Page 21 of Bad Boy for Hire
“That sucks.” Xavier’s brow furrowed.
She wanted to kiss him for not saying “I’m sorry.” She’d heard the phrase so many times after she’d lost her mother that it’d practically lost all meaning.
“Two years passed, and it became evident that we weren’t right for each other. I stayed because I was so connected to his family, but that’s not a good reason to stay in a relationship.” She rested her elbow on the edge of the window and watched the passing landscape through the glass. “I don’t know. It was a confusing time.”
“You stayed because you loved his family. There are worse reasons to stick around. Was the breakup mutual?”
“Hmm.” She considered her answer for a beat. “I broke up with him immediately following his sister’s destination wedding.”
“Ouch. Bet that was uncomfortable to attend.”
“You could say that. Prescott was pretending everything was normal after I’d told him how unhappy I was, and I attended solely for his family’s sake. Now, here I am, three years later. Attending a wedding, and enduring being around him, solely for his family’s sake. Thank God he doesn’t have more sisters.”
Xavier laughed.
“What about you? Any past-relationship skeletons in your closet?”
“Oh, yeah.” He huffed. “Not an appropriate pre-wedding story, but I’ll tell you about it sometime. Maybe after several shots of tequila.”
“Give me a hint. I just admitted that I was clingy, needy, and squeezed a free trip to Fiji out of my ex before dumping him on the plane ride home. You gotta give me something.”
“On the plane ride? Brutal!” He was teasing her, and honestly she liked that he’d made light of it. “Long story short, she cheated on me with my boss.”
She sucked air through her teeth. “Did you witness this?”
“’Fraid so.”
She echoed his earlier sentiment. “That sucks.”
“All breakups suck. They’re the death of hope. No way to make that fun.”
She considered how true that statement was. When she’d ended things with Prescott, she’d lost quite a bit of hope. Hope of marrying into his family at the top of the list.
“Today is not about the past, even though you’re going to encounter a bit of yours,” Xavier said. “Do you think he’ll bring a date?”
“Definitely.” There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that Prescott would bring a date for his sister’s wedding. As far as she knew, he was single, but he’d never attend stag. Especially knowing that May would be there. Prescott’s number-one rule was that he was fine. Stable. Him showing up alone would threaten that belief.
“Does that bother you?”
“Only if she’s prettier than me,” May joked.
“Impossible.” Xavier delivered the borderline cheesy comment with sincerity. He wrapped his fingers around hers and kissed her palm before resting their joined hands on her thigh.
She glanced down at their hands, his fingers wrapped around hers. The contrast between him and Prescott was more than their finances or their skin tones. He was a totally different style of man than she’d dated before. Sure, Prescott had been attractive, but he hadn’t been fun like Xavier. And Prescott’s confidence was forced. Xavier’s confidence emanated from him as naturally as smoke from a campfire. He was a man who knew who he was, which was damn refreshing.
“I appreciate you coming with me. Lisa offered, but I turned her down.”
“Showing up with a girlfriend looks like you’ve brought reinforcement. But showing up with me looks like you have a hot date.”
See? No shortage of confidence.
She was smiling when she said, “I guess I’ll stop feeling bad for dragging you to a wedding.”
“Hey, I was the one who asked you on a date.” He lowered his voice to say the word date. “Since you’ve never gone out with me before, I’ll let you know what to expect. I’m fun. I’m chill. I’m capable of entertaining myself. I don’t need to be coddled or checked on. Or paid.”
May put her other hand on her forehead and groaned. “Never going to let me live that down, are you?”
“I’ll keep it up as long as it continues to reveal that shadow of a dimple on your cheek.” He blew out a breath. “Do anything for a glimpse of that.”
