Page 97 of Pervade London
Peering up at him I said, “I know about you and Xavier.”
James filled my glass and then topped up his own. “What do you know?”
My suggestive look told him.
He set the bottle down and leaned over to kiss the top of my head. “He’s in love withyou.”
I felt an odd flutter in my stomach as his provocative cologne wafted towards me, and forbidden thoughts ran through my mind once more. My breath stuttered as though he’d done more than just kiss me. And then I recognized the scent he was wearing—it was the same one that Xavier had once worn.
Knowing that they’d shared the same cologne brought on more feelings of uncertainty. Even when he’d been far away from this man, a part of James had remained in Xavier’s thoughts.
I watched Ballad walk back over to the kitchen counter.
I wish he wasn’t so damn… What was the word?Enigmatic.
He exuded a seductive aura that seeped beneath my skin and made it tingle. Somehow, some way those sensations made their way down between my thighs.
“What are you thinking?” He interrupted my daydreaming.
I swallowed hard. “Are you going to let us continue to see each other?”
When he hesitated, my lips quivered with the thought I was about to lose Xavier all over again.
“Do you forgive him?” he asked softly.
“For leaving me and going back to you?”
“For answering the call to serve his country.” He raised his glass in a toast. “This time as a civilian.”
“You make it sound so noble.”
“It is.”
I sighed. “Thank you for letting me go back to my life.”
“You may take your place in the orchestra. You worked hard to get there. You deserve all the success you have coming your way.”
How nice of him,I thought, managing to avoid an eye roll. “I need to make the final round.”
“You will.”
“And find a place to live.”
He wiped his hands on a cloth and threw it on the counter. “We can help.”
“No, thank you.”
“Why not?”
I nibbled on my bottom lip. “I want to make my own way.”
“Listen, Emily, a love life is incompatible with what we do.”
“It worked for you.”
“Until it didn’t.”
“You admit it?”
