Chapter 17
Alex
It’sthe night of the gala and we all agreed to take a car and go together, so I rented one for everyone for the evening. Colt decided to attend last minute after he got word from his publicist he should attend. He’s flying solo like always, so he and Tobias and Tobias’s date are all sitting in the car when we pull up to Ben and Violet’s house to pick them and Harper up.
When I walk up to the door, Ben lets me in and gives me a look.
“What?”
“I hope you’re prepared is all.” He smirks.
“Prepared?” I give him a curious look.
“Here, I love this one. The fragrance is subtle but so good,” Violet’s talking to Harper as they walk into the room, handing her a miniature fragrance bottle out of her purse.
“Oh wow. I love that.”
Harper’s too distracted to notice I’m here and my jaw is about to hit the fucking floor. Because my girl looks fucking stunning. The dress is a dark red that wraps every curve she has perfectly. It dips low over her chest and then sweeps over her arms with two off-the-shoulder straps that seem to be anchored to nothing. How women’s clothing works is a fucking mystery to me, I just appreciate whatever magic they work. Her hips sway in the heels she’s wearing as she walks and then I notice the deep slit up one side that reveals one of her long legs. Yeah, I’m definitely not fucking prepared for this. I’d expected something far more conservative from her, not anything like this.
“Right?” Violet looks up as she asks the question, and she sees me staring and grins.
She elbows Harper gently. Finally, Harper looks up at me and she smiles, one that has a brightness that travels to her eyes as she’s walking over to me and pacing around, making a show of checking me out in my tux.
“Wow. Who knew Xander Xavier could clean up so nicely?”
“I think you’re going to have to fight the other women off,” Violet jokes.
“I think so. Same with this one.” Harper nods to Ben. “Do we need to bring switchblades in our pockets, you think?”
“Or we could wear garters and strap them there? Would make for a more cinematic reveal if we do have to fight.”
“I love it.”
Violet and Harper lean into each other laughing and Ben shakes his head at me.
“Your wife is a bad influence.” I look over at him.
“So I’ve heard, and yet…” He smiles at her.
My eyes drift back to Harper, her dark red dress pooling around her feet and the long swath of her gorgeous skin it reveals. I’m ready to get on my knees right now if she’d let me.
“You look gorgeous. That dress is… Wow.” Because I have no words.
“And it has pockets!” She grins, dipping her hand into the side of the dress to prove it.
“Is that a thing?”
“Yes. You men take them for granted, but they’re amazing.”
“Well, I’m glad your dress has pockets then.” I look her over one more time, trying to figure out where the pockets are when it fits her so well.
“Your dress really. You paid for it. Thank you by the way.” She leans up and kisses me on the cheek, smiling again as she pulls away.
“Mine, huh?” I smirk at her.
I’m tempted to say and do so many things right now, none of which would be appropriate or well received because we’re standing in the entryway of Ben and Violet’s home, and the last time she’d touched me, she’d ended the evening abruptly. But how I’m going to make it all night like this, I’m not sure.
She just gives me a shy grin in response and Ben and Violet finish turning off the lights in the house, and we all head out to the car so we can be on our way.
The event iseverything it was billed to be, and Colt has just won an award for his work with nonprofits in the city, doing his usual stoic act while he accepts and talks about how much this team and the city mean to him. There’s a short intermission between the speakers and we’re grabbing cocktails when I feel a hand on my arm. Thinking it”s Harper I turn to greet her, only to be confronted with one of my worst mistakes in recent history: Danica Hart.
She’s one of the latest social media success stories, a singer and songwriter from Seattle with a reputation almost as wild as mine. We’d dated for a couple of months and then gone our separate ways on a mostly amicable note when she’d gone on tour, and I’d been back in the season playing. Her name’s on the rise again because she’d just done a set of risqué ads for her new album wearing the latest line of lingerie by a controversial brand.
“Xander,” she says my name in the husky way she always did when she wanted my attention.
“Danica.”
“I didn’t know you were going to be here. I’m surprised they let us both in to such a classy event.”
“Well as long as you donate enough…they usually do. I think it’s called buying your way in.” I give her a half smile, glancing up to see where Harper’s gone because this is exactly the reason I didn’t want to be alone tonight.
“You want to head out early? I can think of better ways we could spend our night.”
“No. I’m just waiting on my date to get back.”
“Your date…” She rolls her eyes dismissively.
“His date.” Harper slides up to my side out of nowhere, her fingers running their way over my chest as a saccharine smile plays at her lips.
“You look familiar.”
“We’ve met before. You came to a party at my home with Xander.”
“A party?”
“Memorial Day BBQ,” I add.
“Oh, yes. That was the epitome of middle-class domesticity. I remember it now.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed yourself.” The other hand Harper has at my side, the one hidden from Danica’s view, is currently curling into my flesh through my suit.
“I think we probably should get back to our seats,” I suggest because I’d like to not have a matching wound on my other side, and I can guarantee with enough time Danica will create a reason for it.
“Yes, well. We need to catch up, Xander.” She gives me a little wink before she heads off down the hall.
“I hope she was really good in bed and…” Harper mutters until the last bit she says is inaudible.
“What?” I almost choke on my drink at her bluntness.
“I said I hope she gave you mind-blowing head because she’s a terrible person. Even for you, that was a questionable choice.” Harper looks at me with a hint of disapproval. “I still can’t believe you brought her to my house.”
“We were dating at the time.”
“Dating? Is that what you’d call it? She was incredibly drunk in the early afternoon at what was clearly a family event, practically dry-humping you in my living room while losing pieces of her clothing all over my house. I’m surprised she wasn’t naked and running through the sprinklers by the end of the night.”
“She had her charms.” One of them was the fact that her chaotic wild personality was almost enough to distract me from Harper while we were at her house. Almost, until I saw Harper giving me the same look she is now. The one that tells me she’s disappointed in me.
“I’m sure she did.” She gives me a tight smile. “Let’s get back to the table?”
I nod and take her hand in my free one, a gesture she reciprocates by threading her fingers through mine like it’s second nature. She was playing her part well tonight. Acting like the perfect girlfriend and making it seem like we were always like this together. Almost hard to believe this was the same woman that fled my living room a few short days ago.
When we getto the table, I sit the cocktail I’d gotten for her down in front of her like a peace offering. I can tell she’s still not thrilled to have seen me talking to my ex. An interesting note because while I absolutely believe she’s not a fan of Danica’s, the way she’d quickly wrapped her hands around me made me wonder if there wasn’t a touch of jealousy under it all.
There’s a presentation happening on stage already, so she just looks at me and then at the glass silently before she takes a sip. Surprise coloring her features before she takes a longer drink a moment later. She leans forward then, coming close so she can speak quietly.
“A paloma? How’d you guess that?” Her brow furrows as she looks at me.
I brush my fingers over her knee as I lean back, bringing my lips to her ear so I can answer her.
“I just remember what you tasted like that first night.”
Her eyes flash to mine, and even in the low light at our table, I can see the little rise of blush to her cheeks. Her eyes flick down to where I’m still touching her knee and she reaches for her glass again, taking another sip as I move back into my seat again.
Unfortunately, it’s not long after that my phone lights up. I’ve left it on the table as I’m waiting for a text from one of the trainers about what time he wants to do a session tomorrow. Except it’s not his name that shows. Just a giant DH.
The words flash across the screen in rapid succession.
DH
Come fuck me tonight.
I’ll leave the door unlocked. Just come to the…
The rest of the message is truncated by the little bubble surrounding it and I flip it over immediately, hoping Harper didn’t see it. But she’s still close to me and there’s no way the bright illumination didn’t catch her eye. Something I confirm when I look up and the eyes that had looked at me with soft flustered curiosity only a few moments before are now giving me an icy little once over.
Fuck.