The Do-Over (The Rooftop Crew #5) - Piper Rayne Page 0,76

after we have sex to show her the room I transformed for her. “I pay.”

She presses the button on the elevator, humming.

Seth’s apartment door opens down the hall, and he and Evan come out with Jax as Seth says, “I’m gonna record this because it’s gonna go viral.”

Everyone gets on the elevator, including Jax and his big-ass plastic container of shirts. When we get to the first floor, I find my mom waiting at the elevator.

“Mom?” I ask.

“Hey, Mama Whelan. I got something for you.” Jax kisses her cheek, sets down the plastic container, and hands her one of the T-shirts.

She reads it and beams. “I’ll be proud to wear this.”

“Um. No.” I snatch it and toss it back into the container.

“That’s not nice. I’m proud to wear something Kamea designed that advertises Jax.” She grabs it again before Jax shuts the container. “You look very beautiful,” she says to Kamea.

“Thank you, Peggy. Knox is taking me on a date.” Kamea slides her arm through mine.

Although Kamea talks to her brother, her parents haven’t come around. My mom says we should just book plane tickets and go down, but I’m not sure that’s what’s best for Kamea. To my mom, family is everything, so I don’t think she understands how Kamea’s parents have gone so long without being in contact with her.

“Why are you here?” I ask my mom.

“I have a letter. Jolie’s.” She digs in her purse and holds it up. “I’m sure Frankie would want to know what Jolie asked Santa for, and I forgot to pass it on at the shelter that night. When you were younger, you’d change your mind the day before Christmas and I’d end up chasing the item down anyway so you’d believe in Santa.” She looks at Kamea. “Glad those days are over.”

“Come with me. I’m showing off my shirts to Frankie. You can give her the letter then,” Jax says.

“Oh, that’s nice.”

“Yeah, Frankie’s going to kick him in the balls,” Seth adds, his phone poised and ready.

“Well, let’s go see the show before we head out,” Kamea says.

I shrug. “Great idea.”

We all cross the street, Kamea and Evan talking about Sweet Infusion. Kamea still does the coffee shift in the early hours, and she’s done T-shirts for Rian and Jax. Kamea’s even done shirts for Evan and Seth’s moms’ bagel store that say, “Bagel plus Schmear Equals Best Friends.” She’s doing well. Pretty soon she’ll be buying me things.

The detective job is awesome, although I miss Patrice. Her artificial insemination worked and though it’s early she’s opted for desk duty until the baby pops out just to be on the safe side. I couldn’t be happier for her. Finally, after all these years, everything is fitting together and I’m not looking for anything to drop.

We walk into Ink Envy. Frankie is behind the counter, her phone out in front of her. Dylan’s in the back, tattooing someone presumably, and Rian is up front with Blanca and Ethan. Sierra went to Sandsal with Adrian.

“Who wants one?” Jax swings a shirt around like a lasso.

Frankie rolls her eyes. “I don’t want anything from you.”

“Oh, come on. Sit in my chair and you get one of these for free.” He points at his T-shirt.

Seth is giddy with anticipation. I groan and shake my head.

Frankie’s eyes narrow as she reads. “Fucking hell, I’m quitting if you hand out those damn things.”

Surprisingly, she doesn’t say much else. Usually she’s ready to take him by the jugular.

“Frankie.” My mom heads over to her. “Jolie left this letter for Santa with me on Thanksgiving at the shelter.” She hands her Jolie’s letter to Santa.

“Thanks so much. She told me she wrote Santa and gave it to Knox’s mommy because she knows Santa, but she wouldn’t tell me what she wrote. She refused to write another letter because she said he knows what she wants.”

We all laugh, and Frankie opens the envelope, pulling out the letter with a drawing. She reads it, then narrows her eyes and reads it again, losing some of her color.

“You have to be shitting me?” Frankie says, dropping it on the table.

“What? Something expensive? I’ll get it for her,” Jax says, picking up the letter. He’s sure got a soft spot for that kid. He reads the letter and drops it as though it’s on fire.

His gaze falls to Frankie, and she cocks her jaw and nods.

“What’s so bad?” My mom picks it up and reads it. “Ah, this is so cute.” We all