“But—”
“Seriously, it’s okay.”
Aw, great. There was no way this wasn’t going to end badly. Now she wished she had the beaver suit on—well, as long as she could dry-clean it first.
Chapter 6
Xavier was surprised he made it to the restaurant’s front door after his exchange with Sadie. Talk about a woman. Zaps of electricity had burned his fingers when he touched her, and when he finally let her go, he resisted the urge to check them. He was positive they’d be burned to a crisp.
Mercy. She was beautiful, and now that he wasn’t looking at her through the weird beaver-suit eyes, even more so. Her dark eyes were something else. And that smile? Oh man, it was amazing. He’d almost tucked tail and run, but when her ex had shown up withBarbie GirlCinnamon, there was no way he could ditch Sadie. Not that Xavier thought of himself as a catch, but the hurt look that crossed her features? Nope, he was a lot of things, but he’d outgrown his coward phase.
He held Sadie’s chair as the hostess set the menus on the table.
“Thank you,” she said, smiling up at him.
He turned and held Poppy’s chair.
The woman giggled. “Well, he’s a gentleman.”
“Have you never met before?” Buck asked Poppy.
Sadie choked.
Xavier took a deep breath as he seated himself next to Sadie. He was going to have to play up the boyfriend thing. “We’ve met. This is just her way of teasing me. Poppy always says gentlemen are rare.”
Poppy batted at his arm. “’Cause it’s true.”
Cinnamon perched herself in the seat across from Xavier. “How long have you two been dating?”
Sadie leaned into Xavier, and he gladly put his arm across her shoulders. “A few months,” she said.
“A few months? And already engaged?” Buck asked.
It took everything within Xavier not to fall out of the chair. Engaged? He cleared his throat. “Well, it’s a new development. But when you know, you know. Right, sweetie?” He looked at her.
Sadie grinned sheepishly. “Yep, that’s right.” The wordsI’m sorrywere written all over her face. “Poppy broke the news to Buck earlier today.”
Engaged? Well, that wouldn’t be any harder than pretending to be her boyfriend. “Ah, yeah.”
Poppy shrugged. “Sorry. I’m horrible with secrets.”
Xavier pulled Sadie closer. “It’s okay. I don’t mind anyone knowing I’m engaged to this gorgeous woman.”
Sadie sucked in a sharp breath. As if she didn’t hear that all the time. She had to know how beautiful she was. It wasn’t like she could hide it. Sure, she wasn’t the magazine, need-a-basket-of-cookies model, but she was no less attractive in his eyes. She was perfect.
“He’s so sweet to me.” She put her lips next to Xavier’s ear. “You don’t have to say that stuff.”
“Truth is truth,” he whispered.
The look in her eyes when he leaned back shocked him. A glisten of tears? Who in their right mind gave this woman the idea that she wasn’t gorgeous? “You are beautiful.”
The waiter returned with their drinks and took their orders.
“How did you two meet?” asked Cinnamon, focusing on Xavier. “I didn’t think you were doing any conventions.”
Sadie took a deep breath. “Well, uh…”
“I was…” What was he doing? Not jogging. He wasn’t running unless something was chasing him.
