Chapter 11
“Xavier?” Savannah’s father looked at him in confusion, before opening the door wider to let him in. “Tobias and Savannah aren’t back for a few weeks.”
“I expect he already knows that, don’t you, dear?” The woman he recognized as Savannah’s mother came to the door and gave him a grandmotherly smile. “Let him in, Dale.”
Her husband gave him an apologetic look. “Sorry, son. I was only following strict orders here.”
“Don’t worry,” Xavier told him. “Tobias can be a real control freak when it comes to these things. I completely understand.”
“He was very explicit in his instructions about Jacob, as you can imagine, and Savannah still worries about Jacob.”
“I didn’t want Jacob to get bored.” He smiled sweetly at the boy’s grandparents. “Not that he’s getting bored with you, that’s not what I meant. I’d like to take him out for the day somewhere. Catch a movie, or something. Do some kids’ stuff.” Only he wasn’t sure, now that he was here, exactly what kids’ stuff a little boy would want to do.
“He’s in the pool, with Izzy.”
“Is he?”
Jackpot. He had to fight hard to hold back the smile. Izzy here already, and in the pool? Hopefully wearing a bikini.
The stars were on his side.
“I’ll go find them.”
Tobias hadn’t cared much for the pool and sauna and the other amenities situated in the basement of his condominium—he’d preferred to run alone, hitting the streets of New York in the silent hours, or spend time venting his frustrations and anger out in the boxing ring. But it didn’t surprise him that Jacob would make good use of it. And he was thankful for that.
“Did you bring your swim trunks, dear?” He heard Savannah’s mother call out after him, just as he closed the door behind him,
~ ~ ~
“Catch me!” Jacob shrieked, and splashed wildly as he tried to get away.
“I’m coming!” Izzy waded after him, but slowly, allowing Jacob plenty of time to get away.
The return to college after Fiji had been hard. It had been crazy of her to think she could slip back into her normal routine, and relatively boring student life after those glorious days of walking on white, powdery sand, in the heavy heat, with the aquamarine sea gently lapping at her feet.
New York in October was cold and miserable, in comparison.
The whole of last week had been like a dream compared to the harsh reality of her world.
Privately, she reveled in the knowledge that she had been to Tobias Stone’s wedding, even though nobody had any idea.
It wasn’t big news among her friends, apart from Cara, and it wasn’t surprising given that Tobias wasn’t a famous celebrity. But she had seen a couple of magazines and newspapers, none with pictures of the wedding, but older pics of Tobias and Savannah and so-called ‘wedding news’. It gave her a chuckle in itself, that she had been there, had seen the wedding, had spent the time there, and was now back in the fold, and nobody but Cara knew.
Savannah had told her that Jacob’s grandparents would be around to make sure Jacob was fine during the weekdays, but that she wanted him to have company during the weekends, and this she had no problem with. It was a nice and easy and fun way of earning extra cash. She had arrived early this morning, to find Jacob up and ready in his swim trunks.
“You can’t catch me!” Jacob squealed.
“Yes I can!” She waded towards him easily, and then touched his shoulder. He shrieked, then waved at someone behind her. She turned around, and her face crumbled when she saw him.
God, no.
What was he doing here?
Xavier stood at the edge of the pool, thankfully still fully clothed. She swept her hair back, standing up in the water, watching, as Jacob swam to the pool edge.
“Hey, dude. How are you doing?”
“Having lots of fun.”
“Hey,” he said to Izzy. “How you doing, Laronde?”
She had to force herself not to narrow her eyes at him. “What does it look like, Stone?”
“I told Savannah I would keep an eye on Jacob.”
“That’s odd, because she didn’t mention anything to me about you being here”
“That’s because—” He was about to say that it was none of her business, but if he was to have any chance of getting into her good books, this wasn’t the way to do it. “Because she’s probably busy enjoying herself.”
“Are you coming in?” Jacob asked. “We’re playing tag.”
No, Jacob, don’t do it. Don’t.
“I didn’t bring my swim trunks, dude.”
“Tobias has got lots.”
No way. This couldn’t happen. It couldn’t. “I don’t think Xavier wants to get wet, Jacob.” She forced a smile. “We’re coming out soon.”
“But we just got in!”
She tried to keep her expression neutral. Thanks, Jacob. Thanks.
Xavier crouched down, but she kept her distance, a couple of meters behind Jacob who was hanging onto the pool ledge, unfortunately, still trying to convince Xavier to come in. “I’m not sure Tobias’s swim trunks will fit me,” he said to Jacob, and then stared directly at her. “They might be too small.”
“Gross.” Could he be any more big-headed? She shivered, more in disgust than fear. She didn’t fear Xavier, not in the way she feared Shoemoney. Granted, they were both slime balls, but she sensed that with Xavier it was more a case of bravado.
“On second thoughts, kid, I don’t want to get wet. I’ll wait for you inside, buddy. How about that?”
She glanced up at him, the tension releasing across her shoulders. Thank goodness he wasn’t.
“Don’t you want to play with us?” Jacob’s wail echoed around the pool, and she breathed easier.
“You play as long as you want, kid. It looks like you two are having fun anyways, and I’ve got a few calls to make. Don’t worry. I’ll wait for you.”
~ ~ ~
“You didn’t go swimming, dear?” Jean asked him when he returned. He explained that he didn’t have his trunks on him. “And I have some calls to make.” But instead, he hovered around in Tobias’s den. Killing time.
This bet was going to be harder than he’d thought. If not altogether impossible. But the babysitter was growing on him. She had an edge to her that other girls—who were always eager to please him—didn’t. He liked that. He liked that a lot. It made a change to find someone who didn’t laugh at his jokes, or give in too easily.
And she looked good. It was a huge bonus. He’d had the advantage of seeing her in her bikini a few times now, and he liked what he saw.
When he won, when she gave in, she wouldn’t be disappointed. He knew how to give women what they wanted, and he hadn’t been joking when he’d said Tobias’s swim trunks would be too small for him.
3 months was good. It would take longer than the 1 month he’d previously envisioned, to see this bet through. Girls like Petra or Gisele could be won over in a matter of days. He’d managed to screw Petra on the first date, in his Ferrari. She’d ridden him in the driver’s seat, so impressed had she been by his car that they hadn’t even made it to dinner.
And Gisele. With her he’d been in the Mile High club. They’d exchanged glances across the big ass seats in first class on a flight back to New York. He’d been on his way back from a business meeting and she’d gone for a casting in LA.
But Laronde?
Zero chance. She wasn’t a model or a movie starlet, and maybe that was the problem. This college girl was giving him the runaround as if she were the prize draw in a Miss America contest.