Jasper, relentless flirt that he was, lost focus on the birthday plans and hit on the girls instead. Specifically, on Abbie. I couldn't help the pang of jealousy as Jasper turned his full-wattage grin on her.

“You're looking beautiful as always, ladies. Especially you, Abbie.”

Faith just laughed and shook her head. Abbie blinked at Jasper once, then twice, then said, “Do these cheap lines really work on girls?”

Jasper frowned. “Yes, usually.”

Abbie shook her head. “I'm not sure why. They could use a dose of sincerity.”

I grinned. So, she wasn’t shy or afraid to call things as she saw them. I liked her even more.

Jasper clutched both hands over his heart and pretended to die. “You wound me. That’s okay though. I have thick skin, and I’m not giving up.”

There was no way I was letting Jasper hold too much of her attention. I smiled at Abbie and asked, “Did you girls have fun at the club the other night?”

She chewed on her bottom lip and hid a smile. Good, maybe I had her thinking about our dance.

Abbie stuttered, “Y-yeah, it was fun. I had no idea Jasper was such a good DJ.”

Fantastic. I’d given her the opening to give Jasper a compliment. Moron.

“What’s this about no strippers?” Sophie asked.

Max rolled his eyes. “Lex doesn’t want strippers at his party. We're trying to convince him he's got to do it.”

Abbie met my gaze as she slid into a chair between Faith and Jasper. “Why don’t you want strippers? Aren’t you supposed to want strippers?”

Nick guffawed. “See, Abbie speaks sense. You're a man. There should be naked women there.”

“I prefer any naked women I'm around to be there because they want to be, not because they are allegedly working their way through University or something.”

Abbie laughed and the sound filled my head. “What are you going to have if not strippers?”

Wow, someone who actually cared what I wanted. “Maybe a little poker, some music. Something low key.”

Max tossed a pen at me. “No way, no how, Lex. It's your twenty-fifth birthday. It has to be fun. You can be mellow after this party, but in the meantime, Jasper and Nick and I will plan it.”

“Any chance I'm going to escape it?”

“Nope,” Max said with a grin.

“Fine, I give up.” Through my peripheral vision, I watched as the girls headed up to one of the bedrooms. Try as I might, I couldn't keep my mind focused on the conversation. Eventually, the guys stopped including me and just talked football.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I frowned the moment I pulled it out. Dad had been calling all day. If I didn’t answer now, there was no way the old man would stop. “I'll just grab this on the patio.”