Diavolo

xxxii

PRESLEY

Xavier.

My first boyfriend.

And here he was, in front of me looking like a million fucking dollars and the front cover of World's Handsome man with those alluring brown eyes, sun-kissed brown skin and heart-wrecking smile.

Even with all of those, it didn't stop flashes of him leaving me with nothing but a note that'd been burned in the back of my mind, and resurfacing to the present, leaving a sour taste in my mouth.

A shaky breath escaped my mouth when he stepped in front of me, barricading me with his tall body and flashing those eyes at me. "Xavier."

I took a nervous step back glancing around the ballroom for those green eyes only to remember he was currently engrossed in a conversation with the blonde woman. "What are you doing here?"

"Miss me?" His low, dulcet voice spoke, and I could only shiver out of remembrance and indignation. No, I didn't fucking miss him.

When I didn't respond, he cleared his throat and smiled. "I'm the owner of a firearm company and I work with some people hence the invitation. You?"

I couldn't help but smile lightly when I saw the dimples in the side of his cheek and I knew younger me would have been idiotic enough to tell him the truth but I didn't trust him for a single second.

"I'm here with a friend." Such a goddamn lie. He nodded slowly, keeping his eyes on me. "I don't-"

"I-"

A trickle of laughter escaped my throat when I realized we were both trying to talk at the same time. "Sorry. You go first." I told him with a rough determination beneath my voice.

"I missed you—I miss you." His whisper of forbidden truth washed over me and injected inside my bloodstream. "I left like a coward and with everything with your mother, I couldn't handle it but I'm here now and I regret leaving."

Oh gosh.

He took another slow step closer, the sound of his expensive black loafers washed over my ear like a distant pulse in the distance. "I still love you, Rae. I've called home after I heard you left Chicago but your mother wouldn't tell me the truth."

Ironically, I thought it would be a good thing to laugh to his very serous statement because a soft laugh left my throat.

Instinctively, I pressed a hand to my mouth trying to cover up the small giggle that escaped.

His brows furrowed in questioning delight. "You don't believe me."

I shook my head slowly, fidgeting with the gold rings on my fingers and hiding it beneath my right palm. "No, I do but—"

I sighed heavily and met his gaze. "Look, it's been six years, Xavier. You left me in the lowest point of my life with a note. We're not teenagers anymore and I'm not the same girl who you can make a promise and leave when it gets convenient."

He nodded in understanding, breathing out a deep sigh. "I know I fucked everything up but will you at least think about it?"

"Think about?" A husky, deep voice spoke behind me. A rough, calloused hand gently slung over my hips and held me by the stomach.

I felt him before I saw him, the sound of his intimidating and questioning voice slammed into me like a freight train. Sinfully, intoxicating shampoo and masculine cologne.