Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
By midweek, May was back in the swing of her normal routine.
Work, lunch, home.
Dinner, chores, bedtime.
She’d calculated her next period, counted out the days, and had stopped worrying about the possibility of being pregnant. Almost.
Losing herself in her assignments at work had helped.
On Friday morning, Xavier texted her and mentioned a new drink on the menu and asked if she’d like to come in and sample it that night. Bring the girls. Drinks on the house!
Just seeing his name on her phone’s screen caused her heart to lift into her throat before cannonballing to her belly. Memories of everything that had happened last weekend soaked into her brain. The kiss at the Bluffs, what he looked like naked, being in his bed with the full moon overhead…
The night had been nothing short of amazing, which was saying something considering she’d spent the majority of it with her ex-boyfriend’s family. It felt like two days ago and two months ago, simultaneously.
She’d texted Lisa, Lou, and Elliott to ask if they wanted to come with her tonight.
Lou and Elliott had plans, but Lisa—May’s tried and true—promised to meet her there.
She also promised to keenly observe Xavier’s behavior.
May hadn’t asked her to do that, but she wouldn’t ask her not to do that either.
Lisa would be able to tell if he was acting weird.
May would likely be acting weird herself, so her radar could not be trusted.
By midafternoon, May was watching the clock on her computer screen and wishing it would move faster.
“Three o’clock is the slowest hour of the twenty-four.” Her boss, Jewell, leaned into May’s office and smiled.
“What would I do for three hours if I left now?”
Jewell, wearing a beautifully tailored pair of grey-blue wide-leg palazzos and a cropped white tuxedo-style jacket, sashayed into May’s office with confidence. At six feet tall, wearing four-inch heels, the powerhouse CEO looked like she’d stepped out of a fashion magazine.
“What happens in three hours?” Jewell cocked her head to the side, one box braid sliding over her shoulder.
“Happy hour with my friend Lisa.”
“Is that what has you perched on the edge of your chair like a canary about to enter a coal mine?” Along with being a powerhouse unafraid to take up space, Jewell was also unafraid to shoot straight.
“Xavier will be there.” May had mentioned her crush on the tatted bartender with the reddish hair and beard to Jewell before.
“When are you going to let yourself go out with this guy?” Exasperated, Jewell slumped on the corner of May’s desk. “Go get what you want. If it’s Xavier, have him!”
It was on the tip of May’s tongue to say she’d already had him, but if she said that, she might say more.
Jewell tapped her chin with one long, rhinestone-studded pink fingernail while she thought. May admired the holographic shimmer on the other woman’s high cheekbones. She narrowed her eyes, a force to be reckoned with. “You’re off-kilter. Why? I know you’re not overworked.”
No, that was last week. Zest was in the middle of finalizing a new launch.
The office had been a zoo, with people staying late into the night to make the deadline.
This week had been the opposite. At three in the afternoon, the office was tomblike.
Other than Jewell and May, there was only one other employee in the office, clacking away on their keyboard.
“What did I miss?” Jewell asked. Then her expression melted into one of concern. “It’s not your mom’s birthday or—”
“No, nothing like that.” Mother’s Day was challenging, and the holidays weren’t exactly fun, but May had been in a good place lately.
As tall and confident and boisterous as Jewell was, she’d always led with tenderness. The woman wasn’t afraid to take up space or be seen, but she also wasn’t afraid to be vulnerable and sensitive. For that reason, and about a dozen others, she was May’s heroine.
She was also as tenacious as a terrier. May would have to give her something.
“I went to my ex-boyfriend’s sister’s wedding last weekend.”
“That was last weekend? I didn’t know my ass from my elbow last week. But I’m here now. Want to talk about it? What was he like?”
“He was…Prescott. He introduced me to his fiancée.”
“No!” Jewell covered her mouth with both hands. “What was she like?”
“A fairy princess.” May waved a hand in front of her like she was sprinkling pixie dust. “Who was wearing a massive diamond ring.”
Jewell tsked.
May decided she’d rather end the conversation on a high note, so she admitted, “Xavier came with me.”
“Ohhhh, say more!”
May briefly summarized the wedding, spending more time describing Xavier’s outfit: tooled-leather shoes, suit, vest, and jacket.
“I love a man who can dress. Did he kiss you?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Yes!” Jewell punched the air before offering her palm for a high-five. “And you’re seeing him tonight?”
“Yes.” May swallowed past the lump in her throat as she feebly slapped Jewell’s palm.
A dab of concern seeped into her boss’s expression. “You haven’t spoken to him since the wedding?”
Since the morning after, but that also felt like too much to share. She couldn’t be sure, after dealing with the potential consequences of last weekend, that she wouldn’t keep on talking and reveal more than intended.
“No.” May shook her head.
“Here’s what you do.” Jewell leaned with both hands on the desk.
“You walk into the bar tonight wearing a great big smile and when he looks your way, give him a little wink, like this.” She demonstrated and then stood up like a shot.
“We have to find you an outfit for tonight. Off to the sample room!”
Before May could argue, she was being pulled across the office and into the back room to select an outfit that was, according to Jewell, “fire.” She wasn’t going to argue.
If a new outfit would make her feel like her old self—comfortable in her own skin with a deep knowing of what she wanted, she’d be in excellent shape.
May pushed open the door to Salty Dog, nerves fluttering to life. She swept her gaze left then right but didn’t see Xavier. Cheyenne spotted her and waved her over.
“Hey, hon. How’s it going?”
“Good, thanks.” May liked Cheyenne. She was open and friendly and exceedingly comfortable behind a bar. “Xavier asked Lisa and me to come out and sample the new drink on the menu.”
“He told me. It’s his night off, but he’s here. And he requested to make your drinks personally. Get comfy. Be right back.” Cheyenne slapped the flat of her palm on the bar top and then walked back to the kitchen.
May scooted onto a barstool and crossed her legs.
It wasn’t hard to feel sexy and empowered in the outfit that Jewell had chosen for her.
She’d picked out a pair of wide-leg jeans with frayed holes in the knees, a pair of pointed-toe calf hair flats, and a black cropped suit jacket.
The outfit’s best feature was one Jewell had insisted on—a partially transparent lace corset.
It pushed up May’s breasts and had peek-a-boo cutouts beneath the opaque cups.
It would have been over the top if not for the grunge-style denim and flats. Jewell was a freaking genius.
“Let him see what he’s missing. And if you want him to fall under your spell, lean forward and jiggle a li’l bit,” Jewell had said with a laugh.
May hung her designer leather bag—from her own closet—on the back of the barstool.
She folded her hands over her crossed knees and kept an eye on the door for Lisa.
Her friend blew through the entrance not even a minute later, still dressed for work in all-black.
Her suit-style pants were wide-legged, her long-sleeved top clingy and tight, accentuating her boobs.
“How is it that you are almost entirely covered up but look twice as sexy as me?” May asked as Lisa closed in for a hug.
“Are you fucking kidding me? You look incredible.” She opened one side of the suit jacket to admire the corset. “Xavier’s going to die.”
“I’m going for incapacitated.”
“You overshot it.” Lisa settled onto her own seat.
Cheyenne returned, Xavier behind her. May’s heart did that lift-and-drop thing it’d been so fond of lately. The organ was like an elevator in need of maintenance.
“Wow.” Xavier’s beard shifted when he smiled. He took her in, unable to hide his appreciation. She wondered if, like her, he was mentally replaying their night together. “This outfit might replace the yellow romper as my favorite.”
“That romper is technically mustard,” Lisa interjected, reminding both of them she was sitting there.
“It’s technically mustard yellow,” a low voice announced. Griffin stood between Lisa’s and May’s barstools. “Hello, ladies.”
“Hi, Griffin.” May offered a smile.
“We match.” He tugged on his black suit jacket and gestured to his jeans—though they were dark and hole-free. “I changed out my corset at the last minute. That would have been awkward.”
May laughed on cue, and Griffin gave her a heartthrob smile.
His gray-blue eyes seemed to be hiding both secrets and pain, while his full top lip boasted a perfect cupid’s bow.
His pronounced five o’clock shadow gave him a rugged look, making him appear dangerous.
Not in an embezzling-funds way, but more in a let’s-stay-out-late-and-do-bad-things way. Fun bad things.
It was impossible not to like him, not that Lisa had made such a request of her friends.
“A T-shirt is a true classic.” May gestured to the dark navy blue tee beneath his jacket.
“I like to impress the ladies. Even the ones who pretend not to be impressed. Hi, Lisa.” He turned his attention to her purposefully. May covered her lips with her fingers to stifle a laugh.
“Greetings and salutations.” Lisa gave him a plastic smile and then turned to Xavier. “You look nice too, Xav.”
“I was hoping someone would notice.” He gave May a purposeful side eye as he ran a hand down his black button-down. The sleeves were rolled to his forearms, partially revealing the tattoos on one arm. His dark jeans and boots had just enough wear so as not to look brand new.
“You look very nice,” May told him.
“I was promised free drinks,” Lisa said.
It took Xavier a beat to pull his attention from May. “So you were.”
“What’s he doing here?” Lisa directed that question to Xavier but nodded at Griffin.
“Griff has a refined palate.”
“She knows that.” Griffin, his long eyelashes shadowing stormy eyes, glanced down at Lisa, who actually blushed.
“It’s an Autumn Appletini,” Xavier said as he began pouring liquor into a shaker. “Bourbon, apple juice, cinnamon syrup, bitters, and a squeeze of fresh lemon to wake it up.”
May had always been mesmerized by the way Xavier moved behind the bar. He was precise, confident, in complete control. He poured with practiced ease and returned the bottle to its home the same way. Then he raised his arms and began to shake, his gaze on May as his forearms flexed with the motion.
Her mouth went dry.
He sliced a red apple into thin half-moons, his long fingers as steady as ever, and then dropped a slice into each glass. He passed Lisa and Griffin their drinks, then rinsed the shaker with a flick of his wrist that was somehow exceedingly sexy.
“There’s a catch,” he told May as he set the shaker on the bar. “You and I are tasting the mocktail.”
Next to her, Griffin spluttered into his drink.
“Sorry.” He coughed. “Wrong pipe.”
Lisa was frowning in clear irritation, but May thought there might have been something else in Griffin’s expression—a flicker of guilt he quickly masked with a smooth smile.
He knew something. Had Xavier told him?
“A mocktail? In this town?” Lisa snorted.
“It could happen.” Xavier served his and May’s alcohol-free drinks next. “I’ll come ’round to you.”
Why did that sound sexy? May could feel sweat prickle her underarms, but there was no way she could take off her jacket in public. The corset she wore could not be mistaken for a cami—it was strapless, lace, and bordering on scandalous.
Xavier took his seat at her right as Griffin affixed himself between Lisa and May. She watched, stunned, as Griffin and Lisa clinked glasses amicably.
Xavier held his own glass aloft. “To an autumn to remember.”
“You two can remember it. Griffin and I are content to blot it out.” Lisa took a gulp of her drink, and Griffin did the same, putting away half of the martini in one chug.
“Wow. This is good. You’ll have to taste the real one, May.”
She was fairly certain alcohol wouldn’t affect her if she were pregnant. Today would be what? Five days after conception? But she appreciated Xavier’s thoughtfulness.
She sipped her mocktail, surprised by the depth of flavor. “This is good. Refreshing.”
“Make you want to roll in the hay?” Griffin asked.
Lisa elbowed him.
“I mean a hayride. The one at Harvest Fest. Speaking of, I need to talk to you, Miss Mayor’s Right Hand. No time like the present.”
Griffin turned his back on them, effectively cutting May and Xavier out of the conversation.
May leaned close to Xavier, propping her elbow on the bar to create a modicum of privacy. “You told him.”
“You told Lisa.”
“Not…everything. Not that.” She hesitated. “Are you worried?”
“I’m not worried. But if… We can’t have you guzzling bourbon.”
“Guzzling.” She rolled her eyes. “I did the math. We’re probably okay.” Probably. Her cycle wasn’t exactly clockwork, but she was choosing to look on the bright side.
His slow smile and hooded gaze threatened to melt her panties. “Tell me that means we can do it again.” Chin tucked, eyes smoldering, his expression was pure sin with a dash of hope. “Please?”
She exhaled: a half-sigh, half-laugh. If someone had told her a week ago that Xavier Dane would be begging for another night with her—while sipping a mocktail, no less—she would’ve called them crazy.
But here he was. And he was asking.