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Tori: You could never be useless!
Xander: Come out with me then?
Tori: Where?
Xander: Anywhere!!! Let’s get out of here for a while?
She stared at her phone again. Of all the things he could have said, that was the one guaranteed to get her to agree. She longed to get out of here – off the estate, leave Napa behind for a little while. Well, she’d love to leave Napa for good, but it’d hurt too many people’s feelings when she admitted that – and left – so she was biding her time.
Tori: Okay.
Xander: I’ll be there in fifteen.
Tori: Make it half an hour?
Xander: K. What are you doing?
Tori: Hiding down by the creek. I need to get changed.
Xander: No you don’t, you look gorgeous just as you are.
She looked down at her cutoff jeans and shabby old T-shirt and laughed.
Tori: You haven’t seen me. You don’t know what you’re saying.
Xander: I have and I do! Get moving, see you in 25.
Tori: Ok.
~ ~ ~
Xander shoved his phone back in his pocket and headed for the stairs. Tori didn’t need to change out of whatever she was wearing – no matter what she said. He didn’t need to see her to know that.
But since she’d no doubt attempt to make herself look presentable as she saw it, he should probably at least check the mirror. He loved the way she looked when she was just being herself. She wore jean shorts and faded old T-shirts and when she paired them with the little cowboy boots that she generally favored, she drove him out of his mind.
Since they’d been back here in Napa, she’d taken to dressing more conventionally. She was still hot – she’d be hot in whatever she wore, as far as he was concerned – but she wasn’t as comfortable, and that dimmed her light.
He stood in front of the mirror in his bathroom and ran his hand over his cheek. He should probably shave, but the memory of her running her fingers over his stubble with a little smile on her face as she told him that it suited him made him think better of it.
He changed his T-shirt and swiped on some more deodorant before running back down the stairs. He skidded to a halt in the hallway when Jacob stuck his head out of his study.
“Do you want … oh, are you on your way out?”
“Yeah.”
“Where are you going?”
“Just for a drive.”
Jacob stepped out into the hallway and cocked an eyebrow. “A drive?”
“Yeah.” Xander had a feeling that his brother knew exactly how he felt about Tori, but he hadn’t brought the subject up yet – and now wasn’t the time to get into it.
“I was going to ask if you wanted to come out for dinner later. Becca just talked to Piper. Apparently, she and Cam and some of the others are meeting up at Molly’s to eat.”
“I’m good.” He’d love to go and have dinner with them all – he’d love even more to be able to take Tori. But if they went, they’d be there as friends. She’d give him a wide berth. He wanted to hang out with her, be alone with her. He wanted things to be like they were in Nashville. He wanted more than that if he was honest – but he sure as hell didn’t want less.
“Are you doing okay?” Jacob asked. “You’ve been unsettled since you came home.”
