Lenny’s lower lip trembles. “I know we’re doing the whole wedding a little smaller than you wanted, and I appreciate you not making it a big Kingston debacle. But I have one more request.” Her eyes water, and I have no idea what just happened.
“Hey, hey...” I pull my hand from Daphne and wrap Lenny in my arms. “What happened? Who do I need to kill?” And God, if only I were joking. I swear, I’d do anything for my little sister.
She rests her head against my chest and wraps her arms around my back. “Will you walk me down the aisle?”
“I don’t know, kid. That means I have to give you away, and I don’t know if I can do that. Bash is a good guy, and he loves you, but I don’t know if I can give you to him.” I wish I was kidding. It doesn’t matter that she’s a grown woman. She’ll always be that tiny, little girl with pigtails who used to chase me around the house and would only jump in the pool if I was holding her hand. And it’s always felt so damn good being the man she looked up to.
“Max... Please.” She exhales, making a sound somewhere between a sob and a laugh. “It’s got to be you.”
“Anything, Len. I’ll do anything you ask. You know that.” I kiss the top of her head.
“Stupid hormones.” She wipes her nose and stands up, pushing away from me. “I swear, I cried at a Hallmark commercial last night. I don’t know how bad it’s going to be by the time I’m ready to have this kid.” She takes her coffee cup and shuffles to the sink, then turns around and stares at Daphne. “I’m sorry for interrupting your morning. Although, if you’re going to be with him, you might want to get used to it. The entire family has a key to my house, and at least one person uses it every week.”
“Oh, well...” Daphne stutters, and I’m curious what she stopped herself from saying. “It was really nice meeting you, Lenny. Please tell Bash I said, ‘Congratulations.’”
“You should come to the wedding. Maybe you could force this one to dance a little.”
And thank you so fucking much for that, little sister. Because every grown man wants his sister to invite a woman to attend a wedding as his date. I’ve been so focused on other things, the thought of inviting Daphne never even crossed my mind. And by the look on her beautiful face, it’s easy to see how badly I fucked up.
“Oh. Thank you, but I couldn’t. I appreciate it though. You know, I think I hear my phone ringing. I’ll just... I’ll see you later.” Daphne practically trips over herself to get out of the room, and the look I give Lenny is glacial.
“Eleanor...”
“I like her, Maximus.” She kisses me on the cheek, then flicks my ear. Brat. “Don’t fuck it up.”
Pretty sure she just fucked it up for me.