Chapter 5
Calling Mr. Chivalrous
They sat at a table overlooking the shimmering blues and aquas of the infinity pool and the powder-white sands beyond.
Across the sky’s deep blue canvas, the sinking sun splashed vivid corals and pinks in a breathtaking array.
A light breeze ruffled Josh’s hair, bringing with it the fresh smell of the surf and sand.
A short distance down the beach, a band played, and the music tucked itself pleasantly into spaces between the burble of conversation and laughter surrounding them in the restaurant.
Tension slipped from his body on a silent sigh.
Lexi sat between him and Neil, twirling the stem of a mostly untouched glass of pinot grigio.
They had finished off plates of appetizers and now awaited their meals in stuttered bouts of conversation, so different from the easy banter Lexi and Josh had exchanged before Neil had joined them.
Words that passed between Lexi and Neil seemed forced, with long stretches of quiet interrupted by Lexi directing another question at him.
Not necessarily probing ones, but the kind that come up naturally in the course of getting to know someone.
Neil’s answers ranged from the one-worded to the nonsensical, as though he weren’t tuned in at all.
Lexi was smart, down-to-earth, fun. Why was she trying so hard to impress a dude with more teeth than personality?
Though Josh was on the sidelines, the discomfort was palpable, and he found himself wanting to take the awkwardness out of the evening for her.
A different side of him, though, wanted it to play out so she could see Neil for the tool he was—the one who had exposed himself to Josh during their meal.
Not intentionally, but Neil had let the act slip just enough that Josh got a good view of what hid beneath the counterfeit charm.
The object of Lexi’s desire had just chugged his third margarita on the rocks.
Not only was the asswipe a phony, but he was also disrespectful as hell.
The entire time they’d been seated, his gaze had blatantly riveted on every passing pair of tits.
Lexi possessed a spectacular rack of her own—at least according to Josh’s imagination—yet Neil barely gave her a glance, so Josh could only conclude the guy was stupid too.
Either oblivious or undaunted, Lexi launched into a fresh set of questions. “What do you like to do in your free time, Neil? Are you into bicycling? Wine tasting? Movies?”
Christ, talk about giving a guy all kinds of openings!
Lexi was trying her damnedest, and Josh flinched a little for her.
He wanted to tell her not to try so hard, that the jerk wasn’t worth the effort.
He tuned out Neil’s half-assed answers and instead imagined himself telling her what he was into and finding out what she liked at the same time.
Did she like hockey? Break dancing? Maybe she sang or acted in community plays or spent her free time getting signatures on petitions.
His mind fanned out, suddenly hyperfocused on her and every expression on her pretty face.
An unexpected protectiveness that had been simmering in his gut began to roil, which was weird.
He had no claim on this girl. If she wanted to throw herself at Neil fucking Afton, who was he to try and talk her out if it?
But she was a good girl, maybe even a little naive and vulnerable, and being alone with Neil was not in her best interest. Neil was a predator, his head on a constant swivel, like a magpie whose attention darted to every shiny bauble.
Occasionally, he turned his fake charm on Lexi, and Josh clenched his jaw because he knew exactly what the jackass was doing.
He was hedging his bets for a fuck buddy later on if nothing else panned out. Couldn’t she see through the guy’s MO?
And what the hell did she see in him besides his perfectly arranged hair and his movie star good looks? His oily personality canceled those out. Yet Lexi sat there smiling at him like he was some kind of deity. Or maybe it was the indulgent smile of a mother toward her wayward child.
Women baffled Josh.
Lexi asked Neil—for what had to be the fifth time—about his job.
Neil leaned back in his chair, looking at her down his nose.
“I’m part of upper management at corporate for .
..” He reeled off the name of his company, then jabbed a thumb toward Josh.
“In the same town as this guy. Did you know he’s a …
a …” Neil paused as if his brain had just blanked, which it probably had because it was doing the backstroke in alcohol.
Lexi’s gaze bounced between them, a little pleat forming between her brows, though her voice was all sweetness, showing no trace of the annoyance so evident in her expression. “And what city is that?”
“We’re both from Philly, but we hadn’t met until today. My company sponsors his team.”
The crease between her brows deepened. “Team?”
“He’s a goddamn goalie!” Neil smacked the edge of the table as if this was the funniest damn revelation on the planet.
A jolt of electricity made Josh’s spine turn rigid.
Normally, he didn’t divulge his profession to strangers because they inevitably wanted something from him.
But if the stranger was a woman he was hoping to hook up with?
Yeah, he told her. First of all, he usually met someone like her in a bar with his teammates, so she already knew who he was and what he did.
Often she came on to him. Secondly, that little factoid did most of the heavy lifting for him.
The amount of charm he needed to turn on dropped way the hell off.
Unfortunately, it also left him open to stalkers.
Not that he had to worry about stalking with this particular woman, though, because she didn’t give two fucks about him—she wanted Neil and only Neil.
Neil snorted. “Oops! Language. My bad. A lady is present.”
Lexi frowned at him—good!—then turned wide eyes to Josh. “What kind of goalie?”
“He plays for the Philadelphia Foresters,” Neil interjected, suddenly a Josh Wylder expert.
Josh shot him an icy glare. “That would be ‘Forge.’” Asshole. At least get the name right.
Neil shrugged and looked away, his attention yanked to a woman whose boobs were falling out of a dress that looked painted on and whose hips moved with an exaggerated swing.
Meanwhile, Lexi kept her eyes locked on Josh, and he was grateful she hadn’t seen Neil eye-fucking the woman. “Is that soccer? Hockey? I’m afraid I don’t follow sports, so I’m not familiar with—”
“I’m a goaltender in the NHL.”
Her eyebrows and her lips pursed, as if she was trying to puzzle out a riddle. “A professional jock, then.”
He burst out with a laugh. She was definitely not impressed, which removed some of the usual pressure.
But it also caused his competition gene to spike and set into motion an odd chain reaction: He wanted to know why she wasn’t impressed, and he wanted to know what it would take—besides looking and acting like Neil—to impress her.
Neil stood abruptly, pushing his chair back from the table with a spine-decalcifying scrape. Conversation quieted, and half the restaurant patrons turned toward him as he announced, “Gotta hit the head.” He took off in the same direction Betty Boobs had gone.
Lexi watched as he stumbled from the table. “Do you think he’s all right?”
“I’m sure he’s fine.” And hopefully he’ll face-plant in the toilet and not come back.
Or face-plant in his target’s cleavage and not come back.
Either way, I hope he doesn’t come back.
“He’s been pounding the drinks, and I bet he’s feeling them.
” Hopefully, Lexi read the warning between the lines: Stay away from this fucked-up snake in the grass.
“I wonder …” She trailed off, fiddling with her silverware.
Was she finally opening her eyes, coming around to the real Neil? God, he hoped so.
Short of leaving the table, which he wasn’t willing to do for these burgeoning protector instincts—and maybe a weird pull to let her in, even if only a little—Josh had tried to stay out of Lexi and Neil’s way, figuring nature would take over and romance could bloom, but romance hadn’t even sprouted yet—and probably shouldn’t, for her sake.
He hated to jump into someone’s else’s business, but Neil was drunk, possibly dangerous, and Josh was growing more alarmed at his behavior with each passing minute.
Watching her unwittingly put herself in harm’s way was a no-go. He needed to head this off.
“So what do you think? Is Neil still your guy?” he posed.
Her answer lingered on her lips, as if she were debating, but their meals arrived, and the moment was lost.
Josh picked up his utensils and gave her an encouraging chin lift. “Let’s eat while the food’s hot. No need to wait on Neil. He can catch up when he comes back.” Josh’s wish that Neil would get lost and not make it back surfaced once more.
“Right.” Lexi stared down at her meal as if flummoxed by what to do next. She looked over at Josh, the corners of her mouth drooping. “I don’t think he’s interested in me.”
Josh pointed his knife toward the path Neil had taken. “Do you really want a guy like him interested in you?”
Her eyes narrowed. “What do you mean by a ‘guy like him’?”
“He’s checking out every woman who walks by!”
She seemed to shrink back and gather her defenses. “Maybe it’s the cocktails.”
“Yeah, maybe. And that’s another strike against him. He’s guzzled half the tequila in the bar.”
Her brows formed angry slashes above her green-fire eyes. “Aren’t you being a little judgy?”
Aren’t you being a little naive? He stuffed a shrimp into his mouth.
She laid down her fork and sighed. “I can’t get enough of a read on him to know for sure what kind of person he is.”
“Seriously?”
“You don’t like him, do you?”
“That would be a solid ‘no.’ Actually, it would be a solid ‘fuck no.’”
She gaped at him.