Cross My Tigress Face the Wrath (Stella)

Julia blinked. "Huh? Come again?"

What the heck was this?

Yvonne just shrugged. "Do you buy it?"

Honestly, she didn't. Xander was as picky as they came.noveldrama

And, let's be real, the kind of girls he fell for were always a little out there— definitely not someone like her, even if she was drop-dead gorgeous.

Julia heard Yvonne's question and shot back, "No way. He'd have to be out of his mind to go for you."

In other words, Xander wouldn't dare.

Yvonne grinned. "So you think it's impossible, too?”

"Totally impossible. You two are so close, you probably remember each other's most embarrassing childhood moments. There's no way that kind of familiarity turns into romance."

As far as Julia was concerned, Yvonne and Xander getting hitched was a pure accident.

Love? Not a chance.

Yvonne let out a breath. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"No doubt about it," Julia insisted.

Yvonne hesitated. "So then, how did my brother end up falling for Star?"

If we're talking embarrassing childhood moments, Star literally wet Ronald's bed more than once as a kid.

Back when they were babies, Ronald looked after her all the time. They were close-like really close. He knew every little thing about her. And yet, Ronald still managed to fall for Star. So why couldn't Xander see her that way? Was she not good enough or something?

Julia fell awkwardly silent.

Gossiping about Mr. Quinn? Not a chance-even if Yvonne was his sister. If Ronald ever heard she was talking about his private life, the whole Quinn clan would be toast.

Especially considering it was Ronald and Star. Everyone had heard about the mess at that last family dinner.

"Anyway, you and Xander? Not happening," Julia said firmly.

Their personalities? Oil and water. Anyone could see that.

Remember how Yvonne and Xander nearly came to blows over Star? If Xander ever fell for Yvonne, it'd mean he'd never met another woman in his life.

Yvonne sighed. "Then why'd he take the fall for Dan?"

If it wasn't Xander, then he was covering for Dan, right?

Julia rolled her eyes. "Seriously? Dan's with Black Gate. You know how messy things are over there right now?"

"And Xander, at least on paper, is your husband. Maybe he just didn't want you getting mixed up in something you couldn't handle."

Yvonne considered that. Yeah, maybe Julia was right.

"Yeah, maybe."

Julia nodded. "If that's the case, Xander's being pretty generous. That's not his usual style. Maybe he actually doesn't want to see you get hurt."

Truth be told, Dan's connections were messy as hell.

If Yvonne had really gone after Dan and left him half-dead, his people wouldn't have let it slide.

Yvonne took a shaky breath,

remembering the people who came for her last night. Some of them were Black Gate, some were from the Wilson family. All of them were bad news. Once she found Skye and got her stuff back, she'd settle the score.

"Things are crazy with Black Gate right now," Julia said. "After that stunt with Dan, you gotta keep your head down."

"It's not just Black Gate," she added. "Things are heating up in Sands City too."

Thinking about Dan, Julia shook her head. Who'd have guessed, back when he first got close to Yvonne, that he had such a tangled

kel

background? He'd seemed like set

broke kid from the wrong side of the tracks—a real Cinderella story, just with more attitude.

Yvonne muttered, "I know. He's a real jerk."

And now, thinking about it, Yvonne felt a pang of guilt for Xander.

She made up her mind: after she found Skye and got her stuff back, she'd figure out a way to help Xander get a better deal out of the Schultz family once they were back in Ferrowland.

Truth be told, the Schultz family had taken some pretty heavy hits in recent years.

Anyone connected to Regina Schultz was pretty much wiped out.

And since Xander had cut ties with them, Ronald had gone after them even

harder.