Page 64 of Not All Himbos Wear Capes

Please don’t make this harder.

By the time we parked in front of The Gloucester, my instincts werescreamingat me to invite him up. I needed Xander on a soul-deep level, so there would be no sleep for me tonight if I wasn’t in his arms. But if I let him inside, there’d be no turning back from this star-crossed match.

How did this happen?

“Butch.” I snapped back to reality and realized Xander had been saying my name. “Look at me.” When I reluctantly turned to face him, I almost gave in.

He’s my home, that’s how.

“This conversation isn’t over,” he stated, those intense amber eyes daring me to argue, calling to me, and turning me on all at once. “I’ll give you space—tonight. But I expect to hear from you tomorrow as soon as you get home from work. Can you do that? Please?”

“Yes,” I replied without question. The thought of facing the night without him was almost unbearable, but if I knew we were talking tomorrow…

No. Stop it.

“I love you, baby,” he murmured as I exited the car, so low I wondered if he meant for me to hear it. “And I’m sorry.”

“Me too,” I replied—the sight of his face falling at my omission burning itself into my memory. Not wanting to see anything more, I closed the door and swiftly walked away before I could run back into his arms.

I love you, too.

Five minutes later, I was standing under scalding water, trying to scrub off the entire evening—to somehow magically return to how things were.

But we can’t go back.

Can we?

As I dried off, I realized Xander still didn’t know who I was or why I’d insisted on separating for the night. It broke my heart to imagine him home alone, believing I was on the verge of ending things for no other reason than a dinner with his family gone wrong.

I should call him to make sure he’s okay…

The sound of my phone ringing had me tearing out of the bathroom at super speed. When I saw it was my mother,I almost didn’t answer. But then I realized if I didn’t pick up, I’d be left alone with my thoughts, andthatwas scarier than dealing with her.

“Hello, Siren,” I used her supe name, so she’d know we could talk freely.

“Captain,” she replied. “How are you?”

The uncharacteristicconcernin her tone caught me so off-guard, I answered more truthfully than I normally would have. “Not great. Xander and I… had a fight.”

Why am I telling her this?!

“Ahh,” she hummed thoughtfully. “That’s… actually who I was calling to talk to you about.”

All at once, I remembered the unanswered text I’d sent to my parents a few days ago, declaring my devotion to Xander and swearing off supes for good. Sinking to the bed, I scrubbed my hand down my face and waited for the inevitable ‘I told you so.’

It never came.

Then, I braced for my mother to briskly redirect the conversation to Gemstonia Lincoln, or another viable match waiting in the wings. Instead, she paused so long that I thought we’d been disconnected, before delivering thelastwords I expected to hear.

“You should see this through, Butch.”

“W-what?” I stuttered, thinking I must have misheard.

She softly laughed. “Your father doesn’t know I’m calling. We are in disagreement about your…normie,but it sounds to me like you have a special connection, correct?”

My heart felt like it was breaking all over again. “Yes, we did—do! We do. It’s just… a truth came to light tonight that… changes things.”

“Mmm,” she hummed knowingly, as if she could possibly understand. “Would you like to tell me what you learned?” My mother’s voice had sharpened—signature shrewdness lacing her tone—and I felt an immediate protectiveness over Xander and his secrets.