Crazy Stupid Bromance (Bromance Book Club #3) - Lyssa Kay Adams Page 0,22

the counter. Then she retrieved something from the warming drawer. “I also made a big batch of cheesy potatoes for your mom. And for you . . . ,” she said with dramatic flair as she removed the dome off an opaque cake plate. “Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.”

She’d made his favorite cake for his birthday. The tightness in his chest became a thickness in his throat.

Her smile this time was almost shy. “Happy birthday.”

“It—It looks amazing,” he rasped.

Alexis held his gaze for a moment before doing another one of those half-hearted shrugs. “What’re friends for, right?”

“Lexa—”

She replaced the dome over the cake. “I need to grab my purse from upstairs and feed Beefcake. Do you mind carrying the food out to the car?”

“Sure.”

It took him two trips to carry it all out, and then he waited by the front door while Lexa got Beefcake settled on his perch of discontent on the back of the couch. He held her coat for her, a long, red vintage thing that she’d found in a thrift shop. With a quiet thanks, she waited for him to go out first before pulling the door shut and locking it.

“I found some new music for us to try,” she said as they got into the car.

He checked the mirrors and then pulled his seat belt on. “Plug it in.”

As he backed out of the driveway, Alexis connected her phone to the car’s USB port and then hit play. A folksy, twangy sound filled the car—a harmony of banjos and fiddles and acoustic guitars. After a moment, his thumbs began to beat the steering wheel in time to the banjo.

“I like it,” he said.

She grinned at him. “Good. Because they’re going on tour and coming to Nashville in a few months, and I bought us tickets.”

He laughed. “What if I’d hated them?”

“You’d be too polite to say so and would then endure a horrible concert on my behalf.”

“Accurate.”

She turned up the volume. “This one is my favorite.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her lean her head against the seat and close her eyes. Alexis didn’t just listen to music. She existed in it, lived in it, let it run through her and merge with her cells. The first concert they went to together, he’d spent more time watching her dance than the show itself. Hips swaying and arms raised and eyes closed as if she were alone in the world, dancing without a soul in sight. Which is why she was right; even if he’d hated this new band, he would’ve taken her to the concert. But he wouldn’t have had to endure anything. Just watching her enjoy it would have been enough for him.

The front door flew open almost as soon as Noah pulled into his mom’s driveway. A blur of bright red hair flew down the porch steps.

“Zoe dyed her hair again?” Alexis asked, affection in her voice.

“I’ve forgotten what her natural color is at this point,” he said.

Zoe bypassed his side of the car and instead skipped over to the passenger door.

Alexis opened her door, but before she could even get out, Zoe ducked down with a desperate expression. “Please tell me you brought food.”

Zoe was a vegetarian too.

“Stuffed mushrooms?” Alexis asked.

“Dear God, I love you.”

Noah snorted and told his sister to help them carry in the food. His mom greeted them in the foyer, balancing a large tray of raw steaks. “There you two are,” she said with a warm smile.

Noah bent to kiss her head. “Hey, Mom.”

She handed him the tray. “Just in time, birthday boy. Take these out to Marsh, will you? He’s out back fighting with the grill.”

Noah traded her the cake for the steaks, and then his mom extended her free arm to Alexis for a hug.

“It’s so good to see you,” she said, drawing Alexis in for a quick squeeze. “I’m so nervous, because I made that spaghetti squash recipe you sent me, but I’m sure it’s nowhere near as good as you’d make.”

“I’m sure it’s amazing,” Alexis said.

“She made stuffed mushrooms,” Zoe said with as much lust in her voice as Mack talking about centerpieces.

His mom looked over her shoulder at him. “Go on,” she said with a shooing motion. “Get those steaks on the grill. We girls have to do some talking.”

Alexis met his gaze and tried but failed to hide her smile. He’d just been dismissed from his own birthday party.

Noah turned left into the formal dining room and walked