Page 9 of Masked Love

No naughty thoughts about Xander!

“Want to dance?” he asked suddenly, entirely too close to my ear, startling me and sending waves of goosebumps across my skin despite the heat of my wool jacket.

With a deep breath, I put on my mask of confidence. “Does the boss know how to?”

“I am well-versed in salsa, the tango, and ballroom dancing.”

I stifled a snort. “Of course you are. I’m talking about the chill-out, move your hips, and wiggle your ass where you let go to the beat type of dancing.”

“That’s an awfully long name for a dance.”

I smirked. “Another joke. Who knew Xander Hayes was so funny?”

“I have my moments.”

“So I’m starting to see. Yes, I would love to dance.”

We finished our drinks, and then he took the glass from me, placing both empty drinks on the bar before grabbing my hand again. He led us downstairs to the main room, where there was a small dance floor off to the side.

Before we could dance, we were stopped by a man dressed up like Brandon Lee fromThe Crow, with wavy black hair that fell just below his jaw, wearing that white clown-face makeup, and his costume was all leather. He looked too hot, and I wanted to drag Xander immediately away from him, instantly feeling jealous and insecure. I’d never been cool or looked even remotely that awesome, having always been kind of a nerd. I pushed my glasses up higher on my nose as if to prove that fact.

He stood in front of us, blocking our way, then glanced down at our entwined hands.

“Xander. Who’s… this?” The man sniffed down at me like some rich boy snob from those 80s teen movies I watched entirely too often. This had to be Matthew Preston.

Game time.

“Matthew Preston, this is Greyson Everett. Greyson, this is Matthew.”

I shook the man’s hand before sliding my fingers to Xander’s biceps and pressing my body against his. “Xander is my boyfriend,” I said, marking my territory, only half faking it.

The man raised a black brow, scanning me up and down before he scoffed. “Not likely. You’re not his type.”

“And what would you know of my type, Matt?”

“I’m your type. Your grandfather is right. We’ll make the perfect match. Not you and this man who’s entirely too young for you. Besides, I don’t need or want your money.”

You could see his restraint to keep from calling me something nasty. I bristled. Sure, Xander was out of my league, but who was this asshat to say? “I’ve been patiently waiting for you to make up your mind and tell me when you’re ready to settle down and start dating, but you’ve been ghosting me. I don’t appreciate it.”

Settle down? More like just settling.

“And I appreciate you being patient with me, but since I met Greyson here, we’ve been attached to the hip. Between work and dating, I just… it slipped my mind. I apologize.”

Why was Xander being so nice to his dickhead? He didn’t deserve it.

“I can’t see it. I don’t believe you.”

Xander sighed and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. “Why wouldn’t you believe me?”

I wrapped my arm around his waist underneath his jacket and gripped his shirt. His back was warm from the heat, and it took all I had not to slip my hand underneath his shirt, too.

Matthew folded his arms. “Fine. How long have you two been dating, and where did you meet?”

I looked up at Xander and pecked his cheek with a kiss. Was that too much? Whatever, I rolled with it. “Do you want to tell him, or should I?”

He smirked and kissed my forehead. God, I’d give anything for a real kiss at that point. “I will. It’s a great story.”

Damn, he was a good actor. Were his insides at war as much as mine were? I worried we couldn’t pull this off since Matthew seemed dubious about our mentioned relationship.

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