Emery
When I woke up, I was confused for the first few seconds about where, exactly, I was. The bed was deliciously comfortable, and the temperature in the room was perfect, which suggested I’d been the one to set it. I preferred to sleep with the air conditioning on high so that I could cocoon in the blankets, something I’d always found gave me the best sleep. When I sat up, I wiped the sleep from my eyes before I looked around and assessed my surroundings. Beneath the soft scent of clean and fresh was the smell of new, as if I were the first person to utilize the room. That was when I remembered that I was in the brand-spanking-new guesthouse belonging to Kaya’s boyfriend and his family—a family that included a man who’d evoked a reaction from me that wasn’t comparable to anyone I’d ever met.
Shaking my head to clear it, I took a few deep breaths and stretched my arms before getting up. Looking to the foot of the bed, I laughed when I saw that two of my suitcases were there. I hadn’t even had the strength to move them, and I hadn’t tried to unpack at all. I’d been so exhausted that I’d barely had enough energy to bring Kaya up to speed on everything that had happened in New Zealand. After that, I kept myself awake as she told me all the crazy crap that had gone down at the Cruz house that day.
It was probably for the best that I was out of my mind with exhaustion when she told me about the bitch who’d threatened to have my bird shot. I was horrified to hear my little man had been upset, but Kaya assured me that by the time she and Alejandro left my house so she could meet the Cruzs, Elvis had been okay. I trusted her judgment and knew she’d never have gone anywhere if my baby had been unhappy.
After we finished catching up on the most important details, she left for the night. With no energy left to speak of I gulped down a banana from the fruit display on the kitchen counter, drank half a bottle of water, stripped down to my bra and underwear, set the thermostat to sixty-six and climbed into bed. I was confident I was asleep before my head had time to make an impression on the pillow.
A quick glance at the clock showed that it was just before seven in the morning, which meant I’d gotten nearly eight hours of sleep. Although a part of me wanted to climb right back into the bed and go for a few more hours of sleep, I knew I wouldn’t be doing myself any favors. After straightening the bedding, I opened my durable black luggage and located all of my bath products before I chose an outfit for the day.
I’d not used the bathroom in the guesthouse the night before, but I wasn’t all that surprised to walk in and find that it was more beautiful than any five-star hotel. Everything about the Cruz property was luxurious while remaining exceptionally tasteful. After using the facilities, I made quick work of putting my bath products in the massive glass-enclosed tile shower. Once all that was in place I lifted a waterproof remote from an insert built into the shower controls and set about figuring out how to get the water on. I giggled as each button I pressed resulted in another set of jets going on. With the temperature of the water adjusted to steamy and perfect, I stripped down, walked in, and shut the glass door behind me. The jets hitting me from all the different angles were divine, and I spent several minutes allowing them to massage the tension from my body.
In danger of being massaged into a state of relaxation that would lead to my needing a nap, I got down to the business of cleaning myself. The familiar orange vanilla scent permeated the air as I shampooed, conditioned and then washed from head to toe, all the while wondering if the attraction I’d felt toward Rafael Cruz the night before had been real or nothing more than a side-effect of exhaustion and jetlag.
After rinsing, I grabbed the controller, turned off all the jets, and stepped from the shower. I then wrapped the softest white bath sheet in the world around my body before using a smaller one to put my hair up into a turban. A few minutes later, I took the bath sheet off and rubbed my orange and vanilla body cream into my skin before I took my hair down and blew it dry. My face was the quickest part of my routine, just a quick application of argan oil before I swiped my lips with my go-to lip balm. I’d chosen my outfit, a simple pair of navy blue shorts and a white tee, knowing I’d spend most of the day playing with Elvis.
Finished in the bathroom, I headed back into the bedroom and slid into my favorite pair of white Chucks before I went in search of coffee. In the kitchen, I did a little fist pump when I saw the Keurig. A quick exploration of the cabinets produced a sizeable insulated cup with a lid, which was perfect. As with everything else at the Cruz property, all of the variables had been accounted for. There were flavored creamers in the fridge and several different kinds of sweetener available. Pulling the six Splendas I always used, I brewed two full cups of French roast, which I then poured into the insulated cup. There was food in the cabinets and a bowl of fruit on the counter, but I passed it all by because I figured I’d eat breakfast with Kaya. Hurrying back to the bedroom, I foraged through my backpack until I found my sunglasses and headed out.
I’d expected to be the first person outside, but as I came up the path from the guesthouse, I saw there were several people at the large eating area on the porch outside the main house. It was Rafael’s gaze I connected with first, just as he was lifting a coffee mug up from the table. Upon seeing me, he set it down, stood up, and began making his way toward me. When he rounded the corner from the table, I saw my baby walking at his side, and I couldn’t help the little aww that escaped me. Kaya had been right—Elvis loved Rafael. He’d loved my father and grandfather and had a great time with Kaya’s father figure, Dean, but he’d never attached to a man the way he did with Rafael. I could tell how much he loved him by the adoring way he was looking up at him as they walked. All of his attention was on Rafael, which I understood considering how ridiculously hot the man looked in the white tee and black basketball shorts he was wearing.
Elvis’s attention stayed with Rafael until he heard my voice. When he realized I was up and out, he let out a loud caw and picked up speed to race to me. Crouching down to greet him, I giggled as he rubbed against me and chirped out an entire bird story.
“Are you telling me you’re hungry?” I teased.
Rafael barked out a laugh. “Impossible,” he snickered as he crouched down next to me. “I fed him when I came out, and he got down from the roof about an hour ago. In addition to that since breakfast started everyone has been passing fruit to him from the table.”
“The roof?” I asked.
Rafael grinned and gestured to the guesthouse behind me. “He slept up on the roof last night, right over your door. There’s no missing that he’s extraordinarily devoted to you. One might even call him your feathered stalker.”
We both laughed as Elvis shimmied between us, but then I forgot how to form words as the warmth of Rafael’s scent permeated my senses. There was sandalwood, a hint of oak, and several other indefinable things that came together to make me feel weak in the knees. I felt myself blushing when I realized he was observing me with great interest.
“Thank you for taking such good care of my stalker, Rafael,” I said softly.
“I like when you call me Rafael but feel free to call me Rafe, too,” he said as he tickled his fingers against Elvis’ crown. “And you don’t have to thank me for taking care of your little man—it’s been a pleasure. He’s very easy to spoil.”
Elvis, of course, was eating up the fact that we were down at his level. His feathers opened and closed several times—not all the way, just a little—which told me he was happy. While he was busy gobbling up our attention, my stomach growled. Loudly.
“Time for your mom to eat, buddy,” Rafael announced. As he stood, he extended his right hand down to me.
The feeling of my hand sliding into his was like coming home. My stomach dipped with excitement as I looked up and found him smiling down at me.
When we started walking toward the patio, Elvis fell into step between us. “I see you’ve already got your coffee,” Rafe said, “but when you get the chance I highly suggest you try my Papá’s café con leche. We’re all addicted to it.”
“Sounds delicious,” I answered as my stomach growled again.
“What’re you hungry for?” Rafael asked. “My parents make a full spread, so there’s a ton to choose from.”
“What do you recommend?”
“My father makes the best breakfast casseroles in the world,” he said proudly. “If that doesn’t appeal my mother makes incredibly fluffy eggs, and there are pastries for days. My parents always cook like they’re feeding an army.”
“Casserole and any kind of pastry sounds good.”
Two things happened as we stepped onto the porch. First, I realized that my hand was still clasped in his. The second was that all of the people at the table were watching us with varying expressions of surprise. Embarrassed, I slipped my hand away while he guided me to the empty spot next to where he’d been sitting. I couldn’t keep the goofy smile off my face when he pulled out the chair for me. I wasn’t surprised his manners were impeccable, considering I’d noticed the same thing about his brother the night before. Clearly, their parents had raised their children to be polite.
“You’ve already met my father,” Rafe said as he gestured across the table to where Antonio Cruz was sitting. “The beautiful woman next to him is my Mamá. The big guy at the head of the table is my brother, Mateo, and the idiot with the phone propped up in front of him is the baby of the family, Joaquin. Everyone, this is Emery. Say hello.”
I noted that unlike the rest of the family at the table, all of whom had blue eyes, Mateo Cruz’s were an intense green. He smiled kindly as he lifted his coffee cup in a sort of salute as he stood from the table. “Nice to meet you, Emery. Sorry to meet and run but I need to get upstairs to wake my wife up. I am looking forward to introducing you to her—I know she will be ecstatic that there are other women around.”
“I’ll walk in with you,” Rafe said to him. Turning his focus back to me he said, “I’m going to go make you a plate. Be right back.”
Mr. Cruz laughed heartily as Rafael and Mateo left the patio. “What did I tell you, Emery?” he laughed. “I knew my girls would be thrilled to have company that wasn’t male.”
Mrs. Cruz heaved out a sigh that turned into a laugh. “It’s true, my daughter-in-law and I can get overwhelmed with all the male energy around us. I’m happy to meet you, Emery.”
“I’m happy to meet you too, Mrs. Cruz,” I said with a grin.
She waved a hand dismissively. “Please, you must call me Camila.”
“Camila,” I nodded.
“I have to tell you how much joy your bird has brought to breakfast this morning,” she said. “I hope you don’t mind that we’ve all been giving him bits of fruit and eggs.”
“And bacon,” Mr. Cruz admitted.
I snort-laughed as I looked down at the bird in question. “I know it’s impossible to say no to the little beggar when he gives you the boo-boo eyes,” I joked.
Of course, Elvis gave me his best “not me” look. Beg? Never happened. They offered the food, and I couldn’t be rude by saying no. Who am I to turn it down when it’s being offered?
His innocent look just made me giggle. Elvis had been born hungry, and he’d never met a nut, piece of bread, or fruit that he didn’t want to get into his belly.
“He’s cool as hell,” Joaquin announced. “I didn’t know peacocks could be kept as pets, though.”
I nodded as I took a sip of my coffee. “My family owned a hatchery up north for many years. They’d started out with ducks and chickens and then added bobwhite quails, chukar partridges, ringneck pheasants, swans, and peafowl. As the years passed the peafowl portion of the business took over. Peacocks make great pets.”
“If I were home more I’d want one,” Joaquin said. “He’s super chill. I sent Posie—my assistant—a ton of photos of him last night. She couldn’t get over how beautiful he is.”
“Handsome,” Camila corrected. “Rafael told us he prefers to be called handsome. I can tell it’s true because every time I tell Elvis what a handsome boy he is he—”
Before she could finish, Elvis made a happy noise and spread his feathers a bit before snapping them back into place.
“That right there,” she snorted. “Every time.”
Just then, Rafael came out and set a plate of food down in front of me. “Let me guess, someone just used the H word?”
We all laughed as he sat down next to me. “Yep,” I answered. “You know how he is.”
His eyes held mine as he lifted his glass of juice from the table and took a sip. I stifled a groan as he licked a droplet of juice from his lush lower lip. Rafael Cruz was hot with a capital H.
“So, Emery,” Joaquin said from across the table. I blinked dazedly as I turned away from the heat in Rafael’s eyes to look at his brother.
“I hate to do it, but I’m going to have to make things awkward,” he announced.
My heart skipped a beat or two as the idea that he might be about to call me out for lusting over his brother took hold. Grabbing my bird and hopping over the wall wasn’t an option—I had a lot of skills, but scaling ten-foot walls wasn’t one of them.
The relief I felt when he put me out of my misery was staggering. “Posie and I are huge fans of Bytes,” he explained, “and I’d love to get your autograph and possibly some swag if you have any. If not I’m sure I can get some stuff from eBay and have you sign that.”
“I’d be happy to,” I assured him. “And there’s no need for eBay since I’ve got a ton of stuff in my office—if I ever manage to figure out how to sneak back into my house.”
Rafael’s arm brushed against mine as he leaned forward. “We’ll sneak in and get you whatever you need at some point,” he assured me. Lifting his chin in the direction of Joaquin he continued, “¿Te das cuenta de que hablas de Posie casi sin parar?”
He spoke too quickly for me to pick out any of the words, which meant I didn’t know what he’d said—but the look Joaquin gave him spoke volumes. Antonio guffawed as he stood from the table and Camila tittered softly as she rose and pushed in her chair. “Hopefully you both remembered that Papá and I are heading to Catalina with friends today and we won’t be back until Sunday night. You two use your manners and remember to speak English when we have company,” she chided.
“Don’t worry Mamá. We’ll be sure to use English when we’re inviting the whole town to the massive house party we’re having while you’re gone,” Joaquin joked.
Camila and Antonio laughed him off before they took their leave. After he finished waving them off, Rafael’s arm brushed against mine again as he sat back in his chair and folded his hands over his lower stomach. I licked my lips and forced myself to look away from the hint of the stomach muscles I could see beneath his shirt. The need to touch him was so strong I feared I’d do something stupid and throw myself into his arms.
“I didn’t mean to be rude,” he assured me. “I was merely pointing out that Q-ball has been talking a lot about this Posie.”
I laughed softly as I picked up my fork and dug into the breakfast casserole Rafael had put on my plate. I couldn’t contain the groan of pleasure that resulted from the flavors playing out in my mouth.
“Dios ayúdame,” Rafe muttered in a guttural voice as he shifted forward.
I didn’t understand a ton of Spanish, but I knew he’d said God help me. I turned his way and raised an eyebrow as I finished chewing.
“Help you what?”
His eyes widened. “You understand Spanish?”
Joaquin’s laugh echoed through the air, but I didn’t turn to look his way as I held up my hand and rocked it back and forth in a so-so gesture.
“Entiendo un poco,” I answered, telling him in Spanish that I understood a little. “The two years of Spanish I took in high school weren’t totally for nothing. I can’t converse in a truly fluent way, but I can pick out words here and there.”
As we spoke, Elvis’s little head popped up between us. I giggled when I realized the little beggar was eying up my casserole.
“Elvis, let Mommy eat in peace,” Rafael instructed.
My baby made a little noise in his throat that I knew was his version of a sigh as he stepped back. For the next several minutes I talked to Joaquin about Bytes as I continued eating my breakfast. Just as I was taking my last bite of the most delicious apricot glazed pastry I’d ever had, Kaya and Alejandro came out of the house. He carried their plates of food directly to where Rafael and I were before setting the plates down at the two spaces to my left. Pulling out the chair directly next to me, he gestured for Kaya to sit down. Her butt was barely in the seat before Elvis was right up in her grill and looking up at her adoringly.
“Aw, is my little buddy starving?” she teased.
He had the gumption to give her a look that said his food needs were being neglected. “We should get a camera crew out here to tape this performance,” she laughed. “I’m not fooled. I know darn well Rafe probably fed you half of the house this morning.”
Suitably chastised, Elvis backed away from the table, walked out to the yard and went right to a bronze water pail. It was then I noticed I could see a bunch of them scattered throughout the yard.
I turned to Rafael with a look of surprise. “You got him special pails.”
“Of course he did,” Alejandro laughed. “That’s his best friend. He’s got a small arsenal of toys for him, too. Between my Belleza and my brother, Elvis has not suffered for lack of love, attention, or food.”
My throat felt thick with emotion. Aside from Kaya, her family and my own, no one had ever gone out of their way to love my little guy. Toward the end, Elliot had barely tolerated him, which was just another reason I was glad we were officially over. In my heart of hearts, I’d known we wouldn’t have lasted because I wouldn’t have been able to sustain a relationship with someone who didn’t understand how important Elvis was. Reaching out, I ran my hand up and down Rafael’s forearm several times in quick succession.
“Thank you,” I said softly. There were so many other things I wanted to say, but I was to affected to say any of them.
“It’s no problem,” he said gruffly as he cleared his throat and shot up out of the chair. “I’ve got to go… make a phone call. Be right back,” he called over his shoulder.
My mouth opened in surprise at how quickly he’d gotten away from the table and I wondered if I’d somehow offended by touching him.
Joaquin’s laughter rang out as he too stood from the table. “Well, this was fascinating,” he chuckled. “I’m heading down to the beach to surf, but I’ll be back sometime this afternoon. Ladies, feel free to miss me while I’m gone.”
He was still laughing as he walked into the house. Forcing myself not to question what had just happened I turned to Kaya. “I’ve been too chickenshit to check my phone today. Any clue what the status is with the paparazzi outside?”
Kaya frowned and took a sip of her coffee before answering. “Security says there are still a dozen or so posted up on the road. The story on TMZ is pretty specific—they know you flew in last night but are completely baffled as to how you ghosted past the paps at LAX. Right now the working theory is that someone managed to sneak you out.”
I grimaced and tried to rein in my annoyance. “I have to get over to my house. My flowers and plants will die without proper care, and eighty percent of the clothes I have with me were for New Zealand cold. This is the only pair of shorts I have. I can’t wear the same pair every day.”
I knew I was being a baby, but I was annoyed that the paparazzi were keeping me from my life.
Kaya nodded and then turned to Alejandro. “It seems like going over the wall during the day would be ideal, so no one will see lights on or anything. I’m with Emery on this—I’ll want more of my clothes, too.”
Looking back to me she explained, “After I saw the Google alert Alejandro’s mom suggested I pack an overnight bag just in case. I’ve got enough clothes to get me through tomorrow and then I’ll have to start doing laundry.”
“Then it’s over the wall we go,” Alejandro decreed. Wrapping his arm around Kaya’s shoulders, he kissed the side of her neck before sitting up straight and smiling at me. “Once you’re both finished eating and drinking your coffees we’ll go. I’ll text Rafael to join us.”
I tried my best not to focus on the fizzy feeling in my stomach at the mention of Rafael Cruz, but failed miserably.