Free The Luck of Love by Serena Akeroyd Page B

backgrounds, then this isn’t the place for Lexi.
    “Maybe when she hits middle school, we could try again, but I’m not having her hurt because our situation is unusual.”
    “I feel the same way,” she admitted, worrying her lip. “There are online programs. Maybe I could help out. I’m not a total idiot. I did well at school and college. I…I’ve never tutored or done anything like that.”
    “We can see how she gets on. If it doesn’t suit her, then it doesn’t suit her.”
    Tempted by the idea of having her baby at home all day every day, she nodded. It had killed her introducing Lexi into a school environment a year earlier than necessary. Lucas had told her it was important Lexi get used to being separated from them before it adversely affected her at school.
    But it sucked.
    She knew most mothers had separation issues at first, that it was only normal, but it did lighten her mood to know her little fairy would be dancing around the house a while longer.
    She doubted Lucas would be as content as she.
    He was a firm believer in education. And had Lexi been a boy, she had no doubt the child would have followed the same rigid path Josh and Luke had traversed.
    Academy after academy, until they hit adulthood and had to go to West Point.
    She was kind of glad Lexi was a girl.
    Two soldiers in the family was quite enough. Not that girls couldn’t be soldiers, but Lexi was a lover, not a fighter.
    The same could be said for Luke.
    He was in the armed forces because it was what the boys did in his family. It was tradition. But he was here, now , all these years later, when his other brothers had long since retired to “civvy street,” because he was a peacekeeper.
    She prayed to God Lexi went down the hippie route rather than the soldier route.
    Having Luke deployed was a nightmare, but her baby girl?
    Hell, no.
    Looking down the hallway, she noted there were two swing doors with window panels in them. She peered through them, eventually spotting Lexi with her teacher, Miss Green.
    They both wore smiles as they walked, but Lexi’s eyes lit up when they glanced over her parents.
    Once Miss Green had opened the door, Lexi ran to Gia, then squeezed her legs, only to hurry over to Josh, who immediately hefted her up into his arms. Setting her on his forearm, he asked, “Short stuff, do you feel like breaking out of this joint?”
    “Please, Daddy,” Lexi murmured, ducking her head with a coyness that made Gia’s lips twitch.
    “Since when were you a shrinking violet?” Josh rarely beat around the bush.
    Lexi peered around, then whispered something in his ear. Whatever it was, it made him grunt and grab Gia’s hand. As a trio, they made their way out of the building.
    She and Josh nodded at Lexi’s ex-teacher while their baby girl shyly waved farewell. They strode out of the building and headed for their cars. They’d arrived separately, Josh with his aide-de-camp and Dana, his PA, and after Gia had dropped Lexi off, she'd waited for Josh to arrive so they could go to the appointment with the school together.
    “Mommy, did you tell Daddy we were getting a dog?”
    She blinked at that, then hid a smile when Josh frowned at her. “Technically, I said I would talk to Daddy about it, Lexi. I never said it was a definite thing. You know they make him sneeze.”
    “But I asked Miss Green again this morning, and she said poodles are hi-po-ller-gen-ic.”
    Out of habit, Gia corrected Lexi’s mispronunciation. “That’s true, but we still don’t know what Daddy’s reaction will be to them.”
    Josh sighed. “I’ll ask Dana.”
    “You’re whipped,” she whispered when he lowered Lexi to the ground, swinging her around a little to make her squeal with laughter.
    “No, just glad to get her out of this place. Do you know what she said to me?” He watched as Lexi ran over to greet Dana and Matthew.
    “What?”
    “That Mrs. Jacobie had told her she was to stop being a troublemaker. She spoke to her this