Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 84401 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 422(@200wpm)___ 338(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84401 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 422(@200wpm)___ 338(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Evie laughed and took another sip. “She isn’t a bitch.”
I raised my eyebrows.
Evie shrugged. “Most of the time.”
I grinned. “Now come on, before Fiona orders Connor to get us. He can be a nasty bugger if provoked.”
Evie followed me, a smile on her face that set me oddly at ease.
Two hours into the barbecue, Evie and I were in a full-blown discussion about Marvel movies.
“Amazing Spiderman was a complete fluke. They should keep their hands off the old movies. Every time they try a new take on Spiderman, they ruin the story a bit more,” Evie argued, her cheeks flushed, her chair turned toward me.
“Tobey Maguire was a shitty Spiderman,” I said, slinging my arm over the backrest of my chair to turn fully to Evie. “I didn’t buy his interpretation of the bad guy for one second. That guy’s too much of a goody-two-shoes.”
“And Andrew Garfield isn’t?” Evie muttered.
“Did you know they were nerds?” Connor interjected.
Fiona shook her head. “I knew Evie enjoyed a good book or movie more than actual human interaction. But this…no.”
Connor shook his head at me. “What’s wrong with you, mate?”
“Now come on, you watched the Spiderman movies.”
“I did. But that doesn’t mean I can spend hours discussing the merits of the Marvel universe.”
“Don’t listen to them,” Evie murmured. “They don’t even like Pale Ale.”
I chuckled. “One of these days we’ll have to do a movie night where we binge-watch all Spiderman movies, and then we’ll have that discussion again.”
“Deal,” Evie said.
Fiona cleared her throat. “Evie, I doubt movie nights are part of your job description?”
“She needs to cater to my whims,” I said with a shrug.
Fiona gave me a scowl that could have frozen over hell before she turned to her sister with an expression I couldn’t decipher, but Evie could and sighed.
Before I left, Fiona cornered me in the entryway, her manicured nails digging into my forearm. “Listen, Xavier, I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, but stop the charm offensive on my sister, all right? She won’t have movie night with you. She doesn’t do overnight hours, especially not the kind you want.”
I withdrew my arm from her tight grip, stifling my anger before I said something nasty that would make Connor kick my ass. “You aren’t Evie’s guardian, nor mine, Fiona. Why don’t you keep your nose out of our business?”
“Because I don’t want you to hurt my sister, and that’s the only thing you’re good at—hurting women.”
I scowled. “Evie’s my assistant. If I decide that includes hours watching movies together, then that’s what she’ll do, understood?”
“You’re such an asshole.”
“And proud of it,” I muttered. “Say bye to Connor and Evie from me. I’ve had enough of your bitchiness for one day.”
If it wasn’t already late and if I didn’t know that Evie would be kicking me out of bed in the morning no matter how long my night had been, I’d have headed straight for a bar to pick up a fuck for the night. Instead, I returned home like a good little athlete, and fell asleep with the image of Evie’s butt giving me the boner of a lifetime.
The day after the barbecue Xavier was in a sour mood. I wasn’t exactly sure why. After making sure he was on time for his training, I took Xavier’s car toward the office of the sports label to pick up the newly designed briefs so Xavier could try them on in the afternoon. I was still in awe that Xavier let me drive his Maserati for tasks like that. Despite his soft spot for anything that could be classified as luxury, he wasn’t very attached to any of his possessions. Sometimes it felt like they were a necessary evil for him. Who wouldn’t like a Rolex and Maserati as their necessary evil, really? His knack for flouting his wealth didn’t bring him lots of good press, however, and had led to more than one investigation by the National Rugby League to see if his salary didn’t surpass the salary cap after all.
His mood had improved considerably when I picked him up from training in the early afternoon, as it usually did.
“Good training?” I asked as he flung himself into the passenger seat. Sometimes I felt like a chauffeur. Not that I minded. After my initial problems with the shift and the left-side traffic, I enjoyed driving around Sydney, despite the annoying traffic.
“Things are coming together. We need to make it to the Grand Final. We need to win.”
“When’s the first game again?” I asked.
“Second week of March. But the pre-season kicks off next week.”
“Yeah, I know. I saw that. Central Coast Stadium against the Sea Eagles.” It would be my first live rugby game. I had never even been to a football game, so I was curious if I’d enjoy it at all.