all that much. But I had felt guilty for leaving some of my responsibilities behind. Despite my protests, Lex ended up buying the town a brand-new plowing truck and he’d made sure there would be someone there to help out the residents of Fisher Cove in my place.
The only thing that had been left to deal with back home had been Brewer.
But Lex had taken care of that too because about a week after we'd arrived in Argentina, King had brought Brewer to us on Lex’s private jet. Not only did the husky adore Emma, he’d become an avid fan of the water.
The necessities hadn’t been all that Lex had taken care of. When he’d learned that the Mick who wasn’t the mouse was performing a concert in Florida, he’d surprised me with tickets. He’d called it a very belated and very well-earned birthday present. It had been one of the best nights of my life.
As grateful as I was to Lex for taking care of everything, it was difficult for me to accept that he was paying all our bills, but when I'd brought the issue up with him and told him I'd pay him back for everything, he’d pretty much lost his shit. But not in a freak-out kind of way.
I found myself smiling as I remembered Lex's response when I'd suggested he keep track of the expenses so I could reimburse him.
"For future reference, Gideon," Lex had snapped as he'd pointed at his face. His very pissed-off face. "This is my are-you-fucking-kidding-me face." After he'd thrown my own words back at me, he’d stormed off to our bedroom and locked the door. I'd been forced to video call King to ask him how to pick the lock, since just shoving a paperclip into the doorknob hadn't worked. The man who would someday be my future brother-in-law had enjoyed himself just a bit too much as I’d explained my predicament to him. But the spy shit had worked and I’d managed to get myself back in the bedroom where it had taken a lot of apologies and several rounds of vigorous make-up sex to get back in Lex's good graces.
Lex had been so focused on taking care of me and Emma that things with his own family had fallen by the wayside. He'd kept tabs on Gio’s progress through King, but the longer it had taken us to get settled, the more nervous Lex had gotten about seeing his brothers and telling them the truth about his condition. He’d also felt extremely guilty for having disappeared for so long, especially during a time when he felt like his family had needed him the most.
I held some guilt for that myself because I knew part of the reason Lex hadn’t gone home any sooner was because he hadn’t wanted to leave me. And for that, I was extremely grateful. There was no doubt in my mind that I wouldn't have been able to handle my reunion with Emma on my own. Hell, without Lex and his brother, I never even would've known that Emma needed me.
I hadn't been in touch with Emma's grandparents at all, other than through my lawyer who'd informed them that I would be seeking full custody of my daughter. The fact that they hadn’t responded in any kind of way had only served to piss me off even more. The mere idea that they’d placed more importance on my daughter’s sexuality than her safety had made me want to punch something repeatedly.
Except not something so much as someone.
"Should we check in with the girls before we go in?" Lex asked.
When I’d told Emma I was returning to the US with Lex, I'd asked her if she wanted to come with us. She had, but she'd also asked if she could bring her girlfriend, Natalia, with us. Natalia, who was a year younger than Emma, was a sweet girl who lived with her grandmother. I'd gotten the impression that Natalia hadn't had the best life growing up, but I hadn't asked Emma for too many details. It was clear to me that the girls truly did love each other and I wasn't about to judge whether it was just the love of a couple of teenagers or something more. God knew that I'd found my soulmate at a time in my life when I’d least been expecting it.
"I'm sure they're stuffing their faces with room service and painting their nails or something," I said.
Lex rolled his