“Fantastic.” Vincent sounded less than enthusiastic, and stayed fixated on Erik as he wiped the smear of lipstick from his face. “Jade, we need to talk.” Vincent took her by the elbow and led her off to a private corner where the two got into a rather heated exchange. Even though Vincent kept his voice low and his expression guarded, Jade was all drama with flailing arms and screeches loud enough for Lexi to hear its whiny timber. After a few minutes, she stormed away and Vincent sulked back to Erik’s side looking miserable. Anna and Madison returned, and he bent down and hugged his niece fiercely.
“I love you, Maddie,” he crooned to the small girl.
“I love you too, Uncle Vince.” She kissed his nose and wrapped her arms around his neck.
“And you are the most beautiful girl at the party.” He spun her around in his arms, smiling as she giggled.
“That’s what Lexi said too.”
Vincent stole a sheepish glance at Lexi. “Lexi is a very smart lady.” He kept looking at her, pleading with his eyes for her to accept his pathetic attempt at an apology for standing by and letting Jade pick her apart. She knew apologies didn’t come easy to him, so when he mouthed the words “I’m sorry,” she nearly melted.
She watched him caress his niece’s hair and could tell he actually felt pained at the thought of her tiny feelings being hurt. Erik watched the interaction between the two of them closely, ready to step in if Jade came within ten feet of his daughter again. Still wondering what the hell Vincent was doing with a viper like Jade, Lexi decided to show him the compassion he hadn’t had the courtesy to show her.
“Can I get that in writing? The part about me being very smart?” Lexi gently teased, smiling when she saw Vincent let out the breath he had been holding.
“Absolutely.”
“Uncle Vincent, can we please dance?” Madison asked sweetly. “I have to go home soon. The pumpkin is coming, and I haven’t had a turn to dance with a prince yet.”
It was easy to see that Vincent could deny her nothing. “I would love to. Let’s show these people how it’s done.” He perched her on the top of his feet, and together they swayed and twirled, their dance looking perfectly choreographed.
“She is gorgeous,” Lexi said to Erik. Anna had gone off to say her goodbyes to her mother.
“She is one of a kind. She makes every day an adventure for us. That’s for sure,” he chuckled. He reached out and slipped his hand around Lexi’s arm. “May I have this dance?”
“What a great idea. Honey, take her out for a dance, then gather up Madison and we can go.” Anna had returned and was ready to leave. She put her hands on Lexi’s shoulders and nudged her toward Erik. “Go have some fun, Lexi.”
Hesitantly, Lexi took Erik’s hand and followed him onto the parquet flooring in the center of the room. Couples swayed and spun around them as they navigated themselves to an open space in the middle. Erik took one of Lexi’s hands and placed it on his shoulder and took the other in his hand, then pulled her close to him as he wrapped his arm around her waist.
Immediately, Lexi felt something hard beneath her foot. “Sorry.” Her cheeks flooded with a deep blush.
“Something tells me that you’re used to being in charge. Why don’t you let me lead, and I’ll take care of you for a change?”
His warm smile and unexpectedly kind words melted a piece of Lexi’s heart that she tried her best to keep hidden behind a sturdy wall. She was always the one to be in charge. After Marie died, she’d had to step up and mature faster than any of her friends. When Harry got sick, she took care of him by herself for the most part, and then after he died, she took care of herself, relying on no one as she tried to find her way in the world. She was the caregiver, the reliable one, self-sufficient. She was … alone, and if she thought about it too long, the sadness overwhelmed her. She swallowed back tears and buried her feelings of loneliness deep inside, focusing on what she had rather than all that she had lost in her short life.
“I’m sorry, did I say something wrong?” Erik saw her tear-filled eyes, and his brow puckered. “Anna will skin me alive if I upset you.”
Lexi shook her head. “No, it’s me. Just feeling sorry for myself, that’s all. You have a beautiful family.” She watched Vincent and Madison scoot past them and smiled.
“I am very blessed.” Trying to lift her spirits, Erik changed the subject. “So, are you ready to kill my brother-in-law yet? Has he made you cry?
Because if he ever does, from what I hear all you have to do is tell Sean, and Vincent will have a black eye. Elizabeth has warned him to be on his best behavior as well. She’s watching him like a hawk. I suspect she has Leigh spying on him for her, and if he steps out of line, she’ll rain down on him like the fires of hell.”
Lexi laughed. “Vincent’s not a bad guy. I don’t know what the big deal is about him. He’s not that scary.” Erik’s eyebrow rose in disbelief. “Really, all you have to do is stay one step ahead of him and you’re fine. I simply make sure his world is arranged just how he likes it, and I have no problem handling him.”
“But the yelling. Most of his other assistants left in tears.”
“The only time he ever yelled at me was when I cleaned his office.”
Erik laughed. “Oh, I heard about that one.”
Lexi blushed. “I think most of San Francisco heard about it the way he carried on. He actually stomped his foot at me. Who does that? But he had a right to be upset. I messed with his space, and it wasn’t my place. So I listened and learned, and now we work together in relative peace and harmony.”
“It takes a strong woman to deal with my pigheaded brother-in-law.”
“Or maybe someone just as pigheaded as he is.” Lexi closed her eyes, and let Erik twirl her across the dance floor. He was an exquisite dancer. As the song wound down, he spun them over to Vincent and Madison so he could claim his daughter. “Come on, darlin’, it’s time to go.”
“Just one more dance, daddy?” Madison pouted and crossed her arms. “I haven’t got to dance with you yet.”
“Fine, one more dance. But first,” he took Lexi’s hand and placed it in Vincent’s, “Uncle Vincent will have to take care of my dance partner for me. It wouldn’t be gentlemanly to leave her alone on the dance floor. How does that sound?” Erik winked at Lexi.