Page 70 of Inked Beasts

A few minutes later, Gage goes into the kitchen and doesn’t come back. Thorn looks at me with raised eyebrows and goes in there himself, coming back to indicate the other part of the house with a tilt of his head.

There’s a side door from the kitchen that leads to the hallway where the bedrooms are. My parents must have taken themselves off in that direction. Are they boycotting the party?

But then Gage comes back with them in tow, and they seem their normal selves. He looks embarrassed, and I make a note to ask him later what that’s about.

The time passes more quickly than I’d expected. My parents and we guys stay busy making sure there’s no shortage of food or drinks. People dance, laugh, talk, and eat—a perfect party. I keep an eye on Lexy, and she seems a little quieter than usual at first, but she starts to shine as the party goes on.

Hours later, the last of the guests finally leaves, and my parents are in the kitchen. Before we go to help them wash up, the three of us gather around Lexy. “You don’t have to talk about it if you’d rather not,” Gage says first, before I can demand a full accounting.

But Lexy shakes her head. “They apologized. They said they were too caught up in their own concerns to realize how much they were hurting me, and they were sorry, and they still love me.”

“And what did they say to you?” I ask Gage.

“They thanked me.”

I can feel my eyebrows go up. “For calling them out?”

He nods, his expression mortified. I sympathize. My parents have always been so stable and mature, and all four of us look up to them. It’s a very awkward reversal for one of us to be the wise one. I’m not surprised it was Gage, though.

“Just think,” I tell him, “one day you’ll be old and kids will look up to you.”

He bares his teeth at me in a fierce grin. “Fuck you.”

With that, we all troop off to the kitchen to help with cleanup.

LEXY

“Good party?” Kai asks me. The four of us are gathered in the sunroom at the back of the house while the Sanchezes watch their evening shows.

“It was,” I say. “I don’t really like surprises; I’d rather be the one planning things, as you know. But I was remarkably okay with it. It was a good gathering of people.”

Thorn nudges me. “Did you notice Ava and Brax?”

“Mmm, they spent a lot of time talking.” I smile. “I like Brax; he seems like a good guy.”

“He is,” Kai assures me. “A little rough around the edges, but solid at the core.”

“Speaking of solid,” Thorn says, “We got you a little something.”

“You guys,” I protest. “The three of you are all the gift I ever need.” I’m wearing the necklace they got me; I only take it off to shower.

“You’ll like this,” Gage says. He produces an envelope from his back pocket and hands it to me.

There are a couple of papers inside; the top one features a beautiful photo of a tropical beach. I read the caption and gasp. “Bali?”

“We’ve got tickets for all of us. For a whole week.”

The warm glow starts up in my chest. “How wonderful. When?”

“Now.”

I look around at them, confused. “But our work. We haven’t taken the time off.”

Thorn grins. “Yes, we have. It’s all arranged. I talked to Clare for both of us, and Gage and Kai cleared their schedules.”

My mouth opens and closes again. A few months ago, I would not have been okay with anyone arranging a trip for me—or much of anything else, for that matter. But I trust these men so much that going off with them for a week, on a moment’s notice, is something I’m actually looking forward to.

“I’m just realizing how far I’ve come,” I say. “How good you all have been for me.”

---