Headlines (Prime Time #3) - Ella Frank Page 0,50

mean, why else would you be with Sean?”

The muted chatter of the people who’d gathered around us ceased, until all that could be heard was the soft jazz floating through the air.

“What did you just say?”

Oh shit. Xander’s voice was quiet, so quiet that you wouldn’t have heard it if everyone in the near vicinity hadn’t tuned in to the night’s entertainment.

I stepped up behind him and placed a hand on his back. But instead of calming him, the gesture seemed to initiate a kind of fight inside of him that I never would’ve expected.

“How dare you.” Xander took a step forward, and as my inner big-brother role warred with that of the boyfriend, I decided to hang back. This wasn’t my fight, and though I knew whatever was about to go down next would be ugly and painful, it needed to happen if Bailey and Xander ever had a hope of regaining their friendship.

“How dare you stand in my house and pass judgment on a relationship you know nothing about. Not once have you bothered to ask me how this thing with Sean started, or why. Because if you had, then maybe you’d realized that the man you’re so quick to write off as someone who’s not worthy of a relationship is actually really fucking good at them.”

Okay, I hadn’t expected that. Xander and Bailey’s past was so rich with history that hearing Xander defend me was almost like an out-of-body experience. A really fucking good one. It made my heart beat a little faster and my chest fill with pride, to think that someone as amazing as him was standing here in front of everyone he knew, fighting for me—fighting for us.

Bailey cut his eyes to me, and for a second I thought I caught a flash of shame. But before I could say anything, Xander took another step forward, clearly determined to make his point now that he had Bailey’s attention.

“Your brother is one of the best men I have ever met in my life.”

Bailey scoffed, and Xander shook his head.

“Don’t do that. Don’t make light of what I’m telling you because it’s easier than hearing the truth. He’s kind and caring, and behind all the rough edges is a man who loves you and would do anything for you, even break up with me. But I’m not going to let him do that, not even for you.”

Bailey took a step back as though the wind had been knocked right out of his sails, and Boudreaux moved in behind him. Xander looked his way, and whatever Boudreaux saw there stopped him in his tracks.

The message was apparently clear: don’t interfere.

“You’re willing to throw away three decades of friendship for this thing with Sean?” Bailey’s eyes teared as he looked at me, the confusion, betrayal, and heartbreak all coming to the surface as he shook his head. “Are you happy now? He picked, and you won.”

“No, Bay. Come on,” I said, and moved forward to stand alongside Xander. “I don’t want this. I want you to be happy for us. I want us to all be able to get along.”

Xander took my hand and entwined our fingers. “We love you, Bailey. But you need to open your eyes and see what, and who, you’re letting go before we disappear altogether.”

A tear fell down Bailey’s cheek as he took a step back and ran into Boudreaux, who tucked him into his side and glared at the two of us.

He was pissed at how that had just gone down, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he punched the elevator button again and ushered Bailey inside, and a couple of seconds later, the two of them were gone.

26

Xander

SOMETIME LATER—MUCH, much later—I made my way out onto the terrace that overlooked downtown Chicago. The night was finally winding down and there was only a handful of people left. But as soon as I’d been able to, I’d excused myself and escaped.

Ever since Bailey had left, I’d been running over our showdown in my head. Was I too harsh? Should I have just let him go? But every time I convinced myself that maybe I’d been unreasonable, I’d seen Sean across the room laughing with my workmates or chatting it up with my parents and was reminded of the exact reason I’d done what I’d done.

I was in love with Sean. There were no ifs, ands, or buts about it. I was one hundred percent in, and I knew without a doubt that