Page 43 of The Billionaire's Masquerade Ball

“Good enough. Look, maybe Xander is a jerk. Maybe not so much. You told me you guys had some special moments? Both when you were wearing the mask and when you weren’t.”

All Cynder could think about was the liquid brown of his eyes and the kindness she thought she saw there. The way he laughed. How he tried to do something nice for her, standing up against Patrick, even if it didn’t work out the way he thought it would. She thought of his shoulders shaking in the cemetery, the secret loss that he carried underneath. Wyatt had told her that the playboy thing was an act. Maybe it was.

“Even if we did, he likes someone else—the woman in the mask. And yeah, I know it was me, but he didn’t know that. He was interested in her, but not me. Clearly. Or he would never have asked me to help him find some other mystery woman. See?”

“I do and I don’t. I think you’re being stubborn and stupid. Tell him the truth. See what happens. I’ve got to go to work and you’ve got a pity party to stop.”

Just as Lucy stood, someone knocked at the door. “I ordered Chinese,” Cynder said. “Want to get it? My money’s on the table by the door. My thumb hurts.”

“Your thumb is not going to get you out of doing things around the house, so don’t even start.” But Lucy did open the door. Cynder went back to her laptop, but looked up when Lucy sounded surprised. “Um, hello. You’re not Chinese.”

“No, I’m not. I did intercept Chinese takeout, though.”

Cynder’s head snapped up at the sound of Xander’s rich baritone. He was here? In their tiny apartment?

And she was in her pajamas. This was only devolving. She met him in Lucy’s amazing dress and then in a server’s plain black. Now she was unshowered and in pajamas with a splint on her hand. If she didn’t get up, he wouldn’t see her penguin pajama bottoms.

Cynder watched as he stepped inside the small apartment, followed by Wyatt. Xander held a paper bag with China Garden printed on the side. His eyes met Cynder’s and he smiled. It was a little hesitant, but closer to the way he had looked at her before he suddenly morphed into a jerk yesterday in his office. Weakly, she smiled back and waved her good hand.

“I think this is for you,” he said, holding out the bag to Cynder. She set it on the coffee table, careful not to touch his fingers.

“Um, thanks,” she said. “Why are you here?”

He looked uncomfortable and glanced at Wyatt, like he was waiting for his assistant to supply him with the answer. Wyatt hadn’t taken his eyes off Lucy, who was smiling right back at him.

“How about some introductions?” Lucy said.

“This is my, uh, boss, Xander Callahan. And his assistant, Wyatt. This is my roommate and best friend, Lucy.” When Lucy smirked at Cynder again, she added, “You can call her Tink.”

“As in Tinkerbell?” Wyatt asked.

“Yep,” Cynder said. “She loves it.” Lucy’s smile faded and she glared at Cynder.

“Clearly,” Xander said. He was looking around the apartment and Cynder felt suddenly self-conscious, even though this really was Lucy’s place.

Their entire apartment was smaller than Xander’s office. It was neat and tidy, but cramped and barely on the edge of being in a decent neighborhood. Cynder had very little and it was all in her room. Mostly in boxes, even though she had been there way too long for that. She had moved in with Lucy after Gail married her father. She had planned to get her own place at some point, but hadn’t looked for a new place or unpacked fully, frozen with indecision.

She wondered what Xander’s place looked like in comparison. Did he live in a penthouse in the city? Or a mansion in the suburbs? Maybe both?

He seemed curious, but not turned off by the space and flopped down on the couch beside Cynder, unbuttoning the first button of his jacket. She put a hand on the messy knot of hair on top of her head. If she tried to fix it now, it would be way too obvious that it was for Xander’s sake. He didn’t seem particularly concerned with her appearance, just as he took their small apartment in stride. For someone who clearly had access to a very different kind of lifestyle, Xander seemed much more normal than Cynder would have expected. Actually, every time she expected anything of him, he surprised her. She couldn’t seem to keep her footing around him.

If Xander was being casual, Wyatt was anything but. He hadn’t taken his eyes off Lucy since he walked in the door. Lucy walked the dining table where she had left her garment bag.

“I’ve got to get to work,” Lucy said. “This has been lovely and all. Truly. Not a bit awkward or strange.”

Xander barked out a laugh and Wyatt smiled, making Cynder wonder if he had heard anything Lucy said. He looked completely smitten.

Cynder realized suddenly that the gown she had worn was still out of the garment bag, just behind her on the couch. “You missed one, Lucy,” she said trying to hold it out while simultaneously covering as much of the fabric with her arms as she could. She didn’t want Xander to recognize it.

“How could I forget this one,” Lucy said. “Silly me.”

“Here—I can help.” Wyatt reached out, helping Lucy navigate the unwieldy garment bag. His eyes sparked with recognition and he glanced at Cynder. “Is that the dress you—”

“Watch the zipper!” Lucy shouted.

“I wasn’t—” Wyatt looked shocked. Lucy elbowed him and gave him a look. “Oh, right. Zipper. Sorry.”

Cynder caught Wyatt’s eye and gave him a hard look. He rolled his eyes but nodded. She looked to see if Xander had noticed, but he was flipping through a photo album on the coffee table. Thankfully one of Lucy’s. The idea of Xander Callahan looking through her own photo albums made her feel way too exposed. It was bad enough that he was sitting next to her while she was in her pajamas.

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