Page 11 of Sweet Surrender

He engulfs me in a large hug, patting my back several times. “Don’t worry about me. You and Axel are all I need and I have you both. If Reggie wants to play games, then he’ll have to figure it out on his own.”

I sag against him, drawing comfort from him for once. “I don’t understand how we got here. We used to all be so close and now…” I huff out a breath, refusing to finish the sentence. Instead, I just hold Wyatt tight against me, loving that we don’t need words to show how we feel about each other. Even if the entire world is falling apart around us, Wyatt has always been my rock as I have been his.

I just hope this time it’s enough.

Chapter 11

WYATT

My mind is a chaotic mess by the end of the day as Axel sets up the little cakes on the display. A frustrated growl leaves me when the cake spinner slips and I mess up a design for the umpteenth time. My breathing quickens as I stare at the buttercream disaster, about to swipe it across the counter when Axel comes to rescue me.

“Hey! Hey. Wyatt, fuck, look at me.” I’m pressed against a wall, a hand on my chest as someone tells me to breathe with them. It takes me a few moments to regain my composure before I look down at Axel who’s completely freaked out. “What the fuck is going on? You came in a little off today but I thought maybe James just didn’t fuck you hard enough. Did he hurt you?” His eyes widen and he turns to leave before I drag him back.

Jameson would never hurt me.

“No. It’s Reggie.”

“Just drop him. I did. Best thing I ever did.”

It’s not that easy. I’ve become so attached to everyone and everything regardless of my wellbeing. I don’t want to lose anyone else which is why it has been so fucking hard for me to leave Reggie behind. With this latest revelation though, I might have to. It makes sense that he keeps asking for money. It was never for house repairs or bills or any of the other billion things that he kept talking about. I just don’t understand why.

“Talk to me, Wyatt. Let’s step outside real quick, okay? Do we need to call James?”

“No.” I stomp out the back door, thankful for the brisk air that hits me in the face. I nearly smashed some of my creations that actually came out okay and that would have made me angrier. “Reggie called me last night to ask me to talk to Jay about one of his portfolios. Jay couldn’t tell me much but whatever Reggie is doing, it’s not legal.”

Axel raises a brow as he lets out a low whistle. “That explains a lot. That’s also a fucking dangerous road to go down for a little extra cash. Jesus Christ. Let’s close up shop, grab James, and go over to Gramps and Grams's house. They’ll enjoy the extra time.”

“Since when do you go on Tuesdays?”

“Since I decided I’d like to be there when you present James as your boyfriend. Wyatt, I know you. It’s your proudest moment to show him off as it should be. I also know that it’s going to shock the hell out of Grams and I need to see it. Okay, so I’m not psychic. James texted me an hour ago asking what flowers he needs to bring.”

I chuckle and slap Axel on the arm before reentering the café. Tonight is either going to be the best night in a while or it’s going to be the worst.

It’s worse than the worst.

We pull into the driveway, Jameson leaning forward to stare at the red vehicle in front of us. “Why the fuck is Reggie here?” None of us have to answer to know why. My Tuesday visits with our grandparents aren’t a secret. In fact, I used to all but broadcast it, trying to get Axel and Reggie to come and spend more time with them. Axel finds time in his busy schedule on his own but I haven’t known Reggie to make a trip an hour out of the city in the last several months.

Axel grumbles something unintelligible but he’s obviously uncomfortable with this turn of events. So am I if I’m being honest. Jameson reaches over the console and squeezes my thigh, grinning at me to calm my nerves. Unfortunately, it does the opposite when I catch the uneasiness in his expression. We managed a few cutesy text messages over the last couple of hours before we picked him up but they dropped off the closer it got to 5 pm.

He’s not working on Reggie’s portfolio but he explained that there was a lot of yelling and several angry emails being passed back and forth that he was copied in on. It doesn’t look good for my brother but it’s his fault for getting himself into this mess.

“We go in and hope that Reggie is on his best behavior.”

Axel groans. “I should have brought Laura so she could shield me from any shit Reggie tries. Scratch that. He would pull her apart. Nope. God, I call cooking duty. I need something to distract me.” He peels out of the car, bouncing on his toes as he waits for us to do the same. I guess we’re walking in as a united front although that makes it seem like we’re ganging up on Reggie.

I swallow nervously as Jameson rounds the car and places his hands on my chest. “I need deep breaths from you, babe. There you go. I know finding out all of this isn’t easy but Axel and I are right here. Your grandparents are still here for you. No one is leaving. Reggie just needs to get his act together.” I want to believe all that and it makes it easier when James rises up on his tip toes and kisses me on the lips. “Now, let’s go eat a home-cooked meal, avoid any heavy conversations, and then you get to show me what you brought for dessert.”

I wiggle my brows, Axel slapping me across the chest and narrowly missing Jameson’s head. “Your family is also eating dessert and we will not be eating that. I hope you brought something with like real cream. Wait! No. I meant like cake with icing. Fuck both of you.”

Jameson and I are giggling like 12-year-old boys as we follow behind Axel, nearly forgetting that we’ll be spending the evening with Reggie. This isn’t how I planned to have a family reunion but so long as he doesn’t try anything, it might be the first step to healing.

The first step past the foyer and I already know it’s going to be a fucking shit show. Gramps and Gram rush toward us, laughing and hugging and kissing, even embracing Jameson without hesitation. It feels like when we were younger and our parents would drop us off.

“I didn’t know all of you were coming! This is such a pleasant surprise,” Grams muses. Her voice wobbles a little more than usual as she drags me into the kitchen, patting my hand several times before stealing the container out of the other. “I’ll just put this in the fridge so we can all discover what it is later.” A small smile plays on her lips as I follow her to help her with the door.

I hear one of Jameson’s nervous laughs as Gramps turns to me. “I love everyone being here but Jamie hasn’t been here in a year? What’s the occasion?”

“We’re dating, Gramps.” I put every ounce of happiness into the statement, watching Jameson’s face brighten at the same time. Publicly announcing it really does show him how much I love him. “It’s only been a day or two since we officially announced it.”