Page 55 of Bad Boy Crush
“You should have told us this was a housewarming party,” Lou said. “We would have brought gifts.”
“Men do not have ‘housewarming’ parties,” Griffin rumbled, his intense gaze slicing to Lisa.
“He’s right,” Xavier confirmed.
“Well, that’s dumb,” Lisa said. “You could’ve gotten some lovely novelty dishtowels out of it.”
“And a matching toilet seat cover and rug,” May joked.
“Just you being here is enough.” Xavier winked at her and then looked around the group. “All of you. I don’t take offense to you wondering how I landed this place. The owner didn’t take my first three offers.”
Lou understood why. The location was ideal, the house perched on several lots and with a goodly part of that land covered in trees. Not to mention the peninsula jutting out into the water, and the ample space between neighboring houses. “I’m in the wrong line of work.”
“Xavier is what we laymen like to call ‘independently wealthy,’” Brady put in.
“Do tell.” Lisa leaned forward in interest. Lou mimicked her position, equally intrigued.
“I created an app.” Xavier shrugged. As if that explanation would suffice.
“And?” Lisa prompted.
“And he sold it for a shit-ton of money,” Griffin said.
“I figured,” Lisa quirked her mouth.
Griffin’s eyelids narrowed, which might have been his version of a smile.
Lou wished she could watch those two for a while, but she was too curious about Xavier. “Which app?”
“Tipsy Guide.”
“I have that!” May said, then explained to Lou, “You can track and rate the wine and beer you like so that when you’re at the store, you know what you like.”
“Or when you’re at a brewery, you can remember which ones you’ve tried,” Xavier added. “Warner and Pearce worked on programming.”
“Helped,” Pearce corrected. “Xavier paid us hourly, but looking at this place, I think we should have asked for a percentage of the final sale instead.”
“No shit,” Warner said.
“I had no idea you were techy like me,” May said to Xavier.
“You’re not in fashion?” Xavier cocked his head.
“No, sir. Data analyst.”
“She analyzes data for fashion retailer, Zest,” Lisa said. “So, you’re sort of right.”
“Damn. I had no idea.” Xavier shook his head.
Aaand they had interests in common. Maybe May’s damn sex had been under her nose the entire time.
“Damn, indeed,” Lou said meaningfully. Lisa laughed, and May told her to shut up.
“What’s that about?” Ant asked in her ear.
“Girl stuff.”
Once the guys were distracted, Xavier talking with his buddies and Ant in conversation with Brady, Lisa leaned over to whisper to Lou, “May is going out with William tomorrow night.”