Paxton found humor in watching his best friend being completely head over heels stupid about the beautiful redhead sitting beside him. He’d come to the realization that Alissa was equally as beautiful on the inside as she was on the outside. Positivity radiated from her. It didn’t matter what the topic of conversation; Alissa only had good things to say. Unlike his sister.
Paxton tried to determine what was wrong with Paisley, everything about her was out of character. She spoke when others talked to her, but she hadn’t initiated any conversation throughout the night. He’d never seen her act this way before, and it had him concerned.
Determined to find out what was bothering his sister, Paxton leaned over in his chair and whispered in her ear, “What’s wrong with you? Why are you so quiet tonight?”
Paisley shrugged, appearing hesitant to say too much. “No reason. Just don’t have much to say.”
“That’s a first.”
Paisley quickly turned in her chair, her face beet red. If she had been a cartoon, Paxton was sure there would be smoke billowing out her ears and the top of her head would have popped off. Even though he knew he had hit a sore subject with her, he wasn’t prepared for the punch that she landed against his arm.
“Ouch. That was uncalled for.” Paxton rubbed his shoulder, trying to relieve the stinging sensation that was running down his appendage.
“Paxton,” Alissa addressed him. “You have an amazing sister. I don’t know what I’d have done if she hadn’t befriended me.”
Alissa looked over at Paisley with a smile that stretched from ear to ear. Paxton nudged his sister’s leg under the table, hoping to pull her out of her distracted state while he acknowledged Alissa agreeing that his twin was a wonderful human being.
Both Paxton and Alissa waited for Paisley to acknowledge the compliment Alissa had given her. But when she didn’t, Alissa quickly reached across the table, placing her hand on Paisley’s wrist. “Paisley, is something wrong?” Alissa asked.
When Paisley didn’t respond, Paxton nudged her, and she caught on to her brief twilight zone stint. “Yes, I mean. No. I mean, everything is fine. Sorry. Just got a little lost in thought there for a moment.”
Paxton noticed that his twin was fumbling for words and wondered what was wrong with her. However, the answer seemed to appease Alissa, who continued on about how much she appreciated his sister.
Paisley, still oblivious to the conversations going on around her, waived over the waitress who looked as if she wanted to be anywhere but here tonight. “Is it still happy hour? You know, two for one and all that?”
The less-than-pleasant waitress acknowledged Paisley's question with an extremely short and simple “yep.” She clearly was not wanting to spend any more time than necessary at their table. Her sour face got even tighter as she eyed the table across form them, which held four very muscular dudes wearing matching baseball shirts.
Paisley snapped her fingers several times in an attempt to draw the waitress’s attention. “Excuse me.” Paisley’s expression was anything but pleasant; if daggers could shoot from her eyes, the waitress would be dead by now. Paisley barked out “Focus your attention over here please.”
Paxton had never seen his sister act this way. She had never been downright rude to another human being, no matter how upset she was. He vowed that before the evening was out, he would get to the bottom of her mood.
Without hesitation, Paisley tossed out her order. “I’ll take four whiskey and Cokes, please. You seem to be preoccupied with . . .” She looked across the aisle and then back to the waitress. With the dumbass ballplayers across the way so it will just be easier on you if you don’t have to keep coming back.”
The whole table went silent. Apparently, Paxton was not the only one questioning what was wrong with Paisley. Braxton raised a brow to her, but as he opened his mouth to speak, she raised her palm and pushed it toward his face. Maybe it would work… Paxton searched the solemn faces around him. He wasn’t the only one questioning what was wrong with Paisley. Braxton raised his brow at her and opened his mouth. Not a good idea, man, Paisley lifted her palm and pushed it toward his face, effectively stopping whatever he would have said. Brax looked pissed but remained quiet. That’s it, buddy. Don’t poke the bear.
Chapter 6
Paxton, Paisley, and Braxton had been to some wild parties in high school, but Braxton had never seen her drink as much as she had tonight. When his little pint-sized friend ordered four whiskeys, he knew something was up. Still he wasn’t going to pry. She’d tell him when the time was right. At least, he hoped she would.
What he hadn’t expected was the anger that brewed inside him when Paisley downed an additional two more after she finished the first order. He had prayed that Paxton would say something to his sister, but as he waited and waited for that to happen, it never did.
Now, he was forced to be the responsible one of the group and call Paisley out. He shook his head just the tiniest bit at the irony that he was the authoritative one for a change.
“Hey.” His eyes locked onto hers across the table. “Maybe you should slow down some.” Her eyes widened, she pursed her lips together and drew in a deep breath at his comment. He decided to quickly defuse the situation so as not to spoil the evening for everyone else. “Or maybe I’ll just mind my own business.”
Several hours passed, and Paisley had obviously taken his words to heart. She had slowed down and was sipping her last drink.
By the time everyone was ready to leave, Paisley could barely stand without falling over. Her legs wobbled beneath her, forcing her to reach out for something to
