Lex and Lu(17)

Looking back, she noted that Lex was still leaning against the wall, a playful smile on his face. Probably remembering, like they all were, the first time Willa ever saw them kiss.

“Déjà-fucking-vu! It’s like a damn time warp being back here with you two,” Willa said in her snappiest voice. “Get your shit. It’s late. I’m pissed and tired.”

Rolling her eyes, Lu stepped through the front door, grabbed her bag, and headed down the steps of porch, grateful for the escape.

Lex watched her walk away and turned wearily toward Willa, who was trying like hell to imitate the death stare. Waiting for the inevitable set-down Lex pushed off the wall and walked toward her. “Whatcha got, Will?”

“She’s not made for this. For you. I’m asking you to leave her alone.”

“You’re right,” he acknowledged, eyebrow raised. “Déjà-fucking-vu.” Kissing her on the forehead, he went on, “She always has been so much stronger than you ever gave her credit for.” He started to walk away when Willa grabbed his arm. Turning back to her, he waited.

“It’s you I’m worried about. She won’t resist you, but this time you’ll both be shattered.” With that, Willa walked away. And Lex stood, his hands on the railing, wondering what the hell was going on.



Willa and Lu were silent as they drove away from their house. Her condo on the beach was about twenty minutes away and Lu prayed that Willa would hold her tongue so that she could escape to the mindlessness of sleep. But ten minutes in, Willa unleashed her tongue.

“Are you fucking kidding me? What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“Language, Will.”

“Nina’s not here to hear me so I can say whatever the fuck I want. Seriously, Lu, what the hell are you thinking?”

“Trust me, Will. I know it was stupid. I tried to avoid him, but you took too long.”

“Oh, so this is my fault.”

“No. Not at all. It’s mine. It’s his.” She looked out into the night as they crossed the north bridge, over the Intracoastal Waterway.

“You know this is going to make it all worse. Shit, Lu. This is not what you need to be doing.”

“I know.”

“Go home tomorrow.”

“What?” she asked, finally facing her sister, staggered at the suggestion.

“You do not need to be around him. You are like magnets for each other. Go home. Get Nina. Tell him.” Willa glanced briefly at Lu, who could no longer stop the tears from running down her face. She looked absolutely desolate. “Lu, it’s the best thing. If you sleep with him and then shove his daughter in his face, he will never forgive you. He might not ever forgive you now.” Consciously gentling her voice, Willa continued. “I know that somewhere deep in your soul you have always hoped that you guys would be a family. But it will never happen. You have lied to him for eight years. You kept his child from him. You gave her to everyone but him. How can he possibly forgive you for that?”

And that’s what she was pondering when she fell asleep. How on earth would he ever forgive her?



As exhausted and emotionally drained as she was, Lu did not find her blissful silence in the night. She finally sank into dreamlessness around five in the morning, right about the time she was normally getting up. She felt the feather-light touch of a hand run up her arm and down her back. It swept up through her hair, then along her jawline. The warmth of it seeping into her bones eliciting a satisfied moan from her. Her eyes fluttered open and she found herself staring into the laughing eyes of Lex Pellitteri.

“Come, sleepyhead,” he cajoled, “get up and come run along the beach with me.”

Coming fully awake very quickly, Lu made a grab for the sheets as she turned and sat up. Fumbling for her glasses, she looked wearily at the clock. Six in the morning. With a groan of frustration, she threw herself back onto her pillow.

“Seriously, Lex. How did you get in here and why on earth are you up so early?”

With a shrug, he sat at the foot of the bed. “It’s not six a.m. where I’m from. It’s the middle of the day. I tried to stay in bed, but too much shit was moving around up in my head. I need to move.”

“You always need to move. Guess that hasn’t changed either,” she observed.

“Nope. Remember when they tried to get Jo to put me on Aderall and she about threw a fit?”

“Yes, I remember.”

“Ha. Sometimes having a force for a mother isn’t such a bad thing.”

“When was it ever bad for you?” Lu wanted to know.

“Jo? I don’t know if bad is the right term. Just, you know how she is. She never backs down. It can be frustrating.”