Page 7 of Love's Hot

“Who’s Xavier’s friend that we’re meeting, and is he hot? Is he single? How does he know him, have you met him? Come on, don’t leave a girl hanging.” I link my arm in Alesha’s as we walk back out towards our table. She’s quietly giggling at me.

“I have no idea. I didn’t know anything about it until just now when he mentioned it. So, I’m in the dark like you. We’ll just have to wait to find out,” she whispers as we arrive back at the table.

Like hell I’m waiting, Xavier is about to get the Spanish Inquisition on the way in the cab to whatever bar we decide to go to. Saying our goodbyes to Grant and Zara along with a few little jokes about where they’re going, we head out to flag down a ride across town. Zara suggested a bar called Silver Dome which is classy and has a great atmosphere. As she’s hugging me goodbye, she whispers in my ear that it will be full of sinfully hot guys who are looking for a good time. Half the single dancers in her show party there. I squeeze her that little bit tighter to thank her for the heads up on the potential eye candy.

“Time to spill the beans, Xavier. Who’s your friend we’re meeting? I need to know all the details before I meet him. Come on, tell me everything. Is he good looking? Is he single? What’s he like and how come you only just mentioned this now?”

“Because I knew you would carry on exactly like this. Give the poor guy a break. Can you not go all types of Lilly crazy on him when you first see him? But to answer your questions, he’s just a guy I know, he thinks he’s good-looking—I can’t however pass judgement on that—he’s very single and a good guy. I’m pretty sure you’ll like him, so calm down.” For some reason, Xavier wasn’t looking straight at me when he was talking. I can’t tell if he’s laughing because what he’s told me is crap or he’s just laughing at me asking for details. Seriously, it’s just like having another brother the same as Luke. They’re never too serious and love to make me the center of their jokes.

“I swear to god, Xavier, you better not be making fun of me. I haven’t had enough drinks yet for you to be this funny. I guess I’ll have to judge for myself this friend of yours but I’m thinking if he is anything like you then he’ll be damn annoying. Not sure we need another annoying guy in this little party.”

“Hey, I’ve been on my best behavior tonight. I know your brother doesn’t get my sense of humor so I promised Ally I would be a good boy, well, until now.” He squeezes her hand as she’s rolling her eyes at him.

“Wow, she must have really scared you for you to agree to that.”

“It’s the punishment of what she threatened to withhold which is enough for me to behave.” Xavier starts laughing out loud while Alesha is punching him in the arm telling him to be quiet. I can’t help but start to laugh at them both. They’re super cute together.

“Well, you better listen to me, if you have set me up tonight and then run off and leave me while you two head back to the room, there’s going to be more trouble for you than if my sister was to withhold sex. Got it, funny boy?” I was trying to pretend to be angry and threaten him, but it never works for me. I love Xavier, he does make me laugh although he is annoying at times, but I know how much he loves Alesha and that means the world to me.

“You may be a scary woman, Lilly, but nothing is scarier than Ally and her threats to cut me off. That’s like saying to you that you’re banned from buying any more shoes.”

“Uhh,” I gasped. “Don’t ever swear like that again. You know that’ll kill me. Don’t even pretend that’s a possibility. You will destroy my soul.”

Xavier’s phone signals a message as we pull up to the curb. “Is that your friend?” I smirk at him. Turning to open the door I hear him answer, “Yep, he’s here,” in the background as my breathing stops and my heart slams into my chest as my eyes lock onto him.

The eyes, the smile and a body that sings a tune I can’t ignore.

Holy shit, tonight just got a whole lot more interesting.

Okay, little red dress, time to work your magic.

He reaches for my hand to help me from the cab, pulling me up to be standing straight in front of him.

Shocks race up my arm.

Snap out of it. Time to play, Lilly.

His smile makes me want to melt but I manage to get one word out.

“Kane.”

4

Kane

THERE ARE A LOT of people walking past me, heading inside the bar that I’m waiting for Xavier and Ally to arrive at. I was happy when he mentioned last week that he was heading to New York at the same time I was here training. Nothing better than spending time with friends that you can trust and can completely relax with. Ally is such a sweetheart and we’ve become so close over the last few months. After what we went through when we thought we lost Xavier, we’re closer than most friends. Xavier is our bond. She might be a little quiet, but once you get to know her, she is such a beautiful soul. Total opposite to Xavier but she grounds him. They’re meant to be together which is cool for him.

I hope they don’t take too much longer. Large crowds make me nervous. It’s like I can’t look in enough places at once to watch out for potential danger. Part of who I am, or rather who I have become. Switching the police brain off to just be Kane is hard for me to do. I need to know how much longer they’ll be.

Kane: Where’s your ugly mug, man, how much longer will you be?

Xavier: Pulling up in front of you in the taxi. Looking at your fat head right now.

About time. I walk forward to help Ally out of the only cab at the curb. The leg that slides out of the open door is certainly not Alesha.

Holy shit.

Instinct has me holding out my hand to help the woman from the cab. As she stands, I should have moved back to give her room, but for some reason my feet are stuck in the one spot. Her body is now within inches of mine and I am looking into the face of the sexy sister. The one who’s caught me off guard once before.

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