Chapter 6
“I have to go back and talk with my father,” Javier’s voice came from behind her.
Natalie froze at his words, feeling Javier’s body heat against her back, his strong, muscular arm around her waist. She’d been awake for several minutes, simply enjoying the feeling of being in his arms, the security of his presence. For the past week, she’d tried very hard to not get used to having him close, but she’d failed. So the panic that lashed through her heart at the idea of Javier going back to talk with his father, the man who had lied to break them apart, was intense and frightening.
She didn’t say a word. She simply pushed out of his arms and grabbed the silk robe he’d bought for her during one of his assistant’s recent shopping sprees. She walked out of her bedroom and into the shower, still unable to speak. If she said anything, she knew that she would break down in tears, beg him not to leave her.
But this was a decision he had to make on his own. Natalie knew that his relationship with his father was contentious and complicated, just as complicated as his responsibilities to his title and people, not to mention all of the issues he’d been ignoring with his businesses. The man ruled an empire in so many ways. He had a great deal of pressure on his shoulders. More pressure than she could handle.
Natalie was determined to not be a burden. She refused to become an additional responsibility.
But that didn’t mean she wanted to him to leave her.
Showering quickly in order to save him some hot water, she hurried through her morning routine. It was earlier than normal, so Alejandro was still in bed. Her mind ran through her to do list: her classes, her students, cleaning the stables…no, she didn’t need to worry about that because Javier had hired a stable hand to clean and feed the horses, although she’d still go down to help out because she loved Charlie and the mares. Good grief, what was she going to do with all of the extra time on her hands now that she didn’t need to muck out the stalls by herself every day?
She chuckled to herself, thinking that she would definitely learn to fill in the extra time.
“What is amusing?” he asked as he came up behind her, his arms wrapping around her waist.
Goodness, he smelled good, clean and fresh and all male. She was going to miss feeling him like this. She should have worked harder at guarding her heart against his presence but…
What was she thinking? There was no guarding against Javier. He was too male, too strong, too powerful and too…everything! The man was a force of nature. When he wanted something, like her, he went after it with single minded purpose. The fact that he was here, in her kitchen, getting ready to eat oatmeal, again, told her how determined he was to claim her and his son.
But now that dream was over. He would head back to Spain and live his life. She didn’t know how, but Natalie was sure that Juan Pablo would somehow spin this so that she was the evil one in this scenario.
He’d done it last time. He would do it again. Javier wasn’t really hers to lose. He never had been. He was his own man and no one could really claim him.
Slipping out of his arms, she moved around the kitchen as efficiently as possible, ignoring the pain that continued to lash at her every time she glanced at him or felt him close by. Goodness, in such a short period of time, she’d gotten used to having his huge body in her tiny house.
“Alejandro will be awake soon. You’re going to tell him?”
“Tell him that I’m going back to Spain?”
“Yes.” She took the milk out of the fridge and moved back to the table, pouring a glass and capping it off. Every movement was careful, precise. It was the only way she could get through this. One step at a time. One movement at a time.
“I was hoping you would come with me. I would like to introduce Alejandro to…”
“No!” she gasped, almost doubling over at the pain his words caused her. She stared up at him in horrified disgust. “No. I won’t go back to Spain with you. Nor will I allow you to introduce my son to your father.” No matter how hard she’d tried over the past week to keep Javier out of her life, he’d just…wiggled his way in. She’d resisted pointlessly. She’d argued and failed. So for the past week, Javier had just sort of become a part of their lives. She glared at him stiffly, unwilling to bend on this issue.
He moved closer, reaching out to touch her waist but she pulled back, unwilling to let him touch her during this conversation. He sighed and leaned back against the wall. “My father will have to meet my son eventually.”
She shook her head, unconcerned if she came across as irrational. “No. Your father banished me from your life four years ago, Javier. He knew I was pregnant. Not only that, he kept the information from you. So no. If you need to go back, then fine. I won’t stop you. But we won’t be with you. And your father lost his right to meet Alejandro the moment he returned my letters and ordered your staff to interfere with my phone calls to you. He lied and manipulated us so that we couldn’t be together. It was his wish. I’m simply agreeing to his wishes.”
She crossed her arms over her stomach, glaring up at him, daring him to disagree with her. So she was startled when he nodded his head. “You have a point.”
Natalie’s mouth fell open slightly when he agreed with her. “You’re not going to argue with me?”
He shook his head and moved closer, putting his hands on her waist. “Not at this point in time.” He kissed her forehead. “I know my father. And I’m furious with him. His machinations took away four years with Alejandro. I never knew my son as a baby because my father was too much of a snob to accept you. So yes, I’ll support you on this. If you don’t want my father in Alejandro’s life, then the two will never meet.”
Natalie stared at up his handsome features, not sure what he might be up to. “Thank you.” She turned around, slipping out of his arms. “So when do you leave?”
“I’ll wait until after Alejandro’s tutor arrives. You need to get to work, right?”
“Yes,” she sighed, rubbing her forehead. “I know I’ve already met the woman, but…”
Javier rubbed her shoulders. “I know. He’s your son and you don’t know this woman. If it is any consolation, I have body guards stationed around the perimeter as well.” He saw the look in her eyes and pressed his fingers into her tense muscles. “Just until I can find a place for us to live that has better security.”
She didn’t like the sound of that. Not one little bit. “Why do we have to move?” She thought about Hayden, Kate, and Arianna. She hadn’t seen her friends much lately because of Javier’s presence, but she needed her friends. They were her support group when things were tough and the ladies she laughed with when things were good. They needed her too. Hayden was pregnant and needed someone there for her besides her husband. Arianna, as much as she was magnificently brilliant at business, something was going on with her. Natalie wasn’t sure, but every time the four of them were together, there was a distance in Arianna’s eyes. A longing that didn’t make sense.
And Kate? The woman startled at the smallest sound. She needed her friends around as well. Something was wrong there too. These three women seemed to know when something was wrong and just showed up, unconditionally offering their support.
Natalie couldn’t move! Her friends needed her and…well, she needed them!
He looked at her worried expression gently. “Because I want you in a bigger bed. I need an office to work out of. Alejandro needs a schoolroom where his tutor, or possibly multiple tutors, can work on different subjects before and after his normal preschool. At least until we can get him into a more advanced school.” He kissed her gently. “And because I need to entertain for business and this house doesn’t have room for visitors.”
She held her breath, thinking through what he was saying. “So you’re coming back?” she asked, almost in a whisper. She didn’t realize she was holding her breath until he nodded his head.
His eyes widened at her question. “Of course I’m coming back, Natalie. I need to get some business issues resolved and re-organize some of my upper management. My directors will need to take over more responsibilities since I’ll be here instead of in Spain.”
She bit her lip, trying to absorb exactly what this meant. He’d said he was going to be here more often, but…well, she hadn’t imagined that he would take such drastic steps.
She pulled back, cautioning herself even as the leap of excitement bubbled up inside of her. He only said he was going to be here more often. She’d have to wait until she knew more about his plans.
Trying to be realistic, she took several deep breaths, unaware of how her fingers tightened around the dishrag nervously. “Okay. You’re coming back. When do you…leave?” she asked, not liking that last word. He wouldn’t be coming back, she told herself. He would get back home and, somehow, Juan Pablo would figure out how to change Javier’s mind.
“I’ll leave after I am assured that Alejandro is okay with his new tutor. She will have your cell phone number, as well as mine, and the guards will also be looking out for him. They will ensure his safety.” He pulled her closer, taking the dishrag out of her hands and holding her cold fingers. “Relax, Natalie. Alejandro will be fine.”
Natalie smiled, letting him think that she was worried about Alejandro’s welfare. In fact, that was the least of her worries. It actually eased her mind to know that he would be well taken care of. One of the biggest worries she’d had over the past year was trying to figure out how to educate her son in a way that challenged his mind and the expense it would entail. She didn’t have any doubts that Javier would provide for their son’s future. Not anymore. Javier loved Alejandro and in just the week they’ve known each other, they had formed a tight bond. It was strong enough to endure just about anything, she hoped.
“Before I go, I wanted to talk with you about something,” he said, and tugged her hand so that she followed him out of the kitchen. He pulled her towards the sofa and sat down on the ottoman in front of her. Out slipped a ring from his pocket and she gasped, trying to curl her fingers into a fist. But he wouldn’t let her. His hands held hers steady and he looked her in the eye. “I know we’ve been here before, but I want you, Natalie. From the first moment we saw each other years ago, this was between us.”
He slipped the cold metal onto her finger, the gorgeous diamond sparkling in the dim morning light.
“This one is different from the last ring you gave me,” she commented in surprise, thinking that her words were stupid, but she couldn’t come up with any other response.
“Yes. We’re different people now. Our lives are different.” His thumb rubbed over the ring, now gracing her finger. “I thought that you deserved a different ring because of that.”
She once again looked down at the ring, not sure what to say. “It’s beautiful,” she whispered, fighting back the tears.
“Will you marry me?”
She drew in a shaky breath and pulled her fingers away. Every instinct inside of her was telling her to pull the ring off and give it back to him. But she couldn’t do that. “Ask me that question when you come back,” she told him.
His dark eyes continued to watch her and Natalie knew that he was contemplating launching a full out campaign to convince her. So when he nodded his head, accepting her answer, she was more than a little shocked.
And hurt?
Good grief, why would she be hurt when he’d agreed to her terms? If she hadn’t wanted him to agree, she should have said something different.
Natalie suddenly realized that she’d given him a test.
She contemplated that for a long moment, wondering if she’d hit the issue accurately. Yes, her words had probably been a test. And he’d failed.
Well, to be honest, he’d actually failed when he’d proposed without telling her how he felt. That was probably what was really bothering her. Although…that didn’t quite feel right either. He’d told her that he loved her four years ago and look how that had ended? Maybe he was right. Perhaps they should keep feelings and emotions completely separate from their relationship.
Too late, she thought as she felt the rough pad of his thumb rub across the pulse on her wrist. “Alejandro is going to be awake pretty soon.”
Even as she said the words, she smiled, hearing his little feet pounding down the hallway as he raced into the family room.
“What are we gonna do today?” he demanded after throwing himself into his father’s arms.
Javier laughed as he lifted his son up onto his lap. “You are meeting your new tutor today. Ms. Hathaway is coming and I know she has some interesting activities planned.”
Alejandro’s eyes widened. “I know I’ll like her! You said she likes to play in the creek and isn’t afraid of bugs.”
Javier laughed, nodding his head. “Yes, Ms. Hathaway has explained her enjoyment of entomology.” At Alejandro’s confused expression, he went on. “Entomology is the study of insects.”
Alejandro’s small face squinched up. “She said that not all bugs are insects. I don’t understand that.”
Javier hugged him slightly. “You will soon. I’m fairly certain that Ms. Hathaway is eager to explain a lot of things to you.” He stood up, holding Alejandro in his arms. “Now that I know how to make breakfast, how about if we give your mother a break so she can get ready for work? You and I need to have a talk, okay?”
He looked down at Natalie to confirm that she was okay with the plan. When she nodded her head stiffly, he took Alejandro into the kitchen. She listened for a long moment to Javier’s deep voice and Alejandro’s child-like tones, her heart constricting as she worried over what might happen next. Would Javier be one of those intermittent fathers that flew into their lives, disrupted their routines only to leave again days later when business called him back to his world? Or would he come back to them? Would he be a true father, here when his son, and Natalie, needed him?
Because of their history, she wasn’t going to bank on anything.
Moving stiffly, she walked into her bedroom and gathered her clothes. Dress slacks and a sweater, but as she opened her underwear drawer, she pulled out cotton items instead of the sexier stuff that Javier had purchased for her recently. Her fingers caressed the pieces, but she just couldn’t wear them today. Not with him leaving.
Slamming the drawer closed, she headed into the shower and hurried to get ready for work. She wanted to be dressed and presentable when Ms. Hathaway arrived, needing the woman to take her seriously.
After hurrying through her shower, she pulled on her clothes quickly. As she pulled the cashmere sweater over her head, smoothing the sweater down over her stomach, she shivered, the cashmere so soft and wonderful. It was almost as if Javier were touching her. Not exactly the same, but still…she could imagine him touching her in the same way.
Shaking off her melancholy, she slipped her feet into shoes and dried her hair, applied a touch of makeup, feeling better now that she was dressed and ready to face the world.
This wasn’t a sad day, she thought. It was just another day. If Javier returned to them, great! They would figure out how to move forward from there. If he didn’t return, then she would take that as a sign that they were never meant to be together.
It didn’t matter that her heart was breaking in two at the idea of not seeing Javier at the end of the day. It didn’t matter that she wanted to curl up into a ball and cry, sob away her sadness at not feeling him at night, protecting her, making her feel warm and loved.
No, this was better. They’d had a week with him and…it had been a turbulent one, but it was better that he know about his son. Better that she knew were they stood. It would all work out, she vowed to her reflection.
Nodding to her image, she turned around and walked out. When she stepped into the small kitchen, she found Javier and Alejandro speaking in Spanish to each other and she smiled, proud of her son and his almost instantaneous grasp of the beautiful language. He spoke it with a beautiful accent, and hearing Javier, Alejandro worked hard to pronounce some of the more difficult words.
She poured herself a cup of coffee, but her stomach simply wouldn’t allow her to drink it. She felt sick to her stomach and wanted Javier to just go, to end the anticipation.
But that wasn’t fair to Alejandro or Javier. As she watched the two of them, she wondered when things were going to be fair for her! The oatmeal was sitting in a bowl at her space at the table, but she couldn’t eat. Her stomach was too anxious at the idea of Javier leaving.
When the two of them laughed, she realized that she was just standing in the middle of her kitchen, not paying any attention. She was useless. That angered her so much, she sighed and dumped her coffee down the drain. “I have to get to school,” she announced, not wanting to be here when Javier left. She didn’t think she could take it. “You’ll be here until Ms. Hathaway arrives?” she asked.
He stood up and looked at her curiously, his dark eyes surveying the high color in her cheeks. “Yes, of course.” He nodded to her. “Is everything okay?”
She glared up at him, resentful of his easy life. Was everything okay? Well, if one could say that a person’s heart being ripped out of her chest as being okay, then yes, everything was hunky dory! “I’m fine,” she told him flatly. “I have to go.”
She bent down and kissed Alejandro on the cheek, rubbing the lipstick smudge off while enjoying his giggle. “Love you,” she told him. “Behave for Ms. Hathaway.”
She turned away and walked towards the door, unwilling to kiss Javier goodbye. She couldn’t! She just had to get out of there, to leave and be done with him! He wasn’t coming back and she didn’t want one more kiss. She didn’t want to see him leave!
Even as her fingers curled around the knob of her front door, she felt strong fingers on her upper arm. He swung her around and she landed with a thud against his hard chest. Without thought, her arms wrapped around his neck, and she automatically lifted her face for his kiss. He wasn’t slow or gentle this time. His hands lifted her up, aligning their bodies as he pressed her back against the door, deepening the kiss until she was moaning, her body moving restlessly against his.
Only then did he lift his head and glare down at her. “Think of that while I’m gone, mi amora,” he murmured and pulled away.
Natalie was slightly dizzy after that kiss, her knees barely holding her upright. But she managed to pull herself together enough so that he wouldn’t know how much his departure was affecting her.
“Have a good day,” he told her. “I’ll call you tonight.”
She nodded, but didn’t really expect him to call. He would be too busy, too wrapped up in his old world to remember his new one.
And that was fine! She and Alejandro would be perfectly fine! She would…
No, she wasn’t going to be fine, but she would fake it for Alejandro who would miss his father terribly tonight.
Taking a deep breath, she surveyed her vehicle choices. And just to be spiteful, she walked over to her beat up old car, not wanting to take anything else from Javier. It took a couple of tries, but the engine finally turned over. As she was backing out, she glanced at the front door to find Javier glaring at her, saying something on his cell phone. For some reason, she just knew that he was talking about…her and her vehicle choice.
She didn’t care as she backed out of her driveway. He didn’t have to like her choices. She was her own woman and would go about her business on her own.
Pulling into the school parking lot, she turned off the engine and rested her forehead against the steering wheel. He would be gone by the time she left here tonight. He would be out of her life.
And she just knew he wouldn’t be back! Somehow, she had to survive this. She’d have to get through the day, step by step. The man was addictive, but she’d overcome before. She could do it again.
Her stomach was still upset, but she pulled her purse and her tote bag off of the vinyl seat beside her and walked into the school. Thankfully, there were only a few other teachers here this early and she smiled at everyone she passed, acting as if nothing were wrong, like her world wasn’t falling apart.
The day dragged on slowly, painfully. She wanted to call Javier, to find out if he’d left. But she wouldn’t let herself contact him. She was determined to go cold turkey, not allow him or his father to reject her again this time around. No, she would be strong and in control. No phone calls, no letters, no texts or e-mails.
“Are you going to eat that?” Beth, one of the other teachers at the school and a good friend, asked as several other teachers sat down with her in the teacher’s lounge.
Natalie looked down at her sandwich, startled to find that she’d been staring into space for the whole break. Glancing at the clock, she jerked upright. “I have to hurry to class,” she said and tossed her sandwich into the trashcan. She knew she wouldn’t be able to eat it anyway.
The rest of the day dragged by even more slowly, probably because she hadn’t eaten anything all day, but her stomach rebelled at the idea of food. She just wanted to hurry home and be with Alejandro, hear about his day and read stories with him. She’d make soup for dinner tonight. Soup with macaroni and cheese. She’d have to stop by the grocery store to get the ingredients, but she had extra time tonight since she didn’t need to pick Alejandro up at preschool at any specific time. And Ms. Hathaway’s hours were until five o’clock, a bit later than she normally picked up her son.
Even so, when the last bell rang, she hurried out of the school almost immediately after the students. Driving to the grocery store, she thought about picking up some ice cream as well. Yeah, that would be a nice treat she thought. Comfort foods, she realized. She was comfort eating but wasn’t going to change her plans. Javier was gone and she was hungry and depressed.
Ice cream would soothe all of their sadness, she thought. And a long ride on Charlie would also help. Yes, Alejandro would love that too. Charlie could release all the stress of any kind of day!
When she pulled up outside of her tiny house, she sighed with weariness. The horses were exercised and fed, even brushed down and their stalls mucked out. So that chore was taken care of for her. Ms. Hathaway had Alejandro down by the creek doing some sort of science experiment and he looked enraptured. So, she saddled up Charlie and took him out by herself. Riding along the trails, Charlie was extra frisky, just what she needed. “Yeah, just you and me buddy,” she told the stallion as he tossed his mane. They rode for an hour and Natalie felt enormously better as she slid off his back and brushed down his sleek coat. Toby and Tanya were frisky, chasing each other over the beams of the stables while Bella and Donna, the mares, were running around the pastures, obviously waiting eagerly for Charlie to join them once again.
It seemed as if Natalie was the only one in the world who was slowly falling apart.
Walking into the house, she started up the soup, and mixed the cheese sauce for the mac and cheese casserole. Once that was in the oven, she changed clothes. In leggings and a sweatshirt, she stepped out just in time to have Alejandro leap into her arms. “I got to touch a spider today!” he gushed.
Ms. Hathaway was laughing as she gathered up her gear. “We looked at a dead spider under a microscope and learned about the eyes and legs, various parts of an insect versus non-insects. We also washed our hands thoroughly after the discussion,” she added, assuring Natalie that Alejandro was relatively sterile.
Natalie smiled weakly at the woman as she departed. She and Alejandro then sat at the kitchen table and ate soup and pasta while her little man regaled Natalie with his learning exploits. Apparently, Ms. Hathaway had covered a great deal of activities today, including a nap, which Alejandro rarely enjoyed.
Alejandro had taken his bath and was settled in his pajamas when her cell phone rang. She looked at the number and her heart began to pound in her chest. Javier!
“It’s Daddy!” Alejandro exclaimed, recognizing the number as well.
“How do you know?” she asked, pressing the button to answer the call.
“He told me!” he whispered but it was loud enough so everyone could hear him.
“Hello?” she answered, sounding a bit breathless, even to her own ears.
“Buenos Noches, mi bella,” he said, and his sexy, deep voice sent shivers throughout her body even from an ocean away. “You didn’t think I would call, did you?”
She hesitated, looking down at Alejandro who was eagerly hoping to hear his father’s voice. “No,” she finally admitted, and smiled when he chuckled.
“So little faith. But I understand.” There was a soft laugh, which sent another thrill through her.
Alejandro was bouncing on his toes, eagerly reaching for the phone. “Can I talk to him?” he pleaded.
She smiled and nodded. “There’s a little guy here who wants to talk to you,” she told Javier.
“Put him on,” and Natalie could hear the smile in his voice.
Natalie handed the phone to Alejandro who then went on to recite all of the activities of the day. There were a few more details during this recitation and Natalie chuckled, relieved that Javier had followed through on this promise to call.
When Alejandro jumped off her lap, she was startled, not sure what was happening. But he pulled her laptop out of her tote bag and lugged it back to her. “What’s this for?” she asked, admitting that she’d been fantasizing instead of paying attention.
“Daddy said that he e-mailed something to you. A story.” He climbed back onto her lap and she opened it up. Sure enough, there was a message there for her from him with an attachment. She clicked on it and a storybook opened up. Natalie gasped at the bright, colorful images on her screen.
Then she heard Javier’s deep voice over the phone, reading the story in Spanish with Alejandro snuggled on her lap. Javier was…he was reading their son a story from Spain!
Once again, Natalie’s heart melted as Alejandro giggled at whatever was being read to him. Natalie tried to focus on the words, but the tears filling her eyes wouldn’t allow her to read along. She sniffed, trying to hide her reaction to this tender moment so that Alejandro didn’t become concerned. Thankfully, the story was silly enough that the little guy was enthralled.
Alejandro snuggled down in her lap, enjoying the story. Or maybe he was simply enjoying a conversation with his father. She wasn’t sure which was better for him.
At the end of the story, Natalie heard Javier tell his son goodnight and Alejandro smiled, hugging the cell phone close to his ear. “Buenos noches, Papa,” he replied. A moment later, he twisted around to kiss her, then leapt off of her lap, racing to his bedroom. A moment later, he raced right back and grinned up at her as he handed the phone back to her. “Papa says I should tuck myself into bed so that he can talk to you next. I’m a big boy, so I can do it, too!”
Natalie stared after him, unaware of her mouth hanging open. Her little guy didn’t need to be tucked in? Oh no, that was not happening!
“Javier, I’ll call you back in a minute.” With that, she ended the call and hurried after Alejandro, tickling him in punishment for thinking he could get away without being tucked in. They talked for several minutes in the dark before he started to fade away. Natalie kissed him gently, pulled his blanket up higher, then tip toed out of his bedroom, pulling the door closed so the light from the family room didn’t reach his room.
When she stepped back into the light, she stared at her phone. Yes, she should call him back. But she was angry with him. Why? Well, Natalie wasn’t sure. He’d followed through on his promise to call. Was that why she was angry?
Yeah. She recognized the problem immediately. He’d promised to call. He’d called. He’d promised to come back, so her heart was starting to hope. Just this morning, she’d admonished herself for hoping. It was a dangerous thing, hope.
Before she had a chance to decide, her phone started ringing again. Before she even looked at the incoming phone number, she knew it was Javier, done waiting for her to call him back. Of course, he’d been with them for more than a week so he knew exactly how long it took to tuck Alejandro into bed. He’d probably even given her a few more minutes, just to be a gentleman.
Didn’t matter, she thought. Natalie still wasn’t ready to talk to him. But instead of hiding or ignoring his call, she answered the phone and curled up at the end of the sofa. “Hello?”
“Natalie, what’s wrong, mi bella?” he asked, tenderly.
Sighing, she rubbed her forehead, not exactly sure what to tell him. “I’m just tired. How was your flight?”
“It was fine, and you’re not just tired. Why didn’t you take your new car this morning?”
Why? To hurt him, she thought. “Because I thought you would need it to get to the airport,” she lied.
“My driver picked me up, Natalie. Take the Land Rover. I would prefer that you drive that instead of the other vehicle. It would ease my mind to know that you and Alejandro were safe on the roads. The other vehicle is a death trap, mi amorcita.”
Oh, if only he really meant that last word. But was she his ‘love’? Or was she simply the mother of his child? She didn’t know and didn’t think she’d ever know. “Isn’t it late in Spain?” she asked, glancing at the clock. It was only eight o’clock here, but she knew there was a six hour time difference.
“Yes, but there are many details that I needed to review so I’m still at the office.”
“What time did you arrive?” She didn’t really care what time he landed. She wanted to know when he was going to head home and go to sleep. She wanted to ask him if he’d eaten anything, either on the plane or when he’d landed. She wanted him to tell her that he was okay and that he missed her, she wanted to tell him that she missed him.
But they didn’t have that kind of a relationship so she pressed her lips together, trying to stop herself from asking all of those questions.
“I don’t know exactly when I touched down, but I was able to get a good deal of work done on the plane.”
“And the work just blended together once you arrived at your office, right?” she asked, smiling in memory of how he thrived in a work environment. Four years ago, she’d resented his ability to lose himself in his work, but that was because she’d had nothing to do but lunches, salon visits, and shopping trips with acquaintances.
She was a different person now, stronger and smarter. She had her own career. Straightening her shoulders, she realized that she’d been wallowing today, just as she had four years ago. She loved her job, loved teaching Spanish to her students. Why was she letting this man control her feelings?
“Yes, there was a great deal to get through. But I want to hear about your day. Did anything special happen?”
She smiled, feeling a sense of warmth that she smothered as soon as it began to bloom. Focusing on Alejandro, she told him about his excitement at having ice cream for dessert and how he’d been so excited to bring in the bugs from their experiment until she told him that there was no way he was keeping dead spiders under his pillow. She loved Javier’s deep chuckle and searched her brain to come up with anything else that might create that sound again. When Alejandro’s antics wound down, she couldn’t think of anything else to say and an awkward silence descended.
“And how are you, Natalie?” he asked, his tone warm.
Biting her lip, she wondered how she could answer him without revealing too much. “I’m fine. How are you?”
“I’m fine as well, thank you for asking,” he replied, dryly formal with a twist of humor. “Are we now reduced to trivialities?” he asked.
She sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. “I suppose we are. I don’t know what else to say, Javier.”
“I see. Well, then why don’t you get some sleep? I’ll call again tomorrow night.”
She wanted to scream at him, wanted him to say something interesting and personal. But there was nothing but a large amount of space between them. “That would be nice. I’ll tell Alejandro to expect your call.”
“And will you expect it as well?”
She paused, coming up with several abrupt or offhand things to say. But in the end, she decided to be honest with him. “I’m not expecting anything, Javier. I’ve learned that the hard way, remember?”
There was another long pause before he said, “I understand. And I will fix that for you, mi amora.”
Sure he would, she thought cynically. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow then,” she sighed and pressed the end button before he said something else that would cause her to not sleep.