“Fine. I’m done with you!” She glared at Justine before leaving, slamming the door in her wake.

“Wow. And I thought my exes were bad.”

Xavier sighed. “I’m sorry. She showed up at my clinic ranting about me. They called me, so I came to get her. The only way to make her leave was to agree to swing back to my place to talk. We started downstairs in the lobby, but she followed me up here because she had to use the bathroom.” He looked abashed. “I thought she was just using that as an excuse to come inside my place, but I couldn’t tell. And I didn’t want to be rude.”

She hugged him, seeing his anxiety. “I’m sorry. That had to be tough.”

“It was. I just don’t understand. I’m great, but am I that great?” he asked with a half-laugh.

Yes.

Poor Christine had likely waded back into the dating pool, where finding a gem like Xavier was as rare as finding the back of an earring after dropping it in a mass of shag carpet.

She’d been there. Dating men who didn’t listen or weren’t thoughtful. Dates where the men acted like Mitch or Frank, where a woman was expected to cater to them. And then if she did find a great guy, he only wanted a hookup or had no job and still lived with his parents, who did everything for him.

She studied Xavier, the opposite of so many men she’d dealt with.

“I think you’re pretty great.” She beamed at him. “You listen to me. You even hugged me after I got sweaty on a run.”

“I didn’t want to say anything, but you stink.” He made a face.

“Jerk.”

His big smile turned him from handsome to extraordinary.

She tried to cover how she felt about him by joking. “It’s good that I’m calling you a jerk, you know.”

“Is that right?”

“According to Katie, if we can’t argue and still be friendly, we’re not meant to be.”

“Katie makes a valid point. Couples who can’t agree to disagree on minor things often have issues with the larger obstacles in a relationship.”

“Is that you with your therapist hat on?” she teased. “And speaking of therapists, I saw Auggie downstairs. Were you going to mention you’re going back to work soon? Do you have a date in mind?”

“Wait. Auggie?”

“Yeah, you know. Your sister?”

“I haven’t seen her.” He scowled. “My sister was here, downstairs?”

“Um, yes.”

“Huh.” He shook his head. “Well, anyway, I did want to talk to you about my work. I planned to tell you tonight, actually.”

“Should I be happy for you?”

He kissed her. “Yes. Because of you, and because I took time off, I’m in a much better frame of mind to help others.” He gave her a long look. “In fact, I was planning to make us dinner.”

“Oh?”

“But I think I could help you better by taking off those tight shorts of yours and giving you one heck of a glutes massage.”