by Lucy Score
“Okay, I’ll use yours,” Xavier said, snatching Waverly’s phone off the tray.
“How do you know my passcode?” she gasped and smacked him when he keyed into her phone.
“To Micah, ‘Please get X out of here. He is not employed by me or my parents. He’s squatting in my life.’” Xavier recited her texts. “To Waverly, ‘Interesting, I’ll do my best.’”
She made another grab for the phone.
“You sneaky little—” he began.
“Careful how you finish that sentence,” she warned him, eyes flashing.
“Fine. You want to put cards on the table, stand up.”
Waverly stood up and jutted her chin up at him. “What are you going to do? Fight me?”
He yanked her t-shirt up over her head in one swift move. She surprised him by going for his balls instead of her t-shirt, but he managed to deflect the blow and lock her into a hold and held her in front of Micah. “This smart ass got herself shot in some kind of home invasion at a friend’s house. Wrede was with her and hasn’t been seen or heard from since.”
“Damn, Sinner,” Micah said, examining her wound. When his eyes inevitably traveled up to her red satin bra, Xavier growled. “Eyes up here or down there. Nowhere in between.”
“I’m guessing we need to make these inquiries you’ve been feeding Research official,” Micah said, keeping his eyes glued to the ceiling.
--------
“Xavier!” Sylvia Sinner’s surprise was unmistakable. “When Waverly said she was bringing a guest, I just assumed it was Dante.”
And score one for Team Sinner, Waverly thought, hugging her mother in gratitude. Sylvia looked good in the soft spun lavender poncho over white cropped pants, better than good. Five years of sobriety had done wonders. She looked younger, healthier, happier. And that change had changed her career trajectory, too. She was enjoying a revival of sorts. The only thing Hollywood loved more than a public downward spiral was a comeback, and since Sylvia had come out publicly to talk about her alcoholism and recovery, she’d once again become one of the most sought-after actresses in the industry. She’d also started a new yoga-inspired fashion line that had opened up a surprisingly strong income stream.
“Haven’t you heard?” Xavier said, swooping in to kiss Sylvia on both cheeks. “Waverly upgraded.”
Sylvia’s laughter turned into a breathy gasp of pleasure when he revealed the massive bouquet of flowers he’d insisted on bringing for her mother. Waverly rolled her eyes and stepped around the love fest.
She found her father in the formal living room lighting a fire in the hearth. “Waverly!” the pleasure in his voice at seeing her automatically scaled down her attack mode. He was dashing as ever. His dark hair was cut a little shorter than usual for a movie role that he’d just finished filming. The crinkles around his eyes when he smiled were a little deeper. And there was a lightness in his gaze that, despite being there for several years, still struck her every time she looked at him.
The Sinners had been through hell and back together.
She walked into his open arms and held on tight for a moment. What had been a nonexistent relationship just a few years ago had evolved into something real and solid. Robert and Sylvia Sinner had taken her near-death experience and made it into a turning point for their family.
“Xavier’s here,” Waverly told her father.
She saw her father’s face light up. What the hell did that mean? she wondered.
“I take it you’re not pleased,” Robert said with a smile.
“Dad, I don’t want him in my life, and now he’s driving me everywhere, following me around, staying in my house…”
Robert’s eyebrows shot up. “He certainly moves fast.”
“He does when he knows what he wants,” Xavier agreed, stepping in behind Waverly and offering his hand to her father. “Robert.”
Robert took Xavier’s hand in his and pulled him in for a one-armed hug. Waverly frowned at the friendly greeting. “What is this?” she demanded. “You barely know each other, and he was not nice to your daughter. Now you’re hugging buddies?”
“Your father and I maintained a friendship over the years,” Xavier explained. “We’d catch a game of golf whenever I’m in town.”
“Are you kidding me?” Waverly groaned.
Robert put his arm around her shoulders. “Now, sweetheart. He did save your life.”
“I need a drink.” She didn’t drink of course and had never done so as a matter of principle. And even if she wanted to, there was no alcohol in the Sinner Estate. When Sylvia committed to a lifestyle, it was all the way. The room that had housed an impressive bar had been reconfigured into a yoga studio and meditation room.
“Darling, don’t joke about that so soon after rehab,” Sylvia chided her as she entered the room. “Recovery is not a laughing matter.”
“Mom, I told you it wasn’t that kind of rehab,” she sighed, avoiding Xavier’s gaze.
“Well, let’s enjoy some appetizers on the patio by the fire, and you can tell us all about it,” Sylvia suggested. She took her husband’s arm and led the way through the glass doors onto the patio.
Xavier offered Waverly his arm, which she ignored. But when she brushed past him, he grabbed her and tucked her under his arm in a headlock. She yelped and swung, catching him in the thigh with a hammer fist. He released her with a laugh, and Waverly straightened her crepe mini dress.
“What’s gotten into you?”
“I like being around you.” He brought her hand to his mouth, kissed her knuckles.
“You need to stop with the full court press, Saint. It’s not happening,” she said even as she let him tug her closer.
“Angel,” he was suddenly so serious. The tenderness in his eyes took her breath away as she looked up into the face angels had carved. “I really like your boots.”
He laid his lips against hers in a surprise kiss.
“Ugh!” Waverly shoved away from him and stalked out to the patio, his laughter carrying behind her. She wanted to hate him, wanted to remember all the pain he’d caused her. But she’d never seen Xavier so playful. A smile played upon her lips. And her boots were spectacular, she admitted. Over-the-knee grey suede, they helped ward off the autumn chill. Mile-high heels took them from stylish to sexy. Even now, she could feel the heat of his gaze on her as he followed her outside.
Would she ever not be aware of him? Would she ever get used to his magnetism?
“We thought you two got lost,” her father said with a smile. He and Sylvia were cuddled up on one of the outdoor settees by the fireplace.
Louie, her parents’ chef that she borrowed from time to time to stock her fridge with meals when she was too busy to cook, swept through another door, a platter of canapé in his hands. He was a trim man with a manicured moustache and inky black hair. He could turn the most basic kitchen ingredients into a silver platter worthy four-course dinner.
“Louie!” Waverly waited until he’d set the tray down on the low wicker table in front of her parents before wrapping him in a tight hug.
“You’re too thin,” he announced briskly. “I’ll come tomorrow and cook for you.”
He gave Xavier a frosty look. “Mr. Saint,” he nodded coolly.
“Good to see you again, Louie,” Xavier said offering his hand.
Louie made a humming noise before reluctantly shaking Xavier’s hand and then abruptly turning back to Waverly. “I’ll see you tomorrow. I approve of your boots.”
And with that, he stormed back into the house.
“Louie is obviously a big fan of yours,” Waverly said with a snarky grin in Xavier’s direction. She took a seat on the settee across from her parents and didn’t bother silencing her sigh when Xavier sat next to her. He took up too much room with his broad shoulders and the spread of his knees. He’d worn navy trousers tonight and a soft blue-gray sweater over a checked button down with the same tones. Why did he always have to be so
gorgeous? He still hadn’t shaved, and the roughness over his jaw made his dangerous look even edgier, lethal even.
“Waverly.” Xavier pinched her in the ass.
“Huh? Sorry. What?”
He grinned at her as if he knew exactly what she’d been thinking. “Your mother wants to know about your recent trip.”
He was baiting her, daring her to put it all out there to her parents. Or let him win. She shifted her foot so that the heel of her boot rested on top of his Armani oxford.
When she leaned forward to pick up a canapé, she applied pressure. “I mentioned when I called you, Mom, that it wasn’t rehab rehab,” she began. It was funny how quickly things could change. She’d spent most of her life lying to her parents, but in the past few years as they’d pulled their lives together and refocused as a family, honesty had become a priority.
There was just one thing that she couldn’t tell them the truth about. As protective as they’d become since nearly losing her, her parents would never have supported her intel work for the studio. So she’d kept them in the dark, danced around their questions when necessary, and now, lied outright to their faces.
She perched on the edge of the cushion.
“Well, what would you like us to know about it?” her father asked amicably.
It was one way her parents’ therapist had taught them to ease into sticky conversations.
Waverly took a deep breath and launched into her script. “I’ve been feeling like my life’s been moving so fast lately. There’s always a movie, a project, an event. And then all the social stuff.”
“You have been going out a lot lately,” her mother agreed.
Waverly nodded. “I started to feel out of control, and it all just kind of came to a head. I wanted to get away for the weekend to think. I was supposed to meet a friend in Tahoe.” She felt the pressure of Xavier’s hand on her low back. “But I just wanted to be alone. So I went north, and then there’s this bear running out in front of me.”
Her parents were watching her in rapt fascination. Xavier was watching her with amusement. The smug bastard had won. He was staying, at least until she could find Dante and clean up this mess.
“Anyway, the bear was fine and so was the tree, but the rental car got pretty banged up. And I just remember sitting there thinking that if I’d been going slower it wouldn’t have happened. And maybe slowing down was what I needed to do everywhere else, too.”
“Oh, Waverly! Were you hurt?” Sylvia asked.
Waverly shook her head. “Just a couple of scrapes and bruises.” And a gunshot wound, she added silently. “I made a couple of calls and left immediately for a really nice place in Hawaii. They focus on relieving stress and reestablishing priorities. It was almost like a vacation.”
“How do you feel now?” Robert asked Waverly, rubbing his wife’s shoulder with his hand.
“Focused and ready to kick some ass.” That, at least, was the truth.
“That’s wonderful, darling,” Sylvia glowed at her. “I’m so proud of you for tackling your issues head on. You’ve always been so brave.”
“Thanks, Mom,” Waverly squirmed in her seat, and Xavier stroked his hand down her back.
“So forgive me for being so blunt, but where’s Dante? And why is Xavier here?” Sylvia asked. “Not that I’m not very happy to see you, of course,” she said to Xavier.
Waverly opened her mouth then closed it. “How about you take that one, Saint?” Why should she be the only liar tonight?
Xavier moved his hand to her shoulder. He was staking a claim in front of her parents, and she was mortified. “I saw the news and knew that that wasn’t the Waverly Sinner I knew. So I called Robert—”
“You called him?” When Waverly tried to stand up, Xavier tugged her back down next to him.
“Be quiet,” he told her. “We were both understandably concerned, so I flew out to her to assess the situation. It’s clear someone was feeding the media false information, and I have concerns that it could be someone with a vendetta against Waverly. So I’m happy to resume my role until we can figure out who’s behind the character assassination. As for Dante, we don’t know where he is. It’s been reported that he’s on vacation, and he may not know about Waverly’s… accident.”
“Oh, dear. Are you two off again?” Sylvia asked.
“No!” Waverly said, looking at Xavier instead of Sylvia. “No. We’re just… things are complicated, and I’ll straighten them all out when I see him again,” she finished lamely.
“I must confess that I’m happy to have you back, Xavier,” Robert said.
“There is one other thing I think you both should know in the spirit of full disclosure,” Xavier told them.
Waverly turned to stare holes in him. What was he doing?
“I plan to marry your daughter as soon as I can convince her to give me a second chance.”
Sylvia’s crostini tumbled to the patio. Robert blinked rapidly.
“Xavier!” Waverly hissed at him.
“Angel, I just don’t want them to be surprised if I cart you off to Barbados, and we come back married.”
“I am going to cart your body to Barbados and dump it in the ocean,” she threatened. “He’s insane,” she said, turning to her parents. “He’s clearly suffered a head trauma in the last few years and has lost his damn mind.”
Sylvia covered her laugh with her napkin. Robert was not so subtle with his amusement. He laughed loud and long. “Remind you of someone, don’t they?” he asked, nudging his wife.
“It’s like staring in the mirror almost thirty years ago.”
“We are not together. We are not getting back together. We are… solving a problem and then going our separate ways,” she said in a near shout. Waverly tried to stand up again, but Xavier kept her hand and pulled her back against him.
“Mmm, good luck, darling. He looks serious,” Sylvia said, eyeing Xavier.
“Very determined,” Robert agreed.
“Is there really no alcohol in this house?” Waverly muttered.
CHAPTER TEN
“I forgot what a good liar you are,” Xavier said, starting the SUV. With the dirty business of lying and covering their tracks finished, dinner had been a relatively peaceful affair. Though Waverly was still reeling from the fact that Xavier and her father had maintained a friendship after all these years. And she didn’t even know what to say about his announcement that he intended to marry her. He couldn’t possibly be serious.
“Me? What about you? All that character assassination stuff and then marriage? You can’t mess with my parents about things like that, Xavier. They’ll take you seriously.”
“Angel, I am deadly serious. I intend to make you my wife.”
“I don’t even know how to tell you how insane you are.” She thumped back in her seat so hard, she bounced her head off the headrest. “You make me so mad.”
“It’s because you have strong feelings for me,” he said, pulling down her parents’ drive and heading home.
She shot him a dirty look. “My strong feelings involve fantasies of maiming you.”
The corner of his mouth turned up in a smile, and they rode the rest of the way home in silence.
He unlocked the front door because, of course, somehow he’d made himself a key and then keyed in the alarm code that she’d never given him.
“Make yourself at home, why don’t you?” Waverly grumbled.
She stashed her bag on the table in the foyer and stormed back into the kitchen, her dress swishing around her thighs and her boots clicking against the hard floor.
He locked the door behind him and re-armed the alarm before following her back.
“Do you love Dante?” he demanded, leaning against the refrigerator.
She met his gaze and glared. “Of course I do.” She did. He was the closest thing she’d ever had to a big brother. They were friends, partners, practically family. But that wasn’t wha
t Xavier was asking.
“Did you love me?”
She wanted to lie, wanted to take those words from so long ago back. But she couldn’t. “Yes, I did.”
“Do you feel for Dante what you felt for me?”
Not even close. She took a breath. “This is stupid. I’m with someone else, Xavier.”
“You have no men’s clothes in your closet or anything in your bathroom. You’ve broken up a hundred times, and on every break, he immediately hooks up with someone else. He hasn’t once reached out to you since I came back into the picture.” Xavier took his time, ticking through the reasons.
“Leave it alone, X.” She showed him her teeth and made a move for the beverage cooler. Her throat was tight, and she needed something to loosen it.
But he stopped her and grabbed her arm. “Answer me.”
“I don’t owe you any answers!” She yanked free, but he followed her into the great room.
“Waverly, if I would have disappeared back when we were together, you would have been devastated. You would have stopped at nothing to find me, even if it was just to kick me in the ass. Dante goes missing, and you lay low. Sure, you’re scared, you’re worried. But I don’t see despair. And that tells me something.”
“It should tell you this is none of your goddamn business!”
“I told you before, Waverly. You are my business. I love you.”
“Don’t say that!” The cry echoed through the room.
“Tell me,” he pushed. “Do you feel about Dante the way you felt about me?”
“No!”
His voice was low, but he was breathing heavily. “Then why are you fighting this, Waverly?”
“You said that I was damaged!” There. The words that had haunted her for years were finally free. But they didn’t stop Xavier in his tracks. They only egged him on.
“Baby, you show me one person in this world who isn’t. Go ahead, point a finger and show me someone who escaped life completely unscathed. Life is damaging, and all we can do is use those scars to make us stronger, better, smarter.”
“That isn’t what you told me before. You said I was damaged and toxic. That I wasn’t good for you.”
