Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 84401 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 422(@200wpm)___ 338(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84401 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 422(@200wpm)___ 338(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
I frowned. “Xavier, you sleep with everything that qualifies as female.”
“No,” he said firmly, almost angrily. “Not fans. They fall for me because they think I’m someone I’m not. I only fuck women who don’t care who I am, only what kind of attention I can bring them. There’s a difference.”
I tilted my head. “Don’t bang any journalists either for a while if possible. I’m really trying to improve your image here. The season is about to start. You have your first test match in two days. You should focus on what really matters, not meaningless flings with women who take advantage of you.”
Xavier touched my shoulder. “Are you worried about me, Evie?” he teased in that deep rumble his voice took on in the morning. His strong, big hand was warm even through the thin material of my blouse. “You really don’t need to be. I’m taking as much advantage of those women as they do of me. It’s a symbiotic relationship.”
“Most of those women leave your symbiosis hating your guts.”
“I don’t care if they hate me or love me. They are not the people I care about.”
“Who do you care about?”
Xavier’s expression became guarded, but he answered anyway. “Connor, you, my family.”
Despite the giddiness his mentioning of me had given me, I said, “You never talk about your family. And they haven’t come to visit.”
“I don’t want them here where the press circles over my head like vultures. My mother and sister live on a farm in the countryside, near the Blue Mountains. I visited them two weeks ago.”
“When you were gone for two days?” I said as I poured the milk foam on his espresso and handed the cup to him.
He nodded.
I’d thought he’d been on a sexcapade trip with one of his conquests, but the truth sat much better with me.
“How old is your sister?”
“Willow is seventeen,” he said, and I could practically see his protective brother mode snapping into place and I had to stifle a smile. It was a side of Xavier I hadn’t seen so far, but one I liked. He was eight years older than his sister, so it was normal he wanted to protect her.
“I bet her friends ask her about her superstar brother all the time. What does she say to your scandals?”
He set down the cup. “Willow is being homeschooled. And she doesn’t read the tabloids. She knows who I really am.”
Sometimes he let me see that side of him as well, and in the last few days, it had become more frequent. Like during our movie night or when he’d bought me a cherry popsicle when we’d filmed his second beach workout. And it was a side of him that posed a bigger threat to my resolve than any jock strap ever could.
I had premium seats for the first test match of Xavier’s team, right behind the coach bench, and I was oddly nervous. Not just because it was the first time I’d see Xavier in action, but also Connor and Fiona. I had seen Fiona’s cheerleading skills in high school but never cared much about it.
After the referee tossed the coin and pointed at the guy from the opposing team who got to choose which half his team would play, Xavier grabbed the ball and positioned himself in the middle of the halfway line. He looked incredibly hot in his rugby uniform. All these men had muscled thighs to die for, muscled everything. But Xavier…he stole the show. When the referee gave the sign, Xavier did the dropkick, sending the ball flying the length of the field as his teammates charged forward. A member of the opposing team caught the ball, and then both teams clashed and then there was a big huddle. It was wild and confusing, and with the cheers and screams of the crowd, utterly intoxicating.
I didn’t understand all the details of the game, but I cheered whenever Xavier and his teammates cheered, and shouted obscenities when the crowd around me did.
I had a splendid time, and when Xavier’s team did their little victory dance at the end, I felt like dancing myself. Fiona waved me down, then jogged over in her cute little cheerleading costume and told the stewards to let me through. I climbed down onto the edge of the field and hugged my twin. “I’m not part of the team,” I protested. “I belong on the bleachers.”
“For making sure Xavier is on time, you deserve to be here,” Connor said as he jogged toward us, sweaty, muddy, and disheveled. He kissed Fiona and pulled her tightly against his side.
My heart did a stupid little loop when I spotted Xavier heading our way. He was smiling, a huge smile, an honest one. He clapped Connor’s shoulder in passing, then shocked me by wrapping his arms around me and lifting me off the ground for a moment. My fingers clutched his shoulders, my eyes widened and I let out an embarrassing cry. When he released me, he and I both hesitated a moment. Fiona and Connor were watching us with wide eyes but fortunately a few teammates joined us, stopping Fiona from a comment.