Not directly anyway. She smiled at something or someone over Alexis’s shoulder. “I brought a friend to meet you, Mom.”
“A friend?” Alexis whispered.
“Well, bring her on in,” the woman said.
The snap of the recliner sent the air out of Alexis’s lungs in a single, panicked exhale. How the hell was she going to get out of this now? She squeezed her eyes shut against the next sound—footsteps.
“Welcome,” the man said in a gentle voice.
There was no way out of this. Alexis turned around—and found herself once again staring into eyes exactly like hers. He wore a gray sweater that was probably once a perfect fit, but illness had made the shoulders droop and the hem hang long. He extended his hand. “I’m Elliott.”
Alexis looked disbelievingly at Candi. “Are you kidding me?” she hissed. “You didn’t tell them I was coming?”
Elliott lowered his hand, confusion tugging his eyebrows together.
Candi finally found her voice. “Dad, this is . . . this is Alexis.”
Elliott offered his hand again. “Nice to meet you, Alexis. Candi so rarely brings anyone over anymore now that she has moved—”
Alexis cut him off. “Alexis Carlisle. That’s my name.”
Elliott blinked several times, staring at her with a sudden intensity that made her squirm and want to laugh at the same time. Then his Adam’s apple bobbed with a nervous swallow, and she decided to go all in.
“I believe you knew my mother, Sherry.”
Elliott pulled his hand away and turned a hard eye toward Candi. “What did you do?” he asked in a fierce whisper.
“I had to, Dad.” Candi’s voice cracked.
The tension from the kitchen must have drifted into the sunroom, because the older woman stood up. “Is everything okay?”
Elliott turned around. “Everything’s fine.”
No one bought his reassurance. One by one, Lauren, Cayden, and his wife—whatever her name was—all turned their attention to Alexis and stared.
Candi started to answer in shaky word fragments. “She could be a match, Dad. For a kidney.”
Lauren gasped and surged forward. “What? Oh my gosh. Candi, this is your friend? Why do you think she could be a match?” Her ballet flats made delicate tap-tap sounds on the hardwood floor as she walked into the kitchen.
Cayden and his wife picked up on the excitement. Each came rushing forward with a child on their arm and matching expressions of hope on their faces. Alexis groaned and looked at Candi, whose skin had gone unnaturally pale.
“I know you didn’t want me to contact her, Dad, but—”
“Why wouldn’t you want Candi to contact her?” Lauren asked, her joy from just moments ago now replaced with confusion. “What is going on?”
Tears formed in Candi’s eyes. Oh, brother. Alexis held up her hands. “Okay, listen. Maybe we should save this for another time.”
Elliott schooled his features into something reasonable, something deceptive, as he faced his wife. “Probably a good idea. We don’t want to get too excited. I doubt some random friend of Candi’s is a match.”
Some random friend? His words ricocheted through Alexis like an errant pinball, bouncing off vital organs and shredding what was left of the wall around her heart. The crack became a chasm, and it quickly filled in with a feeling she thought she’d buried through therapy and time. A feeling she’d never hoped to feel again after she exposed Royce. It was a desire to hurt someone the way they’d hurt her.
“Oh, I don’t know, Elliott,” she breathed, regretting the words she hadn’t even yet spoken but unable to do anything to hold them back. “From what I’ve heard, your children are often the best match.”
“Excuse me?” Cayden said, his gaze darting back and forth between Alexis and his father.
“What is she talking about, Elliott?” Lauren asked.
“Dad, please, let me explain.” That was Candi.
Cayden exploded this time. “What the hell is going on here?”
Alexis looked to Candi for help, but she was staring at Elliott, who was too busy looking guilty as fuck to be of any use.
“Seriously?” Alexis finally blurted at Candi. “You’re going to make me do this?”
“I—” Candi could barely get a word out.
Oh, for God’s sake. Alexis tossed her hands in the air. “Congratulations, it’s a girl.”
The sarcasm missed its mark. They stared in silence, except for Elliott, who was boring a hole in the floor with his averted eyes.
Alexis sighed and groaned at the same time. “I’m his daughter,” she said. “Surprise.”
She could have tossed a grenade in the middle of the room, and it wouldn’t have done as much damage as her words. There were shouts and hands