Page 52 of Crossing the Line
An unfamiliar laugh, warm and bright, echoed off the marble floor of the hallway.
Waverly and Louie shared a glance.
“Is that Ice Queen laughing?” Louie looked as incredulous as Waverly felt.
“That’s not possible,” Waverly shook her head.
They raced to the door and pushed it open at the same time. Louie’s jaw hit the floor when he saw Gwendolyn facing Xavier with a dazzling smile on her face. “Well, I must say it was a pleasure, Mr. Saint.”
“Please. Call me Xavier.” He turned, sensing them in the hallway, and his gaze told Waverly he was anything but happy.
Oblivious to the tension between them, Gwendolyn gave her trilling laugh again and patted Xavier on the chest. “Oh, I can work with this, Waverly,” she said, her smile still at full wattage. “I’ll be in touch. Off to speak with your mother.”
“Good luck,” Waverly whispered after her. She wasn’t sure which of them would need it more.
“I need to speak with you,” Xavier said, all charm vanishing from his face.
Waverly and Louie backed into the kitchen, and Xavier advanced on them.
Louie, the coward, abandoned her and busied himself on the safe side of the island when Xavier shoved the swinging door open. It bounced off the wall. Waverly backed into a barstool as his hand clamped over her wrist.
“Let’s take a walk.”
“But… I’m helping Louie.”
“No you’re not,” Louie the Traitor announced, his relief evident when Xavier hauled her out the door.
“What the hell, X?” Waverly asked, trying to yank her arm loose. But he wasn’t giving up. He pulled her around the side of the house toward the garden with its cobbled walkways and pristinely trimmed hedges.
“Your mother sells information about you to the tabloids, and I have to find this out from your publicist?” He finally released her, and she took a step back, turning to get a bit of distance between them.
“I’m sorry about the picture, X. Gwendolyn will fix it. She always does.”
“Always does, as in this isn’t the first time.”
“I promise, I won’t let this damage your reputation or that of Invictus either.”
“Actually, according to our friend Gwendolyn a juicy little scandal like this would bump up the exposure of Invictus and have female clients flooding in.”
“Everybody wins,” Waverly said weakly.
“You know that’s not what I’m after, and I’m also not after you apologizing for your mother’s behavior. You have nothing to apologize for.”
“Then why are you yelling at me?”
“I’m not yelling,” he yelled. “I’m being upset on your behalf in a loud manner.”
“Oh good. Glad we cleared that up.”
He turned her around to face him, this time gently. “I have to ask you something, okay? And I need you to be honest.”
“If I can, I will be.” She could tell he wasn’t particularly pleased by that answer, but he pressed on.
“The topless pictures of you from the tabloid…”
Waverly took a slow deep breath and let it out. She could lie to him, but he’d know. It seemed like he already knew. “She took them.”
His hands tightened reflexively on her arms, and he muttered out a string of curses.
