He earned every ounce of respect I will forever have for him. Even if I don’t tell him enough. So if he wants to be pissed I drunkenly married his baby sister in Vegas, he’s earned that right. But it’s not going to change anything. Madeline Kingston is my wife. And I don’t care what anyone else in this family thinks about that.
“You pissed, Becks?”
“Kid, I may be the only one who isn’t. My wife . . . ? Now, she’s pissed. And according to Jules, your wife is pretty pissed at everyone too. Not sure if that includes you.”
Lindy’s pretty pissed with me at the moment. At least judging by the lack of communication, it’s pretty safe to assume she is. Although it’s probably not a great idea to tell Becks that. “Am I better off asking why you’re not . . . or why Jules is?” I ask as the driver pulls onto Main Street in Kroydon Hills.
Becks sighs. “I’ve been married long enough to know better than to speak for Juliette. But for me, let’s just say I have faith in the man you are, and that man wouldn’t marry my sister without loving her. You wouldn’t do that to Madeline or to me. You’re a good man, Easton. Now, do I wish you hadn’t done it drunk in Vegas? Yeah, fuckhead. I’ve been trying to calm Jules down for twenty-four hours. Newsflash—it’s not working. And she’s not half as upset as Ashlyn. But—and this is a big one—if you tell me right now you want to be married to my baby sister—if you tell me she’s it, and you’re willing to take on the whole family—I’ll back you up 100 percent. I’ll fight the family with you. You’re not a dumb kid, E, and I’m not oblivious enough to ignore the fact that there’s always been something between the two of you.”
The driver pulls up to the closed gates in front of Kingston Manor, the ten-thousand square-foot mansion where I spent my last two years of high school living with Jules and Becks. “You think you can buzz me in?”
“So where are Jules and Blaise?” I ask Becks as he hands me a bottle of beer.
“She’s bringing Blaise home from basketball practice. They’ll be here soon.” He slides onto the chair across from me at the kitchen table. “Does your sister know you’re home yet?”
“No. Just you and Max. I wanted to talk to Jules before I told anyone else. Unless Max already activated your freaky family phone tree.”
Becks smiles and shakes his head, letting me know Max hasn’t done that. At least not yet. “So what’s your plan, kid?”
I run my hand over the condensation forming on the bottle and think about my next move. Which is basically the same thing I’ve been overthinking for the past twenty-four fucking hours. When I look back at Becks, I want to wipe that shit-eating grin off his face.
“Come on. Tell me you didn’t change teams and fly across the country without a plan to win Lindy over? Didn’t I teach you better than that?” He looks utterly amused when I don’t answer. At least one of us is. “Since you’re here alone, I’m assuming you need to convince my baby sister to remain your wife.”
“Maybe,” I mumble, and this fucker laughs at me.
“How drunk were you?” He pushes with an edge to his tone. “Is that why she’s pissed? Or did you do something else to upset her?”
I’m not ready to talk about this yet. Not with Becks. Not with anyone. Not until I talk to Lindy. So instead, I lift my head and look at the closest man I’ve ever had to a father and give him the only thing I can. “It’s always been her, Becks.”
“I’m not the one you have to convince.”
He’s right. But he’s a safe place to start.
Becks stares at me for a minute, contemplating something. “Do you have a place to stay tonight?”
“No. I was gonna grab a room at the hotel in town.”
“Maybe you should go say hi to your sister first,” he challenges. “You know they have a third-floor loft that has a spare bed in it. And if you need something more permanent, we haven’t filled one of the condos on the floor below theirs. Maddox and Callen are in the other one, so we haven’t been in a rush to fill their neighboring unit.”
I push back from my chair and grab my bag from the floor as my plan starts to come together. “You’re a fucking genius, Becks.” With a quick hug and slap to his back, I make my way to the door before he can stop me. “Tell Jules I’ll stop by after I check in with the Revolution tomorrow.”