Page 41 of Xander

And this time, I knew what he meant.

Xander

“We shouldn’t leave the party,” Jordan protested, flicking her oversized hoop earring as she sipped her champagne.

We stopped for drinks after I cleaned up her cut. Venturing outside was the right decision. I had no idea what came over me tonight. I had never lost my calm before and needed to walk it off.

“Why not?” I asked.

“Because you’re finally home for the weekend,” she said. “You should spend time with your father, not ditch his party and hide in the gardens.”

I mentally scoffed. My father didn’t care and would only miss my absence if I did something to sully the Maxwell name, such as beating up the VP of his company. “He’ll be fine.”

Plus, I only came to the party because of Jordan.

This unlikely friendship initially stemmed from our similar personalities. We were both peacemakers. She was apt at dealing with hotheaded clients, while I had put out the fires between Dad and Jasper on more than one occasion. Our ability to keep calm made for an unexpected alliance… except tonight.

The garden was equally calm when we stepped outside. Only a few guests loitered nearby to take a call or for a smoke break. Thankfully, none of them were my father’s associates.

Those disgusting men hit on Jordan at these parties, and my father let them. She hated entertaining these fools or being ogled by them—most of whom were more than thirty years older than her—but she maintained her composure to avoid offending anyone.

It made me want to break each of their jaws, and I didn’t know how much longer I could withstand the impulse. I still wanted to beat the shit out of Richard Small Dick, but Jordan’s arm banded around mine kept me placid.

She seemed to appreciate my company far more than those stuffy assholes. Over the past month, she had dragged me to every wedding planning meeting while making endless excuses about why my father was too busy to attend.

I suppose I made excuses, too.

I could decline to attend these silly appointments with her, but watching her mimic impressions and fabricate stories about strangers became one of my few pleasures in life. The way she listened made me feel like the only person on earth. She noted the things I liked and incorporated them whenever we met. The small considerations were a first for me.

Spending time with her had become infinitely better than not being around her, and now I couldn’t spend a day without speaking to her. Mere hours felt like days whenever I was with Jordan. But as always, I reminded myself that soon, she’d be nothing more than my father’s wife.

A sense of loss gripped me at the thought. It was strange to mourn something I never had. There was just such a finality to marriage.

I jerked when she suddenly stepped forward, taking me into a hug.

Jordan had an invisible line to my thoughts. She always knew when my mood dipped, and unlike everyone else in my life, affection was her answer to everything. She was the only person to hug me since Mom’s accident. The first time took me by surprise, and I still wasn’t used to it.

I swallowed, forcing myself not to inhale the scent that could knock a man to his knees. The heat thickening from her nearness suffocated me at times, while at others, I wanted to melt into it.

“How did you end up with someone like my father?” The question slipped out despite my resolve not to get involved in their business.

Jordan jumped out of my hold, ice settling on her face.

A shout of protest almost resonated from my chest, and I barely managed to swallow it. I didn’t want to let her go.

She speared me with those deep sky-blue eyes before smoothing her mien. I realized it sounded like I had insinuated he was out of her league.

I meant the opposite.

She was too good for him.

For a moment, I wondered if she’d give me a bullshit answer like I love him or We are meant to be. However, Jordan chose a different route.

“Your father and I met during a very difficult time in my life,” she disclosed carefully. “My parents passed away shortly after we met.”

My eyes rounded, back straightening at the unexpected response.

Heaving a deep sigh, she added, “There was a fire at my childhood home, a bad one. The fire department couldn’t put it out, nor could they get inside the house. My parents were trapped and burned alive.”