Page 53 of Made For You
“Will do. Xavier.” He turns to me. “I’d like to sit down with you while you’re here.” My hands start to tingle with nerves. “Get to know you a little better.”
“If that is code for threatening him.” Vivienne puts her hands on her hips. “The answer is no.”
“I’m not going to threaten him,” he says, but his tone doesn’t give me a warm fuzzy feeling. I also know that eventually, I’m going to want to sit down with him to give him my side of the story.
“I think that will be a good idea,” I agree, my hand gripping the handle to the suitcase so tight my knuckles turn white. He nods at me and gets back in the SUV, leaving me to follow Vivienne all the way up to the penthouse.
She punches the code into the door, and it clicks open. I wheel both suitcases into the bedroom before she turns and looks at me, her eyes bright as the sun. “I didn’t tell my father anything.”
“I know that,” I reassure her. “I never thought you did.”
“Good,” she says. “Now, are you sure you are okay with all this?” She uses her hand to do a circle in the air. “It’s a lot, and there will be a lot of people there.”
“Are you going to be there?” I ask her, and she nods her head. “Then I’m going to be there.”
“Okay.” She smiles as she comes to me. “And if it becomes too much for you, all you have to do is say the word.”
That night when we walk into the restaurant, I don’t know what I’m expecting, but it’s definitely not all these people. I’m introduced to her aunts, who are identical, and then their husbands, who also played. She introduced me to her namesake, whose first question was if my penis was the reason she was smiling. I just about choked on my drink. I met her cousins who are up-and-coming, especially Matthew Petrov, who should go one or two at the draft pick next year.
She doesn’t move from my side the whole night, making sure I feel okay. Making me love her even more. That night, when we slide into bed, and I take her in my arms, I wait for her to sleep before I whisper, “I love you.”
She walks into the bedroom the next evening as I slip on my black jacket. “Are you almost ready?” she asks, and I stop midway. I’ve seen her looking beautiful the whole time, but this, right here, in this white gown she is wearing, she is quite literally a masterpiece. Her hair is split in the middle and pulled back into a ponytail. The only jewelry she is wearing is silver earrings. The dress is what I can’t stop looking at, every step she makes toward me, her leg comes out of the slit on the right side. It’s a one-shoulder long dress, with a slit in the front and in the back. A big, white fabric flower sits on one shoulder as it ruffles down. “You look so handsome.” She sits down on the bench, slipping her feet into sparkly silver high heels with red bottoms. She stands up and smooths down her dress. “Is this okay?”
“It’s.” I try to find the words. “It’s.” I shake my head as she puts her hands on my chest. “You look so beautiful.” I lean down and kiss her lips, not even caring that she just had her makeup done.
She wipes the gloss off my lips when I let her go. “Shall we go?” she suggests, and I think about it for a second. “The sooner we go, the sooner we can come back here, and you can see what I’m wearing under this.”
I groan as my cock stirs to attention. “That doesn’t help anything.” She slips her hand in mine as she grabs a small silver purse and ushers us out to the waiting car. “This is a big deal, right?” I look over at her. It has just dawned on me that this is going to be a huge night.
“It’s the annual Brad Wilson event,” she explains. “He runs a hockey school for underprivileged children in the summertime. During the regular year, he has training programs for kids. He’s working with three different schools, trying to bring in a sports program.”
I nod at her. “There may be press there.” She says the words that usually would push me over the edge. But there isn’t anything they can say to hurt me. Does it make me less anxious? Not even a bit. I look out the window, ignoring the way my chest tightens as we get closer and closer. The car pulls up, and I spot the red carpet right away. When the driver opens up the door, I put one foot out and then the other, trying to not look around. But I can’t help it when I hear the clicks of the flashes. I hold out my hand for her. She slips her hand in mine, and my heart goes back to a normal beat. The minute she is out, she looks up at me, smiling. “You got this,” she reassures me softly, and for the first time, I actually believe I do.
We walk down the carpet with her by my side, posing for pictures. The roar of the people goes up when her cousins, Michael and Dylan, arrive at the same time. “That was intense,” I say as we make our way inside.
“If it makes you feel better”—she leans in—“you’ve never looked better.” I laugh as a server holding a silver tray with champagne flutes stops in front of us. I grab a glass for her, handing it to her, and she looks at me. “It’s fine.”
“I don’t want to make you uncomfortable,” she says, and I lean and kiss her lips.
“It’s more than okay,” I assure her, and she grabs the champagne glass from my hand. We spot her parents, going over and saying hello to them.
“You look so handsome,” Karrie compliments me as she kisses my cheeks.
“You already have a woman.” Matthew pulls her away from me. “Stop flirting with mine.”
“Don’t worry about him,” Max says, chuckling, “his bark is worse than his bite.”
“What are you two bickering about now?” I turn to see Cooper Stone coming toward us, his hand in his wife’s hand.
“He started it,” Matthew accuses, pointing to me. “Dad,” he says, looking at Cooper. “This is Xavier.” He says something to me, and I literally am too stunned to speak. I am too stunned to even move.
“Another one.” I look at Parker as she comes to me. “Don’t worry, dear,” she reassures me, and I bend to kiss her cheek. “He’s harmless.”
“I’m sorry.” I finally clear my throat. “It’s a pleasure and an honor to meet you.”
“Jesus,” Cooper says. “I feel like I’m in the military every time someone says that.” He shakes my hand and brings me in for a hug before going to Vivienne, who he boops on the nose before he kisses her cheek.
“At least he didn’t cry like Wilson,” Max teases, and just like that, I feel like I’ve known them forever.