Page 25 of Maybe, Probably (Love Me, Maybe #1)

I take a step forward and watch as his eyes focus on my movement.

“For what it’s worth,” I pause, noticing how being this close forces me to look up at his over six foot stature.

“You should be proud of your accomplishments. That clinic is amazing. You really care for these animals, and you can see it in the way you interact with them. The way you helped someone out in an emergency situation, because her poor dog got into a scuffle with a porcupine.” I see the slightest twitch of his lips, and it makes my own smile grow.

“You don’t need to apologize for your feelings. ”

Xavier stares at me, the air around us heavy.

There’s a sense of awe in the way he’s looking at me, and it makes a chill go down my body.

He catches the movement before taking a slight step back.

“Thank you. I appreciate that. I’m going to get going.

I’ll text you more details of the trip as my mom sends them over. ”

“Okay, sounds good! I’ll talk to you later then” I begin walking backwards to my door. “Goodnight, Xavier.”

“Goodnight, Harper. ”

I stand on my doorstep, watching as he drives off.

My mind replays the night as I turn inside.

It didn’t go as bad as I thought it would.

The look on Dalton’s face when he saw me was absolutely priceless.

I thought for a moment that he was going to pass out.

I didn’t expect the way that Chloe reacted though.

I mean, I didn’t interact with her that much when I would visit Dalton on his lunch breaks.

She definitely was fake-friendly to me to save face, but I caught the way she looked at me with judgement.

When she accused me of trying to get Dalton back?

That’s where she was so wrong. When I found out Dalton had been cheating on me, it broke something in me.

Yes, he broke my heart, but he also broke my trust. And that’s something that he won’t get back.

Trust is huge for me. When I give my trust, I am believing in you that you won’t abuse or break it.

She seemed to be so fixated on that, so I knew I needed to say something and set things straight.

The only white lie in my whole spiel was that Xavier and I didn’t know Dalton would be there.

And then there’s this three week long vacation at the ski lodge.

I feel my heartbeat pick up again thinking about spending three weeks with his family…

and Dalton. That’s three weeks of having to keep the charade up and act like a couple.

I’d rather crawl into a hole and avoid it all, to be honest.

And dear God, if Xavier keeps kissing me the way he did tonight?

I’m in for a rude awakening when this is all over.

I think back to that kiss, and the way the world seemed to have slowed down when I faced him, seeing just how close we were.

My breath hitched as he leaned forward and closed the small distance between us.

It was soft and sweet, not rushed or demanding.

His woodsy scent was rich and warm, with the undertones of spice mixed in, reminding me of a warm fire.

It was perfect. And that was terrifying.

It is terrifying.

I’m not able to think much more about it as the front door swings open, and Winnie barrels through the doorway, right into my side.

I let out a small grunt as he collides with me.

I bend over to greet him, laughing as he circles around me, wiggling his whole backside in happiness.

A loud clearing of her throat informs me that Evie is standing there in the doorway.

I peek through my lashes and am met with Evie in her favorite band t-shirt and shorts.

Arms crossed over her chest, her golden locks are pulled up into a messy bun.

The spacers in her ears are a plain white silicone, and when I look at her moss green eyes, they’re looking at me questioningly.

“Get your ass in here, and spill.” She demands, as Winnie runs past her back inside. I stand up and follow into the house, putting my things away and taking off my boots.

“Let me get into something comfier first,” I grumble as I make my way into my bedroom. She’s quick on my heels though, as I knew she would be. I go across the bedroom and quickly change into my favorite purple cami set.

Evie’s sitting on the end of my bed, her legs crossed underneath her as she leans back on her hands as she waits. I quickly go into the washroom to wash my makeup off and brush my teeth. When I return to the bedroom, Evie’s in the same exact place I left her, and this time, Winnie has joined her.

“Okay, so. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be.” I join her on the bed. “Dalton’s face was worth every moment. He looked like he was going to pass out.”

“I would have loved to see the look on that fucker’s face.” There’s a devious smirk on her face as she motions for me to continue.

“The thing I wasn’t expecting was the way Chloe lost it and then accused me of being there only to get him back.” Evie’s face scrunches in disgust. “Chloe gets shut down. Dalton says nothing while she’s having this tantrum. It was their dad who told her to cut it out.”

“Xavier didn’t say anything?” Evie asks with a raised eyebrow.

“Well no. But he had me, like possessively pulled to his side and he was stiff as a board. Evie, if you could have seen the look in his eyes. Well, you would be dead” I take a minute to remember the look on his face.

It’s around the time I started rubbing his back.

I wanted him to know I was fine, but I don’t think he got the message until I said something.

“Anyway, I came out and said she had nothing to worry about, and that I met Xavier by happenstance, and we hit things off. I even said that we didn’t know we would be running into Dalton or Chloe…

or that I knew Chloe when he invited me to dinner.

You should have been there. You would have been pleased with the speech I gave.

” I smile over at her proudly. She looks at me with one of her own.

Then, like a freight train, it hits me. “And oh my God. I forgot to tell you the craziest parts!” I yell.

“Dude chill. I’m literally right beside you–” Evie winces.

I interject before she finishes her sentence. “Dalton and Chloe are engaged .” I say with a straight face.

Evie’s mouth drops open quickly, before she snaps it back shut. “Excuse me? I’m sorry I think I blacked out for a minute.” She sticks a finger in her ear like she’s trying to clear it out.

I shake my head, continuing. “You heard me. Apparently, it just happened though, so they haven’t announced it.

I totally forgot to try and get a look at her finger to see the ring.

Their mom dropped the bomb, but then Chloe continued on her tangent so I didn’t get the time to fully digest it before we moved on to the next thing. ”

“That’s fucked.” Evie says, as she crawls over to the headboard and tucks herself under the blankets.

“You’re telling me.” We lounge for a bit in silence, before I put New Girl on the TV.

We watch an episode before we dive back into the evening.

I tell her about the comment Penelope made, and how it seemed to set Xavier off.

I mentioned that I tried to talk to him about it.

He didn’t completely shut me out, but he told me it had something to do with his past and why he’s never been in another relationship.

While I appreciated the honesty and sincerity there, it just has me wondering what he went through.

He was not open to discussing it at all so I respected his wishes and dropped it.

“Now, let’s circle back to this ski lodge.” Evie says before gracing me with a huge yawn.

“What about it? I’ll be gone for three weeks. I’ll leave Winnie here with you, you get free range of my house.” I roll on my side to face her as I pull the duvet up to my chin. She mimics my movements, and raises her eyebrow in question.

“We’re just going to ignore the fact that you’re walking into a one bed trope romance novel?”

I scoff. “Yeah okay, you’re delusional.” I feel my eyes roll.

“No, think about it! Stuck up in a ski lodge. It’s snowing, so it’s going to be cold, and you’re going to need to keep warm.

Wouldn’t you know it, you guys have to share a room – with a bed.

We both know you won’t let him sleep on the ground or anything, so you’re going to have to share. ” Evie grins at the thought.

I give into her fantasy for a minute before I shake it off. “That seems nice and all Evie, but we don’t live in a romance book.”

Evie huffs. “That may be so, but I wouldn’t count the idea out as impossible.”

We lay there in silence. I circle back to earlier, and think of packing again. “I don’t think I have clothes for this trip. Especially anything like snow pants.”

“Sounds like we’re going to have a besties shopping day tomorrow!” Evie starts quickly clapping her hands with excitement at the idea. I chuckle, feeling better than I have in awhile.

“A besties shopping trip sounds like the perfect way to end the weekend. Night Evie.” I end with a yawn, my eyes beginning to feel heavy.

“Night bitch, love you.” is the last thing I hear before oblivion takes over.