Exclusively Yours

by Nadine Gonzalez

The chapel workers were busy turning off the lights, signaling it was time for them to leave. Nick took her hand and led her out to the parking lot. Only their two cars remained.

  She picked up where they’d left off. “You won’t be comfortable. That’s all.”

  He had to take her to his parents’ home as soon as possible to dispel the myth that he needed luxury to survive.

  “Do you have hot running water?” he asked. “Because that’s all I need.”

  “Nick, I think it would be best if—”

  He kissed her. “See you tonight.”

  * * *

  Leila drove home. Her shoes pinched her feet, and she slipped them off before heading to the kitchen to make a cup of chai tea. The funeral marked the end of an era. The family she was born into was nearly gone. After her parents died, she’d learned to rely solely on herself. Her aunt had been a comforting presence, and that was all. Frankly, that was all her aunt had wanted to be. In her own way, Leila was a rolling stone. But now Nick seemed no longer content to play the role of the feel-good boyfriend. He was elbowing his way into the dense woods of her life in such a way that she was no longer comfortable. He’d stayed with her at the hospital. Later, when she’d tried to get him to give her space to deal with relatives and set up the funeral, he’d said no. And now he wanted to spend the night at her place.

  These were not outrageous demands, mind you. A normal person would have welcomed all of it. The only conclusion: she wasn’t normal. She recalled a conversation they’d had while driving to the funeral home the day after Camille had passed.

  “Listen,” he’d said. “I’ve been told I’m not a team player and I’m working on that. But if you can’t rely on me even a little then you’re not, either.”

  Brie showed up, carrying a package. “This was delivered just now. I signed for it.”

  It was from the nursing home. Leila guessed it contained the last of Camille’s personal possessions. Although large, the box was disturbingly light. She set it aside for later.

  Brie sat at her desk and started up her computer. “What’s on the agenda today?”

  “Nothing,” Leila said. “We’re closed. Remember?”

  “I thought we could straighten up, shred old documents, back up our files, stuff like that.”

  “Or play Solitaire?” Leila proposed.

  She saw right through the girl. Brie had come to keep her company. Just like Nick, she wouldn’t go away.

  “Sounds good,” Brie said. “But I’ll play Candy Crush.”

  * * *

  Later that afternoon, Sofia came around. She dumped her massive Louis Vuitton tote onto Leila’s kitchen table and pulled up a seat. “The parking sucks. Why are you living here?”

  Leila poured her a cup of coffee. “The rent is cheap.”

  “Sometimes cheap can be taxing.”

  “You’re telling me.”

  Sofia reached for her hand and, with a contrite smile, said, “If it weren’t for work I’d have been there. You know that, right?”

  “Of course.”

  Sofia had just made it back from Key Largo. She’d been hired to throw a grand opening party for a newly renovated bed-and-breakfast. Since she’d missed the funeral, she insisted on coming straight over.

  “How did it go?”

  “Very well.” Camille had left specific orders for a simple send-off.

  “When my uncle died last year, we were shocked at how pricey things were. How are you doing with money?” Sofia asked the question with none of the reservations most people felt about bringing up the taboo subject.

  “My aunt had taken care of everything months ago. All I had to do was make the call, sign the paperwork and show up.”

  “Did anyone else show up?”

  “I wasn’t alone,” Leila reassured her. “Some relatives flew down from New Jersey.”

  “Anyone else?”

  “Both Brie and Nick were there.”

  Sofia nodded her approval. “Things good between you two?”

  Leila nodded.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing!”

  Could she complain that things were a little too good? Not without getting slapped, she imagined.

  “Leila, don’t make me twist your arm.”

  “He wants to be in my life, like all in.”

  “Like all up in your business.”

  “Yes.”

  “Most women have the opposite complaint.”

  “I know! It’s just...” Leila exhaled, a knot in her chest came undone. “To be honest, I never thought we were going to work out or have any kind of future.”

  “Why not?”

  “Well.” Leila got up from the table and rinsed out her cup. “He was the go-getter, the shark. I was the temp hired to answer his phones.”

  Sofia sipped her coffee. “Remember that open house in Bayshore? The one I helped you guys with? I saw you interact, and it didn’t seem that way to me. You looked like a team.”

  That night seemed so long ago. Leila blinked the memory away.

  “How are things with you?” she asked.

  “Oh, you know, nothing’s new. Franco proposed. I said yes. Same old, same old.”

  “What?” Leila rushed over to her. “When did this happen?”

  “In Key Largo.” Sofia showed off the princess-cut diamond on her left hand. “Midnight stroll on the beach, full moon, he gets down on one knee... You know how it goes.”

  “Sofia, you’re going to be a bride! Heaven help us!”

  Her friend let out a wicked laugh, confirming that her longtime boyfriend had effectively released the bridal equivalent of the kraken. She then pushed back her chair and hopped to her feet. “Hug me. Tell me you’re happy for me.”

  Leila did as instructed. “I’m crazy happy for you.”

  When they settled back down, Leila said, “You and Franco are so normal, I can’t stand it.”

  “Are you kidding me?” Sofia said. “We broke up so many times I lost count. Then one day I took matters into my own hands.”

  “Meaning what?” Knowing Sofia that could mean anything.

  “I moved in with him.”

  “Did he ask you to?”

  “Nope. I just showed up with my packed bags.”

  “That’s not psycho at all.”

  “I didn’t want to waste any time,” Sofia said. “Sometimes, when you’re sure, you have to make a move.”

  Chapter 32

  Nick called to say he was running late. A last minute deal had come through, and he was close to selling out the building. He still planned on coming over, after heading home to pick up a few things. Leila told him not to worry about dinner. She had a solitary meal at a gourmet supermarket counter. When she got back, she took the package from the nursing home into her bedroom. She reached under her bed for her wooden box of memories.

  Along with her sparkly tiara, it held a few mementos of her parents. Nothing terribly fancy: their gold wedding bands, old passports, birth certificates and photos. These simple things had the power to bring back her mother’s shy smile and her father’s boisterous laugh. She added Camille’s Bible, old photos, a pair of diamond earrings and a tube of Revlon lipstick that her aunt had kept for no apparent reason. If only the past could be so neatly packed away.

  She held her mother’s wedding ring and Camille’s lipstick in the palm of one hand. As a girl, she’d thought she’d had to choose between the two women, as if she could only grow up to be as serious as her mother or as frivolous as her aunt. How dumb was that? Both women had shaped her and both had left her with the burden of their unfulfilled lives.

  Now what about her own life? How fulfilled was she? Leila fingered the tiara, feeling no need to put it on this time. Then she packed everything away, locked the box and rolled her head f
rom side to side like she’d been taught in yoga class. Everything ached. From this angle, her bedroom walls looked dingy in the crisp white light of her bedside lamps. She tried sprucing the space up before Nick’s arrival. She changed the sheets, tidied the room and still wasn’t satisfied.

  Forget this. If she packed quickly she could beat Nick to his place.

  Leila had only meant to pack an overnight bag, but before she knew it half the contents of her closet was folded into a massive suitcase. She rolled it out to the back alley and shoved it into the trunk of her car. She’d come back for the rest in the morning.

  Too much time had been wasted. She had to make a move.

  This is what he wants, Leila told herself as she circled Nick’s block. At night the downtown neighborhood lost its daytime glamour. The side streets were dark and deserted. She was weary of driving, but couldn’t bring herself to pull into the building’s garage. Showing up unannounced at a man’s house—anyone’s house—with a packed suitcase and fully stocked makeup case was a bold if not bizarre move. She had to be sure.

  From the start Nick had known his mind. All he’d ever wanted was for them to be together. He’d never wavered on that point. What if she’d gone with him to New York? She could’ve gotten licensed there or simply gone back to school. She could’ve at least given it a trial run. The point was that she’d had options but had chosen not to consider them. The coward in her had held her back.

  When Leila finally pulled into Nick’s building, she was still nervous and unsure. She had the access code to the private garage. Relieved to see Nick’s car there, she left her modest Mazda next to the mighty Maserati and wheeled her suitcase to the elevators. She hesitated to press the button. There’d be no turning back from this. She couldn’t wake up in the morning and change her mind. She gripped the handle of her suitcase, tempted to wheel it back to her car, when the elevator doors slid open and a couple stepped out, hand in hand. It seemed to Leila that the universe had decided her fate.

  * * *

  Leila rang the doorbell and, for good measure, knocked on the door until she heard footsteps in the entryway. Nick flung the door open without bothering to ask who was there. He was all but naked except for a pair of gray boxer briefs—and, oh, my lord.

  “Hey,” she said, nervously.

  “What are you—?” His gaze fell to the suitcase that reached up to her hip. “What’s this?”

  “You asked me to move in, remember?”

  He stepped out into the hall and shut the door behind him as if protecting his territory from an invading tribe. Leila’s heart sagged. This was not the scene she’d imagined when she’d concocted the plan. She’d pictured him carrying her across the threshold like a bride. Instead he was acting as if she were diseased.

  “All this so I don’t spend the night at your place?”

  “No, that’s not it,” Leila said. “Do we have to talk about this in the hall? You’re practically naked.”

  She managed to speak calmly, despite her growing panic.

  He let her in. She wheeled the massive suitcase into the main room and left it by the couch. Then she stood, awkwardly balancing her arms. His cautious demeanor stripped her of her confidence.

  “Nick, I thought this was what you wanted.”

  “Never mind what I want. Tell me what you want out of this.”

  She noticed with some alarm that he had not left the entryway. The door was ajar and he was still holding on to the knob.

  “I want to be with you. If it makes you more comfortable, you can pack your things and move in with me. But I warn you, the view is better here—and so are the kitchen appliances.”

  “Are you sure this isn’t just a reaction to losing your aunt?” he asked.

  “It is, and it isn’t.”

  Nick ran a hand through his hair. “You said my world spit you out, but you won’t let me into yours. How will this work?”

  “It’ll work because I believe in us this time,” she said. “You’re right about me. I don’t know how to rely on anyone but myself, and I’m so damn tired!”

  Being separated from him had been devastating, and she was no longer interested in pretending that it hadn’t been. It had hurt her, kept her isolated from the man who truly loved her. He released the door and let it click shut. The sound was a welcome comfort.

  “You can rely on me,” he said. “Only I’m not interested in quick fixes.”

  Why couldn’t he see this for the bold romantic gesture that it was? She was taking a leap of faith, the same but somewhat shorter leap that Christine had claimed he’d made for her.

  “Christine said—”

  “I don’t want to talk about Christine.”

  “She said you moved back to Miami for me. Is that true?”

  “Yes.”

  “Be honest,” she said. “You were offered a good job. You came back to work with Reyes.”

  “I came back to be near you, so I took a job with Reyes,” Nick said firmly. “I had a job, a good one. And this new one isn’t the dream you make it out to be.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  If she’d known this up front, everything could have been different.

  “Tell you what? You’d moved out of the city to get away from me.”

  “That’s not how it was.”

  “It’s hard to see it any other way.”

  How could she explain? “That thing between us? It is relentless. After you left, it tore me apart. I wasn’t thinking.”

  Leila, fearful she wasn’t making any sense, turned away. She pressed a hand over her mouth to keep from crying out in frustration. All the emotions of the day rattled through her. What was she thinking showing up like this?

  Nick rushed to take her in his arms, murmuring, “I’m sorry, love. I’m sorry.”

  Leila eased herself from his embrace. She wouldn’t let him apologize for any of it.

  “The first time you said my name I was yours. I’d have followed you anywhere, if I weren’t so damn scared.”

  “Or if you trusted me,” he said. “Do you trust me now?”

  It was the right question to ask. Everything depended on it. “Yes.”

  He pulled her close again, kissed her hair and whispered, “Then let me love you.”

  Leila wrapped her arms around him and breathed him in. He was the prize.

  Epilogue

  One month later

  Leila had a tough time coming out of the ocean with the rough waves lapping at her calves. The sand was warm under her feet. She walked up the beach toward the round lounge bed that Nick had rented for the day. He was there, stretched out on his back, thumbing his phone. Tan, eyes hidden behind Wayfarer sunglasses, and feet dusty with sand, he looked rested and content for the first time ever.

  Nick, her ruthless shark, her tender lover and her friend—what was he doing on his phone?

  After he’d finished up his business with Reyes, they’d driven down to Miami Beach and checked in at the Tides. Five days later, they were in no hurry to check out. Their penthouse suite offered every convenience. They spent their days poolside or at the beach. Each night they strolled along Ocean Drive and picked a restaurant at random. They were doing things Nick’s way, spending time together and listening to each other’s stories. Leila had to admit his way of getting reacquainted was infinitely more pleasurable than her own. She didn’t have to work so hard to figure him out. She knew his heart and that was more than enough.

  She toweled off, and asked him to put away the phone. It was the first sign that real life was creeping back.

  “I want to show you something,” he said, not looking up.

  Leila dropped the damp towel, wanting him to see something, too.

  For a brief second he raised his eyes and his heated gaze swept over her, taking in her glistening brown skin showe
d off nicely in a white bikini. “Come here, you tease.”

  She crawled over and stretched out beside him.

  “I got a lead on something that hits the market tomorrow.”

  “I don’t care.”

  He shot out some buzzwords, all the while absently tracing lazy circles around her navel. “Mid-century construction. Pool. Waterfront. Dock and boatlift. Bayshore.”

  “Bayshore?” She sat up.

  “Do I have your attention now?”

  She snuggled close to him. “Remember our first house in Bayshore?”

  They’d worked together to make the sale. At the time, Leila had been too ashamed of her inexperience to see it that way.

  He handed her the phone and there it was, the white mid-century house surrounded by palm trees. Leila’s heart swelled. They say you never forget your first.

  “It’s still standing. I thought the developer was going to knock it down.”

  “He’s bankrupt. Now he’s cashing out.”

  “What are you thinking?”

  “I’m thinking that the first time I heard you laugh we were in that house. We had our first fight there. And I’ll never forget the way you looked that night by the pool. We could spend our nights that way. Would you like that?”

  “Nick...”

  “I’ll take that for a yes. Now it’s up to you to get me this house. I want to lock it down before it hits the market.”

  She fell onto her back. “Just pick up the phone and finish the job,” she said. “I don’t deserve that commission.”

  “Oh, you deserve it.”

  He came to lie on top of her, pinning her arms over her head. Then he bit the tender part of her earlobe and called her his magical fairy.

  Leila twisted under his weight and laughed.

  “How about we work on this together?” He trailed kisses down the length of her collarbone. “How does that sound?”

  “It definitely feels really good.”

  “Give me an answer.”

  “Sure. It’s not like I’ve got a lot going on.”

  “In that case, how about we work together from here on out?”

  She laughed. “I guess as an experienced small business owner, I could mentor you, take you under my wing.”