Page 11 of The Devious Husband

“Bold of you to assume I’m capable of thinking straight when she’s near,” I mutter as I rise to my feet. My sister audibly sighs as I close the distance between our table and Sierra’s.

“Sierra,” I say, my tone filled with venom I don’t truly feel — never toward her. “A word, please?”

She looks up, seemingly disinterested, but her eyes give her away. There’s anger in them, but there’s pain too. Valeria was right. I fucked up. “No,” she replies, her tone sharp.

“Please,” I beg, my voice breaking.

Something shift in her expression, and her fiery eyes soften. She sighs and throws Graham a sweet smile before slipping out of her seat wordlessly. Much to my surprise, she follows me out quietly.

“What do you want?” she asks the moment the restaurant manager’s office door closes behind me. She sounds tired, not a hint of her usual provocation in her voice, almost like dealing with me is a minor inconvenience.

She leans back against the closed door, her expression betraying her impatience, like she wants me to just get to the point so she can go back to Graham. Blinding jealousy takes hold of me as I cage her in against the door with my forearms, barely an inch between us. “Did you come here on purpose?” I ask, my voice strained. “You’re in my restaurant. Tonight, of all nights, when you knew I’d be here.”

Her eyes flash the way they do when I’ve infuriated her, but instead of the tirade I’d expected, she merely inhales deeply, her shoulders sagging. “No, Xavier,” she says, her voice soft, her tone defeated. “It’s a coincidence. How could I have known where you’d be?”

I place my index finger under her chin and force her to face me. She’s never this restrained when we’re alone. Normally she’d already have turned the tables and put me in my place. Sierra grabs my wrist, and for a moment, I’m certain she’s about to push my hand away, but she merely holds it in place, our eyes locked.

“Tell me why you’re here with him,” I ask, voice barely above a whisper. Her eyes roam over my face, searching, but what for I’m not certain.

She hesitates, and my heart begins to race. “Same reason you’re here with her, I’d warrant.”

“Just a friendly, completely platonic, non-romantic dinner, then?”

She raises a brow mockingly and part her lips, a sharp retort no doubt on the tip of her tongue, but then she snaps her mouth closed and nods. “Sure.”

“Sierra,” I warn. “There isn’t much that I won’t let slide when it comes to you, but there are lines you shouldn’t cross. Eat with him if you’d like, but you’re leaving with me after. I’ll drive you home myself.”

Her eyes soften just a touch — anyone but me would’ve missed it. My heart skips a beat when she gently cups my cheek, her eyes roaming over my face with a hint of the same longing she showed me when I kissed her. “Xavier,” she whispers, leaning in until her lips brush over my ear. “Go to hell.”

She pushes against my chest and walks away, leaving me staring after her. “I’m already in hell,” I whisper, knowing I have no right to stop her.

Eleven

Sierra

I glance at the folder in my hands one last time before I step out of my car, my mind made up. I’ve deprived myself of some great business opportunities in the last couple of years, all because I’ve been avoiding Xavier.

“Sierra,” Graham says as I walk into the building the auction is being held at. He smiles at me sweetly, a pleased look in his eyes. “I wasn’t sure you’d come.”

I raise a brow and shake my head. “I promised you I would, didn’t I?”

Graham nods, his gaze searching. “I suppose you did.”

Did he truly think I wouldn’t show up today after we crafted this proposal together? He leads me toward the boardroom, and I can’t help but overthink his reaction. What signal have I been sending the industry by walking away from purchases the moment I knew Xavier was interested in something? Have I made myself, and thereby my family and business, look weak?

“Ready?” Graham asks, pausing in front of the door.

I hesitate when I hear Xavier’s voice through the door, his words muffled. It’s been so long since I faced him head-on at an auction, and truthfully, I don’t want to walk into that room. I don’t want to compete with him the way we used to, when nothing feels the same anymore. There is no friendly rivalry anymore — just bitterness and a plethora of other feelings I don’t quite understand.

“Ready,” I murmur, before pulling the door open and walking in, Graham by my side. All five people in the room look up, and though I feel his gaze burning on my skin, I try my hardest not to look at Xavier. I’m done acknowledging his presence, but I’m done avoiding him too.

“Sierra Windsor,” says Lena, the owner of the plot of land the mall is being built on. She sounds equal parts surprised and impressed, and the way she smiles at me tells me I’m at an advantage here, though why, I’m not quite sure. “I didn’t realize you were interested in this development.”

I smile at her as Graham pulls out a chair for me, and I sit down. “I am,” I tell her, before glancing at Graham. “We are.”

A hush falls over the room, and at last, I look up, into those captivating brown eyes that haunt me at night. “We?” Xavier repeats, his tone filled with indignation.

I smile at him sweetly and look away, not bothering to answer. Graham, however, smirks as he leans back in his seat and places his hands on the table, his pinky brushing against mine.

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