AKA Lexi Frost (Lexi Frost Series) (22 page)

“
Saving me a headache,” Teri repeated.

“
Or something,” Jess chimed in, giving Kenny a look. Kenny looked back at him and shook his head.

“
Jess, go help get Bryan off the roof,” Kenny waved him away. Jess left quickly.

“
What is Bryan doing on the roof?”

“
Frisbee.”

“
And Jess?”

Kenny sighed and closed the patio door that Jess left open.
“Condoms. He’s got a date tonight.”

Teri gave an exasperated groan and banged her head on the counter.

“Hey, at least he’s practicing safe sex,” Kenny said as he watched Teri.

“
A whole box?” Teri asked then held up a hand to stop the answer. “I do not want to go there. You make sure he’s not a bad influence on Dev and Bryan.”

“
It was actually only half-full and he was
trying
to be sneaky. Dev and Bryan are on the roof, so they didn’t see anything.” Kenny looked pointedly at Paul.

“
We’re being good,” Paul assured him. “We don’t want to upset Dev either.”

“
I can send Jess in to give you tips,” Kenny offered.

“
As amusing as that might be, I’ll pass, thanks.”

Kenny turned his attention back to Teri and his expression softened.
“Next time Jess is involved and I tell you I’m saving you from a headache, can we just jump to this conclusion?”

“
Deal. Now Bryan’s on the roof getting the Frisbee. Why exactly is Dev up there?”

“
Tiff’s little sister, what’s-her-name, and a friend dropped by. He’s avoiding them.”

“
Tiff’s sister is Becky.”

“
Whatever, her friend’s fourteen. No one pays any attention to her except Dev, and that’s only because she won’t stop staring at him or following him around. She’s wearing a skirt and can’t climb up to the roof without flashing everyone, so Dev is safe for now.”

“
Safe is relative. I’d like him down.”

“
Would you drop it if I said we were saving you from a headache?”

“
No.”

“
On your head be it.” Kenny shook his head and went back outside.

“
What teenage boy says ‘on your head be it’?” Teri asked, turning to Paul. She actually seemed to expect an answer.

“
You said he’s musically inclined. Perhaps he’s experimenting with different ways of expressing a thought. Or he’s considering becoming a pirate.”

“
Hopefully the first one.” Teri returned to her potato salad.

“
You know it’s really nice to be able to just watch you being you. Like observing a rare bird in its natural environment.”

“
You might have been closer in Miami watching me on the beach. This is far more frustrating.”

“
Granted. I meant to ask you actually, before Nicholas conned you into taking pictures of Flynn and his associates, you were wandering around taking pictures of birds and palm trees and sometimes I wasn’t sure what you were doing.”

“
Acting like a tourist? I wasn’t.”

“
I didn’t think so then either. What were you doing?”

“
Well before I was Lexi I had a similar hobby.”

“
Accidental porn I believe it’s called now.”

Teri blushed and grinned to hide it.
“I was a bit more subtle, but yes. Things most people walk by every day and never notice. But if you stop and look just right . . . well, and have a bit of a dirty mind -”

“
You don’t see me, I’m not here,” Dev called coming in through the front door. He sprinted through the house, around the breakfast bar and into the small kitchen, finally coming to rest cross-legged on the floor at Teri’s feet.

“
You’re underfoot,” Teri told him.

“
Becky and Michelle are here. You can’t reasonably expect me to stay out there.” He looked up at his mother with big green eyes, begging her not to give him away. He was a cute kid, Paul had to admit. He looked younger when he looked helpless and hopeful like this.

“
If I go around to the other side of the bar and Teri moves over so you’re not underfoot, hopefully no one will notice you’re there,” Paul volunteered and walked around to the dining room side of the bar.

“
And if anyone comes looking,” Teri continued, “Paul and I can simply start kissing until they get freaked out and leave,” she winked at Paul.

“
That should work,” Paul agreed with a grin.

“
Cut it out, that’s gross. Paul, I thought you were trying to make points.”

“
Well, I think it’s more important to just be myself, don’t you?” Paul called over the top of the bar.

“
Whatever.”

“
Anyway, Dev’s games aside, that’s what I was doing in Miami,” Teri finished answering Paul.

“
Makes sense. I’m curious about the pictures now.”

“
Sorry, had to dump them to take pictures of In Like Flynn.”

“
Mom? You met In Like Flynn? Really?”

Paul almost winced at Dev
’s interest.

“
Nicholas was interviewing the photographer while he was taking pictures of them. Troy something,” Paul said helpfully.

“
Cool. Bet Kenny’d want to know if you could introduce him. He’d probably love to ask Zane about a million questions,” Dev said.

“
Why Zane?” Paul asked. “I thought Flynn was the lead singer.”

“
Yeah, the singer is kind of the voice for the band, but not always who makes the band in terms of style and sound. That’s Zane. He’s the one who makes the real decisions. It sounds like Charlie’s leaving, so Zane will be the first to scout who’s going to replace him.”

“
Hey, did Dev make it in here?” Jess poked his head in the patio door beside Paul.

“
Sorry, honey,” Teri called without hesitation and Jess disappeared. Paul looked at her. She nodded for him to close the door again. Paul closed the door and Teri answered the unasked question.

“
Jess and Dev play a lot of jokes on each other. If he’s looking for Dev, it’s probably not a good thing.”

“
Right. Good to know.”

The patio door opened again and Kenny slipped in. He closed it behind him and seemed surprised to see Paul sitting at the bar instead of beside Teri. He walked into the kitchen
, giving Paul a wide berth, and noted Dev’s position on the floor. Nodding in understanding, Kenny left again without a word.

“
Kenny seems to think I bite,” Paul said after the door was closed again.

“
He’ll be fine. I meant to have a talk with him this morning, but he was gone until just before you got here.”

“
Why do you need to talk to Kenny?” Dev asked.

“
It’s nothing, baby,” Teri answered automatically.

“
Mom! I told you, don’t call me ‘baby’,” Dev snapped.

“
Sorry, can’t be helped.” Teri pulled plastic wrap over the potato salad and put it in the refrigerator. Then she started cleaning up.

“
So, Paul, how’s Kayley doing? I kind of feel guilty when I think about her.”

“
She’s on vacation in Europe. Italian Riviera right now, I think. Don’t worry, I keep an eye on her and she’s fine.”

“
Who’s Kayley?” Dev asked. Paul wished he could see his face when he asked that. The tone sounded innocent, but the question wasn’t.

“
Ex-girlfriend,” Paul answered when Teri hesitated.

“
Why does Mom know her then?”

“
Well, we were still going out when I met your mother. They’ve met a couple of times now. Kayley explained our unusual relationship. It was a little different from what Teri’s used to.”

“
Unusual how?” Dev’s tone gave away his concern this time. Paul didn’t need to see his face to see the frown.

“
Kayley and I were together mostly so we had someone to be with. We weren’t in love, although we’d been together for several years. When I met your mom, I didn’t have to tell Kayley how I felt, she knew me well enough to see it. She wasn’t upset or hurt by it, in fact she gave me advice and tried to help me get Teri’s attention.”

“
Is she the one who told you to send all those flowers for the last couple of weeks? ‘Cause those were a waste. Nicholas threw them out.”

“
No, Kayley’s having fun and I didn’t want to bother her yet for advice. That was Lia, my secretary.”

“
Speaking of flowers.” Teri got a large vase out of the pantry and filled it with water. She took it back over to the counter in front of Paul and started to put the roses in it.

“
Oh! Those ducks are cute!” she exclaimed, “I didn’t notice those before.”

“
What’s the point of roses on their own?” Paul smiled. Teri leaned forward and kissed him.

“
None of that!” Dev protested from beside her feet. “Ow!” he exclaimed. Paul looked at Teri questioningly.

“
He hit my leg so I kicked him back.”

“
Okay,” Paul nodded. “So, Dev, given any thought about what you’re going to do after high school?”

“
Kenny’s hoping we’ll have a name for ourselves by then.”

Kenny came back inside just in time to hear his name mentioned.
“I what?”

“
Hope the band will have regular gigs soon.”

“
Yeah, hopefully. Why?”

“
They don’t have backup plans if that’s what you’re wondering,” Cassie said, walking in from the living room. “Mom, Tiff and I are taking Becky and Michelle home.”

“
Okay. Thanks for letting me know. Actually, wait a sec.” Teri finished arranging the flowers and ducks and pushed the vase toward Cassie.

“
That is
so
cute,” Tiffany gushed, taking the vase and setting it on the dining room table.

“
What’s with the ducks?” Kenny frowned.

“
Inside joke.” Teri waved to the girls, “Okay, I’m done here,” she announced.

“
When do you expect Nicholas?” Paul asked.

“
Any time, actually.”

“
When the girls come back, how about we start barbecuing then?”

“
Sounds good. Tiffany doesn’t live far away. Let me start pulling things out.” Teri turned back to the refrigerator. “Dev, you’re in the way, baby, move it.”

“
Mom!” He protested the affectionate nickname again, but he did vacate the kitchen, skirting Paul as he rushed out the patio door.

“
Why do we need a backup plan?” Kenny confronted Paul while Teri started to pull out a tray from the refrigerator.

“
Wait, let me give you a hand with that,” Paul called, holding up a finger to indicate Kenny should be patient, and quickly moved to assist with the tray. He set it on the counter and looked it over. “That’s quite a bit of meat.”

“
There are a lot of growing boys in this house.”

“
I forgot how much they can pack away,” Paul agreed.

“
So why do you think we need a backup plan?” Kenny asked again, a little louder this time. Paul turned to face him.

“
You’re shooting for the making it in the music industry, Kenny. I’ll be honest, it’s not my area of expertise, but the odds strike me as being against you no matter how good you are. It’s always a good idea to have a backup plan. If it’s something related, then that’s even better. Dev and Bryan are still in school, but have you and Jess looked at continuing education?”

“
There’s not a course at the community college for rock star, and Jess isn’t academically minded.”

Paul caught the hostile edge in Kenny
’s tone. It didn’t surprise him and it was why he didn’t really want to have this conversation with Kenny just yet. There wasn’t any trust established between them, and he would just come across as interfering.

“
What’s your biggest challenge where the band is concerned?” Paul asked.

“
What do you mean?”

“
What makes you reach for an aspirin or want to beat your head against the wall?”

“
He means what makes you want to beat Jess or Dev?” Bryan clarified, coming in. “Hi, I’m Bryan. I assume you’re Paul.”