Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
An hour later, they moved to a table. Xavier had excused himself to shake up another round—mentioning he was adding bourbon to his this time. He had leaned close to ask May’s preference.
“I’ll stick with this, actually.” She’d been enjoying not drinking for a change.
“You’ve been talking about an alcohol break since your failed attempt at Dry January. And Dry July,” Lisa said. “Do it, already! Sober September. Want me to do it with you?”
“But you love your cocktails,” May said.
“Make it sound like I have a problem, why don’t you?” Lisa snapped her attention to Griffin, who was sitting next to her at the table. “You’re currently my only problem.”
“I highly doubt that. Workaholic Lisa Labreck always has problems. You love problems.”
“That’s because I’m really good at solving them.”
“Except for me.” Griffin smirked, as if he liked being a problem she couldn’t solve.
“Right. You’re more of a chronic problem. Like hair loss.”
“Can I request a truce?” This came from Xavier, who kept his tone light. May wondered if he was tired of hearing those two snip at each other, and what he knew, if anything, about Lisa and Griffin’s past.
“You can request whatever you like.” Lisa raised her glass, her expression hinting that she wouldn’t comply.
“Sober September, huh?” Xavier gave May an assessing look. “I’ll do it if you do it.”
“A sober bartender?” Griffin chuffed. “That’s ridiculous.”
“I’m not going to be a bartender forever. This gig has an expiration date, and I feel like it’s soon. Be right back with another round.”
“That was ominous,” Griffin said once Xavier had gone. When he returned with everyone’s drinks, Griffin picked up where he’d left off. “You selling Salty Dog?”
He’d asked with a note of interest, as if considering which of his wealthy clients would be interested in investing in the Cove’s favorite bar.
“No. But I’d like to spend less time here. May and I were talking about me creating another app.” He turned to her and lowered his voice. “Did you talk to Jewell?”
“Not yet,” May said. “But last week we had an intense deadline, and this week—” She had spent most of this week worrying that pregnancy was the punishment for breaking her no-hot-men rule. “This week was a catch-up week for me, so I stayed really busy.”
“A new app.” Griffin snapped his fingers and pointed at Xavier. “That’s what you should do. You made millions once. Do it again. And again. Then you can lie around on your Adirondack chair and drink margaritas all day. Excuse me, nonalcoholic margaritas.”
“I get why you don’t like him,” Xavier said to Lisa, who laughed.
Lisa could be intense, and despite Griffin’s easy jokes, there was a sharpness about him too.
Tonight, despite her keeping a wall up, Lisa seemed almost…
relaxed. As relaxed as May had seen her around Griffin.
It was like Lisa had accepted her plight to sit next to Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome for a few hours.
Poor thing. May smothered a smile at the rim of her glass.
Maybe they were too much alike. Completely compatible in bed—at least from Lisa’s recollection, and far too similar by the light of day to have anything lasting.
“I’m good with Sober September and Harvest Fest,” May said.
“And by the time October rolls around, you can drink with reckless abandon,” Lisa put in.
“There’s always Sober October,” Griffin offered.
“And No-Drink November,” Lisa said, one-upping her damn sex recipient.
“Drought December. Dry January,” Griffin countered with a twofer.
“Free February. Monk March!” Lisa countered, and then she and Griffin shared a rare moment of harmony.
“Abstinent April,” Xavier offered.
Everyone at the table stopped smiling.
“No fucking way,” Griffin said, serious.
“What, like you can’t live without it.” Lisa rolled her eyes.
“Like you can? I vividly recall you being the one who—”
Lisa slapped her hand over his mouth. They locked eyes. Tension crackled in the air between them. May could feel it from her seat on the opposite side of the table.
After a beat of silence, Lisa abruptly removed her hand.
“I’d never ask anyone to give that up,” Xavier said, darting a look from Lisa to Griff to May. Silence hung in the air for a truncated moment before Lisa stood from her chair.
“I forgot my laptop at the office. I need it this weekend. I’m going to go.” She gathered her purse. “Xavier, thank you so much for the free drinks and snacks. And yes, before you ask, I’m good to drive.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I’ll walk with you.” Griffin stood as well. “I’m heading home anyway. Xav, perfect fall cocktail.”
“You good on the bike?” Xavier asked.
“Always.” Griffin canted one eyebrow in a devil-may-care way that reminded May of every good-idea bad-boy in the Cove. He ate up the distance to the front door on long legs, easily catching Lisa, who had practically sprinted for the door.
“What I wouldn’t give to know what went down between those two,” May muttered.
Xavier grabbed the back of her chair and scooted her until their knees bumped. “Who cares?” Hand on her jaw, he tipped her face up to his and lowered his mouth.
The kiss ignited every part of her, warming her body and peaking her nipples behind the lace corset. She opened her mouth for him, welcoming his tongue to come and play. The entire bar fell away, the other diners fading into the background while his lips moved on hers.
“What are you doing tonight?” he asked, pausing to give her bottom lip a gentle bite.
“When?” she whispered.
“How about now? I know you’re good to drive. You know the way to my place.” The rawness in his expression stole her breath away. “We need a do-over.”
“I thought we did great the first time,” she said as he traced her jawline with the tip of his index finger. “But I’m willing to bet we could do better.”
“Only one way to find out.” Xavier tossed a twenty-dollar bill on the table for the busboy and then offered his hand. “I’ve been wanting to get out of here for the last hour. If Griff and Lisa hadn’t left voluntarily, I would have pulled the fire alarm.”
Xavier took her hand and walked with her to the door. The evening air was cool and brisk, making May feel as light and effervescent as the bubbles in her drink.
“That outfit is killing me, by the way.”
“Jewell picked it out.”
“Remind me to buy her something nice to show my gratitude. Like a vacation home.”
Following the glow of Xavier’s taillights, she navigated down the tree-lined road toward his lakeside mansion. When she pulled into the driveway, she noticed the shake in her arms. Her nerves had finally gotten the best of her.
She checked her reflection in the rearview mirror, fluffing her spiral curls before smoothing one finger over the lip balm she’d applied while driving here.
With her thumb, she adjusted the corset.
It was beautiful, but the herringbone was digging into her skin.
If Xavier didn’t take it off her within five minutes of entering his house, she would.
A shadow blocked the porch light outside her window. Xavier opened her driver’s side door and offered a hand. His gaze flickered to her lips. “Longest commute of my life.”
“We were on the road for three minutes.”
“Three minutes is a lifetime to wait between kisses with you.” On that excellent compliment, he leaned down to kiss her again. She gripped the back of his neck, closed her eyes, and dove in for another taste.
His tongue sweeping into her mouth reminded her of the way he’d explored between her legs. His soft beard and attentive stroking, his single-mindedness toward giving her exactly what she needed…
She moaned into his mouth.
He ended the kiss.
“You can open your eyes now,” he whispered.
She blinked them open and then glanced up at the sky. “No full moon tonight.”
“This is where I refrain from mentioning showing you my full moon.”
“That is very impressive. I didn’t know you were able to exercise such restraint.”
“When it comes to you, May Glenfield, I’ve had a lot of practice.” He glanced down at the bag in her other hand. “That’s not the purse you had in the bar.”
“I brought a few overnight things. Just in case.”
“In case I invited you over?” He raised his eyebrows.
“Your house is closer to Salty Dog than mine.”
His grin was feral, and when his top teeth scraped his bottom lip, she felt her knees go gooey.
Pull it together, girl.
Gooey knees tended to cause brain fog. She needed to stay alert when it came to Xavier. She might have broken her no-hot-men rule, but it didn’t mean she had to become entrenched in the same way she’d been with Prescott. With Xavier, she planned on keeping it light and airy. Sexy and fun.
As long as… Well, she wasn’t going to finish that sentence.
“So you’re staying over,” he said as they walked to the front door. “You gonna let me share the bed tonight?”
“Hey, you were the one who offered me your bed.”
He popped open the door. Inside, a table lamp illuminated the living room.
She’d been in his house a few times before, and like those times before, she noticed that he kept it neat and tidy.
His style was upscale, with dark woods—walnut or teak—and rich greens and browns that were both masculine and understated.
Comfy-looking leather furniture and bright, green plants.
“Your place is cozy,” she said.
He took her bag from her hands and dropped it onto the couch.
“I’ve noticed before but haven’t mentioned it.”
He nodded as he bracketed her hips with both of his hands.
“Did you have a designer or—”
He halted her words with his lips. Just as well. She’d been delaying what she wanted to do, which was kiss him. Everywhere. It was all she’d wanted to do since she’d first laid eyes on him tonight.
Unlike the kiss outside, this one felt more urgent. They were going to have sex. She knew it. He knew it. He slipped his hands along the rigid corset, the friction from his touch enough to roll her eyes back in her head.