Page 100 of Crossing the Line
“Not even your parents?” He was shocked.
She shot him an amused look. “Especially not my parents. We’re not a touchy-feely kind of family. We’re more ‘sweep it under a very expensive rug and hope it goes away’ people.”
Xavier watched her as she picked her fork up again and dug back in. She wasn’t saddened by her admission. But he was devastated for her. Again he thought of that little girl abandoned and unprotected on the sidewalk. Despite all the fame, the lavish lifestyle, the shiny trinkets, Waverly Sinner deserved better than anyone had ever given her.
He thought of the hundreds and thousands of “I love yous” that had intersected his family.
“Speaking of your parents,” Xavier began.
Waverly looked up from her plate warily.
“Do you want to talk about what happened today?”
“I take it you Saints are talkers?” she said, sidestepping his question.
“We’ve been known to discuss an issue here and there.”
“Ah,” she said, glancing out toward the night sea. “I’ve never found talking things through to be particularly helpful. Besides, talking about family issues makes me feel… disloyal.”
“You’ve talked to me before about issues,” he reminded her.
“That was different. I was amped up and frustrated, and you scared the hell out of me busting into Kate’s garage like that. Tonight, you’ve already drained me of every ounce of tension I’ve ever held in my body. No tension?” She jabbed her fork in his direction. “No need to rehash events that can’t be changed.”
“That’s very sexually Zen of you,” he said dryly.
She winked at him and changed the subject. “I know this is thinking hours and hours ahead, but eventually I’m going to have to leave this room, and the only clothing I have is a bikini and this robe.”
“Oh ye of little faith,” Xavier said, pushing away from the table. He ducked into the room and stepped back out onto the terrace, a small shopping bag dangling from his finger.
“Too small to be an I Heart Mykonos sweatshirt,” Waverly teased.
Xavier handed over the bag, and Waverly wasted no time digging through the tissue paper.
“Xavier!” her soft exclamation was filled with wonder. She pulled the dress out of the bag and oohed. It was airy, long, and white. Embellished with dark blue embroidery from the top of the simple halter to the ankle-length hem, the dress was perfectly Greek. The back was open except for a tie around the neck and another across the mid-back. “This is stunning! You were gone ten minutes. Where did you find it?”
“I sent Oberon—from the front desk—on a search for dinner while I called my men on the yacht to let them know that we were alive,” he paused and looked at her pointedly. “And when I hung up, I saw the shop across the street was getting ready to close. This was in the window.”
Waverly stood up and held it up to herself.
“It’s beautiful, X.”
“Don’t put it on, yet,” he told her, shoving his plate away. “I have more plans for your naked body.”
“I hope you have a new pair of legs for me in that bag because if we keep this up, I’m not going to be able to walk,” she warned him.
He glanced in the bag. “Hmm, no new legs. But I did see this.” It was a tiny package wrapped in tissue paper. She greedily unwrapped it and her fingers paused.
“Oh, X.”
He took it out for her. A small gold coin bearing Athena’s wise face dangled on a long, delicate chain. “A new good luck charm for you.”
She pressed her lips together and refused to meet his gaze for a moment. When she did, her eyes were glassy with unshed tears. She slid the chain over her head and patted the coin between her breasts. “Thank you, Xavier. I’m going to treasure this forever.”
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He was still thinking of her confession hours later while Waverly slept peacefully in his arms. He buried his face in her hair, and she snuggled closer against his chest.
She felt safe with him. That he knew. She trusted him—at least with her life—he was fairly certain. She liked him, sometimes. But he couldn’t fathom going through life with the certainty that he’d never be in love. Never finding that partner that loved and challenged and supported him. No wonder she’d been so shut off from people. It wasn’t just a necessary protection for her reputation and career. It was that she didn’t see a point to letting anyone in. And why in the hell did it bother him so much that she was so certain she’d never love anyone?Because it meant that she’d never love him.
