“We should be so lucky,” Anderson mumbles, reluctantly breaking his eye-lock with his wife.
I flip him the bird, uncaring we’re in public.
“Sorry,” Abby says, looking all flushed. “I don’t do it on purpose. When he looks at me like that, I get lost in our own little bubble.”
Anderson slides his arm around her shoulders, pulling her in close. He presses a fierce kiss to her temple. “I love the fuck out of you Abigail Anderson.”
“Ditto, babe.” She pecks his lips softly. “I love you so much.”
They wrap their arms around one another, and the biggest smile coasts over my mouth. “I love the way you guys love one another. That’s what I aspire to.”
“You will find that, Xavier. You’re too amazing not to find it,” Abby says, shucking out of her husband’s embrace and reaching across the table to squeeze my hand.
“You’re probably biased, but I’ll take the compliments where I can get them.”
“I’m sorry,” Abby says, squeezing my hand one more time before letting it go. “We didn’t ask you to dinner to give you the third degree on your love life. I just don’t want to see you getting hurt again.”
“Don’t worry. It’s not like that with Jamison. It’s casual and fun.”
Footsteps thump in our direction, and we swivel our heads as one.
“What are you doing here?” Abby asks as Drew approaches our table.
“Scoot over,” he tells me, and I move into the empty seat by the wall.
“Thanks for the invite, by the way.” He levels Anderson with a cutting look.
“We thought you were catching a movie with Shandra tonight,” Abby says, looking perplexed.
“Change of plans,” Drew says in a clipped tone.
“Andrew.” Abby gives her brother some serious stink eye. “If you stood my friend up, I will throw you out that window. I’m not joking.”
“If you must know, she stood me up.” Lifting his hand, he calls the waiter over, ordering the surf and turf, like Kai, and telling him to ensure it comes out the same time as our entrées.
These Rydeville heirs are such bossy pricks. Sawyer is too, but it’s one of the things I love most about him.
“No way.” Abby shakes her head. “Shandra wouldn’t do that.”
“She did, and I don’t want to talk about it.” Drew swipes my beer, draining the rest of it. His lips twitch as I glare at him. “Now, now. Don’t be like that. I’m doing you a favor. You can’t drink any more. You need to hightail it back to New York.”
“Why?”
“My contact finally came through. You and Hunt are paying a visit to the Otisville Correctional Facility in the morning.” He slaps a folded piece of paper at my chest. “Don’t be fucking late.”
16
Sawyer
I stifle a yawn as I step out of my bedroom, carrying my shoes along the hallway, trying to be quiet so I don’t disturb Sydney. It’s still early, and she won’t be up for a while yet. I’m meeting Lauder for breakfast before I collect Xavier from his apartment. We are driving together to Otisville to visit Roland Murtagh at the correctional facility, which should be fun.
Jackson is waiting for me outside my building, and we hug briefly, slapping each other on the back. “How was Italy?” I ask as we set off on foot in the direction of our favorite breakfast place.
“Amazing. The weather was fantastic, as was the food and the beaches, and the people were very friendly. I didn’t want to come back.”
“I’m surprised you ventured outside of your hotel room,” I tease, removing my jacket and draping it over my arm.
“We still found plenty of time for sex.” He waggles his brows. “But my wife had a list of things she wanted to do and places she wanted to see, and I ensured she got to do all of them.” He smiles, and it’s good to see him looking so carefree. Lauder was troubled for so long, and Vanessa helped to bring him back to life.
I see how much my two best friends have changed since falling in love, and I crave that as much as it terrifies me. “I’m glad you had a good time.”
“What did I miss while we were gone?” he asks, and I bring him up to speed, finishing just as we reach the café.
We are shown to our usual table in the back by the window. The waitress runs off to place our regular orders, and we settle into our seats, drinking freshly squeezed orange juice as I contemplate the prison visit. A yawn slips out of my mouth, and I place my hand over my lips.
“Is your new bride keeping you up at night?” Lauder asks, drumming his fingers on the table.
“Why would you ask me that?”
“I heard a rumor.” He props his elbows on the table. “Are you fucking Sydney now?”
“Where the hell did you hear that?”
“Anderson. And he got it from Daniels.”
“You lot gossip like a bunch of pussies, and how did Xavier know?” I shift uncomfortably on my chair.
“He saw you had a hickey and put two and two together.” Jackson runs a hand through his blond hair. “Unless he was wrong?”
“I made a mistake,” I admit. “She was crying, and I felt like shit because it was my fault.”
“Ah, I see. It was a pity fuck.”
The waitress’s brows climb to her hairline, but she says nothing as she sets coffee and silverware down on the table before leaving.
“It wasn’t. It was a spur-of-the-moment thing.” I rub the back of my neck, wondering if I really want to have this conversation, but it feels like I’ll burst if I don’t talk to someone. And I know Lauder won’t judge. I tell him about showing up drunk at Xavier’s apartment and Jamison being there.
“I knew I didn’t like that nerd for a reason.” Jackson narrows his eyes. “You should fire him for insubordination. He can’t speak to you like that. You’re essentially his boss.”
“I’m not really, but I could get him fired. If I want to lose Xavier forever.”
“I know we don’t talk about feelings a lot, but you can talk to me, Hunt. I won’t tell a soul. Well, except Nessa. But she loves you, and you can trust both of us to keep your confidence.”
“I have made such a mess of everything, Jackson. I should’ve had the balls to tell my parents about Xavier when I realized I was serious about him. But I was too afraid, and I hurt him. Now, it feels like I have betrayed him again by fucking Sydney, which is crazy because he’s been fucking Jamison for weeks—and it seemed easy for him to move on. Meanwhile, I’m over here beating myself up and unable to sleep, thanks to an overwhelming sense of guilt, because I slept with my wife the night of our wedding.”
I clam up as the waitress delivers our breakfasts, waiting for her to leave before speaking again. “I miss him so much.” My heart slams against my rib cage as a tight pain spreads across my chest. “Even though I see him most days at work. It’s torture working beside him and Jamison knowing I lost the best thing to ever happen to me and I have no one to blame but myself.”