Virtue and Vice

Chapter Twenty Three

I shook my head. “I’ll have neither. But I could use a cup of tea if you could spare me any.”

Sebastian raised a brow at me curiously. “Tea? Didn’t you just have some twenty minutes ago? Right before we left the house?”

I fought the blush that crept to my cheeks and shrugged. “Yeah, so? I find I prefer tea now all the time. Besides, it was chilly outside.”

“Leave her alone, Seb,” Lexie scolded gently as she set a kettle over a pot. “You should be glad to have a girlfriend who isn’t a lush.”

Marcus laughed. “Yes, Vice. It’s easier that way—fewer instances where you’ll have to step in and rescue her before she does anything too crazy.”

“You’re always hovering like I would disgrace myself any minute,” Lexie retorted, sticking her tongue out at her boyfriend. “You should know that I could drink anyone under the table and still walk in six-inch high heels.”

Charlie laughed and nodded. “She’s not kidding. Lightweight isn’t a term linked often to Lexie.”

The conversation in the kitchen and then later at the rec room while playing a few rounds of pool was light, comfortable and fun. It was looking to be a promising start until the doorbell rang and Brenda arrived.

I stood quietly next to Sebastian as the twins came forward to give her an obligatory and perfunctory kiss on the cheek, followed by a polite greeting from Marcus and a mere nod from Sebastian.

Her cool gray eyes narrowed when she spotted me and I forced myself to give her a pleasant smile even as I inwardly bristled at her appraising look. In her navy blue sweater dress, she looked polished and younger than her years, clearly aging gracefully.

“What a surprise to see you here, Sebastian,” she said as we all moved back to the kitchen where Charlie had started with the second dessert he was making for dinner. “Especially with a plus one. I thought this was a family event.”

“It is,” Sebastian answered calmly, the arm he had around my shoulders tightening around me. “Cassandra is family—mine.”

Me and Baby Vice inside me.

Sebastian’s declaration warmed me inside but it did nothing for Brenda’s mood. 

“It’s for family, friends and special someones, Mom,” Lexie jumped in with a roll of her eyes. “No one said you couldn’t bring a date if you wanted to.”

Marcus’s mouth twitched up in the corner as he glanced at me, being the other outsider of this family, and I couldn’t help an honest smile this time.

Despite her statement, Brenda seemed to have no problem with Marcus dating her daughter. After all, he’s handsome, rich, well-connected and famous in his own right.

“I don’t speak for all my siblings but I for one would like to avoid meeting my mother’s boyfriend, if she had one,” Charlie declared with a grimace which caused Lexie to giggle and Sebastian to even smile slightly.

Brenda flushed. “I hate to remind you of your respectful manners, Charles, but they seem to be currently in the gutter.”

Charlie flashed her an irresistible grin. “Just sayin’, Mom. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Don’t worry, Mom. I would love to meet him,” Lexie assured her with a wink. “I’ve picked up a few interrogation skills from you over the years. I’m sure I could scare him off in record time.”

“Alexandra!” Brenda snapped, glaring at her daughter.

Before she could say anything else, the doorbell rang again and Marcus rushed forward to open it.