by Gigi Thomas
“When did you do all of this?” she sighed.
“A few months ago.”
Kenya yelped, whipping around to find Caden on the terrace behind her. “Don’t sneak up on someone like that!” she said, clutching her chest.
Surprised to see the subject of her musings beside her, Kenya wondered how long had he been awake. Had he been behind her this whole time? While she was in Caydee’s room? She shook those thoughts out of her head to focus on the matter at hand.
“I don’t understand. How? Why did you do all this?”
Caden looked confused. “I started her bedroom just before her birthday. Even though she’s in the city, I wanted her to be able to have a taste of the country, so I ordered the tree house. That took about a month. I told you I was going to be able to take care of her here when Tasha left. After all, this is her home too.”
There it was again, Kenya thought, those vacillating feelings for Caden. This was much easier when he was just a bad memory. Now with Caden back in her life, Kenya didn’t know what to make of him half of the time. Like a pendulum, he kept swinging between being the unforgivable bastard who left her to the... forgivable bastard whom she saw take on his role of being a father with such devotion.
The look on Caden’s face suggested that he was reading her own, and Kenya was also annoyed to remember his ability to tell what she was thinking. He had only known Caydee a few weeks by the time her birthday came. He did all that so quickly? The wind picked up tousling the leaves in the trees around Cadence’s backyard paradise and causing the wind chimes she couldn’t see to sing their delicate song. Kenya felt a shiver inside down to her toes.
“Well, since we’re both up, we might as well head to the castle early,” he suggested. “Maybe we can get there before Caydee wakes.”
“She would love that,” Kenya agreed.
“You didn’t eat anything yesterday, so you are probably famished, aren’t you? Come, I’ll make breakfast then we can leave. How does that sound?”
“I can’t believe I was so drunk that I couldn’t even make it there.” She dropped her head in her hands. More than that, was she really going to have sex with Caden in the backseat of a car like some horny teenager? The car being a Rolls Royce didn't make it any better, and the fact that the driver obviously heard them made it worse.
“I suppose even Kenya-effing-Morris is allowed to check out once in a while. You’ve been taking care of everything, of Caydee, all by yourself for all this time. I'm sure you deserved a break.” Caden turned to head inside, but he paused and turned back to face her. “Yaya, I was an ass yesterday. I know I don’t have the right to comment on what you do or with whom you spend your time. And about—”
“You know what,” she interrupted. “Let’s just forget about yesterday. We’ll just chalk it up to...temporary insanity. And move on.”
“Right.”
“Good.” Kenya could tell by Caden’s eyes that there was much more than that, but after her drunken escapade with him on the drive home, she was willing to blissfully accept face value. It was safer. If only for today.
CHAPTER NINE
All I Want for Christmas...
"Oi, Yaya," Caden complained as she fixed his bow tie.
"Leave it alone." Grinning, Kenya smacked his hand away, her curls falling onto her face.
"It's too tight," he protested reaching to loosen it again.
She smacked his hand away again. "No, it's not."
"If-"
"If you'd stop complaining and twisting around, Baron Hargrove, I could finish much quicker," she reprimanded. Kenya pulled tighter just for good measure. "I’m sure you grew up wearing these."
“But, I’ve always hated it,” Caden groaned, dropping his shoulders in defeat. After he stopped twisting, Kenya did the last loop and pulled it through.
When Caden straightened up to his full height, he realized that it wasn't tight after all. Smiling, he admired his reflection.
"Are you satisfied now? I swear you’re more trouble than Caydee." She said doing some final adjustments on his tie.
"Aww. Thank you, Yaya. I don't know what I'd do without you."
Kenya was turning to face him, and Caden leaned forward to kiss her on the cheek. Their lips touched before either realized their position. Their lips were frozen against each other’s for a few moments, before they immediately pulled back, staring at each other in shock.
“Okay,” Kenya began, trying to break the silence that befell them. "Now, it's your turn to do me."
"S...Sorry?"
"I mean my-my zipper, Cay, and my necklace." She gestured to his hand, which clutched the two-strand pearl necklace that she had given him to hold earlier.
"Oh, right. Right. Of course," Caden said hoarsely, shaking his head back into reality.
It had been two months since their escapade in the car. After giving the driver a respectable “bonus” in the name of discretion and a few weeks with a bit of awkwardness between them, Caden was relieved that he and Kenya had gotten back to normal. They had this co-parenting thing down. He could see that Kenya trusted him now...at least when it came to Caydee. That, however, was miles of progress compared to six months ago. She’d accepted him as Caydee’s father, and Caden had accepted that, to Kenya, that’s all he’d ever be. But, the look in Kenya’s eyes when their lips touched broke the ground and threatened to exhume his buried hopes. He knew he shouldn’t be that affected by something so inconsequential. It wasn’t even a real kiss. Just a touch of the lips.
Kenya turned around and removed her robe. Her bare skin was revealed down to the small of her back, and Caden bit his lip at the sight. He swallowed hard as he stepped forward and quickly wiped his hands—which were unusually moist—on his pants, so he could begin zipping her up.
Caden watched Kenya’s back arch as his index finger lightly stroked her skin as he slowly, perhaps too slowly, zipped up her dress. The gold satin-brocade dress looked exquisite against her dark skin, and the way the floor-length mermaid cut hugged her thick hips and round bum made for an irresistible combination of elegant and sexy. Caden’s breathing had gotten shallow.
He put the necklace around Kenya’s neck to fasten it for her and cursed his fingers as they nervously fumbled with the smooth round pearls. He quickly wiped his hands again and finally managed to work the clasp. Caden unconsciously moved closer to Kenya wanting to breathe in more of the scent of cocoa butter and spice that always seemed to emanate from her. He had finished his task, but somehow he couldn’t step away.
Kenya could feel the heat of Caden’s body against hers, as he moved even closer and fiddled with the chain of her necklace. She could feel the warmth of his breath upon her neck. As one of his hands began to gently caress her shoulder, his other hand slowly stroked her forearm down to her fingers, and he intertwined them with his. Kenya’s head tilted slightly as his fingertips lightly trailed up and back down the curve of her neck from her hairline to her collarbone. Her eyes closed when Caden kissed the nape of her neck, and she let out a sigh. As she did, she heard Caden's soft groan in her ear.
Her hand still in his, Caden brought his arm around her waist, pulling her even closer to him. He left not a whisper of space between them. Kenya felt his kiss behind her ear, his fingers tenderly cradling her jaw, as he tilted her chin toward him. Caden's lips were brushing her cheek as they moved closer, and Kenya reveled in the sensation of the hair on his chin roughly brushing against her skin. She leaned back, reaching her hand up to his cheek and bringing his lips toward hers.
"Mommy, I'm ready!"
"Caydee!" Kenya yelled, her elbow jerking and burying itself into Caden’s stomach. She sprang across the room, to get as far away from him as possible.
"Daddy, you're all red," Caydee observed.
Marie, one of the servants who had basically become Caydee’s personal maid and playmate, had been getting Caydee dressed for the evening. She looked a bit red in the face herself. She dropped off her charge and quickly e
xcused herself.
“I’m fine, sweetie,” he said, smiling through gritted teeth, still bent forward a bit from the pain of the blow and the wind being completely knocked out of him.
Luckily, Caydee was soon distracted. "Ohh, mommy you look pretty."
"Thank you, Caydee,” Kenya said, looking into the full-length mirror as she tried to do some last minute touches, mainly to regain her composure. “You look lovely, sweetheart."
"Daddy, you look pretty too," she said.
"Thanks, sweetie," he said grinning, finally returning to his full height. “Now, daddy has something for you. Stand in front of the mirror with mummy and close your eyes.”
Cadence did as she was told, barely able to contain her excitement as she awaited Caden’s return.
“It’s a princess crown!” Cadence exclaimed, when she saw it.
“Yes.” Dropping on one knee before her, Caden informed, “It’s called a tiara.”
“Really Ca—”
“Come on, Yaya. It’s just a little one,” he said, not allowing her to continue. Cadence’s hair was in a high poof with cornrows at the front, and Caden removed the tiara from its blue velvet case to place it on her head.
Kenya frowned. It may be a little one according to him, but it was a real one. Caydee had been living at Hargrove Castle for a few months now, and with Caden willing to give her whatever she wanted, a grandmother who indulged her, a bedroom truly fit for a princess, a personal maid, and the rest of the household staff eager to wait on their “Little Miss,” Kenya was trying her best to prevent Cadence from becoming a little diva. Did she really want or need her daughter getting used to things like this as well?
“She’s four years old, Cay. She doesn’t need a diamond tiara.”
“Yaya, they’re small diamonds.”
“And, there are a lot of them.” It’s not as though he was talking about one or two diamonds here, Kenya thought, looking at the sparkling crown with reservations.
“You don’t like it mommy? I can’t have my tara?” Cadence asked looking up at her with a forlorn expression.
Kenya looked over at Caden to glare at him, because this was all his fault, but even more infuriating was that he knelt beside Cadence, their cheeks pressed together, with the identical expression on his face. Both pairs of green eyes looked up, in supplication, waiting for her approval. She let out an exasperated sigh.
“Yes, you can have it,” Kenya conceded, securing the headpiece to Caydee’s head. How exactly was she going to tell her daughter that she couldn’t wear her very own princess crown on Christmas Day?
“Say, thank you, mummy,” Caden whispered.
“Thank you, mummy!” Cadence bounced.
“You look very pretty, sweetheart.”
"Mummy is right: you do. You are the prettiest girl in the world!" He scooped her up in his arms kissing the giggling girl’s cheeks.
"Is mommy the beautifulest girl in the world?" Caydee asked, causing Caden to chuckle.
"Of course she is." Slanting a glance at Kenya, he qualified, "the most beautifulest."
"We'd better get downstairs before the party starts without us," Kenya said quickly making her way to the door.
~
Christmas at Hargrove Castle was a grand affair, ending with a Ball that night. In the evening the family and close friends sat down to a ten course dinner. Kenya was treated to the staples of traditional English Christmas fare including roast turkey, mince pies, redcurrant jelly, Christmas pudding, and trifle with brandy butter. The children sat at their own table on the other side of the dining room, and the entire room was gleaming with crystal and silver.
As Baron, Caden sat at the head of the table and Lady Mildred, who retained the duties of Lady Hargrove until Caden got married, sat on the opposite end across from him. Charlotte and her family were there, including the new baby who slept peacefully in the nursery. Caden’s cousin Broc and his daughter were back from Scotland as well, and Kenya was happy that Tasha was there. It was nice to have someone from her family with her on Christmas, especially since her dad’s flight got canceled due to the blizzards in the Mid-West. Tasha had had an eventful few months, and Kenya couldn’t wait to catch up with her in person.
With twenty-four guests seated to dinner, there were at least eight different conversations going on around the table. The holiday excitement, absences from each other, and current political climate created an environment that had everyone popping in and out of each other's at a moment’s notice.
"So Kenya, are you seeing anyone? Do you have a chap back in The States?" Shelton asked.
Somehow through all the other conversations that little question broke through, sending a ripple of awareness down the table and leaving the entire group silent.
"William!" Charlotte growled, dropping her head in her hand.
"Well, it is a natural question, darling. It wasn't meant to command the attention of the entire room."
But, it did.
Kenya looked around and saw everyone looking at her expectantly. Why they were so interested in her dating life, she had no idea. She looked to Caden, who sat beside her. He was the only one who didn’t look interested in Shelton’s question. He didn’t look at her at all, in fact. Instead, he appeared thoroughly enraptured by his Yorkshire pudding. When no one resumed speaking, Kenya realized she would have to answer.
"Well, no. Not really. Not at all, actually. I haven't really dated anyone, since . . ." She trailed off, becoming particularly attentive to her pudding as well.
Blah! What the hell just fell out of her mouth?—Kenya cursed herself. That was such a stupid thing to say. Why couldn't she have worded that better? Why didn’t she lie? Of course, now everyone knew what she meant. She hasn't dated anyone since Caden. How pathetic was that?
She’d been on a few dates, but nothing serious. At first, Kenya was too busy being pregnant, finishing grad school, being a new mother, trying to establish her career. Time just kept passing. Her friends and family had tried setting her up before, but it never went anywhere. She was also very defensive, and apparently men didn’t like that. To protect herself, Kenya had built such an obstacle course of defenses around her that it would leave the most impressive Ninja Warrior stumped. She’d been burned too badly before. She refused to let it happen again.
"With Caydee, I wouldn't have time even if I wanted to." Kenya tried to end lightly.
Kenya looked up from her plate to see Charlotte looking at her with eyes glazed and a wistful smile. Lady Mildred turned away and quickly wiped her eye. A sort of hushed awe had settled over the room, and no one seemed to know what to say. Kenya didn’t know why they cared so much. The whole thing was disturbing. She looked over at Caden beside her. He had lost all interest in his pudding it appeared, and his eyes just bore into Kenya’s with a penetrating gaze. Transfixed, they just stared at each other across the table in silence.
“Mommy!” Caydee yelled, calling her for the third time and snapping her and Caden out of their trance.
Kenya quickly turned to her. “I’m sorry, honey. What do you need?”
“I have to...” Caydee looked around the table, visibly confused as to why the adults were so quiet. She leaned closer and whispered in Kenya’s ear, “Poo.”
Kenya quickly excused herself and led Caydee out of the room. She breathed a sigh of relief as a conversation started to begin again without her and, most importantly, not about her.
"At least that wasn't awkward." Caden appeared behind her, grinning.
Kenya sighed, a defeated look in her eyes. But, it was the look in Caden’s eyes that concerned her. He was thinking about it. She could tell. He stared at her as if he wanted to ask if it was true. Had she really not dated anyone since he left? Beneath his grin, the question was bubbling within him and rising to the surface.
“Ya—”
“You know this is really just a one person job. You don’t have to come.” She didn’t wait for his response, but scooped Cadence in her arms
and all but ran down the hall. How bad were things if right now poop was more appealing?
Accustomed to the intimate dinner with her family, the Hargrove's lavish Christmas party was like nothing Kenya had ever experienced. The children spent most of the evening running through the Great Hall and playing in the Ballroom. Once again, Uncle Broc became a favorite and entertained the children with stories about old Scottish warriors and his alleged battle with the Loch Ness monster. The fact that he could lift all three cousins with one arm also made Uncle Broc an enjoyable playmate.
Kenya sat at the window, in a little alcove, apart from the rest of the group. She could not but help feel overwhelmed by emotion as she watched the family in the Great Hall. Kenya knew her father did his best as a single dad, and he was a great dad. However, her nomadic army brat childhood made her want to put down roots. She always wanted to have a normal family. To Kenya that meant a real home for her children to grow up in, one with a backyard and neighbors and relatives visiting for holiday dinners. Seeing Caden’s family at Christmas made Kenya think of the life she might’ve had if things were different between them.
Kenya was glad that Caydee was accepted and adapted so well in the family. But, it was still hard for Kenya’s heart not to ache for the life that she couldn’t have. It wasn't the opulence or the riches that gave Kenya that pang of longing. Beneath all the trappings of wealth, the genuine love the family had for each other was obvious. These were not the sad snobby rich people in reality shows, TV Dramas, and tabloids, those people who have so much of everything that they are never satisfied with anything, and all they do is create problems for themselves and others.
Even though the Hargroves had money, titles, and fancy Christmas Balls, they were truly a family. How much they loved and supported each other was evident in everything from the doting to the teasing. It was endearing. It was also dispiriting, Kenya thought, to be so close to such warmth and tenderness and to know that she would never truly be a part of it. It was like looking at a roaring fire through a frosted window while standing outside in the snow.
