He beams. “Dope. I’ve gotta go feed Miso before he pees on my bed again.” He bolts out the door before I can even ask what or who Miso is.
I turn to Xander, who hasn’t moved from the couch. One cat is now on his lap. The other is licking its paw with the kind of judgmental disinterest only cats can pull off.
“You fixed his bike?” I sit beside him.
“But then I bought him a new one.” He pulls me closer, kissing my crown. “The old one was a death trap.”
“When did all of that happen?”
“He brooded like a kicked puppy; what was I supposed to do?”
I glance over at the scattered mess that is ourcurrent living situation. Xander’s shoes under the coffee table. A suit jacket on the back of a chair. The new bike wheel poking out from behind a tower of boxes.
It should annoy me.
It doesn’t.
“And you read to him?”
He flips the book over in his hands. “Yeah. Kid said he can’t read so well. He pickedWhere the Wild Things Are. Not bad taste, really.”
My heart folds in on itself. “You didn’t know how to make a bed a few weeks ago. Now you’re fixing bikes and mentoring eight-year-olds.”
He grins. “Give it another week, and I’ll be cooking and vacuuming without cursing.” He kisses me and then lifts my legs and starts massaging the soles of my feet. “How was work?”
“The reopening is not yet scheduled, but it will be fabulous.” I close my eyes for a moment, enjoying his fingers kneading. “Oh, and I found out my father cheated on my mother several times. It was he who broke our family.”
“Fuck, Cora, that’s… What can I do?” He drops his hands and pulls me closer, holding me in his safe embrace.
He never falls for pity, but always jumps into problem-solving mode.
“Tessa said I romanticize men,” I murmur into his neck. “That I make them into better people in my head than they ever really were.”
He says nothing for a moment. “Is that why you married me?”
I chuckle. “I married you because you’re a sex god.”
He laughs. “Good. I married you because you’re good for my ego.”
“Stroking your ego is the last thing we need.” I poke his ribs, and then I lock my gaze with his. “I married you because I was desperate. But I think I’m staying married to you because… you’re not just what you project.”
“Took you long enough.” He winks.
“Why don’t you show those parts to the rest of the world?”
He tucks my head into the crook of his neck again. If he needs to talk without eye contact, I don’t mind. The fact that he’s willing to uncover another part of himself is worth it.
“It’s easier to be the party guy. The one no one expects much from. That way I can’t disappoint.”
I look up at him. “The formidable Xander Stone believes he can disappoint someone?”
His jaw works for a moment. “My siblings are brilliant. But I solved a Rubik’s cube at five and negotiated an investment deal with our dad by fourteen.My brother always felt he had to compete with me. So I cracked jokes, bought expensive shit, and crashed motorbikes to endear myself to him.”
“And it got you girls.”
He chuckles. “Exactly. I had always wanted to win. I still do.”
“And here I am just trying not to lose. I guess that’s the difference between us.”
