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“How about tomorrow?” Keeley suggests hopefully.
“We don’t have any vacancies, sunshine,” Maxon reminds.
“And no one wants to come to my house.” Griff grimaces. “I have two boys under the age of four and a pregnant woman puking up her toenails. Speaking of which, I need to call and check on Britta. Excuse me.” He pulls his phone free and steps into the house.
“He can stay with Nia and me,” Evan offers. “We have spare rooms.”
“Clint and I have room, too,” Bethany offers, then strokes her still-flat stomach. “But this baby is sapping all my energy. I keep falling into bed, exhausted, when everyone’s toddlers do.”
The group laughs, and the women assure her it will get better.
“He should stay with Noah and me,” Harlow says, then turns to Xavian. “Nolan, our son, is finally sleeping through the night, so it will be restful. And we have the best private oceanfront views on the island…”
Really? How is that possible without a shit-ton of money?
X seems to have the same question and reaches a conclusion before me. “Hold up. Noah…Weston? You’re married to the Noah Weston? The quarterback? The future hall-of-famer?”
“Yep, that’s him. I was never into football, so when we met he was just an oversized jock with an oversized house and an oversized ego. But he’s grown on me a little.” She winks.
Clearly that’s true—since she has a giant rock on her finger, and they have a baby together.
Xavian’s eyes look ready to pop free. “He won’t mind?”
“If he does, I have ways of persuading him.” Harlow flashes a salacious grin.
Her adult brothers collectively groan. Even Oliver starts fussing.
“Ugh, I don’t want to hear that shit,” Maxon grouses.
Griff and Evan both shake their heads, wearing matching grimaces.
Harlow and Bethany laugh. Keeley high-fives her sisters-in-law. Xavian looks fascinated by their interaction.
“What do you say?” Harlow asks him.
“I appreciate the offer. All right.”
Smiling, I clap X on the shoulder. He’s making the right choice. Hopefully, time with his surprisingly big brood of family will be good for him.
Unfortunately, after this mixer is over, I’ll have hours and hours alone with Echo. Plenty of time to fuck up…
“Why don’t you call when you’re ready to come back to the hotel? We’ll pick you up.”
“Or one of us can bring him to you.” Maxon shrugs. “Whatever you want, Xavian. We’re just hoping for some time to get to know you.”
“Sure.” X nods like he’s still processing the fact that, in the snap of a finger, he went from being an only child and an orphan to being surrounded by family. “I’m down for that.”
Immediately, the rest of the big group invites themselves to Harlow and Noah’s place for dinner.
“You ready to head back?” I murmur to Echo.
She nods, so happy for Xavian that she’s wearing her huge heart all over her face. “Yeah.”
We wave to the others, then head for the convertible. Automatically, my arm slips around her waist. My hand affixes to the curve of her hip. And I try to tamp down my dangerous excitement for the night to come, but by the time we’re in the car I’m already sweating and hard.
I need a plan—quick. Going to the mixer will eat up an hour or two of our evening…but then what? Echo and I will be completely alone all night. If I don’t control what we do together and how badly I want her, I could fuck up everything. On the other hand, if I avoid touching her for my sanity, she’ll know I was lying. She’ll feel played. She’ll be mad and hurt. Her confidence will take a blow.
I sigh. I have to tread carefully or I’ll lose my best friend forever.
Chapter Six
“This afternoon was crazy,” Echo remarks from behind the bathroom door.
I glance at my watch. Ten after five. We’re late. Typical Echo. She drives my inner taskmaster insane, but her tardiness is a quirk I’m used to. Sometimes, it’s almost cute…just not when I’m hoping to get some face-time with the big boss. Since he’s based in New York, not the West Coast, my chances to schmooze him are limited.
But Echo has this way about her… It’s almost impossible to stay angry. I always end up forgiving her. The universe does, too, because it frequently rewards her gentle bending of the rules with something fabulously serendipitous.
Taking a deep breath, I force myself to relax. We’ll get to the mixer. It’s not like I’m eager for the actual event. These things are boring, full of windbags, and seem to last forever.
“Insane,” I answer through the door. “What are the odds of Xavian being related to that inn keeper’s husband and having so much family?”
“Right? But I have a good feeling about it. X needs relatives he can count on, and Eryn swears the Reeds are solid.”
“Plus, with Noah Weston for a brother-in-law, he’ll always be popular with the jocks in the office.”
