable. I mean surely after your next painting sells you’re going
to hit a hundred million in profits from your work. And I don’t think it will
interfere with your work, you started this career while you were home with Dean.
I’m ready to expand our family and I love seeing you pregnant with our child.
I’m hard right now thinking about you having my baby in you but I have to wait
until this is all over. Are you ok with more kids? I don’t want you to do
something if I’m the only one that wants it.”

I smiled and shook my head. “I
should’ve known your sneaky ass. Landon I would
love
more kids and I
already knew you wanted more. You ask about knocking me up at least once a week
you haven’t really kept it a secret. I stopped taking them a week ago when I
was sure I was pregnant I just waited to take the test because I wanted to tell
you today. If I knew for sure earlier I wouldn’t have been able to keep it a
secret from you.”

He gripped the back of my head and
kissed me hard. When cheers erupted we broke away and I needed a few seconds to
compose myself. He dropped his forehead down to mine. “This is the best fucking
wedding gift you could ever give me.” He seemed to think about it before he
shook his head. “Well it could be better if you told me you were having twins?”
he said more of a question.

I rolled my eyes. “You’re so twisted.
You might be the only guy that wants his wife to be as big as possible you know
that? And I wouldn’t know I took a store bought test I haven’t been to the
doctor yet.”

He nodded. “I’ll setup an appointment
for tomorrow before we leave for our honeymoon. Just to make sure because if
you’re not already pregnant you damn sure will be by the time we come back.”

I shook my head. “You’re a caveman.”

“So.” He smiled and began dancing
again.

When the song finished people
filtered onto the dance floor with us. “May I cut in?” I looked up to see
James. Landon nodded and handed me off as he grabbed Erica from the side for a
dance.

“Lucy I’m so proud of you.” James
began as soon as we started dancing.

I smiled. “Thanks James. It meant a
lot to me that you agreed to walk me down the aisle. If Dean was still here I
would’ve wanted you both flanking either side of me.” I admitted.

“Are you kidding me? I was hopeful
that you would ask, do you know how happy I was when you did? I still wish that
I had known you your entire life. You’re such an amazing girl and I’m lucky to
say that I had a part in creating you.”

I shook my head. “James you’re more
family to me than my mother ever was. I can’t say that I wish I had you in my
life forever. Everything that I’ve been through has helped make me who I am
today. If it wasn’t for my mother and Landon’s sadistic shit when I was younger
I might’ve never gotten into art the way I did. That was my escape and it
helped me a lot. My mother’s craziness is what brought Landon and I together
and I also got Max, Nick, Erica, you, and Sam out of this whole thing. We all
got each other. I don’t want you to be sorry dad I love you and what you have
done for me, for all of us since you came into my life means more to all us
than you ever know.”

James eyes were misted with tears. “I
love you too Lucy.” He kissed my forehead and let me go I guess to compose himself.

Landon came over and put his arm
around my waist. “What was that about?”

I shook my head. “Nothing… just
talking.” I told him with a smile.

He nodded and let it go. “Hey there
hot stuff, you want to dance with me?”

I looked behind Landon to see Nick
standing there with his puppy dog face on. “Sure Nick come on.”

He broke out into a grin and extended
his hand. “Keep your hands in the safe zones Nick or I’ll break them.” Landon
warned him.

He rolled his eyes. “You are no fun at
all anymore. You know how much I love groping Lucy.”

“Yea I know that’s why I’m telling
you now to expect my fist if you pull any shit.” Landon tossed at him over his
shoulder as he walked away.

“You should’ve married me Lucy, I’m
the fun one and besides I’m sexier than him.” Nick joked to me.

I laughed. “Sure thing Nick. Maybe we
can have a secret romance and I’ll marry you when you propose.”

His eyebrows shot up. “Are you
serious because we can start our love affair right now. I saw a dark corner
right on the other side no one will see us I promise.”

I laughed. “There is something
terribly wrong with you, you know that right?”

He shrugged. “That’s what makes me
special Luce. Just accept this awesomeness for what it is.”

I scoffed. “Oh you’re special
alright.”

I felt him tense and I looked up. He
was looking at something over my head and I turned around. He was watching Mel
dance with her fiancé Roger and I sighed. Things had never really become normal
between them. When she began having Roger around Nick made his self even more
scarce. To be honest I was really concerned about him. I mean he comes back
home all the time and spends time with us but I read the magazines and such.
Different woman every night, and he’s been indulging in a lot of drinking and
partying. This is not the Nick I know sure he could party and stuff but there’s
more going on with him. Over the past few years there’s been a change in him
that I wasn’t at all comfortable with.

“Nick?” I said trying to get his
attention.

He sighed. “Yea?”

“I’m worried about you Nick. I need
you to talk to me about what’s going on.” I prodded.

He shook his head. “This is your day
Luce. It’s not the time to talk about me and any of my bullshit.”

“Nick anytime is the best time. I
don’t care if I was in the middle of giving birth we would talk about it then.
I’m so worried about you and it’s driving me crazy you won’t let me in. You
have this bitterness to you now that both scares and worries me. I’m not a
total idiot and I know when it started but I have no clue what happened.” I
told him.

“It’s not about Mel. I got over her a
long time ago she’s just a friend of the family. I’m not bitter either I just
like doing what I want. Most of the time I’m on the road and now that I’m with
the Lakers and I’m living in all that nice weather I have no choice but to
enjoy it. Stop worrying I’m fine.”

I sighed but didn’t comment anymore.
He wasn’t going to open up about it and no matter what he says I don’t think
that he’s totally over her. Sure he might have gotten over his feelings for her
but whatever happened between them did something to him. After the song
finished I went to find Landon because I was starving.

“I’m hangry Landon.” I fussed.

He laughed. “When aren’t you and I
think that term is stupid. You’re so hungry you’re angry you can just say that
you know? The food is about ready now come on.” He said grabbing my hand and
taking me towards the food. As we got closer the scents started to bombard me
and my stomach growled in answer. Landon must’ve heard because he turned
towards me and raised an eyebrow. I only shrugged in response. We didn’t do any
of that fancy shit. You know where they have all of these dainty plates and
servers and everyone still leaves starving. We got a buffet because I knew
majority of our guests actually eat like Landon and Nick do. Max has also
developed their ridiculous appetite and knowing there would be other players I
couldn’t have a bunch of huge hungry men running around. We grabbed plates and
loaded up as they made the announcement to everyone that the food was out and
ready. We took our plates to the table designated for the wedding party and sat
in the middle. I made a plate for Dean and summoned him over to eat. He took
the seat next to me and Nick was next with Max. Max took the seat on Landon’s
other side and Nick sat beside him. As we ate and chatted everyone else made
their ways over to the table with their food.

Nick

When the majority of people were done
eating the cleaning crew came around to clear out plates while servers brought
out champagne. I knew that was my cue to prepare to give my toast. Someone
brought over a microphone as the servers exited and I stood. I picked up my
glass like I’ve seen in movies and began tapping it with a fork to get everyone’s
attention. When people continued talking I tapped it even harder which caused
me to accidentally break the glass and my champagne spilled on the table and
floor. Ironically that got everyone’s attention and the room quieted down.

“I would like everyone’s attention.” Landon
handed me Lucy’s glass of champagne and I lifted and eyebrow in question to
which he only shrugged. My gaze flew to Lucy and she smiled and shrugged but I
noted her hand resting on her stomach. My mouth dropped open and I mouthed
‘really’ and she nodded. These horny bastards were pregnant again. I started to
feel the jealousy within me rise but I tamped it down, today wasn’t about me. “Landon
and Lucy are the two most stubborn people I think I have ever met. These two
can make anybody crazy when they start their shit, but it’s all because they
love each other. There was a time when I thought that their stubbornness and
downright stupidity would prevent them from ever really being happy because I believe
the only way they could be truly happy is with each other. I’ve watched them go
through a lot but they somehow still made it. It took some time and unfortunate
experiences for them to discover who they were and truly allow themselves to be
together happily. These are two of the greatest people that I know, however I
do question Lucy’s common sense. I mean come on she lived with the both of us
and I don’t see how she could possibly choose Landon over me, I’m hot. In any
event, I wish you both the best for the rest of your lives because let’s face
it there’s no option of divorce here. They would kill each other before either
of them let’s that happen. I remember having to endure living with these two
rabbits, you people wouldn’t believe what I went through if I told you. These
guys are my family and I love them more than anything and Landon is the biggest
pussy when it comes to Luce. She could probably get the man to wear a dress. On
the other hand Landon is a lucky bastard because her cooking is enough to make
me want to quit my job and live in their basement forever. You couldn’t ask for
better people in your lives and we’re all lucky to have them. These poor kids
are lucky that Lucy
finally
married this guy because he has been a mad
man waiting for this day. Here’s to the future and I’m sure these two will be
giving us all plenty more opportunities to come together.” We all raised our
glasses and as I took a sip I met Lucy’s smiling face and winked.

“That was pretty tame for you.” James
joked and we all laughed.

I shrugged. “I try to act normal
occasionally.”

Landon and Lucy got up and went to
cut the cake. It was red velvet so I’ll be having me a good three or four
slices. I licked my lips in anticipation. After they cut the first slice I slid
up behind Lucy. She just looked at me and shook her head before cutting off a
huge chunk for me and I gave her a kiss in thanks. I stood on the side as I ate
my cake and watched everyone mingle. When I was done I went to throw away my
plate and passed Lucy. She was lifting the fork to her mouth and I bent down
and stole it. She growled at me like a fucking angry ass animal, pregnant
people are crazy. The DJ began playing some dancing music and people went back
onto the dance floor. I got myself a few shots before deciding to look for
someone that I could take home tonight.

“Nick?”

I spun around and saw Mel standing
behind me with her hands folded in front of her. I let my eyes trail over her
red curls and her beautiful face. She had minimal makeup on just the way I’ve
always liked her. Since she had stopped running she filled out a bit more in
all the right places, she looked amazing. I let my eyes trail down her body to
her bare legs and I felt my body react. I let out a sigh, you would think with
only seeing her a handful of times these last years that she wouldn’t still
have this effect on me. I tried everything to forget her but I could never get
her out of my head completely. Lately the partying and drinking has been
helping to keep myself distracted. I looked down at her hand to see her
engagement ring and my body instantly cooled off.

“Melanie.”

“How you been? It’s been a while
since I saw you. You look great.”

“Three years.” I told her coldly. It
was more my fault than hers about me not seeing her but I didn’t even want to
see her again when I heard she got engaged to that douche. I had met him before
and there’s just something about him that’s always been a little bit off to me.
I can’t quite put my finger on it but he comes off as this kind of shy but nice
guy but the way he looked at me when he didn’t think anyone was watching told
me otherwise. He must know I was the guy that she was dating when they began
but I wouldn’t know for sure. I have no idea what she told him about me or us
so it was hard to figure out. When we broke up she got knocked up by him
shortly after that was the second strike against her, the first being her
breaking up with me to begin with. It felt like a punch to my heart when I heard
because it hadn’t been any time at all. It was almost as though she didn’t have
any problem leaving our life behind. Of course the final strike was the
engagement and I assume that she knows I won’t attend so I haven’t been told
anything about their wedding plans.

She nodded. “That’s right. I saw you
shortly after I had my daughter and that was the last time.”

“Yea, you have a kid. Congrats and
all that… on your engagement too.” The words felt like shit coming out of my
mouth and it probably sounded like it too. I guess she just has to accept that
it’s the thought that counts.

“Right, thanks. Do you want to um…
dance?” she asked.

I wanted to say no, I should say no
but I didn’t. Instead I nodded and followed behind her onto the dance floor. I
reached for her hesitantly it’s been a long time since I’ve touched her. The
moment that our fingers connected I was instantly brought back to the last time
we were together, when we said goodbye. I linked our fingers together and
rocked to the music. It was an upbeat song but I couldn’t bring myself to jump
around or even pull her close to me. We were dancing like two old ass idiots
with this huge gap in between us. I’m sure we looked as ridiculous as I felt.
She sighed and shook her head. She let go of one of my hands and wrapped it
around my bicep and moved my arm so I had no choice but to wrap it around her
back. She took small steps at a time until we were almost touching and she
looked up at me. She swallowed hard and held my eyes. She was looking for me to
close the gap. I couldn’t help myself and took the final step towards her and I
could feel her body lightly pressed against mine. Her head came up to my chin
and she gently laid her head down on my chest and sighed. Her breath blew
across my neck and I felt a shudder run through my body.

After a minute I felt her shift her
head and she whispered close to my ear. “I know this doesn’t matter any but I
miss you.”

I sighed. “You always say you miss me
but missing me had never meant much of anything. It doesn’t help change or fix
things, it’s not important enough. Let’s just dance and not speak I can handle
that. I can’t handle talking about us and anything that could’ve or should’ve
been. We can’t change the past or us.”

I felt her nod. “I know Nick. Trust
me, I know.” We continued dancing together until the song ended and right
before I let her go she tightened her grip around me almost as if she was
hugging me goodbye. It seems like every time we cross paths all we do is say
goodbye, it’s weird because it’s not like we ever say hello. We said goodbye a
long time ago but it seems to be the only thing we can do anymore. When is it
going to be final? I watched her ass as she walked away and when I looked up
that dick Roger was standing off to the side with a drink watching. His face
was expressionless but I knew he had watched the entire dance.