Page 11 of Bad Boy for Hire

“To be your date. You know, like an escort.” She whispered the last word.

May laughed. She’d heard it all now. “You’re crazy.”

“I’m not. I’m a genius. If you hire him to be your date, it won’t be a romantic interlude. Ergo, it won’t break your no-hot-men rule.”

“You’re drunk.”

“A little.” But what she’d said kind of made sense—at least to the part of May’s brain currently swimming in IPA. “Good idea, right?”

“Yes, but… Wait. No. No, no, no. That’s insulting.”

“He won’t be insulted. He would love any excuse to go out with you. Trust me. I can tell when a guy is falling for a woman.”

“Are you playing right now?” May had to laugh. Lou had been utterly clueless about how in love with her Ant had been. Right up until his lips had been pressed against hers.

“I mean now. Because of Ant, now I know.” Lou waved May off.

“Hot men are not on my radar for one very good reason.”

“Because your ex was hot?”

“Yes. Also, unreachable on the inside.”

“Oh, come on. You can’t believe that Xavier is anything like your ex.”

“I heard my name,” came a gruff voice over May’s shoulder. Gooseflesh popped up on her arms. She turned and found the bearded, ginger-haired god whose hotness no woman would dare question. “What are you two talking about?”

“Nothing!” May replied brightly.

“How you should—” Lou started.

“Ignore her,” May interrupted.

“I’m impossible to ignore.” Lou smiled.

He took the chair next to May, resting his elbows on his knees. He rubbed his hands together, flexing the biceps on his left arm, which was decorated with pine trees and birds, constellations and code.

May tilted her head, letting her gaze linger shamelessly. “I have to ask. Is there a hidden message in your ink to decode?”

Xavier’s mouth tugged into a slow grin. “Depends on who’s asking. You graduated summa cum laude. I assume you’re a good code-cracker.”

“Give me a hint.” God, it should have been illegal to look that good without trying. She tapped a finger on one of the trees. “The Cove?”

“Good guess,” he said with praise. “I wanted to mark moving to Evergreen Cove, and what better way to do it than with evergreens? Leaving Columbus was…meaningful. A fresh start.”

Her chest tightened with grief. Her fresh start hadn’t been her choosing. She touched the large crow looming over the pine trees. “And this guy?”

Xavier swiveled his arm to look with her. “That’s my college crow.”

“Because…you wanted a mascot?” she asked with a laugh.

“Sort of. Crows are smart as hell. They figure shit out. They’re also loyal. Once a crow trusts you, it’s for life.”

May’s throat went dry. What she wouldn’t have given for a father, or even a boyfriend, who was loyal for life. Not out of some forced sense of duty. Not because they felt sorry for her. Because they wanted to stay.

She traced down the trunk of one tree to the constellations making up the bark. “Big astrology guy?”

He leaned in close enough to brush his arm against hers. “I love the night sky. It’s a good reminder that no matter how big your problems are, they’re small in comparison to the entire universe.”