Page 70 of Where We Fall

“It’s just me and my mother. Always has been. I don’t have any siblings, and my dad left when I was really young.”

Lexi is a champ and seems willing to share her life with my parents. It’s all fine until we get to her mom’s current diagnosis. That’s when I feel the need to step in and change the subject. I felt her body tense as soon as it came up.

I’ve been around her enough to know how much she thinks about her mom and worries about her. She calls her daily on the phone and then calls her mom’s nurses separately to get an update.

“You know if you two got married,” Sienna says casually. “I could be the flower girl.”

Lexi looks at me with wide eyes. I have to chuckle at her reaction.

“You would make a beautiful flower girl, SiSi,” I tell her.

She smiles adoringly up at me. Complimenting her instead of directly acknowledging her questions always works.

“So, who exactly initiated this?” Luke asks as he points between the two of us with his fork.

Savannah gives him a death stare. “Lucas Giannelli.”

“What? It’s a legit question. Come on, Marcus asked way more inappropriate questions to us.”

The table erupts with laughter. They aren't wrong. I like to see how uncomfortable I can make my brothers. It's always a good time.

“I can see that,” Lexi says as she looks over at me and smiles.

I shrug. “I was curious.”

“Sooo,” Luke continues.

“Me,” we both say at the same time.

“What?” Lexi asks. “That is a total lie. It was me.”

“I don’t know,” Gabe says. “Lexi, you’re the quiet, innocent one. Marcus is the crazy one. I’m gonna say it had to be him.”

Lexi looks at me, and I just smile. “Uhh, seriously. You’re wrong.”

“I kissed you first at the party.”

“That was nothing. You kissed me with the pretense that it was for our act. I was the one who did it for real.”

“Ooooh, if that’s true, I’m going with Lexi,” Alexis says.

“Hold on. What am I missing here?” Ma steps in. “What act?”

My head falls to my hand as I shake my head.

Here we go.

“Thanks, babe,” I say, directed at Lexi.

“Sorry,” she says with cringy face.

I sigh. “It was nothing. We just had to pretend to date for a weekend.”

“Why on earth would you have to do that?” Ma asks.

“Cuz apparently, I had…kissed… with our largest client’s daughters’ friend and never called her back, so I was a man whore who made the company look bad.”

“Now use your imagination with the wordkissed,” Luke says.

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