The Proposal Playbook, page 8
Maybe she was overreacting. After all, it wasn’t like she had any claim on Xander. He was free to flirt with and sleep with whomever he wanted.
And now I feel sick again…
“Come on,” Lea said, taking her by the hand again. “Let’s go eat!”
Back at the table, Daisy spotted Knox, Josie, and Daniel, with no sign of Xander.
She wasn’t sure if she should be relieved or offended.
There wasn’t time to decide because as soon as she sat back down, everyone was talking and laughing. The food kept coming and there was no mention of Xander or headaches or proposals. If anything, it was the most fun she’d had on a night out in a really long time.
By the time they were all ready to leave, she felt incredibly happy and relaxed and hugged both Lea and Josie fiercely as she thanked them for inviting her to join them. The upcoming weekend was going to be very quiet for Meet Me at the Altar. January was their slow time. Tomorrow was going to be a half-day and then they were all off for the rest of the weekend and as they walked out to their cars, they all commented on how much they were looking forward to it.
“I’m kind of bummed that Skye couldn’t join us,” Lea said. “Maybe we should try to do something over the weekend since we’re off.”
“Nope,” Josie firmly replied. “I adore Skye and my brother and my niece, but this weekend I am going to be lazy and stay in bed with my husband. If you all want to get together, then go ahead. But this girl will be occupied.”
“Thank you for not going into detail about how you’ll be occupied,” Lea murmured.
“Well, if you want to know…”
“That’s my cue to leave!” Daisy said with a laugh as she jogged toward her car. “Thanks again and have a good night!”
There was very little traffic on the drive home and she made it there relatively quickly while singing along loudly to her favorite country station. Once she was parked, she grabbed her purse and turned to open the door and immediately screamed bloody murder.
Someone was standing right outside her car door, blocking her. All she could see was his torso, but then he crouched down and…
Xander.
Shoving the door open, she nearly knocked him off his feet. “What the heck, Xander? You scared me half to death!” Climbing from the car, she slammed the door and rounded on him. “What were you thinking?” she yelled.
He had the good sense to look thoroughly chastised, but he didn’t back up even an inch.
“Well? Aren’t you going to say anything?” she demanded, wanting to hit him with something.
Rubbing a hand along the back of his neck, Xander gently cleared his throat. “Um…I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I could tell you weren’t comfortable with me joining everyone for dinner and I felt bad that you were going to leave. I figured it would be better for everyone if I was the one to go.”
It seemed like a nice gesture and she should have just thanked him, but instead…
“I’m sure it wasn’t too much of a sacrifice. After all, it just meant you and your date could get to it sooner rather than later.”
Yeah. Not her finest moment. All she managed to do was come off as petty and jealous.
Which…she kind of was.
Xander studied her hard for a moment until she started to squirm. “It’s late,” she blurted out. “I appreciate you checking on me, but it’s been a long day, so…good night.”
He reached out and hauled her in close before capturing her lips and kissing her senseless. It was wild and reckless and so different from the kiss they’d shared that night in her apartment that Daisy wasn’t quite so sure how to react to it.
So she simply held on and kissed him back for all she was worth.
It was wet and needy and the most out of control she’d ever felt and it made her want things she never even thought of.
Images of them naked and sweaty came to mind and it was all she could do not to climb him right there, right up against her car.
Tempting. So tempting.
But just as fast as it started, it was over. Xander took one step back and then another before simply turning and walking away.
Leaving her dazed and confused and more than a little turned on.
Xander drove around aimlessly for well over an hour wondering–not for the first time–just what in the world he’d been thinking. It had truly bothered him that Daisy would rather leave the restaurant than have to sit with him, but that didn’t give him the right to show up at her place the way he had.
Hell, he was acting like the kind of guy people hired Seal Security to get protection from. He was no better than a stalker. He could have simply waited until he got to the office in the morning to find out if she had been okay.
But that would have opened him up to all kinds of speculation from Knox and Daniel as to why he wanted to know.
There was no way he could explain it to them when he couldn’t figure it out for himself.
Earlier, when Crystal…or Christina…or whatever the hell her name was had flirted with him and invited him to join her on her break, he hadn’t been the least bit interested. The woman had been flirting with him for months and usually he engaged a bit and flirted back, but tonight all he’d been able to do was politely smile at her and tell her he had other plans.
Plans that had included getting something to eat with his friends, but…that didn’t happen.
It was late and he was tired and there was nothing left for him to do other than head home.
Alone.
And really, that was more than okay with him.
The next morning, however, things went exactly as he’d predicted.
“So? Did you and Caitlyn go out last night?” Knox asked as soon as he walked in the door.
“Who?”
“Caitlyn!” his friend said, shaking his head. “Damn, don’t you even bother to remember their names anymore?”
Frowning, Xander walked over to the coffee maker and made himself a cup. This was the sort of thing that went on when either of them came into work after going out with a woman. They would hound each other for details and normally he didn’t mind sharing.
It just so happened that there was literally zero information to share this time.
“Uh…things didn’t work out,” he said, adding cream to his coffee.
“Didn’t work out? Are you kidding me? She was practically humping you at the hostess stand! How could things not work out?”
Shit.
“Just didn’t,” he murmured, stalking over to his desk. Sitting down, he figured he’d go with a slight change of subject. “What about you? How did the rest of your night go?”
Shrugging, Knox leaned back in his chair. “The five of us had a few drinks, ate, and were done by around ten. I stayed and hung out at the bar for a bit and ended up taking Gina, the other hostess, home,” he added with a grin. “And I didn’t get a wink of sleep.”
“Good for you.” It kind of stung that he hadn’t gotten any sleep either, but for completely different reasons.
Something had to give.
Soon.
This thing with Daisy made no sense, but it also wasn’t going away. And what sucked even more was that he couldn’t talk to anyone about it. They’d all already warned him not to get involved with her so there was no way he could even mention that he was considering it.
And he was considering it more and more every damn day.
Daniel walked into the office looking well-rested–the bastard–and grinned at them both. “Gentlemen.”
It would be wrong to flip him off or hurl angry words at him, so he focused on sipping his coffee and looking over the schedule for the day.
After getting himself a cup of coffee, Daniel leaned against his desk and addressed them again. “So…just know that this wasn’t my idea. I’m only asking this as a promise to Josie.”
Both he and Knox groaned.
“Just…hear me out. Daisy came up with another proposal idea for her brother and…I guess it’s not terrible, but I also wasn’t overly impressed.”
“So just tell her that we agreed with you,” Xander countered. “I mean, why do we have to keep hearing about this?”
“I don’t know,” Knox commented. “I think it’s kind of fun. What’s she got this time?”
“Having her brother slip the ring into one of those giant boxes of chocolates for Valentine’s Day. When she opens the box, he drops to one knee.” He took a sip of his coffee. “Thoughts?”
Honestly, it sounded lame to him, but he didn’t want to be the one to say it first. Even though Daisy wasn’t here, he had a feeling he’d still end up in trouble somehow for expressing his feelings.
“It’s a little clichéd,” Knox said after a moment. “I mean…I get the whole Valentine’s Day thing and no matter what, there’s going to be hearts, chocolates, and flowers, but I think she can do better.”
Xander wanted to comment on how she shouldn’t be doing it at all, but instead he went for simplicity. “I agree.”
With a curt nod, Daniel pulled out his phone and presumably texted his wife with their responses. When he was done, he faced them again. “Okay, second order of business. I’m supposed to do another overnight surveillance training Saturday night, but it’s the first weekend Josie’s had off in a while. Any chance one of you would be willing to do it? I’ll gladly swap out for your next one.”
“I’ll do it,” Knox said before Xander had the chance.
“Thanks! The girls all have the weekend off–no events, no consultations–so Josie can totally relax and I am there for it.”
“No problem.”
Xander wanted to curse. It would have been the perfect distraction for him because it would have kept his mind on work all weekend. With Daniel staying home with Josie and Knox doing the training, that left him kind of by himself. Sure, there were other friends he could probably call, but somehow, he knew he wouldn’t.
It was too much to think about right now. If he couldn’t figure out how to distract himself over the weekend, the least he could do was distract himself now. Clearing his throat to get their attention, he said, “Okay, we’ve got our bodyguard training class starting next month. We need to go over the reviews from our last class and see what needs to be changed and if there’s anything we need to be adding to it.” Turning, he opened his laptop and pulled up the notes he had taken so far on the subject and forwarded copies to both Daniel and Knox. “I think the weakest category was not spending enough time on real-time application. We need to let the recruits delve into the roles for more than a couple of hours. Maybe we need to set up a mock situation weekend and let several scenarios play out. Thoughts?”
“You mean like a murder mystery weekend kind of thing?” Knox asked.
“Sort of, but more intense. We obviously can’t set up a situation with a real threat, but perhaps with a little more role-playing, they’d feel more confident going out into the real world.”
“The only problem I see with that,” Daniel offered, “is that we’d have to hire people to help out. If we had everyone in the class doing it, some of them would miss out on things, don’t you think?”
Shrugging, Xander considered it. “Maybe. But if we create several scenarios that covered political figures, celebrities, witness protection, that sort of thing, we can go from there and figure out what kind of tasks and risks we’d need to cover.”
“Is it wrong that I think this is really cool?” Knox said excitedly, smiling from ear to ear. “We were doing the basics and using the dummies or cardboard cutouts, but if we could get real people to act this out? Having them offer opinions or fight their security team could really help see how a recruit is with problem solving without turning into a bully or being abusive.”
“I have to agree,” Daniel said, saluting him with his coffee mug. “Great idea.”
After that, the day sort of flew by. They discussed strategy and even made calls to several murder mystery companies to talk to them about hiring actors and writers. Knox took off in the early afternoon since he was going to be working all weekend and Daniel left not long after, since he was looking forward to having the weekend off with his wife.
“Great. I’ve got nothing and no one,” he muttered when he was alone in the office and unsure of what he was going to do with himself all weekend. So instead of leaving and going home, he opted to stay and get caught up on reviewing a few contracts and proposals.
That took less than two hours.
Glancing at the clock, it was barely five o’clock. It was like the clock wasn’t even trying to move! Standing, he stretched and decided to take advantage of their gym and get in a good workout. Maybe if he worked off some of this pent-up energy and frustration, he’d get some sleep tonight.
“Yeah,” he said quietly as he changed into a pair of shorts. “Just call me Mr. Excitement. I’ll work out until I’m sweaty and disgusting and then call in a pizza on the way home and eat it by myself in my underwear or something equally pathetic. I’m living the dream.”
Still, it was all he had, so…he went with it.
His workout routine was something that hadn’t changed in almost fifteen years. It was part of his training and to this day, whenever he worked out, he did the same thing. Jogging, two miles at eight minutes each. Stepping off the treadmill, he walked over to the mats and did 100 pushups and 100 sit-ups. Back on his feet, Xander stretched a bit before heading over to the weight bench. He grabbed a fresh towel from one of the shelves and was about to sit when he heard the front door buzz. It was always locked and he couldn’t imagine anyone simply showing up unannounced.
Wiping his face, he walked to the office to look at the monitor to see who it could be.
And he was pretty sure his eyes were playing tricks on him.
Daisy.
He immediately regretted his decision to get sweaty, but there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it right now. With a muttered curse, he stalked to the door and yanked it open and found himself mildly pleased at her slack-jawed reaction. Those midnight blue eyes went wide and for a moment, she was speechless.
But…only a moment.
“I’ve got a bone to pick with you, Madden,” she said as she stormed right by him into the building.
“Please, won’t you come in?” he mumbled before closing the door and following her.
He didn’t remember her ever being here, and yet she walked right through the office and straight to the gym like she knew where she was going. And like an idiot, all he could do was follow her.
When he caught up to her, she was pacing on the padded floor. “Daisy, what are you…?”
“No! You don’t get to talk,” she snapped. “Although, maybe I should make you talk this time. I mean, last night you didn’t have a whole lot to say. You just kissed me until I barely knew my own name and then walked away! What is it with you, huh?”
“I didn’t…”
“Is this your M.O.? Do you just go in, do the deed, and leave? Do women actually like that?”
“Do the deed…? What?” His head was spinning, and he was tempted to reach out and grab her to stop her from pacing and saying ridiculous things, but another part of him was mildly curious about what she was going to say next.
“I mean…maybe the women you normally attract are okay with the whole love 'em and leave 'em crap, but I’m not!” She let out a huff of annoyance before she stopped in front of him. “It’s fine if you’re not attracted to me. I get it. But that doesn’t give you the right to play around with me and keep kissing me and then walking away. It’s insulting, Xander!” She gave him a shove that made him land on his ass on the weight bench.
“Daisy, if you’d just let me…”
“It’s crazy that I’m even here, but I knew it would just drive me insane if I didn’t say something! And I couldn’t talk to the girls about it because I didn’t want them to know that you did this to me twice!”
“Wait, so you didn’t tell them…?”
“Oh, for crying out loud! Why would I? In what scenario does that make me look good?” she shouted. “You’re the last guy on the planet that I should be kissing! You’re bossy and insulting and just like every other alpha-jerk I know! You’re just like my brothers and one of my exes, and nothing good can come of this!”
Okay, he was done with this one-sided conversation. Slowly, Xander got to his feet and figured he was entitled to a little yelling too.
“Then what are you doing here?” he countered loudly. “I mean…it seems to me that you think very little of me, so why even waste your time coming here and talking to me? From everything you just said, you’ve got it all worked out! I’m the worst. I’m a womanizer. I’m the bad guy! If you truly believed that, you would be running in the opposite direction from wherever I am!”
Daisy cocked a hip and crossed her arms–the sassy pose he was coming to realize was her thing–and looked at him with barely-controlled rage.
And it was sexy as hell.
Ugh…what is wrong with me?
“Oh, you’re right,” she told him. “I just wanted you to know that I’m on to you and from now on, you better stay the heck away from me. If you’re looking to kiss someone, go and flirt with your hostess friend with the big boobs or whoever else is crazy enough to flirt with you! As for me, I’m done. Don’t kiss me, don’t show up at my place, just…just…” Her voice cracked slightly and she didn’t finish the thought.
That was the moment Xander realized that she wasn’t just angry, she was hurt.
And he was the reason.
Shit.
He hesitated for all of three seconds before carefully moving in close. Her name was barely a whisper as he gently rested his hands on her arms. Somewhere in her tirade she had thrown her coat on one of the treadmills and, even with an oversized sweater on, he could feel her trembling.
When she looked up at him, Xander saw the tears in her eyes and they made him feel like the biggest jerk in the entire world.
