She suspected he wouldn’t remember her. He was always surrounded by people, girls mostly. And if it wasn’t girls, it was guys trying to pitch a game to him. She’d crushed on him until she saw a girl kiss him. If there was one thing she wasn’t, it was a guy stealer. After that, she’d steered clear of him. Now, here she was, and all those little tingles were back in full force.
Without taking his eyes off Sadie, he said, “Hi, Poppy.”
“Why didn’t you tell me to take a hike earlier?” Sadie asked as she finally found her voice.
Xavier shrugged, his hand dropping to his side. “If Sadie Baylor needs a solid, who am I to say no?”
Her heart fluttered. He knew her? And why was she still tingling? He wasn’t touching her anymore, but her skin still felt hot. “I wasn’t very nice to you.”
Laughing, he said, “I was in a six-foot beaver suit. I had it coming.”
“Why were you wearing that?”
“My friends are sadistic and like to torment me?” He shook his head, looking away. “It’s a long-running thing.” He brought his gaze back to hers. “Needless to say, I’ll be smarter next time. Much, much smarter.”
Gah. He wassocute and charming. His glasses framed his blue eyes, he wasn’t some veined-out gym-rat weirdo, and he was a gamer. What would he think if he knew she still played on the weekends or that she thoughtDragon’s Furywas amazing? Probably that she should grow up. Just because he designed games didn’t mean he still played them.
“I really am sorry for being mean. I was stressed and freaked out and…” She sighed. “It doesn’t excuse my behavior.”
“Apology accepted.” He cast his gaze to the pavement. “I don’t have to go with you to dinner. It’s okay. I just…from the looks of it, you needed to show that guy up. He seemed like a jerk. I saw your illustrations, and you’re incredibly talented.”
“You think so?” Having Xavier Parker say that meant the world to her.
He lifted his head, his eyes locking with hers. “Absolutely.”
Poppy coughed. “Still here and now hungrier.”
As Sadie’s head cleared a little more, she realized she needed to let Xavier know what Poppy had done. “I think I need—” She stopped short as Buck stepped out of a black Maserati SUV.
“Sadie, Poppy!” Buck called and then froze as his gaze hit Xavier. “And Xavier Parker?” His voice hitched a little higher.
Part of her wanted to squeal with delight,Yep, take that, you company-stealing, backstabbing jerk!But she couldn’t do that to Xavier. She turned to him. “Xavier, I really—”
Cinnamon got out of the car, and her jaw dropped. “Xavier!” She started toward them.
“You know her?” Sadie asked Xavier.
He shook his head. “No, well, I know we’ve been to the same parties for the game, but she’s not the type to give a guy like me the time of day.”
“Guy like you?”
“Geek.” He sighed.
Gorgeous geek. Did he not know that? “Her loss.”
He blinked like it didn’t register. “Uh…”
The next second, Buck was shaking hands with Xavier, and then Cinnamon took her turn. “It’s so good to see you,” she said. “At the last party, I kept trying to make it over to you and got stopped each time. I’m so sorry.”
“That’s okay.” Xavier smiled.
Buck looked from Xavier to Sadie. “Why don’t we take this into the restaurant?”
Xavier nodded. “Sure.” He palmed the small of Sadie’s back, and she about jumped out of her skin. Whoa. All these weird feelings she was having needed to stop. Xavier Parker was well…Xavier Parker. He could date anyone. Why on earth would he pick a forty-year-old with a paunch?
Besides, once he found out Poppy had told Buck they were engaged, he’d probably run for the hills. “Uh, Xavier—”
He held up his hand and winked. “It’s okay. We’ll tackle him together.” The smile that lit up his face took her breath away.
