Page 77 of Mistle-Ho

Her hands drop to her sides. “You take that back.”

“Nope.”

I rush her, scooping Alexis up so fast she gasps. I seal my lips over hers, swallowing down the sound of surprise as I hike her higher on my body.

I’ve given her free reign over my place, and every week it looks more and more like a home. More and more like her. And that is exactly what I want. More of Al everywhere in my life.

Right now, I want more of her in my bedroom.

I’m halfway down the hall when someone knocks on my door, and I groan, letting my head tip back toward the ceiling.

“It’s probably Val.” Alexis wiggles her brows. “Bet she needs you to save another knocked-up dinosaur.”

“No more pregnant lizards.” I shoot Terri a grin where she’s perched in her new, custom-made enclosure, so she knows I’m not really mad. “No pregnant anything.”

For now.

Alexis and I are planning on moving her in as soon as her lease is up, and I have every intention of making that a lifelong sort of thing. One I hope will someday include kids. Never would I have expected to be in a relationship, let alone considering all the white picket fences I can find, but here I am.

All thanks to my best friend’s little sister. The girl who never treated me like The Wall. The woman who’s always held her own special place in my mind.

And my heart.

Whoever’s at my door knocks again and I sigh as I turn, carrying Alexis along with me. “This better be fucking important.” I whip the door open and stare at the man on the other side in shock.

“Hello, son.” My dad tips his head at Alexis. “Hi.”

Al looks from me to my dad then back to me again. “Hi?” She lets her legs drop, wiggling her way down my body as I continue to stare. I didn’t expect to see him again. Figured he’d have nouse for me if I wasn’t feeding into his dumbassery. But here he is. Looking fucking contrite.

I have no clue what to say to him so I just stand there, feeling farther from him—from the life we used to share—than ever before.

My dad shifts on his feet. “Can I come in?”

I start to tell him no. I don’t want him near Alexis. Don’t want him to taint what we’re building.

But Al beats me to the punch. She angles a brow at my dad, giving him a look that could melt the paint off a car. “Are you going to be an asshat?”

Fucking hell. I love everything about Alexis, including her mouth’s tendency to run all on its own, but if my dad says something shitty to her, I might end up like Leo did a few months ago, and it took forever to clean that mess up.

My dad rocks back on his heels, eyes coming to me before going back to Alexis. “He told you about that, huh?”

Alexis crosses her arms, continuing to glare at him. “Which part are you referring to? The part where you told him to never trust a woman because we’re nothing but lying whores? Or the part where you objectified me the first time our paths crossed?”

My dad’s brows lift, climbing his forehead as Alexis continues to dress him down.

“If you’re here to try to put more of your idiot opinions into his head, then you can turn your ass right around and crawl back into whatever pit you escaped from.” Her chin lifts. “But, if you’re here in an attempt to apologize, then you should probably start talking.”

My dad blinks and I hold my breath, waiting to see how he reacts to the little ankle biter Alexis is becoming. He takes a breath, but instead of turning to me, his focus stays on Alexis. “I’m sorry for what I said about you. You didn’t deserve that.”

“It was gross.” She doesn’t back down. Doesn’t give him an inch. “You shouldn’t talk that way about any woman, much less one your son is with.”

Another deep breath from my father. “You’re right.”

Alexis studies him for a second before tipping her head my way. “Now apologize to him.”

If I wasn’t already obsessed with the woman beside me, the way she’s handling this situation would have put me there in record time. Seeing my dad again is a lot, and without her here, I would have simply slammed the door in his face.

My dad meets my eyes. “I’m sorry.” He pauses, lifting his shoulders. “For everything.”

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