Love, Exes, and Ohs (Cactus Creek #4)(19)

“You two belong together,” she said quietly.

“I know,” he replied, just as quietly. “But Xoey doesn’t. Not yet.” He didn’t want to think of the possibility of her never figuring it out. “And until she does realize it, or in the awful event that she never does, I just want to make sure she’s happy.”

Dani sighed, and asserted with feeling, “Which makes you a demigod among men.”

Interesting twist to the saying. “Too rough around the edges to be a prince?”

“Not at all. You’re better than a prince. Demigods are practically immortal. And I truly believe you’ll outlive all these guys she’s dating.”

He shook his head. “I’ve said it before, Luke is a lucky guy.”

“And Xoey’s a lucky girl.” With one more squeeze of his hand, Dani checked her watch and stood up. “I actually have to get going. Luke wants me to try some new chocolates at the shop.” The soft, lovestruck look she got whenever she thought about Luke transformed her face. Grabbing her bag, she gave him a parting, “And remember what I said, Xoey’s fine. Don’t go playing the avenging angel.”

“I’d have to be able to find the guy first,” he grumbled. Making it clear in no uncertain terms that he was going to try to do just that.

Another resigned sigh escaped her as she slung her gym bag on her shoulder. “I told you, he just vanished. She doesn’t even have a last name.” Dani checked the time again and gave him a quick hug. “I really have to run, and you have a plane to catch pretty soon. Have a safe trip. Wish Tyler luck for us. Luke and I will be over at one of the Sullivans’ watching the televised fights—probably Brian and Tessa’s place.”

She gave him another weighted look. “I’ll be sure to tell Connor to keep his phone on him at all times for the next few weeks, just in case you decide to do something crazy that would require an attorney. Mind you, that’s not an endorsement, but just my accepting reality. We all know your judgment gets compromised when it comes to Xoey.”

She said it more like a compliment than anything else and he hugged her back.

“Keep Xoey out of trouble while I’m gone.”

Her incredulous laughter at his impossible request was her only reply as she left.

With a glance at the clock, he saw he had another hour still before Xoey picked him up to take him to the airport. For a minute, he seriously contemplated calling up Connor’s investigator at the firm to do some digging. But even Jay, the scarily gifted investigator Isaac would never want to be on the run from, couldn’t find a ghost.

Which is exactly what Xoey’s first was. A ghost. Isaac couldn’t fight him, couldn’t exorcise him from her memories.

…Or her heart.

Where he suspected the biggest ghostly imprint remained.

He thought back to what Dani had said about Xoey not having gotten any closure with her ghost. And before he realized he was doing it, he found his fingers dialing Quinn’s phone number.

“Don’t you have a flight to catch?” came the smiling, but busy-sounding reply after the first ring. Having known her since college, Isaac couldn’t remember a time when she’d ever sounded like she wasn’t running three marathons at once. At least not until she’d met the calming force of her husband Rylan.

“Hello to you too, babe. Hey, have you found a blind date for Xoey yet?”

That made the distraction he’d heard in her voice disappear completely as she replied, “No…why?”

“I kept in touch with some of the guys we went to business school with. Need some help?”

“Are you serious?” She sounded flabbergasted.

Was he?

For Xoey? “Yes.”





CHAPTER EIGHT


QUINN ACTUALLY DID well with this one.

So far, Bachelor #3 was blowing Bachelor #1 and #2 out of the water.

Xoey was admittedly surprised. With Quinn’s penchant of scaring men within an inch of their testicles, she’d expected her not to have any prospects.

The guy was definitely a looker.

In a weird, déjà vu way.

When she’d first answered her door at the start of the date, Xoey had felt transported back in time.

Not because he looked anything at all like the guy who’d been responsible for her first oh. He didn’t. But he did have a similar air about him. She couldn’t put her finger on it.

The designer suit for one. The intelligent gaze behind sexy frameless glasses, definitely. And the lean muscled physique was almost dead-on…something she realized now, didn’t do much for her anymore.

Didn’t take a genius to figure out why.

She doggedly smothered back the image of Isaac’s larger, ripped fighter’s body that flashed in her head suddenly.

Focus back on your date, Xo.

The guy was seriously gorgeous. In that confident, polished, bigwig-in-the-big-city sort of way.

He was textbook perfect.

Well, until he started talking about money and work, that is.

It was a steady descent without a parachute from the moment they pulled into the valet area of the restaurant—the new Italian place that had opened up at the south edge of town—and he told her he’d brought his BMW tonight instead of his Mercedes ‘just for her.’