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"The best favors to call in are those where both parties mutually benefit."
"Are we talking about sex again? Because this sounds an awful lot like we're talking about sex again."
He smirks again. "We're not talking about sex, kitten. Get your mind out of the gutter. We're talking about favors. I run a multi-million-dollar company. Trust me when I say you win more battles calling in mutually beneficial favors."
I sigh, rolling my eyes heavenward to glare accusingly at the sky. "Really, Baby Jesus? A millionaire? It couldn't be a normal grouch? It had to be a hot, grumpy millionaire?"
"I've reduced you to talking to God now, huh?"
"No." I sniff. "I'm talking to his baby son."
A broad grin spreads across his face.
"Stop looking at me like that!" I cry.
Somehow, his grin only grows.
"We're still blocking traffic. We should go," I say, desperate to flee before I kiss that stupid smile from his face. I want to do it. I ache to know what his lips would feel like pressed to mine. It's the most irrational, illogical desire. I barely even know this man. He certainly doesn't know me. Yet I like him far more than I should.
His gaze flits to the road, his smile slipping. "Shit," he mutters as if he forgot all about the accident and why we're standing on the side of the road.
I take the opportunity to put a little space between us, hoping he won't notice.
He does.
He whips his head in my direction, his eyes narrowed on me.
"Dinner," he growls. "Tonight."
Crap. I can't go out with him. Mostly because I really want to go, which means it's a terrible idea for a laundry list of reasons that begin with I'm lying to him and end with the fact that I've never dated and still have my V-Card. Not to mention, I need to lay low, not run around town with someone way too closely connected to Adalynn for comfort. We're in the six-degree of separation zone here. That's the danger zone. But I can't tell him all of that without sounding like a crazy person. And I've made myself look crazy enough for one day, thank you very much.
Instead, I glance around, desperately seeking an excuse—any excuse—to get me off the hook. When one doesn't immediately materialize out of thin air, I grasp for the next best thing. A diversion.
Downtown Silver Spoon Falls is lovely. Shops and buildings line Broadway. The sun shines brightly overhead. Traffic creeps by as townspeople head off on weekend errands. But there are no diversions at hand.
Luckily for me, I'm fully capable of creating my own. I've been doing it for exactly my entire life. It comes with the territory when you have four sisters and tend to get yourself into trouble simply by existing.
"Look!" I cry, pointing down the road away from our cars. "It's my little turtle friend!"
Xavier turns in that direction, scanning for the turtle in question.
As soon as he does, I take off in a sprint toward my car.
"Kitten," he growls behind me. "Stop."
I ignore him, racing as fast as my legs will carry me, which, admittedly, isn't fast. Somehow though, I make it to the car and manage to throw myself inside before he catches up to me. He arrives at my door just as I hit the lock, safely securing myself inside.
"I'm spanking your sexy ass when I find you," he growls, his face a thundercloud.
"Sorry! I can't hear you," I call pleasantly. "Too much traffic." I start the engine and throw it into drive, sending up a silent prayer of gratitude that the light is green. For once in my life, something is going in my favor. "I swear I'll pay you for the damages to your rental, but I have to go."
"You're going to pay me with my hand on your ass," Xavier growls.
I shiver, not sure if that's a threat or a promise, and then pull off. When I glance in the rearview, he's still standing where I left him, staring after me. Even through the mirror, the heat of his gaze scorches me.
"This is bad," I whisper to myself. "This is so freaking bad." And for the first time in my life, I can't even turn to my sisters for help figuring out what I'm going to do. I'm completely on my own…and that's entirely my own fault.
Argh! Why can't I just be normal for once in my life?
Chapter Three
Xavier
"The rental doesn't look that bad," Tate says, eyeing me across his back deck. "So why are you so fucking moody?"
"Who says I'm moody?"
"Uh, Scout? She called you cranky and suggested naptime," he reminds me.
Samara presses her face to Tate's shoulder, trying to stifle her laughter. I try to glare at her but fail miserably. I can't even be mad. Their not-even-two-year-old did call my ass cranky and ask Samara if I needed a nap. My own niece called me out. I thought my sister-in-law was going to collapse from laughter.
