Page 110 of The Maxwell Brothers

“Where is your list for the party?” Gran asked.

“It’s on my iPad. I’ll go get it.”

"Perfect. Your dad will keep me company in the meantime." Something in her voice alerted me that Paisley wasn't the only reason she was here.

The second my daughter was out of the room, Gran sighed, shaking her head as she pointed at me. "Tate, Tate, Tate, what am I going to do with you?"

I hadn't heard that tone of voice since I was a teenager. "What do you mean?"

"You need to make things right with Lexi," she said without further ado.

I stared at her. "How do you know something is wrong?"

"Because I called to talk to her about Paisley's birthday and the poor girl was out of sorts."

"Fuck."

"Language,” she said, giving me the side-eye. “Listen to me, Tate. Lexi cares about you, and you care about her. And I'm going to give you some advice."

I grimaced.

"Don't make that face. Your dad was all full of himself too when he thought he knew how to get your mom back."

I frowned. "When did he have to? He never said anything."

"Of course not. Men don't like to bring up things like that. Your grandfather and I were married for twenty-five years, and we only had one big fight where he almost lost me. And you know what he did after that?"

"No, what?" I asked, now curious and earnest.

"He did everything to make sure I knew exactly how strongly he felt about me. Strong enough that we could go through whatever life had to throw at us together and still come out on the other side loving each other." She paused, and the words sank in. "Is that how you feel about Lexi?"

Lexi meant everything to me. She’d changed my life so much. She'd changedme.

"Yes," I said without hesitation.

"Good. Then make it clear to her in no uncertain terms. I don't know what youngsters these days do that counts as biggestures. I’m old as dirt, so my ideas won’t be any good. I suggest you come up with something quickly. Make sure it’s romantic, because romance never goes out of fashion. And I'll have one of those waffles too.”

"Yes, ma'am."

Lexi

Usually, I was in a good mood when I was working on crafts, but today, that wasn’t the case. I was working on the hand-painted decorations I’d promised Paisley for her birthday. I’d started yesterday after leaving Tate’s house, and today I jumped on them early in the morning. I only had until eight o’clock; then I was picking up Paisley’s birthday dress from Macy’s.

I sniffled and then shook my head, mad at myself. I didn't want to be sad. I loved that girl. I loved Tate too. And I really, really hoped he would love me too, that he would believe in us, but clearly, he didn't. And now I was at a loss as to what to do.

My phone rang, and I had to do a double take when I looked at the number. It was Reese.

Oh my God. Did something happen to Tate or Paisley?

I dropped the heart I'd been working on for the past half hour to answer the phone.

“Reese, hi! Is something wrong?”

“No, of course not.”

I pressed a palm to my chest to calm my racing heart. “You scared me. Umm… why are you calling?”

“Just wanted to let you know that I dropped by Macy’s and picked up Paisley’s dress so you can take that off your to-do list for the party.”