Chapter Seven
Four weeks later…
She pulled at the collar of her blouse. Tonight was the night she’d come down to Catalan Food Distributors to meet with Xavier and his brother, Javier. She’d only been home a few days from the Barcelona trip, and she and Xav were almost inseparable. Part of her wanted to move into his family’s estate since it would save her time and travel, but it was just too soon. She and Xavier were linked at the hip, and she slept over at his apartment every night, at least since her return home. It was getting to the point that after three weeks together in Barcelona and this week now, she didn’t want to be without him.
He made her feel safe.
More than that. He made Sandra feel loved.
Wasn’t that the problem, though? She was really Sandra Gaines, not “Jules,” and she had a connection to him that he thought was kismet but wasn’t. Not exactly. She owed it to him to tell Xavier about their first time in that limo long ago. She just didn’t know how, and the longer things built, the less she knew how to broach the topic.
Sandra knew how everything had happened, how it had all come to be, but it looked bad. From the outside, it seemed like she’d tracked him down, gotten a job in his company, and then wormed her way into his heart after a one-night stand so she could get the meeting she was at now. So she could have this one chance to do what she was doing now.
Pitch the script for her first movie to financers and see what they’d say.
Javier glared at her, his green eyes so like Xavier’s but also so full of barely contained disdain. Obviously, he’d taken this meeting only as a favor to Xavier, and she figured he was going to chew her out and dump her out the door in about five minutes flat. After all, Xavier encouraged her to follow her dream, to become more than just Mistress of Schlock, but he had also vowed that the final funding decision would be his brother’s and that her writing would have to wow a man who didn’t seem to like her already.
“Well,” he said, setting the screenplay down. Clearly, he had to have read the hundred-page plus document before meeting her, but he’d been perusing the last few pages since she came in the door. Maybe he needed to decide if the ending was strong enough. How would she know? “You certainly have some work here, Miss Gaines.”
“I know, but is that a good thing or a bad thing?” she asked, grateful that Xavier was sitting beside her and clenching her hand. He was always there, always saving her, and that extended to right now when she felt like her whole career was on the line. “I’m too close to it. I can’t really tell.”
You look like you want to put me on a pyre, but I’m hoping you’re just a gloomy guy.
Javier eyed his brother. “Well, I have to admit, this is one of the best things I’ve read in a while, and I just bought the newest Stephen King. I can see the scenes in my head and what kind of a horror movie it would make right now. Damn it. I do want to see it made.”
Xavier’s jaw fell open. “Really?”
She punched her lover lightly on the shoulder. “What? That’s your defense?”
Xavier shrugged sheepishly. “I know I loved it. I can’t always tell how Javi will do things. He can be a stubborn ass.”
His brother laughed. “I can hear you, but you’re both right. This is really good. We’ll put up half a million to invest in this.”
She blinked, not sure she’d heard him right. In her wildest dreams, she had hoped at best the brother would help her set up some crowdfunding campaign and possibly promote it with their own social media reach. Maybe get twenty or thirty thousand. But no, they were giving her a real budget.
“Considering some of it needs location shooting in Barcelona,” Javi said, “I’m sure I can make calls and pave the way for things.”
“You’re serious?” she asked.
Xavier chuckled. “Now who’s being unsure?”
“I just…did I fall and hit my head lately? This is the last thing I expected to hear tonight, to know that I’m actually…that what I made is wanted,” she said, her voice starting to wobble.
She’d waited twenty-six years for someone to see her talent, to give her a chance. How could she ever tell Xavier now that Sandra and Jules were the same person? He’d never believe her now. It would just have to be her secret, her cross to bear as long as she knew him.
Javier nodded. “I assumed that you wouldn’t have an ounce of talent. Xavier’s never wanted to invest in any of his girlfriends in a long time. However, I read it, and I know a chance when I see one. To be honest, it never hurts to diversify a company, even if this is quite a leap.”
“This is like a dream.”
Xavier kissed her, the cinnamon scent of him hanging heavy in the air beside her. “I knew you could do it.”
Javier smiled, but the expression didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Brother, can Juliet and I have a minute? I’d like to speak with her about a few funding details.”
“I don’t know,” Xavier hesitated.
Javi stood and went to the wet bar in the office to pour himself a glass of water. “It will only take a moment.”
“It’s okay, Xavier. I’m a big girl.”
“No, you’re a writer and soon-to-be director, Miss Gaines,” he said, kissing her before hurrying out the door.
She took in deep breaths as she watched Javier sip his drink, taking all the time in the world and drawing out the tension between them. The bastard was probably doing it on purpose.
“Well,” he said, finally looking at her. “You’ve certainly worked magic here.”
“Because you assumed my screenplay was garbage?”
“No, because I haven’t seen a woman get to my brother like this in a long time. You’re very talented. I can’t ignore that, and you make Xavier happy…for now.”
She swallowed hard but didn’t look away. Sandra wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. “I know I’m the last thing that could be considered rich. I know that we’re painfully different, and that I didn’t come from the right kind of family.”
“I’m not a bigot. I don’t care about that part of it,” Javier said, setting down his glass. “I care because my brother was broken years ago.”
“Oh.”
“A woman tore his heart out, took so much from him. I want to believe in happy endings and fairy tales, that my brother is finally getting his second chance. Of course, Xavier’s the optimist, and I’m the cynic.”
“I’m not going to hurt him. You can burn the damn screenplay and not fund it, or I’ll go someplace else. If I don’t have Xav, then I don’t have anything. He saved my life, and I love him.”
Javier’s eyes grew wide. “Xavier hadn’t mentioned that part yet.”
Tears threatened to fall, but she pushed them back. She wasn’t going to show weakness before Javier. Of course, Xav would get her jewelry and give her beautiful promises. Yes, they were committed for now, but how far did it go? Would he grow tired of her in a year? In five? How much could she trust? Everything had been a whirlwind so far, and that was an understatement. Still, if he hadn’t even circled the L-word with Javier by now…well, would she just end up a flavor of the month?
“Oh.”
“Yes, but I want to hope. I want to make this all work as a show of good faith. You have the heart of the best man I’ve ever known in the palm of your hand, Miss Gaines. Just don’t crush it.”
***
Two months later…
She swooned and would have fallen standing out in front of the Sagrada Família if Tonya hadn’t caught her. The heat of the early September sun was bearing down on her, but Sandra had suffered from a lack of energy and everything else these days. She assumed it was because of how fast the pace for pre-production on the film was going. Since the movie revolved around a haunting at the famous church, she and Xavier were staying in Barcelona for the duration of filming. He had some more business to deal with over the union mess anyway, so it was a perfect arrangement. Living together was bliss, but she hadn’t heard an “I love you” yet, and she was growing scared she might never hear those precious words from his lips.
Tonya helped her to her feet and led her up the stairs and into the cool, stone nave. She slid onto the pew and wanted to cry. She hadn’t been feeling well at all the last month, at least, and she’d gained weight. Granted, she’d never been slim and leggy like her best friend, but she’d put on at least ten pounds. Okay, maybe more like fifteen. Part of her was trying to blame movie stress and the wonders of tapas and other food fattening her up. No matter what it was, Sandra didn’t feel like herself at all, and she hated it.
“Okay,” Tonya said, switching to a whisper when a passing priest frowned at them. “What gives? You know you’ve been pale as a sheet since I got to Spain, right? Are you anemic or something?”
She shook her head, although an iron deficiency would explain why she felt horrid. “I…I think I’ve been working too hard.”
“Really?”
“What?” she prodded, forcing her tone to stay low and quiet. It wouldn’t be good to curse in a church, even though that knowing look Tonya was giving her made her anxious and annoyed all at once. “Seriously, you’re thinking something.”
“I’m thinking that you’ve been here, in Spain, and you’ve been having sex like a bunny when not working your tail off to get pre-production done.”
“And?”
“And sometimes things happen…” Tonya said. Then she cupped her own stomach. “Are you sure you’re not, you know, in the family way?”
“Huh?”
“Preggers, with child, have a bun in the oven. I mean, that’s possible, right?”
“Not unless it’s with the antichrist or via alien abduction. We’re really careful. I take my pill with laser precision, and Xav has protection too.”
“I just thought that could be a reason,” she said, biting her lower lip.
“No. I…” Then Sandra paused, remembering that time over three months ago back in the alley by Park Güell. She’d been inconsistent coming off the jet lag with her pills, and they hadn’t used any other protection then. “Oh no.”
“What?” Tonya prodded, putting her hand over Sandra’s. “Honey, what’s wrong?”
“We did just the one time, but it was months ago, and we’ve been so careful since.”
Her best friend offered her a sympathetic smile. “That’s all it takes.”
“But I can’t. We’re not ready!” Sandra respected the choices other women made, but she’d been raised Catholic. If she was pregnant, for her, there was no way to do anything but have the baby and hope for the best. Even if that scared Xavier away and stopped her perfect life in its tracks. “God, I’ve lied to everyone.”
Tonya frowned and squeezed her hand. “Okay, you need to breathe before getting all Scarlet Letter on yourself. I’ve seen you and Xav together. First, you’re so one of those couples who make everyone nauseated with how perfect you are for each other. Second, I’ve seen him with his brother’s kids. Xav would be a great dad.”
“I know,” she said, thinking of how sweet and adorable Xavier was with Teresa and Juan Carlos. “He’s really amazing with them. I don’t deserve him.”
“You’re the best friend I’ve ever had. I don’t see how that’s true.”
She sighed and looked up at the altar, at the white candles so like the ones she’d lit months ago with Xavier. Sandra needed to remember to light one again. Maybe that would help her get some absolution since she surely needed it.
“I know Xavier.”
“Duh.” Tonya said, quirking her head at Sandra. “And?”
“No, I mean he came into Atlantis about sixteen months ago. Do you remember that night we eventually went to see The Grilled Lincolns, but I had a guy I was dancing with first?”
“Yeah, you were getting your Dirty Dancing on in a big way and…that was Xavier?”
Sandra nodded and gripped the pew front before her so tightly that her knuckles went white. “He said his name was ‘Clifton,’ so I didn’t know when Estelle was interviewing me that it was the same guy. I knew once I showed up at his place, but I needed the money and I didn’t know we’d get so close.”
“Okay,” Tonya said, taking a deep breath and pushing a strand of hair behind her shoulder. “That doesn’t mean anything. Life has lots of coincidences, and he gave you a fake name too.”
“But it has to look bad, has to look really terrible. I find a way into his company, charm him, get my movie funded, and now because I was behind in my birth control…”
“And I have to remind you that it takes two to tango. You didn’t know.”
“Yet here I am getting some funding from him already and turning up maybe pregnant. It looks like I did some weird Glenn Close thing and wouldn’t stop following him, or that I had an angle.”
“Honey, it’s okay. He loves you, and he knows who you are.”
Sandra wanted to put her head in her hands and cry. No, Xavier knew Jules, the valet and the writer. He didn’t know Sandra the waitress at an overpriced club. Not really. She had lied, and now she didn’t know how to ever come clean. Standing, she tried to ease her way out of the pew. Her vision started to blur and grow dark.
Then she fell.
***
She came to with leads settled over her chest and a breathing tube in her nose. As Sandra sat up in bed, she was greeted by the sight of an older man with salt-and-pepper hair and a bushy mustache. Off to her right, Tonya loomed over her with worry wide in her eyes.
“Hey, Sandra, how you feeling?”
“I think I need the license plate number of the truck that hit me.”
“Señorita, you need to rest. I’m Doctor Díaz. You’ve been so dehydrated that you fainted, and that’s not good for the babies.”
She frowned. “Babies?”
Tonya’s eyes widened. “I…yeah. You fainted and they needed permission, so first they took bloodwork and found out you were pregnant, and then I said they needed to do the ultrasound—well that they could do it—to make sure that the fall didn’t hurt the baby. While you were out they did and… oh boy.”
“What?”
Tonya’s phone rang. “Oh, it’s your mom. I need to update her. Is that okay?”
“Yeah. I…where’s Xavier?” she asked.
“He was at the factory in locked-down negotiations. I got Javier back at the family compound in Barcelona. He should be here soon, and you know Xav. As soon as he gets his phone back on, he’ll break speed limits getting here.”
Sandra swallowed, not sure if she was looking forward to him arriving or was terrified. Babies. They were having twins.
Oh god, and just one seemed hard!
Tonya kissed her forehead. “It’s been almost six hours. I’ll call your mom. She has to be going crazy with everything. I’ll be right back!”
“Thanks, hon. I owe you one.”
“Naturally,” Tonya said, trotting out the door.
“So twins, huh?” she asked the doctor.
“Señorita Gaines, I think you may need to take a deep breath. I’d like to show you the ultrasound. Actually, I want to do a new one.”
“I…okay? Does this mean triplets? I don’t know if I can handle that!”
“You’ll see,” he said, calling in the nurses and having one pull up the hem of her gown.
Sandra shivered as the cool gel was placed on her belly, and then smiled nervously up at the nurse who’d applied it. The doctor concentrated on the ultrasound screen as he reached over and set the wand over her stomach. It took a few seconds for the picture to appear onscreen, but she couldn’t quite understand what she was seeing. The screen seemed a bit grey and burry to her. What she saw just couldn’t make sense.
“How many babies are in there?”
“Six.”
She laughed—a broken, cackling noise that made the nurse flinch. “Oh, man, you got me there, doctor. I get it. You’re doing something to try and make the gringa feel uncomfortable. Well you did a good job. It’s twins, though, right?”
He sighed and pointed to six separate, tiny shapes, almost like little sea monkeys. “Señorita Gaines, this is completely serious. You are having sextuplets.”
She shook her head, deciding that Tonya had to be setting her up somehow in the world’s worst and least funny joke. “No, you have to do IVF for that.”
“Normally, yes. There was, however, one other case I looked up while you were unconscious. There was a couple in England in 2009 that had natural sextuplets. I personally called that physician myself just an hour ago to confirm. The odds are over one in 4.5 million, but yes, you’re pregnant with sextuplets.”
She swallowed hard. “That can’t be.”
The doctor reached over and patted her hand sympathetically. “I could hardly believe it myself. This is a rare medical miracle.”
It didn’t feel like a miracle. Sandra wasn’t an idiot. Having six babies was very dangerous because there wasn’t enough room in there. There was barely enough for three. Her aunt Mabel had almost lost her triplets over fifteen years ago. One of them, Zack, had underdeveloped lungs and still was developmentally delayed. He was on a special track at a local high school back home. And that was just with three. With six…
Sandra stilled. “Are they going to be okay?”
“This is an extraordinary case. You’ll need constant medical attention and supervision. Soon, you’ll have to go on bed rest to prevent problems with blood pressure. We’ll most likely have to plan for a C-section and a team of six of everything—nurses, doctors, surgeons, and anesthesiologists—for the delivery. If we can get you to eight months, it’ll be a miracle.”
“I just can’t believe it,” she said, grabbing her stomach protectively. “What do I have to do to keep them safe?”
“I can go over the protocol with you now, but would you prefer to get some rest and wait until the father can arrive? There are some good facts in your favor, like your youth and relative vitality. Tonya also mentioned that you had multiples in your family?”
“I have some cousins who are triplets and my older sister had twins just last year,” Sandra said, her voice low and defeated.
Oh shit. Maybe I should have seen this coming. No, scratch that. Who sees sextuplets coming?
“Then there’s also the family pattern of dealing with multiple births. Although, of course, a number this large is special.”
“I know,” she said, shaking a little. Hours ago, she’d been worried she was pregnant at all. A few minutes ago, she’d been fretful about twins. Now she had six little lives growing inside of her, and she didn’t know how to help them. Or how to help herself.
Would Xavier even want them?
“If you could give me a few moments to rest? I trust Tonya, and I’m sure you’ve all done the best you can to get word to Xavier in his meeting so that he can get here soon. Whatever we need to know, you’re right, and we need to hear it together. As a family.”
Just let us actually be one. I can’t live if he runs.
The doctor nodded. “Señorita Gaines, trust me. We’ll do everything we can to care for you. This hospital has a glowing reputation in obstetrics, and we’ll work our hardest to make sure you’re protected and cared for.”
She felt the first bit of warmth begin to banish away the goose bumps surging over her skin. It was the only good news she’d heard all day. Then a cruel voice reminded her that if she didn’t have Xavier to help her, there would be no way to afford the medical care she needed.
“Are you sure you’re alright?” Dr. Díaz asked.
Sandra forced herself to smile. “I will be as soon as Tonya slips back in and Xavier is here. Until then, I’m going to just nap.”
Or try to.
“See?” the doctor practically crowed. “You have good maternal instincts already. Nurses, let’s go,” he said, as the women followed him out.
Sandra sighed and leaned back on her pillow. Her eyelids were too heavy to keep open, and she surrendered herself to the encroaching depths of sleep. Even though she’d already passed out earlier that day, all the stress and fear was working its way through her. She couldn’t deal with any of it, and part of her just wanted to go home.
A few minutes later the door creaked open, and she smiled before opening her eyes. The heavy tread of feet told her that it wasn’t Tonya coming back into the room. It had to be Xavier. She had to make him understand that they could make it, that it would be hard, but that they’d be a great family.
“Xav?” she asked and then frowned when she saw it was Javier instead.
His green eyes seemed almost to burn with his anger, and she flinched a little at the way he had his fists balled at his sides. “I wanted to believe in you.”
“I don’t understand,” she started, but he cut her off.
“I think you do. I passed by Tonya in a corner of the hallway. I overheard the conversation she had with your mother. You’ve known Xavier all along for months. Did you plan all of this?”
She shook her head and sat up as best she could, even with the lightheadedness working its way through her system, rendering her weak. “What? No! How do you plan for sextuplets?”
“But you planned to meet him again. To work for him and then get deeper and deeper into his life. To be so enmeshed that you’d be an obvious and eventually legal heir to the Villalobos fortune.”
“Never.”
“Then why did you hide everything, Sandra?” he said, emphasizing her first name and gesturing to the file on the foot of her hospital bed. “You hid so much, so how can Xavier or I know what’s real and what’s a lie?”
“Okay, I did meet him earlier at my old job, but I didn’t know. He said his last name was Clifton. There was no reason for me to think he had anything to do with your company.”
“Perhaps, or perhaps you’re savvy and came up with a plan to get your chunk of a three-billion-dollar fortune.”
“Do you know how crazy that sounds?” she shouted, wincing when her head started to pound.
“No crazier than you hiding who you really were and how you knew my brother. No crazier than what his last long-term girlfriend, Tina, tried to do to this family.” Javier shook his head. “I wanted to believe in happy endings so badly. My brother has been shat on before, kicked so hard that I never thought he’d get back up. For so long he was a semi-recluse, trying to hide himself and stay out of the limelight.”
“That explains a lot.”
“But then you come along and it’s like the light was turned on inside of him again. I had my brother back, and now you’ve turned out to be nothing but a liar.” Javier sighed and raked a hand through his hair. “I’m going to make you a deal.”
“What?”
He pulled a checkbook from his pants pocket. “I’m going to write you a check for six million dollars. It’ll be a great start on caring for your children.”
“They’re your family too!”
“You seduced Xavier under false pretenses. Lied to him for months. The way I see it, Sandra, you’re a gold digger who has anything but his best interest at heart. After Tina, he barely could trust again. When he finds out what you did, he’ll never want to speak to you again. Now, take this money, go home to the States, and lie to some other family. We’re full up here.”
He finished scrawling out the check and set it on her lap. She burst into tears and avoided touching it, as if it were a smoldering coal that would burn her to nothing if she even grazed its surface.
“You have a choice. Be thrown out now or later. But the check’s only good for ten minutes, Sandra. I’d think it over.”
With that, Javier slid back out of the doorway, letting the heavy door slam shut behind him. Sandra shook, letting her body shudder as sobs spilled from her body. She’d been so close to everything, and now?
Now all she wanted was to go home.