"Where's Moneybags taking you to dinner? Paris? Vienna? I'll bet a private plane is involved." Kate flopped sideways on Peyton's bed."He doesn't have a private plane." Not that he couldn't afford one. Using the vanity mirror, Peyton slid in hoop earrings. "And he wouldn't tell me where. Just said to wear a dress." Ergo, the little black cocktail number she'd put on. It seemed like the safe bet."He's being mysterious, huh?" Kate sat up, her red curls a flurry around her oval face. She traced a finger over the floral pattern on the comforter. "He seems to really like you."Peyton turned and leaned a hip against the vanity edge. "Liking me was never a problem for us. We always got along great."With a slow nod, Kate glanced at the window. "I mean, he likes you, likes you." Her gaze slid to Peyton's. "He's this self-righteous, privileged jackass most of the time, but lately...I don't know.""X is..." Peyton rubbed her forehead, trying to think of a way to explain without breeching X

With one hand on the wheel, Xavier rested his elbow on the window well and rubbed his lips in thought while he drove his Jag through the rain-soaked streets. A yellow glow from the lampposts hit the drops on his hood and windshield. Somehow, it escaped his notice it had stormed while they'd been in the restaurant. He supposed he'd had his own storm brewing.Peyton had forever and always maintained the ability to clobber him with the equivalent of an emotional battering ram. Yet, the stuff she'd told him tonight about her former fiancé sat like battery acid in his gut. Not only had her whole family been wiped out and she'd lost a man she loved, but Xavier was starting to get a full HD view of the extent of her loneliness. And it had begun long before Mark shot himself.Xavier was no expert, but he'd been raised by two parents who loved each other to the ends of the earth. He'd been surrounded by affection. How Peyton described her relationship with Mark didn't sound like love. It lean

Perched on the vanity counter in Xavier's bathroom, Peyton swung her legs and waited while he took out his contacts. She'd already removed hers and brushed her teeth. He'd thrown on a pair of black briefs and had her slip into his button-down shirt he'd worn earlier. The casualness of their undress, plus the domestic scene of their toothbrushes beside one another's, kept tripping her mental focus.It wasn't as if she hadn't been in a relationship before. It had just been a long time. Mark's toiletries had shared space with hers, but he'd been gone so much that it hadn't seemed real sometimes. He'd been as much a ghost in her life as her parents' memory.This...was different. Every experience with Xavier was different. From the way he touched her to how he spoke, he gave the impression she wasn't simply someone beside him sharing oxygen or a warm body to pass time. Rather, he saw her, the woman. Inside, out, up, down, throughout...and every crevice in between. And he apparently liked

Xavier strummed his fingers on the chair in Peyton's office and waited for her to finish a phone conversation with his mother. They'd been at it twenty minutes, going over the final details for the Fallen Veterans fundraiser tomorrow, and he'd forgotten why he'd come in here in the first place."The mask is beautiful. It matches the dress we picked out. I can't wait for you to see it." She laughed into the receiver.He eyed the ceiling. No matter how many times he'd asked over the past few weeks, she'd refused to even tell him so much as the color of her gown. He understood why curiosity killed the cat. Whatever the style, she'd look better out of it. They'd both been busy as of late, only able to hook up on the weekends, and it was driving him batshit. Every morning, he woke up without her in his bed, and it only cemented the notion she should move in with him. The conversation had been on the tip of his tongue since they'd made love but, for whatever reason, he'd remained silent.

With an hour to spare, Peyton climbed out of the car Xavier had sent, adjusted her dress, and snuck in the back entrance to the Fallen Veterans masquerade ball. She'd had him do the same thing thirty minutes ago when he'd arrived to avoid any rumors that they hadn't come together. The press liked to pounce on any little thing and twist a story. Tonight was about charity.She worked her way through the back rooms and into the upper foyer, handing her coat and purse to an attendant. Behind her was the main lobby. Ahead, the ballroom was down a set of marble stairs and surrounded by a wrought iron terrace on the second level. From her position, she glanced below at the open floor plan and smiled.Lovely. Just lovely.An enormous chandelier rained from a vaulted ceiling, the lighting set low. A platform was up front with a podium and a couple chairs. Pictures on easels displayed previous events and some of the soldiers they'd helped. In front of the staging area was a small dance floor