Page 59 of Rules Are Meant To Be Broken

“Why, yes, I did, Smudges. What’s the matter, Smudges? Smudges doesn’t like her new name, eh, Smudges?”

“You’re very annoying when you’re smug.” Hope failed to hide a grin.

Xavier leaned down, whispered in her ear, “You mispronounced adorable,” and kissed her neck.

A faint voice pierced the silence. “Folks, I gotta be packin’ up soon. Sorry to spoil the fun.”

How much had Barry heard? How much had the whole fairgrounds heard? It was irrelevant. Hope was in his arms again, and their road trip was back on. That was all Xavier cared about. He did his best to keep his face impassive with the mirrors ready to betray his true feelings at any moment. No matter how much he wished it wasn’t so, the two of them had a use-by date, an end, a final and inevitable full stop.

As much as he tried to suppress it, the idea pained him. He could never tell her, but he could finally admit the tragic and bitter truth to himself.

He’d gone and fallen in fucking love with her.

He wasn’t best pleased with the idea. Burdening her with that information on top of everything else was out of the question, especially given it was all one-sided. Sure, she liked him, but there was no way she felt the same way he did, not the same gut-wrenching, soul-deep pull. The woman he embraced was so utterly perfect, intelligent, funny, sensual, and breathtaking in every sense. If he told her that, it’d likely send her running for the hills. She already held her whole family’s guilt. She didn’t need his as well.

All he had to do was keep his emotions in check for another week. He would do his best not to let his facade slip if he didn’t want to spoil the finite time they had left.Facadewas probably the wrong word. She’d kill him if she found out he was hiding anything else from her. Armour was probably a better one. Something that would protect her from him and hopefully holdhim together in the long days after she ripped his heart out when she left.

He could keep it to himself for seven more days.

He had to.

Chapter Eight: Kalamazoo, Michigan

Aman who seduces or corrupts a married woman faces five years in prison. It is illegal to serenade your girlfriend in Kalamazoo.

Xavier started singing the moment they entered the lift, something unfamiliar and woefully off-key. The man had many talents. Singing wasn’t one of them.

“Careful there, Surfer-Boy, or you’ll get us arrested before we’ve even arrived at the party.”

“I don’t care.” He aligned her back against his front and hugged in a tight upright spoon. “We’re back together, and that’s all that really matterrrrrrrrs.”

She put her hands to her ears. “Oh, dear lord, please stop singing.”

Thankfully, he did. She turned to face him and raised her hands to straighten his perfectly straight black bowtie.

“Formal wear suits you,” she murmured, grabbing his lapels and reaching up to her tiptoes to press a kiss to his lips.

The urge to brand him, leave a trace of herself on him before they had to be seen in public, was beyond simple craving. She didn’t wipe off the faint trace of lipstick she’d left behind. Smiling in satisfaction, she let go of his jacket and rocked back on her heels.

“Yousuit me,” he whispered, bopping her nose with his fingertip.

This guy. She might as well admit it, she was head over heels in love with him. The knowledge rocked her so much she took a step back and placed a hand to her chest. She should have recognised the signs before, if not for being too busy telling herself it was never going to happen. Turned out the truth didn’t give a shit.

He smiled at her, a goofy grin she reflected back to him before turning away. God forbid he should see the truth on her face. Anyway, this was not the moment for declarations. The doors would open soon, and they would step into another world, a fantasy world where the two of them could be anyone they wanted, as long as they were together.

On cue, the doors opened, and as if they’d rehearsed it a thousand times before, they raised their masks in unison and slipped them over their faces.

Hope silently vowed that for her, this would be the last time. After tonight, no more masks, no more hiding. Xavier had proven himself to be the rock she needed in her life, even if it was fleeting. For that, he deserved the whole truth. Later, when they were alone, she would tell him everything, every last secret in her heart.

If she really wanted to break free of her old self, she’d have to get used to removing her masks. The irony of wearing one while having that revelation was not lost on her. Scary as it was, she was kind of looking forward to it. For the first time someone would see her completely naked, flaws and all. Who better than Xavier for such a momentous event? She’d even tell the big Aussie she loved him, but not yet. They had one more thing to do together first.

She stole one more glance at his gorgeous profile as he strode across the foyer, still unable to believe how lucky she was to have met him. They might not have much time left together, but she planned on making the most of it. After tonight, she wouldhave him all to herself. Tonight, she would share him one last time in order to break one more of his stupid laws. It was after all, the true purpose of their trip, one she was having trouble remembering.

When they’d checked into the hotel that afternoon, they’d noticed a poster in the reception area announcing the hotel would be hosting the twenty-eighth Annual Policeman’s Masquerade Ball that very night.

Emily would have run a mile from such an event. She would never have contemplated crashing it, but Hope, with Xavier at her side, felt capable of anything. Capable and, if she was completely honest with herself, more than a little horny. A heady combination.

She smoothed the ball gown and checked her watch as they strode across the entrance. Beyond the foyer, the main conference room was admitting a steady stream of people dressed in varying interpretations of formal wear. All were wearing elaborate masks.

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