Stopping in the middle of the empty walkway, he turned to face her and framed her face in his hands. Pure male satisfaction surged through him when her breath hitched. He lowered his head and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. He would have given anything to deepen the kiss, but he was conscious of where they were. Not only could anyone walk by, but he knew there were at least two cameras on them.
Easing away, he kissed the tip of her nose. “Hi.” He dropped another kiss to her forehead. “You look beautiful.”
She shook her head and started them down the walkway again, but not before he saw her smile and the soft blush staining her cheeks. “Thanks again for picking me up.”
“Anytime, Frey.” When she linked her fingers with his, he wanted to beat his damn chest like a caveman. “How was your day?”
“Oh, it was a day,” she replied with a chuckle.
As they walked to his SUV, with a stop at the front desk to drop off his access card, Freya told him about a couple of fun clients she’d had. When they were seated in his car, she spilled the beans on a very demanding, high-maintenance client.
“Luckily, the woman checks out tomorrow.” Freya frowned as she buckled her seat belt.
He grinned and started the vehicle. “Do I sense a but?”
She scrunched her nose, and it was so damn cute.
Letting out a sigh, she said, “She mentioned that she really liked the color I gave her and is now hoping to get on my monthly schedule. She lives up in Vancouver and has to figure out how to break up with her current stylist first, so who knows.”
“That’s quite the trek for a haircut,” he murmured, pulling out of the parking spot. “And couldn’t she just not make another appointment with her current person?”
Freya chuckled. “Oh no. When you’ve been with your stylist for a while, you can’t just start seeing someone else. There’s a breakup process.”
He glanced her way. “Seriously?”
“It’s a thing.” She shrugged. “And the distance isn’t a problem for this woman. She gets to and from the resort in a private helicopter.”
“Ah, I assume that’s part of the high-maintenance bit?”
“You assume correctly.” She grinned at him. “So what do you have in mind for dinner?”
A sudden onslaught of nerves had his hands tightening on the steering wheel. He was usually calm and even-keeled, but this beautiful woman had him off-kilter. “Do you like chicken parmesan?”
Holy shit. If he could slap himself upside the head, he would. He really should have checked with her before he’d gone grocery shopping. What if she hated it? What if she had food allergies? What if?—
“Uh, who doesn’t?”
Relief washed over him.
“Seriously, Xan, I’m not picky, so whatever you have planned will be great.” She quickly squeezed his arm before letting go.
He missed her touch.
Fuck.
He didn’t want to think too hard about that wayward thought.
Thankfully, his turn was coming up. He pulled into his private road and gestured toward his house and the neighboring houses farther down the road. “This is all technically company housing. When Gavin Frazier started Hudson Security—whichwe passed back down the main road by De La Rosa Gym—he bought eight acres out here and built five houses. My place and the next three all have the same floor plan. The biggest one at the end is Frazier’s house. Our head of cybersecurity used to live in the place next to his, but they ended up getting together, and she just moved in with him. The two houses in the middle are used by various staff who don’t live on the island. Tash and Esme tend to use them the most.”
“Oh, they don’t live on Hudson Island?”
Xander shook his head. “No, they both have places in Seattle, but they’re here at least a couple times a month.”
He pulled into the garage and cut the engine. The swarm of nerves were back—hell, they’d never really left—and he cleared his throat. “Um, it’s not the biggest place or anything,” he began as they got out of the SUV, “but it’s comfortable.”
It was comfortable, but it sure as hell wasn’t fancy. Furniture-wise, he had the basics. His decor was lacking, as Tash was always happy to point out. He didn’t know the first thing about decorating and had never really cared. Until this very damn moment...
What if she thought his place was a shitty bachelor pad? What if cooking dinner for her was a horrible idea?
