Isaiah had ambled over to where he’d been sitting and downed his entire drink. “Yeah, she was,” he said when he was done.
“Kelli, call or text me as soon as you can, babe. Just let me know if you’re okay.” Nathan came back to Isaiah, still noticeably concerned. “Who called her? One of her brothers?”
“I don’t know. She didn’t say,” Isaiah said then asked for another drink from the waitress who came in to take their empty glasses.
Nathan cancelled Kelli’s plate, letting the waitress know she had to leave and wasn’t coming back. Then he turned to Isaiah again. “Was she like crying upset?”
Isaiah nodded, distracted momentarily by something on his phone. “Yeah, she cried,” he muttered as he tapped away on his phone then set it down.
Their food came and talk of Kelli ceased until Nathan’s phone rang about twenty minutes later and he answered immediately.
“Kelli, what happened?” They all waited quietly as he listened to whatever she was saying. “Wait, wait. Slow down. Why?” he said as his face hardened, and he stood up and walked out the patio area for some privacy.
AJ and Addison exchanged equally blank looks; then he turned to Isaiah. “Did he sound mad to you?” AJ asked.
Isaiah shrugged, staring at the doorway Nathan had just exited. He took another sip of his drink. “Maybe.”
A few minutes later Nathan re-entered the patio area and addressed Isaiah. “Did she say anything else to you before she left?”
Isaiah stared at him for a moment before answering then shook his head. “Just to tell you she’d explain later. Why?”
“She broke things off,” Nathan said, dropping his phone on the table. The waitress walked in just then. “Can I get a shot of tequila?” he asked then turned to the rest of them, his expression still as hard as ever. “Any of you guys want one?”
“I’ll take one,” Isaiah said immediately.
“Nah,” AJ said, but you go ahead. I’ll drive you guys back to your hotel room. Addison and I will take a cab from there back to ours.” AJ shook his head, still looking confused but also annoyed as only AJ could get. “So she drove all the way here to spend the weekend with you then broke things off?”
“Yeah,” Nathan said with a humorless chuckle as he sat down. “She’s been hot and cold almost from the beginning, but she’d been different lately.”
His phone rang again, and Nathan took one look at the screen and was on his feet again.
“That her?” AJ asked, his face already souring.
Nathan nodded but rushed out of the patio area.
“What the fuck?” AJ said, turning back to Isaiah as soon as Nathan was out the doorway. “What? Is she playing games now? I knew there was something I didn’t like about her ever since that day at the house with her stepping away every fifteen minutes to take calls.”
Isaiah shook his head. “Yeah, well maybe it’s best if you don’t tell him that,” he warned. “For all we know, they’ll be back together again, and you’ll have to swallow your words.”
“I ain’t swallowing shit,” AJ said, turning in the direction of the doorway.
“Be cool, AJ,” Isaiah insisted, even more firmly. “You know he’s more pissed than he’s letting on.”
A few minutes later Nathan walked back in with a smirk. “Don’t tell me?” AJ asked, as disgusted as he’d been earlier. “You’re back together.”
“No,” Nathan said. “But she did say she made a hasty decision because she was upset about her mom.”
“I thought her mom was dead?” AJ countered.
“It’s her grandma, but she’s always called her mom.” He turned to Isaiah and picked up the shot the waitress had brought in while he was on the phone. “I didn’t know that. She wants to talk but can’t for a few days. She can’t take time off from the salon until at least Tuesday. After she got the call about her grandma, she got another from the salon. She says she’s also dealing with issues there this weekend—that she shouldn’t have been here at all today—and drove up on a whim. So it all just added up and she panicked, thinking she should just concentrate on her business, and that’s why she’d made the hasty decision. What?” He asked with a frown when he saw the scowl on AJ’s face.
“What was with all those calls she got that day at the house?”
“Same thing,” Nathan said, looking as annoyed as AJ now. “Calls from the salon.”
“Didn’t some dude call her that day too?”
“Raymond’s one of her brothers,” Nathan said, his face souring further. “I didn’t know you were taking notes. She has two others, Ron and Rick. Write that shit down so you don’t forget.”
“I’m just saying she seems wishy-washy and full of—”
“How ’bout a toast,” Isaiah said, putting his phone down and lifting his shot glass in the air. “We don’t get together nearly as often as we used to. So, to getting to spend this weekend together . . .”
Isaiah motioned for AJ to use his beer bottle. Addison lifted her glass too, even if technically the toast had nothing to do with her. She hoped it’d persuade AJ and Nathan, who were still glaring at each other, to do the same.
“That’s a very sweet toast,” she said.
Isaiah gave her an appreciative smile, and AJ lifted his bottle. Nathan joined the toast a bit grudgingly, but at least the subject of Kelli was dropped.
Hours later back in AJ’s hotel suite, after a few rounds of mind-blowing sex, Addison was still trying to decide whether she should get involved in AJ’s brother’s business. Should she mention the phone call from Kelli’s other brother Gilbert? One Nathan apparently didn’t know about. Either that or Kelli had lied about more than one thing that day. Clearly, she hadn’t mentioned needing to get back to Gilbert and someone else to Nathan when she told him she needed to stay put at the salon for a few days. Then she remembered something else that would only make AJ’s already distrusting impression of the girl worsen. Gilbert was someone she didn’t want to mention anything to about Nathan—her boyfriend.
Then AJ said something that helped her decide. “I hope I didn’t come across as a dick today when I questioned Kelli’s motives.”
They’d been lying in bed, rehydrating on a couple of bottles of Gatorade. She’d noticed he’d gone a little pensive. “I’d never think that of you,” she assured him, tracing his beautiful lips with her fingers.
He smiled, leaning over, and kissed her. “I just can’t stand shady people. It’s why I’m upfront and honest about everything.” His tone and expression were a bit foreboding, but he eased up and smiled sweetly again. “And I don’t care what Isaiah says. I never keep my mouth shut if I think someone’s doing anyone I care about wrong.”
Addison nodded, caressing his face with empathy. “I don’t have siblings, but I can say with all certainty that I understand what it’s like to feel protective over your loved ones. I live for Clair and would stop at nothing to protect her.” She smiled, kissing him softly. “I get it. The day Clair brings home someone, I know I’ll scrutinize every last little detail about him and worry sick that he might hurt her in some way. Trust me. I totally understand your concern. I don’t think I could keep my mouth shut either.”
“Do you know I’ve offered both my brothers jobs to run the multiple businesses I have going with my brand and online merchandising so they’ll stop being firefighters?” He shook his head. “I know it’s a noble occupation. They’ve worked hard to get where they are, and from what they’ve both told me, it’s totally rewarding, but it’s dangerous. It’s not necessary for them to put themselves in harm’s way, not with the money I bring in.” He frowned, noticeably troubled. “Of course, they’re both so damn stubborn. Neither wants their little brother supporting them.”
“They’ll be okay,” she assured him, her heart swelling over as he once again confirmed what a heart of gold he had. “Maybe when they get a little older and they’re tired of the work, they’ll take you up on the offer.”