“Our dad was promoted to Detective Sergeant,” Jane said.
“Oooh, was he just?” He eyeballed me again.
My lips thinned with a smile. “Yep. Can we talk?”
“Of course,” Xavier beamed sarcastically.
I was halfway out of my seat when Jane grabbed my hand. “What if Mom comes back?”
Mom was still busily chatting with some of the other police wives, far too distracted to notice if either Jane or I left the table. “Tell her I went to the bathroom.”
She squeezed my wrist subtly and muttered, “Who is this guy, really?”
Xavier gave us a polite smile when we looked at him.
“He’s a friend of Kira’s,” I said quickly. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
Xavier and I made a direct line to the empty patio outside that looked over the Hudson River. The Statue of Liberty was our only witness, sitting a fair distance away across the choppy, brine-scented, murky water as we began our talk.
“I’m impressed you’ve managed to hide this from Antonio,” Xavier began, folding his arms and leaning against the patio fence.
“Which is why you can’t mention this to anyone,” I whispered, glancing briefly over my shoulder to the windows. No one had noticed me leaving yet.
“You’re riskier than I thought, Lily.”
“Xavier.”
He chuckled. “Relax, hun. My lips are sealed.”
“Thank you,” I breathed, feeling the tension lift from my shoulders. I looked at his uniform, a black and white striped shirt with an apron around his waist. “You never mentioned you had another job outside of The Den.”
“Yes, well, I don’t enjoy this one nearly as much,” he said, sending an eye roll to the party inside. “But living in this city is expensive. So, I’m a waiter by day and bartender by night. At least I look good in the uniform—”
The patio doors squeaked on their hinges as Mom stepped outside. Dressed in a knee-length black, sleeveless dress with a neckline that stopped just above her collarbones. She frowned at Xavier but quickly plastered a cautious smile on her face.
“Oh, Jesus,” I muttered as she briskly approached, skirts hissing and heels clacking on the pavement.
“Lily, honey, what are you doing out here?” She eyed Xavier as she linked arms with me, her smile wavering as she tucked a strand of her neat, light brown bob behind her ear. “With the wait staff.”
Xavier mirrored her expression, and I wondered if she had just met her match when it came to pettiness. Although Xavier wasn’t nearly as spiteful.
“I’m one of Kira’s friends,” he lied with a confident grin.
My mother dragged her brown eyes over him. “Oh?”
“Mom, this is Xavier,” I said quickly, noticing the questions forming in her eyes already. “Xavier, this is Kate.”
“Lovely to meet you,” Mom said. Her teeth gritted slightly, the grip on my arm tightening.
“Likewise.” Xavier’s smile was almost feline.
“Well, then.” She placed her other hand on my arm. “We should be getting back inside. Some important people are waiting to chat with the daughters of the newly appointed Detective.”
“Don’t want to keep them waiting,” Xavier said.
The amount of fake smiling going on was ridiculous.
My mother hummed her agreement before steering me back to the doors. I glanced over my shoulder and mouthed an apology to Xavier as he followed us back inside.
