chance we might not?” Kennedy shot back. Xavier was impressed by how quickly she’d fired right back. “Or was that just your way of asking me out again?”
He eyed her with intense curiosity. “What if is was? How would you respond?”
Laughing, Kennedy shook her head from side to side. “Since you haven’t asked me anything specific, I don’t know how I’d respond.”
He took hold of both her hands. “Will you go out with me again, Kennedy?”
“I’d love to. Nothing would give me more pleasure.” She openly flirted.
“What about tomorrow evening? I’d love to cook dinner for you, at my place.”
Kennedy appeared impressed. “You can cook?”
“One of the best male chefs around. Dad has major cooking skills and I inherited every last one. Mom is a fantastic cook, but she can’t dethrone my father.”
“Can’t wait to have my taste buds check out your credentials,” she teased.
“Just tell me what you want…and I’ll prepare it.”
“You got a deal.” The mischievous, bad-girl side of her took over, as she began thinking up a complicated meal for him to fix. “Beef Wellington is one of my favorites.”
Onto her devious mission, Xavier failed at keeping a straight face. “I see you like to get your jokes on, but I can do beef Wellington, girl. What time should I pick you up?”
She angled an eyebrow. “What if I just drive myself there around seven?”
“Whatever works better for you. I’ll call in the morning with directions.”
“Look forward to hearing from you.” She grew silent, allowing her gaze to sweep over his handsome face. “I had a really good time, too. You are great company.”
Leaning into her, Xavier brushed across her cheek a light, airy kiss. “Tomorrow.”
Suddenly a flurry of bright white lights flashed before their eyes. A group of photographers came at the startled couple from every angle. Kennedy’s front porch had been invaded. The flashbulbs were darn near blinding, causing them to use their hands as eye shields.
Kennedy and Xavier lived to pose in front of the camera by day, and often by night, loved their jobs as top supermodels, but both hated being completely caught off guard by the ever intrusive paparazzi. Where had all these men come from? There had to be at least ten to twelve cameramen. How long had they been following along behind them? It was indeed hard to tell since neither had spotted a single one.
Was this wild scene just the preview of things to come? Kennedy couldn’t help wondering what she should expect. They’d been so careful to keep their plans for tonight under wraps. Were they going to continuously be hunted down in the darkness of night like wild game and trapped with nowhere to run? She recalled getting injured a couple of times while trying to flee from flashing bulbs. Kennedy recalled with crystal clarity how she had tripped and fallen to the ground in her frantic escape from the camera-toting paparazzi.
As Xavier did his best to shield Kennedy from the cameramen, he couldn’t help wondering if this was the beginning of the end for them. It was tough enough to deal with a new relationship, but these types of wild scenes had proved to be game changers for him in the past. It would take an exceptionally strong woman to suck up this madness, even a professional model like he was.
Chapter 2
Xavier’s four-bedroom Santa Monica beach home was exquisitely decorated, yet extremely comfortable. The splendid furnishings ranged from soft leathers to luxurious designer sofas and matching chairs, fashioned in a variety of lavish materials. Although he had explicit ideas for his personal living space, he’d collaborated on the entire decorating process with a professional design studio owned by his dearest friend, Jonathan Alexander, also a close fraternity brother in alpha PSI alpha.
Earth tones and discreet splashes of oranges, yellows and reds, softer variations of the bold colors, were Xavier’s choices. User-friendly furnishings had been very important to him. He desired that no one entering his personal space would have to wonder what they could or couldn’t use or where they could or couldn’t eat, sit or sleep. No stuffy decorum whatsoever had been permitted in any of the rooms.
While Xavier definitely wanted the formal areas in his home to ooze class and finesse, they also had to be heartwarming, relaxing and sociably inviting.
There was even a special room with the young at heart in mind, which included a Sony PlayStation and an Xbox. Xavier loved children. Though he didn’t have kids, several of his close friends were family men.
The fabulous loft, cozy with down-home comfort, was also used as a retreat for deep meditation, where he burned candles and made contact with his inner self. He believed wholeheartedly in communicating with his spirit.
Stretched out on his bed, dressed in silver-gray lounging pajamas, Xavier dialed Kennedy’s home number. Hoping he didn’t get her voice mail, he laid his head back onto one of six king-size pillows. A bright smile lit up his eyes at the sound of her voice. In the pit of his stomach fiery sensations were already taking over. She had that kind of effect on him. “Good morning, sunshine! Hope I didn’t wake you.”
“Hardly.” She drew in a shaky breath. “Morning, Xavier. By the way, is it okay if I call you X once in a while? I like the shortened version.”
“Quite a few people take liberties with my name. X is the most popular.” He thought about Tiaja Rae calling him by the same name. “X is fine by me. Just remember I’m called that by many folks.”
“It slips off the tongue with ease. How’re you feeling?”
“Happy I’ve been blessed with an opportunity to start a brand-new day. Today I’m writing the beginning of a new chapter in my life. Got a pencil and paper handy so I can give you my address?”
“That’s a nice and positive way to look at it.” She paused, reaching for a pen in her nightstand. “I’m ready. Go ahead and give it to me.” Kennedy wrote down the information in her address book. “I’ve got it. Thanks. I’ll see you at seven.” Kennedy felt giddy about seeing him again, especially this soon.
“How do you feel about us pairing up with a married couple for dinner? They’re good friends of mine. I think you’ll like them. Janine and Jonathan Alexander. Janine is a fashion writer. Jonathan, my frat brother, owns a successful interior design business.”
“Sounds like fun. I’d love to meet both your friends. Is there a specific dress code for our dinner?”
Xavier chuckled. “I can’t believe a fashion diva is asking a question like that. It’ll be pretty casual. I love dining outside on the deck. I recently had one of those outdoor entertainment rooms installed. Mine just happens to overlook the Pacific. I’d like you to be comfortable in my space. The offer to pick you up and drive you home still stands.”
“I’m pretty familiar with Santa Monica. I think I can find you with the help of my built-in GPS tracking system.”
“Good. I’ll see you around seven. Have a wonderful day.”
