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“I know you, Gia. You’re not the kind of girl who can sleep with a guy without catching feelings. And I don’t think that’s what Xander is after with you.”
Gia’s temper sparked. “Mark, you don’t know a thing about me and Xander, so I’d appreciate it if?—”
“He’s using you. And I don’t want you to get hurt.”
She crossed her arms. “You don’t have to worry about that,” she replied, though there was a big part of her that knew heartbreak was imminent at this point. Xander would return to Dallas, and she’d be left to lick her wounds. She was willing to deal with that because, God, every single second she spent with him would be worth a few tears later on down the road.
“I’ve been wondering if you and I made a mistake when we?—”
“We didn’t.” She cut him off quick. “We didn’t,” she repeated, desperate to make him understand that even if she couldn’t have Xander for the long haul, that didn’t mean she was willing to return to “just fine” with him.
“Gia, please. You and me…we worked together. You know we did,” he insisted. Unfortunately, Mark wasn’t finished pleading his case. He reached out, grasping her hand, holding it tight when she tried to pull it back.
“There you are.”
Mark and Gia both jumped, Mark releasing her hand when Xander stepped next to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and pulling her close.
“Hey, Xander,” Mark said, not quite looking Xander in the eye.
“Mark.” Xander’s tone was quiet but laced with a warning her ex didn’t miss.
“Think about what I said, Gee. I’ll see you around.” Mark beat a ridiculously, almost comically quick retreat. Gia would have laughed if she wasn’t so…happy, relieved, surprised, and slightly annoyed to see Xander.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
Xander twisted her around until she could see the dance floor. He pointed to Gus, slow dancing with Alison, even though it was a fast-paced song.
“I held him off as long as I could. Alison’s texts were becoming concerningly less coherent by the hour.”
“She’s been texting him?” Gia asked, aghast. “Damn, she must’ve been doing that in the bathroom. I should have taken away her phone.”
“You could have stashed it safely away with yours. Did you leave it at home?”
She shook her head, pointing to her purse hanging off the back of the chair. “No, it’s in there. Why?”
“Because you didn’t reply to any of my texts asking if Alison was okay. If you had, I probably could have talked the groom off the ledge.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, oh, Miss Maid of Honor.” Xander glanced over his shoulder to where Mark had returned to his booth. Darlene had returned from the bathroom and was now sitting next to him…or actually half on his lap.
“Did I interrupt something between you and Mark?”
Gia started to say no but decided there was no fun in that. “Why do you ask? Are you jealous?”
Xander turned, gripping her hips and pulling her chest flush to his. She shivered when his breath tickled her ear. “No.”
She pulled away so he could see her exaggerated pout. “Not even a little?”
He shook his head. “I have no reason to be jealous.”
“Why not?” she forced herself to ask playfully, though his words stabbed a little. Why would he be jealous when his feelings aren’t engaged?
“Because I’m the one taking you home tonight.”
“Are you sure about that?” she threw back, though really, who was she fooling? Six days with Xander and she was a damn sex addict.
“Very,” he kissed her, hard, “sure.”
