Because You Love Me (Falling for You, Book Three) Read Free

peeking out. “Not right, actually-”
    “I wasn’t waiting for a reply,” I said brusquely. I let go of the bar and eased onto the stool. “My question was rhetorical. Here’s the thing, Victoria. I know my reputation precedes me. Before Penny, you wouldn’t have had to do very much work to find a string of broken hearts that I trampled beneath my feet to get to my next conquest.”
    Shock rendered her speechless, so she just gawked at me. I wasn’t sure if she was feeling vindicated in her meddling or stunned that I was owning up to my colorful past. It didn’t matter much, because I wasn’t done.
    “That being said,” I continued. “I knew there was something special about your sister the night we met. I’m not sure if it was the way she just unloaded on me like, take it or leave it, or the smile she made me work for, or just the heart that she wore unabashedly on her sleeve-” My throat was on fire remembering that night and all the confounding and exciting feelings that a virtual stranger elicited. That was the most ironic part: a few hours with Penny  and she knew more about me than the handful of friends I didn’t confide in. A few hours with her and I knew that whatever was happening between us was something worth exploring.
    Victoria squinted at me, my sudden speechlessness arousing her suspicion. I flagged down a bartender and took my shot. It did nothing for the apprehension in my throat or the ache in my chest. I wasn’t ready to admit that it was all a damn smoke screen to pretend that what we had was serendipity or a set of hopeful circumstances that clicked into place. While my father’s ultimatum threw us on a collision course, I asked her to be my girlfriend because I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to her. Big, bad, powerful Xander Wade, and I couldn’t even tell a woman, the woman, that I wanted to get to know her better. I hid behind the very ultimatum that I claimed disempowered me. I asked if she wanted 10k without blinking, like love was something to be bought. Like it was some sick charade. And I was upset, indignant, because Penny had a moment of wondering if I was full of it?
    I flipped the shot glass upside down, chuckling bitterly. “You want to know something fucked up? A week ago, I would have believed that you were right to think I was up to no good. That I would just hurt Penny.” I glanced over and Victoria was listening intently, her lips pressed into a skeptical line. “But she brings out the good in me. The me that’s vulnerable. The me that goes to bat for the people I care about. The me that’s capable of loving and being loved.”
    My words were just sappy enough that heat rushed to my face and I almost winced. The old Xander would have chuckled uncomfortably, probably flirted to diffuse the sticky sweetness of my words. I didn’t run from the embarrassment that had me tapping my foot and fighting the urge to get out of dodge. I knew that feeling had roots with my father. I could hear him growling for me to man up. What did being a man get him? A wife that was terrified of him and terrified of being alone. A wife that kept her past in a box, lovingly caring for and protecting every hidden piece like someday it would all be waiting for her, just where she left it.
    I wouldn’t let my life pass me by. I refused to lose the best thing in my life because I let my pride take the wheel. I wouldn’t be my father, with wealth and fear the only currency that mattered, facing death with the only thing to show for it a name that would one day turn to dust. And I wouldn’t waste one more moment explaining myself to a woman that wasn’t worth the energy.
    “Congratulations, Victoria,” I said with all the joy and well wishes that I could muster. I rose and buttoned my jacket, spinning toward the exit...where Jenna was waiting, all teeth, and clearly suffering from amnesia.
    I’d conquered the meddling bride, now there was just the disappearing ex—then I could find