Page 21 of Pretend You're Mine
The rest of the hour whipped by with more conversation, as easy as if Xander and I really were dating for real. Before I knew it, my phone was beeping that it was time to go.
Xander hurried to the door first. “Sorry,” he said. “You probably don’t want me here hanging around your place when you’re gone. Anyway, I’m due back to give Walter a walk.”
When he leaned in for a kiss, my lips parted eagerly. But then his kiss went on my cheek.
“Bye,” he said, “Had a great time. See you tonight.”
“See you tonight,” I said hollowly, watching as he left.
What the hell had just happened? After last night and this morning, I’d figured that … No. I wasn’t going to go there. There was no point in getting my hopes up. This was just an arrangement. Xander’s cheek kiss had shown me that.
Anyway, it was time to get to work. That was one thing I could not afford to screw up.
10
Xander
All the cleaning to do, and no peace of mind to do it. I stood in my doorway and scowled at the months’ worth of dust that had arrived while I’d been rushing about working. If my family had come when they’d said they were going to, my plan of having my maid Cecelia deal with the mess would have worked swimmingly.
Instead, Papa had excitedly texted me yesterday about the earlier flight they’d managed to snag. So, it was up to me to clean.
Despite the time-sensitivity of the task ahead, my mind was still weirdly fuzzy after that morning with Naomi. I needed to clear my head.
Walter trotted up to greet me happily. Clearly my neighbor Paula had been good to her word. When I’d given a spare key to and asked the older spinster, whose favorite hobbies were wandering about the hallways and gossiping to anyone who’d listen, to stop in and check on Walter, I’d had my doubts. But last night and this morning had been her trial run, and if Walter’s good spirits were any indication, then she’d done great.
Anyway, if Walter was up for it, I was ready for a run.
A few minutes later, the two of us were racing outside on the nature trail behind my building. As cool air raced up through my nostrils, and hot air puffed out of my lips, I could feel the buzzing in my mind lifting. Yes, a run was just what I needed.
And yet, as my Nikes pounded into the gravel, I realized that I couldn’t get Naomi out of my mind.
How good she felt in my arms this morning when I woke up earlier than she did and had her nestled against my chest tightly. How peaceful she was when she was still asleep, the way the golden light played on her eyelashes.
How much I’d wanted to kiss her and be inside of her again.
I paused, frowning. Walter raced ahead, giving me a bark to say hurry the hell up, but I stayed where I was. I didn’t want to run, didn’t want to do anything before I figured this out. Before I made the decision once and for all. This was just an arrangement. Whatever feelings I was developing for Naomi, were just a result of that arrangement, nothing more. She knew that, and I knew that. Even if not, the last thing Naomi needed was to be with someone like me.
My decision made, I headed home. Back at my place, I got cleaning in a frenzy. I’d barely finished when, at 4:55, there was a knock on my door. Naomi stood there looking breathtaking in an emerald green dress that brought out the gleam in her eyes.
“You look great,” I said.
Too great, I inwardly added.
Although Naomi’s knee-length dress wasn’t revealing, it showed off her slim figure and graceful arms beautifully.
“Thanks,” she said.
I paused, looking at her. Really, I should’ve been getting dressed, but there was something about her demeanor that had changed.
“So,” she said in a cool tone. “You said they’d be here in fifteen minutes, right?”
I squared my shoulders. “Right. I’ll go get dressed now.”
In my room, as I buttoned up the purple shirt my family all loved, I talked myself out of the disappointment singing through me. Naomi had come, that was the important part. So what if she’d gone a bit cold? That was for the best.
Less than ten minutes later, the first one to arrive was my nosy Aunt Edna, her nose in the air like a terrier sniffing out anything interesting.
Her gaze alighted on Naomi. “So, this is the new wife? The mystery woman.” She wobbled over to her and focused her ginormous nose up at Naomi much like Walter would a new guest. “You must tell me all about your secrets, spur of the moment elopement.” She cast me a dark glare. “My horrid nephew didn’t breathe a word of it to any of us until a few days ago! We didn’t even know you existed!”
