Chapter Fifteen
Xavier
Yes. No. Shit, maybe I was trying to kidnap her.
I didn’t know. I just knew that after what I saw back at the farmer’s market, my biggest fear became that she’d get another late-night call for help, and I wouldn’t be there to either stop her or intervene. Last time I didn’t know what I was getting into, but having looked in that man’s face, and knowing how he treated his wife and son, I knew damn well I wasn’t letting Chanel try to run up in that type of domestic dispute to rescue someone again. Not without me.
“Come with me to my mom’s.” It wasn’t a question, but I didn’t want to make her feel like I was forcing her to come, even if I was. All I knew is that I wasn’t letting her out of my sight for the rest of the day.
“Okay, and then you’ll drop me off home afterward?” she asked cautiously.
“Nah, then you’ll spend the night with me again.” I looked over at her out of the corner of my eye.
“Xavier, I have to go to work in the morning.”
“I can drop you off.”
“I don’t have clothes to wear to work, and how will I get home from work?”
I ran a hand down my face, sighing. “We can stop and pick up a change of clothes on the way back. I’ll pick you up from work tomorrow.”
“X, that makes no sense.”
“Xavier, and so?” I shrugged.
She gave out a little laugh, and for the first time since we left the farmer’s market, I smirked a little, feeling slightly less tense.
“Okay,” she agreed.
“Cool.”
****
“Thank you for the cookies, Chanel. I love that place,” my mother smiled as we entered her newly renovated home.
“You’re welcome. Your home is beautiful, Ms. Grant. Xavier told me about the recent renovations.”
My mother gave me a pleasant smile she usually reserved for me as we followed her down the hall to the dining area. I heard my mother and Chanel making conversation about the farmer’s market and what we were having for lunch, but my head wasn’t in it. I was still stuck on the conversation we’d had in the car. Where Chanel told me to mind my damn business concerning her client. And truth be told, I was more than happy to do that, if her ass was going to stay out of it. Because as far as I was concerned, her business was my business. I wasn’t about to let her run out in the middle of the night playing captain save a victim or whatever.
But that wasn’t even what had me in my head throughout lunch with my mother. It was the conviction and way she spoke about what abuse victims go through. How the hell did she know all that? From working with them, perhaps? But my gut was telling me it was more than that, and I sure as fuck didn’t like where my mind was going.
“Are you all right, son? You seemed distant during lunch.”
I peered down into the concerned eyes of my mother and pressed a kiss to her cheek. We were standing on my mother’s porch as Chanel sat in the car, letting us say our goodbyes in private.
“I’m good, Ma. Just a lot on my mind.”
“Work?”
I nodded. “You know how it is.”
She gave me that prideful smile she always gave me when I mentioned business. “You’ve always worked so hard. I’m proud of you, son.”
It wasn’t anything my mother hadn’t told me at least a million times before, but it always gave me joy to know I made my mama proud.
“So, you and Chanel,” she gestured toward my car where Chanel sat. “It’s getting serious.”
I turned to my car and stared at Chanel’s profile as she looked down, probably at her phone. When she raised her hand to move her hair behind her ear, I swallowed deeply.
“It’s…” I cleared my throat. “It’s going well,” I hedged.
“Maybe you shouldn’t think about getting too serious with anyone right now, however. You’re so busy with work, always traveling. Plus, Chanel is Jason’s sister. If things go wrong between you two, who knows the type of repercussions it could have for your friendship. You don’t want to part ways with your best friend over this.”
My gaze shot back to my mother. I tilted my head as I gave her a perplexed look. I was stunned. My mother had seemed to enjoy Chanel during lunch. The conversation was endless, without all that much input from me. And as proud of my career as my mother was, she was constantly hounding me about settling down and finding someone to share my success with.
“Where is this coming from?” I asked, sticking my hands in my pockets.
Her eyes skirted around, first over my shoulder, presumably looking at Chanel, then around the yard, and finally back to me. “I was just thinking. Chanel is lovely, don’t get me wrong. She’s smart as a whip, a successful career in her own right, independent but caring.”
“All qualities you’ve taught me to look for in a woman,” I countered.
“Right, but I’m just concerned. She seems a little flighty. She’s only been back in Houston less than a year, and who knows if she’d want to pick up and move again? Are you willing to move?”
“Ma,” I shook my head. “You’re taking this way too seriously. We’re still in the getting to know each other stage. I’m not going to ask her to marry me anytime soon,” I stated, wondering why those words felt like sandpaper coming out of my mouth.
She nodded. “Okay, okay. I just wanted to give you something to think about. I’m sure it will all be fine,” she brushed it off, grabbing my shoulder for me lean down so she could kiss my cheek.
Although she tried to play it off like it was no big deal, I wondered what the hell that was about as I strolled to my car.
“That was fun.” Chanel turned and smiled as I got in the car. Whatever the hell it was, the softness in her eyes, the way her whole face lit up as she looked at me, or if it was the way my entire body reacted to that damn smile, the conversation I’d just had with my mother faded completely into the background.