Page 25 of Real Shadows
Xander stepped to me, and a small part of me almost stepped back, but I stood firm and held his gaze. “What are we if we’re not friends?” He stuffed his hands in his pockets like they’d be safe there. “For fuck’s sake, Fallon, we live together.”
“You let me stay with you, Xander,” I corrected. “That’s not the same as living with someone. And, with that, I’d say we’re more roommates than we are friends.”
“Oh, really?” The irritation was plain as day in his voice.
“Yeah, really,” I said with just a little bit of bite. He was being ridiculous. “I can count on one hand what I know about you, Xander. I know your name, what you do for a living, that Trevor is your best friend, and that you’re single. Four things, Xander. I knowfourthings about you.”
He gave me a tight nod, but he looked upset. “Yeah, well, you want to know what I know about you?” He didn’t let me answer. “I know your name, what you do for a living, that Karla is your best friend, and that you’re single. But I also know that you’re not a morning person. You prefer tea to coffee. You’re neat and clean up after yourself. You like to read murder mysteries. You can cook, but what you really like to do is bake. I know you have a smile for everyone you meet even after what you’ve been through and are going through. I know you hate to wear shoes and prefer to be barefoot or in socks. I also know you’d wear pajama pants all day if the world would let you.”
His rant was like a kick to the chest. This entire time while I’ve been doing my best to stay out of his way while I got my life on track, Xander’s been paying attention.
Paying attention tome.
“Xander-”
His hands came out of his pockets, and he reached out to cradle my face. “Go to dinner with me, Fallon,” he commanded instead of asking. “Go to dinner with me tomorrow night.”
My answer was going to change everything, but there was only one answer I could give him. This was abadidea, but the word that came out of my mouth was, “Okay.”
Chapter 16
Xander~
She had said yes.
I hadn’t really planned on asking Fallon to dinner, but when she called us roommates, that hadn’t sat well with me. For weeks, I’ve been noticing everything that made up Fallon Reese without suffocating her and giving her room to get her life together, and it stung when she admitted to not knowing anything about me. Here I had been thinking I’d been just taking things slow, but she had made it clear that we hadn’t even moved from where we were the day I met her.
And now, we sat across from each other at Dailies, waiting for our orders and, hopefully, becoming more than friends. Because I really wanted to be more than friends with Fallon Reese.
“So, you said you only knew four things about me,” I reminded her. “What more do you want to know?”
She didn’t pussyfoot, which I appreciated. Life was always easier with a straight shooter. Less confusion that way, more hurt feelings, perhaps, but less confusion. “Let’s start with your family,” she replied telling me a lot more about her than I already knew. Most women would want to know about my business and how cozy my savings was. At least, that’s been my experience when trying to date seriously.
“My parents passed a few years ago,” I answered, and her face immediately softened. “They died in a car accident.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“Thank you,” I replied. “The construction company was my father’s, and when he died, I came home to take over.”
“Were you close?” The question was asked with enough sincerity in her voice that it felt like she was asking because she genuinely wanted to know.
“We were.” And we really had been. I had great parents. “It’s the reason I gave up life in the big city in suits and ties to come back.”
She cocked her head to the side. “No regrets?”
I shook my head. “None.” And I meant that.
“No siblings?”
“No. My mother had a couple of miscarriages after I was born and my dad hadn’t wanted more children at the risk to my mother’s health, so they shut down shop and went to just raising me.” I leaned forward. “What about you?”
Before Fallon could answer, the waitress came with our meals. Once everything was situation to start eating, she answered, “My parents were killed in a car wreck, too. A drunk driver.”
It was something I wasn’t expecting, but it was something that connected us. “An inexperienced winter driver is what caused my parents’ accident.”
Fallon took a bite of her seasoned salmon before asking, “What were their names?”
My lips curved upward. I loved how she was asking for details. “Daniel and Sela Raynes. Yours?”
