“If you show me where to put these, I can help you finish up.”
“Huh?” Paige faced him and noticed the bouquet of yellow roses he’d removed from the box. “Oh. There’s a vase up on that top shelf,” she said, pointing. The yellow roses were a symbol of their friendship, but she’d rather have red ones.
“Are you moving?” he asked after arranging the flowers in the vase and placing them on the table. “Or do the boxes mean you haven’t finished unpacking?”
In the rush to prepare dinner, Paige had forgotten about the boxes stacked in the living room, which contained items from the spare room. She had meant to take them to the storage unit that afternoon, but it had slipped her mind once she discovered Sergio-Xavier was in distress.
“Actually, I’m in the middle of redecorating.” She hoped the evasive answer would be enough to squash any further questions. They were friends, and today the friendship had grown to a deeper level, but that didn’t give him the right to know everything about her. Besides, she didn’t want to hear any negative comments.
“Maybe you can give me a tour after dinner.”
One sniff of the woodsy-scented cologne penetrating her nostrils and she knew, without even looking, that he was standing directly behind her. The firm hand on each shoulder confirmed it.
“Now, what do you need me to do?”
Although he asked the question in his normal voice, Sergio-Xavier leaned in against her ear, sending a warm, tingling sensation down the right side of her body. Her entire body stiffened. It had been years since her body had physically reacted to a man, but in an instant Paige’s internal heat exceeded that of the coals on the grill. Her mouth was parched, and beads of sweat formed across her hairline. Good thing she wore a sweatshirt and not a T-shirt. She pivoted around, only to find a confused expression staring back at her. Had he sensed her unwelcomed desire? She moved her mouth to speak but couldn’t think of what to say that wouldn’t make her sound like a woman in heat or give him the false impression that she wanted him. To her relief, he took a step backward.
“My mother taught me how to cook. If you give me an apron, I’ll prove it.”
Relieved, Paige exhaled louder than normal. Sergio-Xavier was oblivious to her inner turmoil. She walked over to the utility closet and retrieved an apron. “Here.” Instead of handing the garment to him, Paige tossed it across the room. “You can finish chopping that serrano pepper and mixing the salsa,” she directed, pointing to the center island. “Once you finish that, sauté the shrimp.”
“Aye, aye, Captain.” He saluted her and then affixed the apron to his torso. “So what are we having? Ceviche?”
“Less talk and more work, Soldier.” Without meaning to, Paige winked.
Hoping he didn’t notice, she went back to the grill to check on the coals and then removed the steak from the refrigerator. While the meat cooked, Paige set the table and then placed the salsa, sour cream, cheese, and a pitcher of iced tea on it. By the time she had removed the steak from the grill and had sliced it, Sergio-Xavier had added the shrimp and warm tortillas to the table.
Before inviting him to the table, Paige started to turn on the sound system but then decided against it. Worship music seemed inappropriate for the occasion.
“It looks great,” he said, complimenting her, once he was seated. “I love steak and shrimp fajitas.”
“I figured you would, since it’s part of your heritage. I hope you don’t mind corn tortillas instead of flour.”
“Corn is fine,” he said, reaching for a tortilla. “I grew up on corn.”
Paige cleared her throat. “Excuse me, Minister, but I know you’re not about to eat without saying grace. You don’t know what I put in this food.”
“You’re smiling, but knowing you . . .” He let the thought hang, and bowed his head.
While Paige listened to him say grace, another realization surfaced. Sergio-Xavier was the first non-related male in her home and the only man she had cooked dinner for, ever.
“This meat is seasoned perfectly, and it’s so tender,” he said after taking a bite.
“That will teach you not to doubt my abilities.”
They ate in silence until Sergio-Xavier touched the subject she knew would come up one day.
“Why don’t you date?”
She took a sip of iced tea before answering. “You mean other than the fact that I’m too self-absorbed and judgmental?” His opinion of her still hurt.
He raised his hands in surrender. “I take that back. You have grown. Today was a perfect example. You have a beautiful voice, by the way. I hope I don’t have to be in a funk to hear it again.”
She raised an eyebrow. “That depends.” Did I just flirt with him? she wondered.
“So, why don’t you date? Have you ever dated?”
The answer wasn’t something Paige was proud of. In fact, it was rather embarrassing. She wasn’t perfect, but neither was Sergio-Xavier.
“The sad truth is, I have never officially dated or had a real boyfriend.”
“Somehow with your personality, that doesn’t surprise me.”
She didn’t care for his chuckling but decided to lay it all out, anyway. He’d already shared his past, and hers wasn’t any worse. “In my younger years I never had the time. I was too driven to finish college and become rich. I had a goal, and a boyfriend didn’t fit. I had one male friend in college. We didn’t date.” She paused for a moment. “We just had sex periodically,” she added and then took a bite of steak.
He shrugged. “A ‘friend with benefits’ kind of thing. It happens, but usually someone gets emotionally attached.”
“Not us. We were the perfect match. He was more driven than I was to succeed. Sex for us was like an obligation. Something we did because that’s what you do in college. Instead of multiple partners, we had an exclusive arrangement on our calendar. Thursday, from two to three, have sex. And that wasn’t every week. ”
She joined in with his laughter, having long ago acknowledged that the arrangement was crazy.
“I knew many guys in college who would have loved a deal like that,” he said, reaching for another tortilla. “If I wasn’t trying to live saved and later wasn’t obsessed with Nicole, I would have been first in line. So after graduation you just parted ways?”
Her chewing ceased as Paige weighed how much she could divulge without revealing her most painful memory. “Actually, we never parted ways. I mean, we mutually removed sex from our calendars, but Tyson and I have remained friends.”
His facial expression changed several times, but she couldn’t read any of them. “Tyson? You and Tyson Stokes were sex partners? I never would have guessed that,” he said after taking a sip of iced tea.
“Trust me. We were the perfect match back then. The easygoing, ‘head over heels in love’ guy you see today is not the same man I knew in college. We were both anal-retentive and totally emotionally constipated. We had different motives, but we were both driven by ambition. I think ambition gave us more fulfillment than sex.”
“That’s some ambition.”
They shared more laughter, and then Paige sobered and stared at him.
“What’s wrong?” he asked. His hand rested on top of hers, giving her the strength she needed.
“Sharing this with you has made me realize something for the first time. I was so wrong to judge Jasmine and the other ladies for having sex without a commitment. I did the same thing. They’re in high school and I was in college, but I wasn’t offered a ring or a commitment. All I garnered was an appointment slot. The kids today have sex because of peer pressure and their environment. I did the same thing back then. The sisters in the sorority I wanted to pledge made claims of sexual activity, so I thought I had to get my swerve on to fit in. I thought I needed their backing to fit in. I certainly can’t knock Seniyah for getting pregnant.” She hadn’t meant to say the last sentence out loud.
“How is Seniyah doing? Have you had a chance to talk with her?”
Paige was not ready to divulge her plan, but she did share the details surrounding the conception.
“So what are you going to do?” he asked with that snide smile. “I know some plan is rolling around in that pretty head of yours. I know you’ve concocted some plan to save Seniyah and her baby.”
She rolled her eyes, detesting how well the man knew her. “I’m working on something, but I’m not going to tell you what it is. At least not now.”
“That’s fine, but, Paige, promise me something,” he pleaded, squeezing her hand.
“What’s that?”
“Whatever you do, make sure you do it for the right reason. Make sure it’s God’s will and not merely a good idea birthed out of emotion.”
That’s why I can’t tell you, she thought, choking back tears. You won’t understand. “Sure,” she said out loud.
“Now, open your mouth and do something for me right now.”
“No thank you,” she said when he stabbed a shrimp and waved it near her lips. “I’m never eating one of those things again.”
“If you chew it thoroughly, nothing will happen.”
The terror of that day at Kevin’s house came rushing back. She’d almost died that day, and he wanted her to test fate again?
“No. I got the shrimp for you.” In a surprise move, Sergio-Xavier got up from his chair and hunched down beside her chair. “You have to get over this fear. Trust me, nothing bad will happen,” he assured her, placing an arm around her shoulder. “If you choke, I’m right here to save you, just like before.”
“You’re asking a lot,” Paige said, referring more to the fact that she had never trusted a man, aside from Jesus, with her well-being than to the possibility of choking on a shrimp again.
“Come on, sweetheart. I may say things you don’t like, but I would never purposely hurt you. Stand up. I’ll put my arms around your waist, just in case,” he offered.
Under no circumstances would he hold her tonight. The fire he’d created earlier hadn’t been fully extinguished yet. If he touched her again, she might attack him and repent later.
“You stay right there,” she ordered with her palm up. “I’ll eat it.” Instead of allowing him to feed her, Paige picked up the shrimp and cautiously placed it in her mouth. She remembered that in elementary school she learned to chew her food twenty-eight times. Tonight she chewed twice as long. When the shrimp finally slid down her throat, it felt like mush.
“Are you happy now?” she asked, reaching for another shrimp. “I might eat the rest of these.”
“Go right ahead. I like seeing you happy.”
“Then you’ll be ecstatic.”
They enjoyed the remainder of the meal, which included a question-and-answer session on their likes and dislikes. In the end, Paige finally knew the name of that intoxicating cologne she loved.
“Oh, I forgot the reason I called you earlier.” She left him seated at the kitchen table while she went to her home office and printed the inspection reports. When she returned, he had finished eating and had loaded the dishwasher. “I don’t need a housekeeper. I just need to have you over more often,” she teased.
“That can be arranged.” He laughed, but she had a feeling he was serious. She ignored the comment and got down to business.
“The inspection reports are in. I checked them over, and I didn’t see anything major, but look them over and let me know your thoughts.”
He accepted the documents but didn’t read them. “I’m too emotionally drained to focus on these tonight.” He tucked them underneath his arm. “I will look at them after rounds tomorrow and get back to you.”
She followed him into the living room and then to the foyer. “Are you eating and running?” she asked.
“I’m afraid so, sweetheart,” he said after turning to face her. “I have an early day tomorrow and clinic in the afternoon.” He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “Dinner was wonderful, and the company even better. I’ll call you tomorrow.” Then he opened the front door, stepped outside, and gently closed the door behind him.
Paige stared at the front door until she heard his car pull off; then she locked the door and set the alarm system. The evening had ended too abruptly and somehow had been too “friendly” for her, but then again that’s all they were—friends.
Chapter 19
Paige could hardly contain the joy bubbling through her as she stood in the middle of what would soon become the nursery. The painter’s finished product far exceeded her expectations. Instead of one boring color, each wall was a different shade, forming a kaleidoscope of blue, sea green, yellow, and beige. She’d already selected the animal, number, and letter designs she wanted on the walls for the decorator to re-create. The stacked boxes in the living room had been transported to storage, only to be replaced with the delivered boxes from all the online shopping she’d been doing.
Normally, she would have found the clutter and disarray downright sinful. Cleanliness was godliness, or next to it. She was certain she’d read that somewhere in the Bible, or maybe it was an old saying of her grandmother. Whatever the case was, Paige believed a clean material house was an outward indication of a clean spiritual house. “Lord, you know my heart. Just a few more days and my life will finally be in order,” she mumbled as she headed back through the living room to the kitchen. Another week had past, and she still hadn’t discussed her plans with Seniyah, but she didn’t think Seniyah would object once she saw the nursery and all the cute items Paige had spent a small fortune on.
Just as Paige had suspected, DWAP voted Seniyah out of the group at the last meeting. “It’s not personal, just business,” Jasmine had said after the vote. While watching her leave without staging a protest, for the first time Paige had wondered if Seniyah even cared about the DWAP project at all. To keep Jasmine from accusing her of favoritism, Paige hadn’t gone after Seniyah right then, but she had called later that night to check on her. Today, after the food bank, Paige was picking her up for lunch and a trip to a discount retailer for maternity clothing.
Before heading out to perform her Christian duty, Paige picked up the phone to call her mother but decided against it after the first ring and hung up. She couldn’t speak to her mother without sharing her good news, and she wasn’t ready to do that yet. She sent her a text instead.
An hour later Sergio-Xavier’s open arms welcomed her to the food bank’s kitchen. “Hello, Paige. There’s a beautiful young lady I’d like you to meet.” He revealed this while he was still holding her, and she clearly heard the excitement in his voice.
Her body instantly stiffened, and she stepped back. Who was the woman, and why did he refer to her as beautiful? “Sure,” she replied, trying to ignore his radiant smile. The woman undoubtedly held a special place in his heart.
As she watched him walk back to the storage area, Paige straightened her jeans and tunic, although they weren’t wrinkled, and removed the hair clip that held her hair in place. She shook her hair out, allowing it to fall loosely down her back. She snuck a glance in the mirror above the sink. Her make-up was modest but classy. She wasn’t at her best, but she wouldn’t look like chopped liver next to Ms. Supermodel, either.
Sergio-Xavier emerged from the storage area with a woman on his arm who could easily be a stand-in double for Alicia Keys. True to Sergio-Xavier’s description, the woman was drop-dead gorgeous.
“I am not jealous,” Paige mumbled, but at the same time she wanted to slap the woman. By the time they covered the short distance to her, Paige had scrutinized the woman from head to toe, hoping to find an imperfection, but there were none.
“Paige,” Sergio-Xavier said, looking down, “this is my niece, Alexis, the superstar I told you about.”
Paige followed his eyes downward and for the first time noticed the little brown face with two puffy pigtails snuggled against Sergio-Xavier’s leg, smiling up at her.
“Hello, Miss Paige. Do you want to hear me sing?”
“What did I
tell you, Alexis? You’re here to serve, not to perform.”
The smile with a missing upper tooth disappeared. “Sorry, Uncle Sergio. I forgot again,” the child said, dropping her head.
Sergio-Xavier immediately hunched down beside her and lifted her chin. “That’s all right, sweetheart. Keep practicing. I can’t wait to hear you next week at the party. I know you’re going to sound absolutely perfect.”
The snaggletoothed smile returned, and Alexis kissed his cheek. “I promise I will be for you.”
Paige’s jaw dropped. The stern six-foot-two-inch doctor had turned into mush right before her eyes and was blushing like a helpless puppy.
“Hello!” said the woman, who was now standing with her hands on her hips. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your girlfriend?”
The blushing ceased as Sergio-Xavier rose to his full height. “Didn’t I tell you she is not my girlfriend?” he scolded and then went on to say something in Spanish that Paige couldn’t understand.
The woman spat words right back, and then so did Sergio-Xavier.
Paige didn’t remember enough from her high school conversational Spanish class to interpret the conversation, but from the woman’s neck rolling and Sergio-Xavier’s tone, she could tell the exchange was anything but friendly.
The two continued arguing back and forth, as if Paige and Alexis weren’t there, until the woman yelled, “I’m telling Daddy!” in English.
So this is his sister. Thank goodness.
“Snitch! I’m glad you passed your detective exam. Now you can get paid for being nosy,” he barked.
Her lips smacked. “Whatever. I only stick my nose into the business of people I care about. You fall into that category by default,” she said after folding her arms.
Paige observed Sergio-Xavier huff and puff and glare, but the woman didn’t back down. He was furious, and Paige was ecstatic to see that her friend had met his match.
“Don’t worry,” Alexis said, patting Paige’s leg. “They do this all the time. They argue in Spanish so I can’t understand, but my granny is going to teach me Spanish so I can argue to.”
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