Page 36 of And the Best Man Ran Away With the Groom

I gesture for him to take a seat on the small couch, and I sit on the floor in front of him. It’s not the most comfortable I’ve ever been but it’ll make it easier for him to get at my hair.

“I’ve never brushed anyone’s hair before,” he warns me. “I might be really bad at it.”

“You’ll be fine. The trick is to do it in little bits until you get the knots out.” I demonstrate by grabbing a bit of my hair and running the brush through the bottom half to smooth out a tangle.

“There are knots?” Xavier asks, eyes wide with obvious apprehension.

I shrug. “Well, yeah. It’s just been washed. And I forgot to brush it out before I got in the shower so it’s probably a bit more tangled than usual. But seriously, don’t worry. It’s not like I’m asking you to amputate an arm. It’s justhair.”

“But I don’t want to hurt you…”

I offer a soft smile and reach up so I can drag his face down toward me for a kiss. “You’re not going to hurt me.”

I draw back from him and slap the brush into his hand before turning around and waiting for Xavier to get to work.

He’s insanely gentle as he starts to brush my hair; methodical in the careful way he untangles every knot, delicately brushing through each section until it’s completely smoothed out. I sort of want to tell him to be mindful not to let the knotty parts get too dry, ‘because that’ll only make things worse, but he’s already anxious enough, there’s no need to pile on.

Once he’s finally done, he sets the brush aside but runs his fingers through the strands, over and over again as though he can’t get enough.

“Mmm…that feels good.” I let my eyes fall closed as I revel in the sensation of Xav’s fingers caressing me.

“What do you do now? Dry it?”

“I’ll just let it dry on its own,” I say. “Probably tie it up again later.”

“How did you get it all smooth and sleek like it was at the wedding?” he asks, clearly curious.

I let out a wry chuckle. “My sister did it with her hair straightener. A bit over the top, I know. I looked like Fabio.”

“You looked hot,” he assures me. “I kept wanting to run my fingers through it.”

I glance back at him in time to see a furious blush colour his cheeks.

“I know. I was supposed to marry someone else that day. I shouldn’t have been perving on you.”

“Hey, perv on me all you want,” I say easily. “You’re allowed tolook.Besides, you didn’t end up getting married. Nothing happened between us until you were well-and-truly single.”

GLOSSARY

Pashing - Making out

Icy pole - Popsicle

Buggered - Tired

Perv on - Check out

18

Xavier

Iwake to the disorientating sounds of groaning and grunting coming from somewhere in the general vicinity of the bed. With a soft grumble I let my eyes flutter open and scan my gaze around the bungalow, looking for the source of the noise.

“You know, if you were ready to go again you could have just woken me up,” I say wryly when I spot Trent sprawled out on the small couch, eyes fixed on the screen of his laptop.

“I’m researching,” he explains.

My brows shoot up and I can’t help letting out a soft breath of laughter. “Sounds like fun research.” Dragging myself from the bed, I pad across the bungalow toward Trent, leaning over the couch so I can get a glimpse of the screen. “Yep. Definitely fun research,” I say with a grin when I spot the video of two guys going at it in the doggy position.

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