“Evangeline Micallef - soon to be Dane - you did not inform me your sugar daddy had such impeccable taste.” Xavier picked up one of Cooper’s watches sitting atop the counter, holding it against his own wrist.
“He’s two years older than me, it’s hardly a sugar daddy situation,” I replied, tossing the vegetables in the frypan.
“Inmyhead he’s a silver fox who knows his way around your barrels,” his voice trailed off before he gasped so loud, I jumped. “Look at that view,” he squeaked, pointing towards the backyard and I snorted with laughter.
“You scared the shit out of me, Xav,” I reprimanded without heat. “Gorgeous, isn’t it? How am I going to live in squalor after this? Maybe I will need a sugar daddy,” I joked, and he nodded sympathetically.
“Got it. I’ll sign us both up for one of those online forums. We expect nothing less than whiskey, regret and this calibre of glamour.” He added and I chuckled.
“I can’t even consider dating right now, even if it does come with those things,” I replied honestly. I wasn’t even sure how I ever thought I would be able to clean houses and travel to and from Moorway each day while working. Most evenings I was shattered and that was with living fifteen minutes from work and no other commitments.
Xavi gasped, using the pivot as an opportunity to retell another failed date he’d been on recently which apparently cemented his decision never to date again - which he said at least twice per month - and I finished cooking while listening to the hilarious antics of Xavier Cratt.
“How’s the internship?” He asked as I dished the beef stir-fry I’d thrown together onto two plates and placed another portion into a container for Cooper to have later.
“Soooo good to finally be doing what I enjoy. But it's exhausting working such long hours too.” I added. “What about yours?”
He took a sip of his drink as he rolled his eyes. “Not great. The woman I’m working for is Miranda Priestly, only she has no taste, class, style, brains or money. And the company itself is a monolithic colosseum. So, you can imagine it’s a hoot,” he added with a raised brow.
“That sounds awful,” I sympathised around another forkful of stir fry. “Can you tell the uni and get a new placement?”
“Canyoucover your mouth?” His disgust only made me laugh which meant my chewed food became more visible. “Has your fiancé seen his little animal eat?”
“Hundreds of times. Never even said anything,” I admitted.
“Imagine if Mr. and Mrs. Cruella de Vil saw you now,” he joked and I grinned, exaggeratedly chewing my food with a wider mouth.
“I’m not going to bother telling the uni. I only have four more weeks anyway, I’ll survive.” Xavi was unbelievably confident, but he also despised confrontation, meaning he was often not afforded the respect he deserved. He was sharp and capable, his eye for detail the kind that would make him an amazing accountant and his lack of frustration over the situation only fuelled my own.
“That’s bullshit,” I snapped.
“You have such a filthy mouth now you’ve moved in with Mr. Whiskey-man. I’m telling Judes again.” He said with faux horror, just as I heard the distinct sounds of a motorbike.
I swung my head in the direction of the door, my cutlery clanging onto the table.
“Oh yesssss,” Xav hissed, immediately reading the scene for what it was. “Please tell me that is Prince Not-So-Charming in the flesh,” he coaxed, and I listened intently for confirmation of what I already knew.
When the bike shut off and the front door clicked open, I was entirely confused, only nodding in Xavier’s direction to confirm theowner of this luscious house was indeed home. He’d definitely said he had a few more hours of work, so it was unexpected to say the least.
“Behave,” I whispered, suddenly feeling ill-equipped and nervous. I would have changed out of these daggy clothes for starters, and I definitely needed more time to prepare for my best boy meeting the man I’d glorified within an inch of his life. The click of boots on floorboards was the only sound as Xavier and I collectively held our breath, staring at the hallway expectantly.
“Hey,” I pounced, the second Cooper rounded the corner looking as delectable as ever but sadly, wearing a shirt for once. His hair was wind swept from the bike, his eyes moving from Xavier to myself inscrutably. When he didn’t immediately respond, I wondered if something was wrong.
Even though he’d seemed fine less than an hour ago when I’d checked in to see if it was okay to have someone here, there was something in his stance which told me his opinion on that had since changed.
“You’re home earlier than I thought,” I fumbled, nervously trying to fill the silence.
“Yeah, wanted to get some stuff done before the storm hits.” He gestured outside towards the darkening clouds I hadn’t previously noticed.
His tone was ice cold, and I felt the heat rise up my neck in embarrassment.
“This is Xavier, Xavier this is Cooper,” I introduced hurriedly, desperate to fill the otherwise silent room.
Cooper glared between us again, taking in the table before nodding and walking over to Xavier.
“Nice to meet you,” he said with absolutely zero warmth before he held out a hand for him to shake - which at any other time, would have made me laugh given how much I knew Xavi would be melting. Taking me by surprise, Xavier stood, returning the handshake in the most masculine display I’d ever seen from him – only when Cooper retreated, Xavi fanned himself behindhis back mouthing ‘wow’ in my direction. There he is, I thought, biting back a smile as I swivelled in my chair toward the man currently pretending to be deeply interested in the contents of the fridge.
“I left you a dish.” I pointed to the container I’d set aside with his food - not that he’d know because he kept his back to me.
