Page 59 of Waiting for You

"And what does the winner get?" Xavier challenged.

"The winner gets this spectacular fruit bowl," I offered, deadpan.

"Or," Andrew countered, keeping his blue eyes on mine, "the winner gets a kiss on the cheek from Sloane."

The table plunged into silence.

Xavier turned his gaze back to Andrew. "A polite kiss on the cheek from Sloane Ty is a lot less enticing than you seem to think."

Andrew threw his head back and laughed. "Please. I'm aware you two share a romantic past."

Xavier whipped his head to glare at me.

I offered an unapologetic shrug. "He asked me. I handed him the truth."

"We share a past," Xavier clarified to Andrew, his voice dangerously low. "That doesn't mean anything exists now."

"Doesn't that tension make this more interesting, then?" Andrew goaded. "A little healthy competition. Let's see what happens."

Xavier dragged his dark eyes back to my face. The muscle in his jaw flexed once, then released.

"Fine," he accepted, cold. "We should compete."

They slammed their elbows onto the table and locked their hands together, and I sat back to watch the testosterone spike. Xavier held still for a long, calculating second, measuring his opponent's grip. Then they started. I ate a piece of pineapple and watched the struggle, yelling sarcastic encouragement to no one in particular. It was a dead heat for a long stretch, muscles shaking, veins popping, and then it was over. Xavier won, slamming Andrew's knuckles against the tabletop.

I shot to my feet.

"That was a truly incredible display of masculinity," I cheered. I put both hands on Xavier's shoulders and squeezed. "You should be celebrated. Someone needs to organize a ticker-tape parade immediately."

Xavier looked up at me with his chin tilted back, his mouth pulling at one corner. "A ticker-tape parade."

"At the minimum," I confirmed.

Andrew laughed, massaging his sore wrist. "I need to hit the gym when we get back. That was clarifying."

We all shared an easy laugh.

Andrew's phone went off in his pocket. He pulled it out, checking the screen. "Work emergency. Give me a second." He stood and walked toward the edge of the terrace.

Xavier and I were alone at the table.

I slid the fruit bowl across the wood toward him. "Your hard-earned winnings, champion."

"I didn't do any of that for a piece of fruit."

"Then what'd you do it for?"

He fixed me with a dark look. "You know what I did it for. I want to know what you meant earlier on the platform. Nobody's going to be able to pry you off me."

"You're just fishing for me to say something inappropriate."

"You fired the first shot. You can't grab the wheel and swerve on me now."

A breathless laugh escaped me despite my best efforts.

"Tell me what you meant," he said, leaning forward, resting his forearms on the table with his dark eyes fixed on my face, refusing to rush it.

"You should know by now," I murmured, my voice dropping, "that I'm not as obedient as you seem to think."