Page 118 of Fight For Me

“She’ll be thrilled. As far as she’s concerned, you walk on water.”

Alex’s eyes sparkle. “Because I make you so happy?”

“Well, there is that. But mostly because you got me to move back to LA.”

Alex laughs. “Your dad tried to give me a thousand bucks when we had dinner over there last week. Apparently, it’s what he offered his brothers if one of them could convince you to move home.”

“You should have taken it.”

“He might change his tune now that we’ve found a permanent place to live. I think he’s still holding out hope you’ll end up in your old bedroom.”

A permanent place to live. Together. God, I like the sound of that.

I text our realtor before we leave, letting her know we love the place and would like to see the lease agreement. Since we don’t have to see the rest of the properties she found for us, we have an unexpectedly free afternoon.

“What do you think?” she asks once we’re in my car.

I don’t need to ask her to clarify. It’s Sunday, which means the family is together for lunch. Alex and I haven’t been to a full family gathering since we got together. We haven’t exactly been keeping our distance from the family, but we’re trying not to jump right into the thick of things, either. We both want to give everyone time to get used to the idea of us together before putting our relationship in their face.

“I’m up for it if you are.”

She chews her lip, looking a little nervous. I know she’s thinking about her dad. “Maybe it will be easier for him to come around if he sees us together,” I suggest.

She sighs. “Maybe. Either way, I’m getting tired of worrying about it.”

I nod and turn the key in the ignition. “Family lunch it is.”

It’s a few hours past lunch time when we pull up in front of my parents’ house, but the gathering is still in full swing—and probably will be into the evening. I can tell Alex is nervous when we climb out of the car, but she seems to relax a little when I take her hand in mine.

Just as expected, the backyard is full. CeCe and Vega see us first and come barreling over. “You came!” my little sister yells. I hold out my arms for a hug but she ignores me, going straight for George instead.

“Nice,” I mutter, while Alex snickers next to me.

I see Levi glaring at me from the far side of the patio, so we avoid that area and walk around saying hi to everyone else. We get a few strange looks, mostly from the middle teenagers, who don’t seem to know what to make of us. But my parents and Aunt Paige act thrilled to see us and Will, Everly, River, and Rose hang out with us like it’s no big deal to see us together. I can feel Alex relaxing by degrees until she’s laughing with Everly and Rose just like any other day.

Because it’s my family, the guitars come out as soon as the sun starts to go down. Silas and Presley build a bonfire and everyone sits around, chatting and listening to the music as darkness starts to fall.

Alex and I sit on a blanket with Will and Eva, who both have guitars. George is on the other side of the fire, laying in the middle of a pile of Littles, snoring peacefully. Alex sits between my legs, just like she did on the beach in Santa Barbara, and contentment washes over me. I remember sitting there watching the sunset and wondering what it would be like to feel that way every day. And now here we are. No, things aren’t perfect. My issues didn’t magically disappear. But for the first time in a long time, I’m not hiding shit from anyone. And that feels damn good.

The bonfire has been burning for only an hour or so when the first raindrops start to fall. There’s a mad rush to cover up the guitars and the kids all take off for the house. I grab the blanket from the ground and hold it over Alex’s head while we run for the back door.

I figure the party will break up, but no one seems to be in a hurry to go home. Rain or not, it’s a warm summer night and none of the kids have school in the morning. So my dad turns on the gas fireplace and everyone resumes their places in groups and pairs on the living room floor.

“Hey, this works out for you,” Will says, nudging my side. He points at the baby grand piano in the corner. “You can actually play at a family bonfire for once.”

“You act like I don’t know how to play guitar.”

He smirks. “I mean, I guess you can call what you do playing, if we’re being generous. But at least you’re slightly decent on piano.”

“Hilarious.”

Alex peers up at me. “You did promise to play for me when you got the all clear from the PT.”

I raise my eyebrows. “And you want that to happen here? In front of all these idiots?”

She narrows her eyes, lips twitching. “You sound a little scared, Wyatt.”

“Fuck that.” I stand immediately and she woops while Eva and Will wolf whistle.