Page 111 of Changing Rules

Marco stops abruptly, and so do I. I skirt around him, and there she is.Holy shit. She’s beautiful no matter what she wears. In pajamas, in my T-shirt, the modest dress she wore the other night. But right now? She’s absolutely stunning. Her dark blue dress sparkles as she moves, the fabric hugging her body like a glove. Her shiny dark brown hair, her sapphire eyes, her slightly upturned nose, her full red lips, her fit body, those long fucking legs?—

Focus, Xander. Focus.

“Wow.” Josh whistles, stopping beside me.

I squint at him, hands clenched into fists.

Grinning, he shakes his head. “Like I said, Isabella is beautiful, but I was talking about the girl dancing with her. Do you know her?”

Relief washes over me. “That’s Jess,” I say. “I’ve known her forever. We were neighbors when we were kids.”

Jess and Bella are dancing while Meg sits on a nearby couch, sipping her drink. She’s scanning the crowd with her legs crossed, the top one bobbing to the beat. When her eyes meet mine, she spits her drink back into the glass. When her gaze shifts to Marco, her eyes narrow to slits.

Shit.

“Hey, babe.” As if Marco has no idea she’s seething, he saunters over and plops himself down on the couch beside her, draping an arm over her shoulders. “Thought we’d join you for a fun night out.”

“Hi.” Josh greets her with a polite nod and sits on the couch that’s perpendicular to theirs.

I dip my chin. “Hey, Meg. You look great.”

“Thanks.” She pushes Marco’s arm away. “Why are you here? It’s supposed to be agirls’night.”

“I’m a very jealous person; you know that.” He tips his head, grinning at her. “I didn’t like the idea of my girl going out alone, especially when she’s angry with me.”

Her lips quiver like she’s suppressing a smile. When she turns to me, her expression hardens. “And why areyouhere?”

“To keep Marco company,” I reply, settling beside Josh.

Marco nods, not bothering to hide his shit-eating grin. “Yeah, my boys are here to keep me company. That’s it.”

With a roll of her eyes, Meg goes back to sipping her drink.

As I watch Bella, the fluttering in my chest intensifies. She hasn’t noticed me yet, and I really want to change that.

So, with a deep breath, I stand and stride toward her. I stop a few steps behind her, and when Jess notices me, she freezes, her jaw dropping.

I let my gaze travel down my girl’s form, and, clearly sensing my presence, she shivers as she slowly turns to face me.

“Hey.” I smile, searching her face.

She’s wearing more makeup than she usually does. It makes her blue eyes look like fathomless pools.

“Hi.” She tilts her head to the side. “What are you doing here?”

“Keeping Marco company,” I tell her. “Since it’s my fault Meg is still giving him the cold shoulder, when he invited me, I figured it was my duty to accept.”

“So you’re here because you’re a good friend?”

“Yup.” I nod. “And maybe because I miss you.”

The corners of her mouth tip up. “You’re unbelievable.”

“I think ‘determined’ suits me better, no?”

In answer, she shakes her head, though she doesn’t break eye contact. The air between us is charged. If I touched her right now, I could guarantee I’d get shocked, so I stuff my hands into my pockets.

“Okay,” Jess drawls. “I think I need a drink.”

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