Page 84 of The Hookup
“Wasn’t me.” He couldn’t believe Xavier had continued with that crazy, lame-ass idea of his. A $10K bet to bed a woman? Who the hell did that kind of thing? “You didn’t seem to be getting anywhere pursuing her, and I thought you’d forgotten about it.”
“Iwasn’tgetting anywhere, and Ididforget about it.”
“So, what’s the problem?”
“Things changed,” replied Xavier, in a dull voice.
“Things changed? Like what?”
“I like her.”
Luke blinked, trying to digest what Xavier had just said. Was it possible that Xavier had fallen for Izzy—as impossible as that seemed?
“So what’s the problem?” he asked again. If he liked her, surely he could find a way to explain his crazy ass idea to her. At least, he could try. It had been a hell of a stupid idea in the first place and the guy seemed to be getting his karma returned.
“I meant to tell her.”
Oh, hell yes. The need to come clean. Xavierhadfallen for her. “Why? I wouldn’t have told her, and she would never have found out.”
“Doesn’t matter. She knows now. It’s all blown up.”
No wonder the guy looked like shit. It wouldn’t have mattered much if he didn’t care, but having the girl you like suddenly find out that you put a price on bedding her, sonota good idea. Perhaps he shouldn’t have been surprised that Xavier had feelings for this girl, especially if he’d had to work hard to get her. “I’ve never known you tonotlike pretty and sexy, and Izzy seems to be the perfect combination, but what made her warm towards you?” This was the million-dollar question. How a sensible girl like Izzy could fall for a playboy like Xavier.
“Stuff,” said Xavier. “Maybe she saw my better side.”
“You must have done your best to charm her?” he asked. It must have been something big because, as far as he was concerned, Izzy and Xavier had nothing in common.
Xavier Stone was like a walking hard-on. His affinity for women, for being known as the stud, and for being so blatant about it, always surprised Luke. They were both so different in that respect, even though they both worked their way through plenty of women. Xavier openly chased after them—the guy loved women and he loved pussy. He seemed to make a game out of it. But Luke didn’t chase them. He didn’t need women in the same way Xavier did, and he could just as easily do without them for long periods of time. That is, until he’d met Kay, and now he didn’t know what to think.
“I didn’t play her,” replied Xavier, defensively.
Luke understood. Xavier had fallen for Izzy in a big way—otherwise her finding out about the bet would never have been a problem. He didn’t want to hurt this girl, but by virtue of her finding out what he’d done, she would never forgive him, and he couldn’t handle that. “And what we had,” he continued, “Wasn’t based on trying to get her into bed.”
Yet the guy was smiling. The girl he had fallen for had just found out that he’d placed a bet on her, and he was grinning about it. Either his feelings weren’t as deep as he professed, or he was using laughter to disguise his pain. “Why are you smiling?” he asked. “Is this still a game to you?”
“No.No.” Xavier shook his head. “I’m crazy about that girl.”
“How crazy, exactly?”
“The kind of crazy I’ve never been.”
Seriously? He took a closer look at his friend’s miserable face. His eyes gave a clue to his suffering. Luke whistled. “Shit.”
“You see my problem?” snapped Xavier, throwing his hands up in the air. “She found out about everything. About the bet, about the money, and that it was you and me who talked about it.”
Hell, no. “She knows I’m implicated?” He hated Xavier for that. As far as Luke was concerned, he and Izzy had gotten on fine on Tobias’s private island. Luke had harbored no such feelings for her.
Xavier’s eyes narrowed. “Tell me you don’t have any designs on her?” he demanded, making a second ridiculous accusation in the same conversation. Seriously? Was this guy for real?
Luke didn’t go looking for women. They came to him. And Izzy was a student, for fuck’s sake, she was still at college—even if she’d expressed an interest in him he would never have hooked up with her.
“You idiot,” he muttered. The guy was obviously in love because his brain had turned to mush, and he wasn’t capable of thinking straight. Why else would he make such unjust accusations? “I’m not interested in your girl.” It was sad to see, what the green-eyed monster of jealousy could to do a man, and then he remembered that night around Christmas time when he’d caught Kay’s ex making a play for her. He hadn’t been able to handle that too well, either.
Jealousy was a bitch.
“You sure?” Xavier asked.
“Calm your shit,” said Luke, mildly irritated, and understanding his friend’s turmoil. “I’mnotinterested in your girl.”
