Page 72 of My Secret Bandit

With all the excitement—the article, Mateo getting hurt, and my panic attack—everyone made a point to check on me. I appreciated that I had a decent circle of people that cared about my well-being. I mean, I could have easily been the lonely, family-less girl I was coming back to Florida after losing my mom.

“Xander, I told you I’d be fine.”

“Right, but ‘would be’ and ‘definitely am’ are two different things.”

My eyes were small slits as I glared at him. “Touché, sir.”

He chuckled and shook his head of unstyled hair. “Exactly. So, which is it?”

”Iamfine. I’m good.”

He kept staring, waiting for my smile to fade. When it didn’t, he let out the breath he’d been holding.

“Okay. I needed to be sure. So… before Mattie gets in—“ He went silent, checking to make sure Mateo was still busy outside. “His sister is coming back from deployment.”

“Deployed?” I asked, trying to mask some of my shock.

Mateonevermentioned his sister.

Even when he talked about Amelia, he stayed close-lipped about the girl’s mother.

Going off my barely existent family history with my sperm-donor, I just assumed the two didn’t have a good relationship, so I never asked about her.

“Yeah. Mariana’s been overseas for like a year.” Xander spilled a secret, and he realized it as soon as the words began tumbling out. “Ah, fuck!Okay. You know when a team is doing well, and nobody wants to talk about it? They think they’ll jinx the good luck or some bullshit like that. Well, that’s how Mattie is with his sister. If he doesn’t talk about her, he thinks she’ll be safe. Flawed logic? Maybe, I don’t know. I’m not the best judge on family dynamics.“ His body tensed, and he zoned out, watching steam rise from the pot.

Nosy by nature, I wanted to know more, but seeing the discomfort on his face, I let it go.

“When is she getting back?” I asked.

“A couple of days before his birthday. Mom wants to surprise him, I thought we could make a party out of it.”

Xander elaborated on his plans for a surprise party while I mashed potatoes. I loved the idea. Mateo wasn’t really the type that liked to be the center of attention, even though his skills and charm always seemed to land him there. But he also wasn’t one to turn down a fun night with his family and friends either.

“I can talk to his mom about it some more tomorrow when we see them.”

Xander replied with a whistle. “You’re meeting the parents? That’s big. You know he hasn’t brought a girl home since the one he dated in high school?”

“What about themodel?“ I asked mockingly, throwing air quotes around the last word. In my book, beingInstafamousdidn’t group you in with actual models like Cindy Crawford or the Hadid sisters.

“Stephanie? Ha! Yeah, right. Definitely not the type you want your mom to meet. Besides, they weren’t even serious. It only lasted so long ’cause ole girl couldn’t take a hint. She was the definition of clingy.”

“Who’s clingy?” Mateo asked, coming back into the kitchen. He held the door open for Sierra as she strolled in, still looking at her screen.

“That clout chasing gold digger you used to screw,” Xander said nonchalantly while Sierra and I met each other’s wide eyes.

I quickly realized Xander didn’t beat around the bush. He said how he felt. He had a filter, but it seemed as useful as a holey fishing net. I liked the transparency of his personality and the honesty behind his words. I think that was why he and Mateo got along so well; they balanced each other out.

“Mm, yeah,” Mateo mumbled, setting the steaks on the counter. “Everyone makes mistakes, right?” He smiled, moving closer to me.

Letting the magnetic pull guide me, I wrapped my arms around his waist. He leaned to kissed the top of my head in the way that had become second nature to him. Such a simple gesture, but it warmed my entire body every time. I snuggled further into him, inhaling his scent now mixed with the smell of the grill.

Over dinner, we shared stories and laughs. It was an easy, carefree dinner. Sierra and I shared amused looks as the two men bickered and teased each other.

When they weren’t ribbing one another, Xander would give me an unreadable look. It wasn’t until we cleaned up dinner that he shared his thoughts. “I’m sorry, but I don’t get it. What the fuck is Kyle’s problem?”

Sierra scoffed, most likely remembering all the tense moments we shared since the declined dinner invitation.

“A couple weeks before the season started, he asked me out, I said no,” I said, busying myself by wiping down the already clean table.

---