to call off the fake relationship. Tell him I can handle Bodhi on my own. But all I have to do is think back to the way my heart rose to my throat when Bodhi apologized and the look in his eyes when he said he wants me back to know I need a buffer. Besides, it’s not about how I feel about Bodhi. It’s about how the assumption that Bodhi and I are together again will damage my integrity, and integrity is my platform, my base, my way of life. Integrity is everything.
Still, needing Xavier for this makes me feel like such a loser.
He unpackages a new door handle KT had picked up some time ago. Levi’s been meaning to replace the door handles and better secure the boat for my personal safety, but since nothing dangerous ever happens in this town and everything required for the marina’s opening overshadowed the small stuff, the doorknob fell way down on the to-do list.
Silence falls between us, one that’s comfortable and supportive despite our bickering. When he’s finished with the front door, he hands me the new keys and prowls around the rest of the boat checking windows and the back door.
His certainty that Bodhi will not only come here but try to get in uninvited is unnerving. The truth is, the day I found out about Bodhi’s infidelity, I realized I didn’t know him at all. That the man I loved didn’t exist anywhere except in my mind. So, to be honest, I have no idea what he will or won’t do.
Xavier returns to the living room, hands on hips, his gaze on the swath of pink covering the floor. “You need to use that metal bar in the track of your sliding glass door.”
“But I need air circulation,” I tell him.
“Look, I know this goes against all your hippie freedom vibes, but I also know firsthand a man will go to great lengths to reach a woman he wants. So, for tonight, please promise me you’ll sleep with your doors and windows locked. I’ll pull in a fan from KT’s shop so you feel like you’ve got air. Tomorrow, I’ll bring over locks for the windows that will allow them to stay open a little bit.”
I slide another book into a bag and fluff the tissue. “You’re freaking me out.”
“The only other alternative is to have me sleeping here with you.” When I look at him, he’s grinning in that hot, sexy way that makes my insides tingle. “Then you could leave the windows wide open. Or you could come to my place and sleep there.”
Xavier’s renovating a little house closer to town, and truthfully, I’d like to see how it’s going, but not this way. The image from earlier in the day sizzles to life in my brain again, all that olive skin against white sheets. Yearning pulls deep in my chest. To cover, I roll my eyes.
“That’s what I thought.” He moves a few bags around, sits cross-legged on the floor, and pulls a schedule from one of the bags, then glances around and says, “Toss me that pen.”
I reach for the pen on the side table and offer it to him.
“Okay,” he says, “what have we got? Welcome and introduction tomorrow morning.”
“You can leave that. I’ll welcome everyone, but I’ll skip his introduction. He can introduce himself.”
For the next five minutes, Xavier scratches my name off three panel discussions, the joint book signing, and a Q&A session.
“This sucks,” I tell him, deeply disappointed over the turn of events.
“It would suck worse to go through with all this in front of three hundred people, leaving everyone to wonder what you really stand for. The confusion alone could ruin the momentum you’ve gained in your business this year. Based on what I’ve learned, Bodhi’s business dealings may be on the up-and-up, but he’s going to eventually push the #MeToo envelope a little too far and implode. I’d rather you not be associated with him when he does.”
I’m touched by his serious concern, and some of my anger melts away. “You so get me.”
“I try, but sweetheart, I’m just a simple man. We never really get women. The best we can do is fake it.”
He takes out his phone and taps the face, then looks from the phone to the paper.
“What are you doing?”
“Comparing the events to my work schedule. Looks like I can make almost everything—three of the five group dinners, and I can trade a shift with