Chapter 15
Justine woke up Saturday morning confused.
She lay in her bed as the phone buzzed and gradually recalled an amazing water fight last night, followed by a warm bath and frozen pizza.
While eating, she’d taken out her special notebook and continued doodling ideas for logos for her brand new business, one in which she’d work regular hours and have only the best-paying and most pleasant clients on hand.
The phone stopped buzzing. Finally.
It started again.
With a groan, she turned to see her boss calling.
“No. I’m not doing this with you today, asshole.
” She ignored her guilt in referring to her boss as such, at her core always so uncomfortable fighting against authority.
But hell, she’d worked a sixty hour week and hadn’t seen anything positive for doing so.
Frank’s attaboys had long past lost their luster.
She couldn’t believe his temerity when the phone rang again, only to find the call from her mother.
Justine told herself not to but decided to answer it anyway.
She’d left her last conversation with her mother on a good note.
Everyone had their jobs to do for the wedding, and since Justine had already done most of her part by designing the wedding invitations and website, she had little more to do than help the others with small things.
Something she didn’t mind since it kept her in her parents’ and Mallory’s good graces.
She answered, “Hi, Mom.” She still felt relaxed from her fun evening.
Clad in her favorite sleepshirt and tucked under her warm blankets—much needed thanks to Seattle’s cool evenings—she heard birds chirping from outside and saw the sun filtering through the window, shining light onto the foot of her bed.
The world seemed right, her happiness still a fuzzy remnant making waking up less of a chore and more of a good start to two blessed days off.
“Oh, Justine. I’m so glad I caught you.”
“What time is it?”
“Um, nine o’clock. Sorry, nine-fifteen.”
“In the morning?”
“Very funny, dear.” Her mother sighed. “I’ve been waiting on you forever, and I just had to make the commitment. I’ve added Cal as your plus-one for the wedding. We needed even numbers, you know. Now you—”
“You can’t,” Justine blurted, so opposed to being made to do something she didn’t want to—at the ripe age of twenty-nine, for God’s sake.
“Honey, we’ve told you over and over again you need someone to accompany you. We’re all coupled up, and it would be odd if you weren’t. Now, if you’d rather go with Nick, we can fit him in instead. The girls and I thought you seemed more comfortable with Cal, but if—”
“I already have a date.” She couldn’t stop the lie from tumbling from her mouth.
“Oh?”
Too late to take it back now. “Yes. We met and hit it off, but I was waiting to make sure he had the date free before letting you know.”
“Well that’s wonderful.” Her mother’s voice warmed. “Who is it?”
Names raced through her mind, but only one made any kind of sense. “His name’s Xavier. He’s a really nice guy, and we’ve been taking it slow while dating.”
I’m going to hell for this.
“Does Xavier have a last name?”
Her mind raced. “Hanover.”
“Xavier Hanover. Perfect. Does he have any dietary restrictions?”
“Huh?”
“For the meal, Justine. We have to get the meals settled by tomorrow. Though I’m sure we can fiddle a bit with the catering with the prices we’re paying,” Jeanine muttered.
“Uh, what I had. The steak, I think.”
“Okay. He will be dressed appropriately, I assume.”
“A suit and tie is fine, Mom. He doesn’t need a tux.”
“He’s not in the wedding party, so no. But I don’t want him to be outshone too much by my beautiful girl.”
Justine wanted to embrace the compliment, but it felt more like a warning. She could never be sure Jeanine meant to make Justine feel good or to make herself feel good for having given birth to such beauty.
“Okay, honey. That’s all I needed. Have a nice weekend! I’ll call if we need you to do anything else.”
The call disconnected, and Justine lay in bed, aware she’d just made a colossal mistake. She went through the motions of showering and cleaning up, the mint of her toothpaste barely there as she realized the impact of what she’d done.
Now she’d have to drag Xavier into her family drama... That was if he’d even go.
So nervous, she had no idea what to do about Xavier as she dressed in the first thing she dragged out of her closet, a pale blue tee-shirt dress, perfect to run a few errands. She worked on getting her head on straight while she dithered over how to break the news to Xavier.
Or to renege and just go with Cal.
She could always make some excuse to her mom that Xavier couldn’t attend. Why did it feel like such a big deal to have her mother choose her companion for the wedding, anyway? Losing control of her life for just one day shouldn’t be a big deal.
Yet that one day loomed like an eternity of hell on earth. Xavier seemed like the cure to all her problems. Her friend that she’d just thrown under the bus.
Too sick at her lie to eat, she threw on her sandals and grabbed her purse before realizing she hadn’t put on any makeup. But did it matter?
Of course, because if she went without, she’d no doubt run into a bazillion people she knew. And if she put it on, she’d end up seeing no one.
With a sigh, she decided on a quick swipe of mascara and eye liner just as someone knocked.
Startled, she hurried to the front door and looked through the peephole to see Xavier.
Her heart raced, and nerves flooded her.
The universe had apparently decided she should confront the victim of her ugly lies.
She opened the door to see him holding coffee and pastries, like the last time he’d come to visit.
With a groan, she welcomed him inside. “Hey, Xavier.”
“Oh boy. You sound terrible. But you’re up and dressed. What happened?”
She plunked herself at her kitchen table and sunk her head into her hands. “I have to apologize for something, and I’m so sorry. I just need you to hear me out.”
He sat with her and took one of her hands in his. “Hey, you can tell me anything.”
“You’re making this so much harder.” She sighed. Truthfully, what she’d done wasn’t that terrible. But she felt as if she’d stepped over some line, perhaps harming their fragile trust with each other in some way. “My mom just called me.”
“Uh-oh,” he joked. He stroked her hand, and a shiver of pleasure stole through her. When he shifted, she smelled his cologne, a subtle scent that had her body waking up when she really needed it to stay asleep.
“Look, there’s no easy way to say this.” She stared him in the eyes, aware his were so incredibly pretty, a light brown ringed by a darker brown, filled with care and affection. She swallowed. “I lied to my mom and told her you were my plus-one when she said she’d decided I’d go with Cal.”
He didn’t falter in any way. “So you were ‘assigned’ someone else and decided to take me instead.”
“Well, I lied. I, ah, kind of told my mom I’d met someone.
” She tried to tug her hand from his, but he didn’t relax his grip, so she stilled.
“I told her your name. I’m sorry. I just didn’t want any entanglement with Cal.
He’s nice, but I don’t want a date I didn’t choose.
And really, I should just be able to go alone so—”
“Do I need to get a tux?”
She blinked. “What?”
“Should I get a tux? How dressy is this thing going to be?”
The sight of him in a tux would take her breath away. “Um, I think a nice suit and tie would work.” After a pause, she said, “You’re not mad?”
“Not at all.” He tightened his hand around hers then released her to put a coffee in front of her. He bit into a pastry and sighed. “These are so good. Have a bite.” He held one out to her.
She automatically leaned forward and took a bite. “Delicious.” She licked off a bit of cherry filling and saw him staring at her mouth.
All at once, she remembered that full-body hug, how warm and solid he’d felt against her. How good he smelled, how big he was when aroused. Her body reacted, her nipples beading, the need to squirm and soothe the tingling between her legs yet another sign she wanted him.
“Justine, I’m happy to help in any way I can.”
Why did that sound super naughty? She read all sorts of implications that he probably didn’t mean. “Any way?” she heard herself asking, unable to look away from the sensual curl of his lips.
“You know, I’ve been fighting this for a while.”
She nodded, not sure what he was talking about. He scooted his chair closer, and she caught another whiff of his scent, pure sex wrapped in smiling eyes and an amazing body.
“I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”
“I’m so uncomfortable right now. I might die if you don’t kiss me,” she admitted and swallowed audibly. “I can’t believe I just said that.”
His gaze trailed from her eyes to her lips, then farther down. She wondered if he noted her nipples poking through the thin dress.
“Can’t have you dying on me,” he breathed before leaning close to kiss her.
She froze at the feel of his lips against her, the soft scratch of his mustache and beard against her face. Then he slid his tongue through the seam of her mouth, and she sighed at how much she wanted to taste more.
He groaned and cupped her cheeks, angling her face so he could get more access to her mouth.
Justine had a tough time focusing on anything but the throbbing of her lower body. She’d never been so aroused, not from a simple kiss. His hands had yet to leave her face, yet she wanted them badly all over her. Cupping her breasts, between her legs, inside her...
She moaned her pleasure when he lifted her into his arms and straddled her over his lap. The kiss grew more insistent, his hands on her ass kneading, pulling her closer.
“Hmm. More,” she murmured against his mouth and kissed him back, seeing stars behind her eyes. He made her feel tiny in his arms, the dichotomy of the careful way he held her yet the demanding nature of his kisses and caresses making it unbearable to sit still.
Before she knew it, she was grinding against him, the big bulge seated at the core of her making it impossible to not move. His kisses deepened, and his hands began to roam. But not fast enough.
She took his hand and plastered it over her breast.
At first he paused, then he squeezed, riding her nipple with his palm and causing her to rock faster over his lap. He pulled back from her, panting. “Fuck, Justine.” He looked into her eyes and kissed her again. “Bedroom?”
She wished he hadn’t paused, hadn’t given her a chance to think. She needed him so badly...
“I want inside you,” he growled and nudged up against her. “I’m ready to come right now.”
The thought turned her inside out. “Yes. Yes, bedroom.” Well, hurray for her managing to string a few words together. She groped his chest, so in lust with the muscle under palms. She rubbed against his nipples, saw his eyes darken, and pinched them.
“Condoms?” he asked, his voice hoarse. But he didn’t let her answer, kissing her again, his hands pushing up the hem of her dress while he caressed her thighs, his thumbs achingly close to her panties yet not close enough to do her any real good.
She widened her legs, but still he kept teasing, kissing and petting and driving her wild with need. “I have condoms,” she reminded him and was rewarded when his fingers moved under her panties, gliding between her slick folds.
She shuddered, and so did he. Then he removed his hand and sucked his finger clean.
“I hope you have more than one. Because we’re going to need them.”