Page 60 of Passed Ball

"Will you tell me more about those big plans you've got for tonight?" Right there, in a room full of reporters, he puts me on my knees for him like it's the easiest thing he's ever done.

There's no hiding my smile back when I tell him, "Well, you see I've got a to-do list a mile long and I was hoping you could help me with that."

He takes me by the hand, leading me to the hallway outside the locker room, giving us space from the media. His muscles strain against his shirt as he leans in close. "Give me a minute to change." He looks from Holland to me and back again. "I want to get to the list as badly as you, but would you mind if I shower when we get back to my place? I want to get you two home."

"Not at all. Do what you need to, we'll be waiting."

He hands off Holland, disappearing into the locker room to change. It only takes minutes before he reappears, and takes Holland back from me. Our arms brush during the transfer and goosebumps scatter everywhere. It's unnerving how one touch can send me reeling. No one else has ever held this much power over me.

I need space before I forget what this is--before the current of the night carries me away with it. I get it on the drive back to his place, him in the SUV with Holland, me driving his Audi.

But it doesn't last long. When we get back to his house, he pours me a glass of red instead of taking me up on my offer to put Holland down so he can shower.

Then he points to the couch, his tone brooking no argument. "Sit. Your only job right now is to relax for a few minutes. I've got this."

The urge to help is ingrained in my marrow. Years of fighting it has yet to erase my people pleasing nature, but I can tell it would be pointless as he pushes the glass of wine into my hand, so I do as he asks.

"Okay, Áine. Stay asleep like the angel I know you are and I'll get you a pony for your first birthday," Xavier whispers, using a light touch to remove Holland from her infant seat.

The first sip of wine washes over me, warming me as much as the meaning behind his words.

"Bold move. Bribing the baby with a pony."

"Worth it." Those two words and one devastatingly playful smirk make me go from warm to burning up under his gaze as he moves towards the stairs.

Fifteen minutes later, I'm halfway through my glass of wine and almost caught up on my social media scrolling when the sound of footsteps has me looking up.

Xavier stops, leaning against the arched entryway into the living room. The light from the hallway casts shadows around him. He's edible in a pair of gray joggers and a black cotton shirt, but he may as well be naked with the way my body reacts.

"Fuck." He draws the word out, stalking towards me slowly. "You have no right to look as tempting as you do simply lounging on my couch."

"Says the barefoot man in gray sweats." The wineglass at my lips catches the words, muting them. "You're basically a thirst trap with a pulse."

"What was that?" he asks, stopping beside the couch and taking the glass from me, setting it on the coffee table. He's imposing and I can't look away.

I bite my lip. "Nothing, ignore me."

"Yeah, there's no way I could ignore you. Since the second I found you standing in my hallway, you've invaded every spare thought." He sinks down on a knee, leaning over me, surrounding me with his fresh scent.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're a shameless flirt?" My hand falls to the knee that's pressed to my hip. His eyes follow the same path, but he doesn't answer and I can't stand the silence. "Thankfully, you've improved because your first attempt at flirting was brutal."

Something between a laugh and a groan shakes his chest. "Here I was hoping you'd forget about that encounter now that you know me."

My secondhand embarrassment threatens to pull a laugh out of me. Feeling bad, my hand flies up to stifle it.

Fingers circle my wrist, catching it. "That smile is too pretty to hide, even if you're laughing at my expense."

I bite my lip, leaning forward and pulling him closer. "Past Xavier kind of deserved it."

"He really did. I've already apologized but I'm still mortified that I spoke to anyone that way, but even more so because it was you," he admits sheepishly.

"And all is forgiven--it has been for a while. But I'm curious, if you could have a do over, what would you have said?"

His heavy sigh fans across my chest when he drops his head between us. "It's hard to say. I'd like to tell you I'd have charmed you, but what if changing your first impression of me means I don't get Holland--that we aren't here right now?"

"Xavier Kingsley believes in the butterfly effect," I muse.

"I'd believe in almost anything if it means I get to keep all the unexpected joy the last few months have brought me." His tone shifts as he crowds me, wedging his thigh between my legs and forcing me back onto the couch.

---