Page 18 of Tempting All The Way

“No, I won’t. They’ve been trying to set me up with Dominic McKinley. I wanted Xavier there to act as a buffer.”

“Who?” I ask.

“The son of some business associate of theirs from Sydney. Doesn’t matter who he is; he’s a psychopath and I want absolutely nothing to do with him.” She scowls.

Reaching over, I press the pad of my thumb against her mouth. “Stop frowning. You’ll give yourself wrinkles.”

Lucy swats my hand away from her face. “Good. Maybe if I get ugly, Dominic will take one look at me and won’t be interested in pursuing this stupid setup from our parents.”

“Sure, that’s likely to never happen. There’s no way you can make yourself ugly, no matter how much you try,” I tell her.

“Argh, maybe I’ll just call my mum and dad and tell them I’m coming down with the flu or something.” She throws her head back against the couch, closing her eyes.

“If you do that, your mum will be on your doorstep within the hour with a doctor.” I laugh.

Lucy and Xavier really lucked out in the parental department; their mum and dad are both really involved in their lives, especially their mother, Shirley. I lucked out in the mother department too—mine was just taken from me far too early.

“You can come with me. Yes, let’s do that. That way, if I give you the signal that we need an escape, you can say you have to leave and I have to go with you because I’m the driver.” She smiles like she’s just thought of the best plan in the world.

“Sure, I’ll come and have dinner with your parents. But you’re definitely overreacting, Lucy. They’re hardly going to make you date some guy you’re not interested in.”

“Maybe, but they haven’t stopped talking about him and how they want us to meet. And blah, blah, blah. Anyway, it’ll be fine if you’re there.” Wrapping her arms around me, she whispers, “I’m so lucky I have you.”

“Right back at ya, LuLu.” I use the nickname I know she pretends to hate but secretly loves whenever I say it.

“It’s good to see you again, Shar. Come on in. Everyone’s in the dining room.” Shirley smiles at me before giving Lucy the type of look that only a mother can.

“Sorry we’re late, Mum. Traffic was backed up,” Lucy lies. We’re late because, up until we exited the car two minutes ago, she was still trying to find creative ways to cancel.

“Mhmm, I’m sure it was. You look lovely, darling. Come on, let’s eat before everything goes cold.” Shirley turns, leaving Lucy and me to follow her.

I’m entering the dining room, behind Lucy, and ram straight into her back because she halts just over the threshold. “Lucy, what the hell?” I hiss. Stepping past her, I see what has her attention. The dining table is full of people. There’s another family sitting on one side, but they’re not what has my breath hitching at first sight. It’s the one person sitting alone, opposite them. The person who’s not supposed to be here.

Xavier. His eyes travel up and down my body, sending goosebumps along their path. I was not prepared for this. I’ve been mentally talking up what I’m going to say to him tomorrow morning. Tomorrow morning, when I knew I would finally have to face him in the office.

I’m not ready to face him yet. Also, what do you say to your boss after he finger-bangs you in a nightclub, giving you one hell of an orgasm? Is there specific etiquette for that sort of situation?

“Lucy, you remember the McKinleys and their son, Dominic,” her father, Gerry, says.

“Ah, yeah. Hi, how are you…?” Lucy responds, her steps reluctant as she approaches the table.

“Shar, this is Dean and Ella McKinley and their son, Dominic,” Gerry explains as I take my seat. “Shar is a good friend of Lucy’s, almost like a second daughter to us really,” he adds.

Xavier starts choking on something, quickly picking up a glass of water before gulping it down. Ignoring his theatrics, I look to the McKinleys and offer a polite smile. When my eyes land on Dominic, he isn’t looking back at me—no, he’s staring directly at Lucy, who is now sitting to my right. Thankfully, she placed herself in the middle of the table, between Xavier and me.

The McKinley kid’s stare is lethal; it kind of reminds me of a panther. Something hunting its prey. Lucy being his intended target. Intimidating glare aside, the guy is freaking smoking hot. Dark hair, tanned skin like he spends a lot of time at the beach, and tattoos that climb beneath the sleeve of his polo on one arm.

I reach my hand under the table and link my fingers with Lucy’s. She’s shaking. I turn my head in her direction and whisper, “Are you okay?”

“Fine, just bloody fine,” she hisses back under her breath.

Half an hour later, dessert is being brought out. I’ve done my best to avoid looking across at Xavier. It’s not easy but it’s also not that hard, when I’m hyperfocused on Lucy’s reaction to her dinner guest. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her so flustered and fidgety before. Although, if I had the attention of Dominic all night, I’d probably be squirming too. That guy’s intense, so serious. He hasn’t said much. He just keeps staring at my best friend, as if he’s either planning to eat her alive or trying to figure her out. Like she’s a puzzle he can’t quite unravel.

Good luck to him if it’s the latter—that girl is far from an open book.

A plate of chocolate sponge cake is placed in front of me; it’s covered in ice cream and whipped cream. I’m suddenly thankful I tagged along. The Christiansons sure do know how to host a dinner party. I wait for everyone else’s plates to be served to them. As much as I want to pick my fork up and just shovel a heap of this deliciousness into my mouth, I try to remember my manners.

“Triple honey chocolate trifle, as requested, sir.” A waiter places the last plate in front of Xavier.

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