What she had once wished for would never happen, and she had to give up the notion that there would ever be anything between them. Her heart had been locked down years ago and damn her for thinking she could open the lock a tiny bit.
She reached over, placing her palm on his shoulder. “Let’s get her home and to bed. I just texted Paxton to ask him to order food. We’ve got some talking to do.”
Chapter 20
When Braxton and Paisley arrived back at his home, Emmersyn was wide awake. But this time, she wasn’t crying. In fact, aside from her puffy red face you would have thought she was the happiest baby there was.
After a bottle and a diaper change, Paisley rocked her back to sleep and placed her in her crib. Braxton watched in amazement.
Now they all sat at the kitchen table, boxes of their favorite Chinese food opened in front of them. Braxton and Paxton didn’t hesitate to dig in, but Paisley hadn’t touched a single thing. This was going to be an uncomfortable conversation to have at any time, but now, she just wanted to get it over with.
Paisley took a small sip of her water. No time better than the present. “Ahem.” She patiently waited, but neither of the boys gave her a second glance. “Ahem,” she grunted out, a little louder this time, which garnered her Paxton’s attention. But Braxton seemed to be lost in his own little world. Paxton motioned for his sister to continue and, rather than clearing her voice, Paisley spoke up loud and clear. “Brax, there’s a reason we came by tonight.”
Braxton’s fork stopped midway to his mouth; he slowly lowered it before resting it on the plate in front of him. “And here I thought you just wanted to spend some time with me,” he replied half-heartedly. Neither of the twins smiled at his joke and Braxton knew something more was up.
“Brax,” Paisley started, but then the enormity of what she had to tell him set in. Her eyes glistened with moisture; the tears ready to spill over. It didn’t take Braxton long to push away from the table and kneel before her.
“What is it, butterfly? What’s got you in such a tizzy?”
Paisley raised her right hand and began fanning her face quickly, hoping to stop the tears before they fell. “I got a call from Alissa’s parents.” Her voice cracked as she spoke.
Braxton stood quickly and pulled out the chair beside her, giving her his full attention. “Go on.” His voice was deeper than normal.
“They’re having Alissa’s body flown back to New York.” She paused for a moment to give Braxton an opportunity to express his feelings, but he didn’t. When it was apparent that he had nothing to say, she continued, “That’s not it, Braxton.” A single tear fell down her face. She could no longer hold back her emotions, no matter how hard she tried.
“I didn’t figure it was.” There was bitterness in Braxton’s voice. Deep down, he knew the worst was yet to come. That tidbit of information could have been shared over the phone. He hadn’t expected that Alissa’s family would allow her to be buried out here since they weren’t officially married yet and he had no right to ask that of them.
Paisley reached for a napkin and dabbed under her eyes. She was finding it hard to keep the tears at bay now. When she was done, she cleared her throat, trying to remove whatever it was that was blocking her air—only she couldn’t. How did you take away something that wasn’t physically there? She knew it was just a side effect of her anxiety over having to share the next bit of information with him.
“Bonnie wants custody of Emmersyn; she’s claiming she is better suited to raise her grandchild.” There, she had said it. She’d torn the Band-Aid right off and let the words fly.
Braxton jumped up, causing his chair to fall over. He began to pace, while his hands pulled at the sides of his hair. “No!” he barked out. “No fucking way in hell are they getting my little girl. I may not be the best for her, but she’s mine, goddamnit, and I’ll fight for her.”
“Already on it, bro,” Paxton said with a smug look on his face. “Paisley’s already hired you Samuel Travis.”
Braxton stopped in his tracks when he heard the name. Anyone in the entertainment business knew that name. Samuel was the Dalai Lama of lawyers, representing the elite for their divorce and custody battles.
His lips pursed and began to tap his index finger against them in rapid succession. His best friends watched him, waiting for the moment he lost it and started screaming.
It never happened. Instead, it was quite the opposite. Braxton’s once rigid and tense body relaxed as he stared out the window in contemplation.
Paisley had expected his reaction to escalate further, so she was surprised he was looking so calm.
He turned away from the window, his face blank. There was no indication that he was still angry, nor that he felt anything at all. His friends watched him as he moved slowly back to the table, still expecting him to blow up. When he reached them, he took a seat across the table from Paisley and resumed eating. He was silent and neither of the twins knew what to make of it. They shared a glance with one another.
Paxton’s eyebrows raised in question as he stared at his sister. Paisley shrugged. She had no idea why he was acting so calm when he’d just been given the worst news any father could have received.
“Braxton.” Paisley waited until he gave her his full attention. “Why are you so calm? They want custody of Emmersyn.”
“I heard you. I also heard Paxton say you’ve hired me Samuel. It’s
