Page 27 of A Geek Girl's Guide to Kissing a Video Gamer
Closing her eyes, Sadie covered her mouth with her hand, trying to hold back the tears. So Buckhadused her the entire time? That wasn’t even his real name? How could anyone do that to another human being?
“And about Sadie,” the woman continued.
Sadie’s eyes flew open at the sound of her name coming from the phone. What about her?
“I sent you everything I could dig up—”
As quietly as she could, Sadie quickly opened the door, slipped out, and ran for the elevator. She didn’t need to hear anymore. Buck’s words had hit Xavier as hard as she’d imagined. Of course, she couldn’t blame Xavier. Not with what he’d been through with Kim. If anything, knowing Buck was a con man and that he’d taken other women’s money made Sadie understand even more.
The elevator doors opened, and she stepped on. Even if the private investigator gave Sadie a gold star, Xavier would always have a seed of doubt. He’d never truly trust her after what Buck had said, and she wouldn’t want to live like that either, always trying to prove that she loved him.
Loved him.As the word filled her mind, she ran her thumb across the small diamond on her ring finger. Her heart skipped a beat and broke at the same time. Xavier was a man she could see spending her life with, and now Buck had taken that from her too. The jerk.
It only made her more determined to get those illustrations done so she could give them to Xavier as a way of thanking him when they returned to Dallas. Not that those would be the only thing she did. She planned to repay him every cent he’d spent on her, even if it took her years to do it. Maybe, just maybe, they could forge a friendship. She’d happily do that just to keep him in her life.
Chapter 18
The second day of the exhibition seemed to draw even larger crowds than the first day. Even if Templar didn’t sign, she’d had enough developers stop by her booth that Xavier felt confident she was going to be successful.
He’d yet to find courage to tell her about his conversation with Emilia Sanger, a friend and private investigator in Dallas. Buck had used Sadie from the very beginning. If she was hurt before, this would be an even bigger blow. A sleazy jerk who’d not only taken advantage of her, but other women too. Plus, if she took Empire back, there was a chance she’d be in danger. The thought gutted Xavier. He wouldn’t use the four-letter word yet, but he did care about her.
There was also the information he had on her. When he’d called Emilia, he’d only planned on having her get information on Buck. Before he knew it, he was asking her to dig into Sadie. His reasoning at the time was solid. If nothing came back, he could dismiss Buck’s insinuation that Sadie had used Xavier. He was only doing the smart thing…protecting himself.
Even Emilia hadn’t bought that. As they were on the phone, she’d sent him all the information she’d gathered on Sadie and then asked him if that was what he really wanted to do. That if he couldn’t trust himself to put faith in her, the relationship would never work.
After they’d finished their conversation, he’d lain in bed, staring at the email Emilia had sent. Should he open it or delete it? Eventually, he’d set the phone facedown on the nightstand and tossed and turned all night. The fitful night’s sleep hadn’t given him an answer one way or another. By morning, he was still just as torn as he was the night before.
Enough that he’d left Sadie at the table in the hotel dining room, using the bathroom as an excuse to give him a chance to walk and think. Emilia was right. Even if he had all the information he could ever get on Sadie, if he didn’t trust himself, he wouldn’t trust her either. That was the crux of the whole thing. Could he trust himself? Hadn’t he been sure of Kim?
“You have the boat ready, right, sweetheart?”
The sound of a familiar voice stopped Xavier just as he reached the restroom. Buck? Who was he talking to? Xavier peeked around the corner and found him alone, talking on the phone.
The man chuckled. “No, I never loved her. I told you, sweetheart. I’m just trying to get the money she stole from me before we leave. We’ll be set for life, I promise.”
Xavier edged closer as Buck paused again.
“Yeah, sweetheart. I’ll be completely free and yours after this. No company and enough money to give you the life you deserve.” He laughed. “I know, I love you too…I’ve missed you so much…Okay, I’ll see you at the dock tomorrow around two…No, if you show up, she’ll know, and it’ll blow our entire plan…Trust me, sweetheart, this is the best way…Okay, I love you too.” Buck ended the call and chuckled.
As he turned, Xavier quickly slipped inside the bathroom and found an unoccupied stall. What on earth was Buck planning? Who was he meeting at the dock, and where were they getting this money to live on? It didn’t make sense. Cinnamon was at the conference with him…and Sadie didn’t have any money. What if he was doing the same thing to Cinnamon?
As soon as he could, he was getting Sadie alone and telling her what he knew. From there, they’d figure out what to do about Buck. Whatever he was doing, it didn’t sound good. If nothing else, it would keep Xavier’s mind busy and off the question of whether he could trust himself or Sadie.
Chapter 19
Sadie tore off a piece of Twizzler rope as she paced the hotel room. When she and Xavier returned to their suite after the exhibition, he’d told her about Buck. Only, he had even more information than she’d overheard the night before. The slimeball was trying to con Cinnamon like he’d conned Sadie.
A knock came from the door, and Xavier answered it. “Hey, come on in.”
Cinnamon stepped inside, hugging herself. They hadn’t told her why they wanted to speak with her, just that they needed her alone. It had been a strange conversation, trying to convince the woman to come to their hotel room.
Sadie suspected she felt nervous. An ex-girlfriend wanting to talk to the new girlfriend while the boyfriend wasn’t around? Yeah, Sadie would have been cautious too. Why would Cinnamon even believe her?
“Can you tell me why you needed to talk to me?” Cinnamon asked.
Sadie finished her bite of Twizzler and stopped a foot from her. “You have no reason to believe me or trust me or anything, but I need you to hear me.”
“Well, I am a little surprised that you called, but I’m willing to listen.”
