Lost in Your Eyes (MxM)

Chapter 4: Party for Two

He gave a warm laugh as he replied, "Little Adder, I wouldn't miss it for the world."

To say I was shocked was an understatement. I took Larks as a man with a bur up his ass, twenty-four-seven. But yet, here I was, witnessing this soft, teddy-bear side of him I never expected to see before. And it was only my fourth day on the job. I'm going to pretend I didn't just hear Preston refer to his sister as a snake. If I wasn't so caught off guard, I might have laughed.

I was pulled out of my reverie by a pair of arms caging me tightly. I wheezed at the impact of the hug, just barely catching myself before I toppled over. I managed to return the gesture and choked in surprise as my attacker pulled away.

Well, hello there Preston 2.0...

"Hi there! Aren't you just the cutest! Pretzel, where'd you pick this gumdrop up? I just wanna squeeze him!" Larks' sister reached out and pinched my cheeks, tugging on them gently as the man in question let out a quick, 'You just did,' under his breath.

My expression must have been one of mortification, because the woman started to giggle.

"Oh, don't worry, bunny. I'm not always like this. It's the pregnancy hormones. Hello, I'm Addison. Preston's twin sister. But you can call me Addie."

"Adder, don't scare the poor kid," Preston's voice was warm and playful, a side to him I wasn't sure even existed on our first encounter. It brought me out of my reverie and crash-landed me back into reality. Heat waves fanned out across my entire body and my cheeks flushed. No doubt they were turning red as a tomato, but I was grateful I could blame it on Addie's odd personality rather than the affect my boss had on me.

"Nice to meet you, Addie," I forced a smile, despite my annoyance to how my body was reacting to the man beside me these past few days, "I'm Alex." I reached forward and shook her hand, but she only enveloped me into another hug.

"Oh, my goodness, you're the sweetest thing. I'll call you Lexi. Can I call you Lexi? Is that okay?"

Beside me, Preston laughed, "Addie, you're going to traumatize the kid, let him go."

Addison stuck her tongue out at her brother. I don't know why that small gesture made my heart squeeze. She seemed like the only person who still treated him like he was a whole person, not the ruined shell of a man he once was.

"Way to ruin a girl's dreams, Preston," she scoffed and walked back toward the party. But I knew she wasn't really mad because seconds later, Addison turned and beckoned us to follow with a giddy smile.

I took Preston's hand and placed it back on my shoulder, accepting her invitation to step further into the party. Saying there was a crowd at this party was an understatement. Too many people to count, and Addie seemed to know every single one of them. It was surprising how one person could remember the names of more than one hundred people. I could barely remember my own name sometimes. But she was as graceful as a wildflower in a calm breeze, flitting between each guest with that infectious smile never straying from her lips.