Out of Left Field (25 page)

“
It’s Macy Rose, Emma,” Sam informed her.

“
And she has brown hair and green eyes just like you,” Kam added then looking up at him, smiled. “You did good, Uncle Xavier.”

After the three of them successfully liberated Macy Rose from her box, they had dinner and birthday cake. They chatted about friends and school and the dog Emma
didn’t
get for her birthday. Bedtime came way too soon.

Emma, doll under her arm, crawled into his lap where he sat on the couch and gave him a big hug before heading to bed. “Thanks for the dollie, Uncle X. I love her.”

He kissed her on the top of her tiny head. “I’m glad, sweetheart.”

“
And I love you.” She kissed his cheek.

His heart swelled like the Grinch’s, threatening to break the confines of his ribcage. “I love you, too. You and your sisters. Happy birthday.” He swatted her behind and she rushed away from him with Jane on their heels.

Grayson smiled. “I’m gonna help her get the birthday girl into her pjs. You okay for a bit?”

“
Yeah, I’m good.”

In that moment, he envied Grayson Pierce something fierce. Xavier wanted things he may never have, a good woman who loved him for who he was, flaws and all, and children to treasure the way he’d never been.

A little while later Jane put her hand on Xavier’s shoulder and offered him a squat glass. “Grayson’s right. You do look like you’ve lost your best friend.”

Xavier chuckled, shook his head and downed the amber liquid in one gulp. His throat burned and he only barely resisted the urge to stick out his tongue to allow for enough breath to calm the sting.

“
What’s her name?” Jane sat in the chair across from him, lifted her feet, resting her heels on the edge, and crossed her arms over her knees. Xavier shot a glance at the stairs. “He won’t be down for a while. Emma will keep asking for more stories until her eyes close for the night.”

He looked past Jane into the dormant logs of the gas fireplace. “Her name is Frankie.” And then without meaning to, he spilled all the sordid and wonderful details of their weekend together and what she meant to him.

“
Does she know how you feel?”

For the first time since opening his mouth, he let his eyes meet Jane’s. “Yes.”

“
You told her you love her?” Jane’s lip quirked up.

“
Well, no.”

“
The way I see it, you have two options: stop pouting, get over yourself and move on.
Or
grow a pair and go after her.”

23

Xavier didn’t even wait for Grayson to come back down before leaving. He knew what he had to do and, if he let his head get involved, he might talk himself out of the most important decision in his life.

He made a quick stop at the grocery store getting the biggest bunch of roses they had. His hand barely wrapped around the stems.

He’d always had a general idea of where Frankie lived, but weaving through her neighborhood and finding the exact street took a few extra minutes. He pulled down her street and looked through his opened driver’s side window at the dark house with only the porch light on. She lived on a street with a cul-de-sac at the end. He decided he’d use it to make the turn to park directly in front of her house.

He’d just made the turn when another car entered the street. Its headlights blinded him for a moment. He blinked and slowed, easing to the side and waited. He’d let this idiot do whatever he wanted to do before he pulled in front of Frankie’s house. He might need a minute or two and didn’t need some Nosy-Nellie calling the cops.

Except the car didn’t pull into a random driveway, it pulled into Frankie’s, and Christian got out of the driver’s side. As Frankie opened her door, a smile on her face and laughter on the air, Christian was right there offering his hand. She slipped out of the car and he threw an arm around her shoulders, tucking her into his side. Xavier ground his teeth together and watched in horror, anticipating the goodnight kiss. The porch light would spotlight the event, leaving nothing to the imagination. Even as his stomach tightened into knots, he couldn’t tear his eyes away.

The train wreck was coming. He would most certainly be a casualty, and he couldn’t do a damn thing to stop the collision.

Frankie slid her key into the lock and turned to Christian. This was it. Xavier wanted to slam his eyes shut and sing a rendition of
nah-nah-nah-I-can’t-hear-you
, but couldn’t talk his lids into the retreat. But a kiss didn’t happen. Oh, no. Christian put his hand on her elbow and led her inside.

Xavier slammed the steering wheel with his palms and smashed the accelerator with his foot. The tires chirped as he took off into the night.

Who was he kidding? He’d already lost her. Hell, he’d never had her to begin with. Christian must be a saint or a fool to allow her to spend time with Xavier. But watching them together, maybe it was X who was the fool.

He opened the car’s engine up, deciding he’d allow the car to roar instead of doing it himself. He raced through a red light. A flash of blue and red showed up in his rearview and Xavier couldn’t have cared less. So he’d just gotten himself a ticket.

Whoopty damn deal!

Twenty minutes later, he hit the onramp for the I-15, ticket on the passenger seat, and ignored the sparkling happy-happy-joy-joy of the Strip. A power outage would be really good right about now.

A new billboard caught his attention and he cursed. Shirtless and larger than life, Christian smiled at him from the side of the highway, his chest and six pack advertising one of the male revues. Xavier hadn’t known the guy was a stripper.

Wasn’t that just freakin’ perfect! She could accept women throwing themselves at Christian, but not at him? What a double standard! And if she thought for one second the perfect, saintly Christian didn’t accept room keys or one-night-stands, she was an idiot!

And Frankie Holden might be a lot of things, but an idiot definitely wasn’t one of them.

Which meant he had a corner on the market.

If she truly believed in double standards, if she could believe Christian was an angel while believing Xavier was Lucifer incarnate for doing the same damned things, then by damn he’d force her to say it out loud to his face.

He hit the offramp and made the circle to enter going back the way he’d come.

***

True to his word, Christian had taken her out and the two of them had laughed themselves silly. Normally she wasn’t a fan of movies based on books because they never got it quite right, but this particular one had been cast perfectly.

Christian quoted the movie all the way home, keeping her in stitches. A car at the end of the street had its headlights on and Frankie raised a hand to shield her eyes. It looked like only the driver occupied the car, but she couldn’t be sure.

They pulled into the driveway and, still laughing, she and Christian went into the house.

“
Mom, we’re home.”

Christian kissed her on the top of the head. “Thanks for bein’ my hot date.”

“
Thanks for makin’ me laugh.”

“
I’m gonna hit the head before something important bursts.”

Her mother passed Christian in the hall. She’d been in her room in the back of the house. Frankie hurried toward her. “Mom, you okay?”

“
Yeah. I laid down for a bit and fell asleep.” She rubbed at her tired eyes. “How was the movie?”

Frankie filled her in on the funny storyline and the two of them still laughed when Christian came back. “What’d I miss?”

“
Frankie was just telling me about the movie. You guys hungry?” Although the question sounded innocent enough, Frankie’s radar went up.

“
Mom, did you get dinner?”

Her mother’s eyes hit the floor and the grip of her cane tightened. “No, and I’m a bit hungry. Do you two care to join me?”

“
I’m always hungry, Char.” Christian headed off in the direction of the kitchen. “I’ll whip up some omelets. Whatcha want on yours?”

She started ticking off the ingredients and Frankie smiled. Christian adored her mother as if she were his own, and since she’d practically raised the two of them together, Frankie surmised it made perfect sense.

She sat down at the large wooden table, her mother across from her and Christian at the stove. He fixed Charlotte’s omelet first, then started on one for himself since Frankie wasn’t really hungry. Popcorn and M&M’s at the movie had become dinner for her.

Charlotte cut her omelet with her fork and moaned when she put the bite into her mouth. “You should move in here and become our full time chef.”

Christian laughed. “Can’t, lady love. I’ve got a real job.”

Charlotte took a sip of her water then cut another piece of her omelet. “I wouldn’t call taking your clothes off for screaming women a real job. You need something more respectable.”

“
You don’t respect me, Char?”

She choked on the bite she’d just taken and Frankie jumped to her feet. Her mother waved her off.

“
I’m fine,” she said to Frankie before turning a serious, scalding look on Christian. “Of course I respect you, Chris. I just think you’re never going to find somebody respectable to love you if you’re off doing unrespectable things.”

Frankie sighed. This wasn’t the first time this subject had been debated and hashing it out again wouldn’t change either of their minds. She bent her arm, using it as a pillow for her head on the hard table top.

A pounding on the front door made all three of them jump. Frankie stood and Christian waved for her to sit down. “Are you guys expecting anybody?” When both she and her mother shook their heads, he headed in the direction of the door. “I’ll get it.”

***

Xavier shook like a leaf in a fierce wind, desperately holding onto its grip on the tree. It’d taken him a few minutes of standing on the porch, staring at the door before he’d raised his fist to pound.

Second thoughts and doubts galore raged.

He lifted his fist and the door flew open. Christian narrowed his eyes. Xavier didn’t let the guy open his mouth, just shoved the flowers at him and strode inside.

Quaint. Frankie’s home was … quaint. It certainly didn’t have all the modernized features he’d expected, but then she had said she’d been raised here. A beige overstuffed couch sat in front of an older television. The huge box rested on an enormous console.

“
Xavier!” Frankie’s shout brought his attention to where she stood in the doorway of another room. “What are you doing here?”

“
Yeah. What are you doing here?” Christian moved to block Xavier’s path to Frankie.

X ignored Christian and spoke only to Doc. “We need to talk.”

Christian stepped toward Xavier, pointing the flowers at him. “What if she doesn’t want to talk to you?”

“
Chris.” Frankie’s gaze locked with his, holding tight as he strode across the room.

In a fluid motion he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulled her flush against his body and bent his head to hers. She gasped and eased her arms around his neck.

The moment their lips met, she opened to him, accepted him. He licked into her mouth, tasting her, needing to devour her, memorize every inch of her. She matched his assault, offering a parry of her own and he was lost. Her hands slipped up into his hair, her fingers threaded through the locks. She tugged and, with the last tiny shred of control he had left, he eased away from her, touching his forehead to hers.

Christian cleared his throat from behind him. Xavier tensed. He straightened, turned and edged Frankie behind him. Christian raised a blond brow and grinned. “Where can I get me one of those?”

Xavier blinked, his mouth fell open a bit. Christian had not just asked for a kiss. He blinked again.

Christian chuckled. “Beautiful as she is, she’s not my type.”

Frankie moved around Xavier. “I think it’s time for you to go home, Chris.”

The guy smiled, showing off all his teeth. “Treat her right, man. I love her more than any other woman in the world and I will kick your ass if you make her cry.”

Xavier stood stunned, still trying to piece together what’d happened. Apparently Christian wasn’t a rival for Frankie’s affection.

Whoa! Hadn’t seen that coming!

Frankie stepped up and put her hand on Christian’s chest. “Good night, Chris.”

Christian bent and kissed her forehead, handed her the roses. “Congratulations. Love you.” And then he left.

***

Fear kept Frankie facing forward, mesmerized by the closed door. The scent from the flowers overpowered her senses. Actually everything about the last few minutes overpowered her senses. Every part of her tingled and buzzed.

“
You must be Xavier.”

Frankie whirled around to see her mother standing in the kitchen doorway, leaning heavily on her cane. Her smile spanned from ear to ear. She limped over to Xavier, who wore a
holy shit!
expression on his handsome face.