DEFY (The Billionaire's Rules, Book 8) Read Online Free

appreciate you checking in,” she told
him.
    The conversation was winding down.   “Take care of yourself, okay?” he said
earnestly.
    “Okay,” she told him.   “I’ll try my best.”
    And then, suddenly, she
was overwhelmed by a feeling of frustration with Cullen Sharpe.   Why hadn’t he been the one to call her?
    Why had Cullen allowed it to be Xavier
Montrose on the other line, trying to care for her?   Why hadn’t Cullen checked in to see if
she was all right instead of ignoring her?
    “Xavier,” she said, just before he hung
up.
    “Yes?”
    “Would you like to have dinner with me
sometime?” she asked.
    He chuckled.   “That sounds like a fine idea.   How about tonight?”
    She laughed.   “Sure.”
    “You still have my card and my cell?”
    She hesitated, not sure if she did.
    He continued.   “Here, take down my number and text me
your address.   I’ll pick you up at
seven.”
    Xavier gave her his number and she
entered it into her cell phone and then they got off the phone, having
reaffirmed their plans for dinner that evening.
    In the silence after hanging up with him,
Ivy felt profoundly sad.
    Xavier was nice enough, but he wasn’t
Cullen and he never would be.   She
wasn’t sure that having dinner with the man was a good idea, because perhaps
she was leading him on.
    And maybe this was just her way of
somehow staying connected to Cullen through spending time with his rival.
    Ivy didn’t know.   She wasn’t sure why she was doing
anything, lately.
    All she knew was that she felt too sad
for words.

 
    ***

 
    True to his word, Xavier picked Ivy up at
her apartment at seven o’clock.   He
was driving a silver Mercedes and wearing a suit that matched the car.
    There was no doubt that Xavier was nearly
as handsome as Cullen, although he was completely different in his esthetic and
manner.   Where Cullen Sharpe was
dark, brooding, mysterious and mercurial, Xavier Montrose was funny and
amiable.
    He put Ivy immediately at ease when she
got in the car with him.
    “Just don’t put your feet on the dash and
we’ll be fine,” he said, winking at her.
    She laughed.   “I promise not to spit my gum on the upholstery,
either.”
    “Oh, spitting gum out is fine,” he
said.    “Spit your gum as much
as you like, Ivy.”
    She rustled through her purse and found a
pack of gum and pulled a piece out, showing it to
him.   Then she unwrapped it.   “Would you like a piece?”
    “I thought you’d never ask,” he said,
leaning forward and opening his mouth wide.
    She giggled, and then placed the gum
close to his mouth, and he snapped it up before she could pull away.
    As he continued to drive to their
destination, Ivy tried to ascertain just how she felt about Xavier.
    They were flirting a little bit, and Ivy
wasn’t sure if she was interested in him or not.
    Yes,
he’s handsome.   But he’s not sexy
like Cullen.   He’s just nice and
funny.
    What’s
wrong with nice?   Is being nice
suddenly a drawback?   What is wrong
with you?
    Ivy wasn’t sure.   She only knew that something was missing
with Xavier.   She simply wasn’t all
that attracted to him.   Despite his
good looks, and his great sense of fashion, not to mention sense of
humor—he didn’t give her those butterflies.
    Only Cullen Sharpe had ever done that to
her.
    It’s
over with Cullen.   You have to stop
comparing everything and everyone to him.
    They arrived at the restaurant and went
inside.
    It was a very upscale modern restaurant
that served very fresh seafood and steak.   Ivy played it safe and got a nice strip steak with a salad.  
    Xavier ordered a bottle of wine for the
table, and Ivy was only too happy to drink it.   When she was done her first glass,
Xavier grinned and raised an eyebrow, as he poured her a second glass.
    “I didn’t realize we were having a
drinking contest,” he said.  
    “Oh, you didn’t?” she said, taking a big
gulp and the raising her glass.   “Well, I