He raised his brows expectantly. “Well? I’m waiting.”
I laughed and nudged his arm. “Xander Ford, will you go to the prom with me?”
“I’d be honored.”
He kissed me then, and I couldn’t help but think of his marriage “proposal.” We hadn’t spoken of it, not once. It was something we didn’t touch—a last resort to help me escape. But now that we had feelings for each other, it seemed even more dangerous somehow.
It won’t come to that.
Xander pulled away and whispered, “Happy birthday.”
“Thank you.” I sank my fingers into his hair, my other hand sliding over his chest, feeling every line and contour through his T-shirt. “You know what that means.”
His face reddened, but his gaze grew dark and even more heated.
“It doesn’t have to mean anything,” he said, holding my face gently while his eyes roamed, coming again and again to my mouth. “But if you want to…”
“Oh, I want to,” I said. “It’s almost torture not to, at this point.”
He nodded. “I wish I could be with you tonight.”
“Me too,” I said gently. “It’s going to be hard for him, isn’t it? And you.”
While I had my birthday dinner with my family, Xander would be driving his father to Boston to check him into a hospital for the weekend. A specialist was going to run a battery of tests to see how likely it was for him to continue living at home.
“He doesn’t want to go, but we’re coming to the point where there aren’t many choices left anymore.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I wish there was something I could do.”
“You’re already doing it,” Xander said, pulling me tighter to him. “You make everything better, just by being you.”
“That’s the best birthday present already.”
“Oh no, I have plans,” he said, brightening. “Tomorrow, you’re all mine.”
“I can’t wait,” I said and kissed him again. “And I’m all yours right now.”
The space immediately grew heated, Xander’s eyes dilated. “That’s true.”
He scooted back on the table and pulled me onto his lap. I straddled him in my leggings. His mouth took mine in a heated kiss while his hand trailed down my shirt, pausing to cup my breast, thumb circling my nipple over my shirt.
“We don’t have a lot of time,” I said, my heart already pounding. “Only a few minutes.”
He took off his glasses and set them beside him with deliberate slowness, his gaze and voice heavy with authority and intention.
“That’s all I need.”
***
I got home from school just in time to meet my parents as they were walking out the door. Both were dressed for a gala, my mother in a (real) full-length chinchilla coat over a black cocktail dress, and my father in a tux.
“I didn’t realize my birthday dinner was black-tie formal,” I said with a weak smile, just as Colin walked past carrying two small pieces of luggage to the car.
“Senator Harrington has invited us to Washington, DC, for a fundraiser at the St. Regis tonight, then as his guests for the weekend,” my father said. “It’s important we cultivate a good relationship with John and his family, considering he is serving on the Committee on Environment and Public Works.”
“Right. Senator Harrington.” The man who unseated Tucker’s dad and was now Wallace Industries’ new favorite person.
“Charles has a son about your age,” Dad said. “Colton. He’s quite involved in tech, apparently. He’s sold two companies for a small fortune, and he’s only twenty-four.”
