AllFreeNovel
Share Us
For once, I didn’t have a sarcastic reply.
“That…” I cleared my throat of its hoarseness. “That sounds nice.”
We filled our plates with food and settled on the mattress. He’d pushed it up against the low brick wall so we had back support, but a mountain of pillows softened the hard surface.
The opening credits rolled across the screen. I tried to focus on the lead actors’ names instead of Xavier’s presence.
We weren’t pressed against each other, but we were close enough that every time one of us moved, something grazed.
His arm against my shoulder. His leg against my knee.
His hand against my thigh.
Moments of contact so brief they barely counted as touches, but so potent they wreaked havoc on my body. My entire right side tingled from his proximity, and awareness pulsed to life in my veins.
We were on a New York rooftop in late October, and I was burning up. It wasn’t because of the heat lamps or the blankets; it was because of him.
“I’m surprised you scheduled this for Halloween.” I made conversation simply to divert attention away from the rapid patter of my heartbeat.Get a hold of yourself, for Christ’s sake.“There are dozens of parties tonight.”
“Those are boring. This isn’t.”
“You would rather watch a rom-com about a witch and a plumber falling in love than attend a costume party with celebrities?”
“One hundred percent. As long as I’m watching it with you.” His answer came out so casually, it took a second to register. Once it did, the patter morphed into a full-blown marching band, drums and all.
Damn him.
Tonight was supposed to be an obligatory date. I wasn’t supposed to like it this much.
You know you have to actually give him a chance, right?
Vivian’s gentle reminder from our happy hour yesterday floated through my mind.Don’t go through the motions waiting for the trial period to expire. It won’t be fair to either of you.
I hated when other people were right.
“What about you?” Xavier asked. “No Halloween plans with the girls?”
“No. They’re with their families.” A small pang hit my gut. “Vivian and Dante took Josie to this Halloween thing at the zoo. Kai and Isa have aMode de Vieevent, and Dominic and Alessandra are at Valhalla’s fall gala.” Kai and Isabella technically weren’t married yet, but they might as well be.
I was the odd one out. I didn’t mind it; I would rather be single and content than in a relationship and miserable. But there were slivers of time when I wondered how it would feel to exist in the world knowing there was someone who loved me totally, unconditionally, and whole-heartedly for who I was instead of who they wanted me to be.
“Speaking of Dante, did you figure out why he’s on the inheritance committee?” I asked, eager to think about something—anything—else.
“No, I haven’t spoken to him yet. I’ve been focusing on next week’s meetings.” Xavier’s leg brushed mine again, and there was that stupidzingagain. He glanced at me, the moving images onscreen throwing his features into light, then shadow, then light again. “He did a lot of business with my father, so I assume that’s part of the reason.”
“Maybe. I can ask Vivian—”
“Luna.” He gently hooked his pinky around mine beneath the blanket, and my knowledge of how to breathe evaporated. “This is a date. No more work talk.”
“Right.”In and out. You know how to do this.“Are you ever going to tell me why you call me Luna?”
“One day.” His dimples winked into view. “If you’re really nice to me.”
I tamped down a smile. “I’m nice to you right now.” “You forgot a word.”
“Reallynice. What does that entail, a blow job?”
My quip trailed off when I realized my mistake. Discussing blow jobs with Xavier?Bad idea.
