He walked over to the backseat door and pulled it open, lifting Alejandro up and plunking him in the already installed toddler’s seat. “I bought it yesterday. It must have been delivered yesterday evening.” Sure enough, the keys were on the driver’s seat.
He strapped Alejandro into the seat while she watched, still standing on the cement stoop of her house. Natalie wasn’t sure what to do. But her eyes took in the ten year old vehicle parked next to his beautiful Land Rover, then at the luxury vehicle. It very clearly demonstrated the differences in their worlds. With a sigh, she stepped down and slipped into the soft, leather seat of the passenger side, allowing Javier to close the door.
Breakfast that morning was a fun event, even if there were several heated glances between herself and Javier. She didn’t want to acknowledge them, but what was a woman to do? He was strong, powerful, and she…couldn’t ignore his love for Alejandro. He was a hard man to resist.
Over the next week, Javier slowly infiltrated their lives. Without realizing how, Natalie discovered that Javier just…was. He was a part of their lives. Alejandro loved him and thrived under his attention. Natalie knew that she enjoyed not having to make all of the decisions regarding Alejandro’s well-being and having someone to talk to, bounce ideas off of. She hadn’t even realized she was doing it until she’d tucked Alejandro into bed after a particularly difficult afternoon and evening. He’d been tired and cranky most of the day, but by the time dinner rolled around, he’d been having tantrums about the smallest issues. As soon as she’d put him down for the night, Javier had simply pulled her into his arms and held her as they talked about Alejandro’s behavior during the day.
He took over taking their son to preschool, giving Natalie extra time in the mornings to prepare for her students and he had food delivered for dinners in the evenings, so there was more time at night to relax and play with their son, talk and relax.
He never judged her furniture or her clothing, although newer, higher quality outfits seemed to appear in her closet each morning. And in Alejandro’s as well, which thrilled him. Thankfully, there were no less hugs from her son. Alejandro laughed and loved exuberantly, more than willing to wrap his chubby arms around her for no reason and she loved it. Natalie realized that she even liked it when her son hugged Javier out of the blue.
All of this, and so much more, was why she found herself falling into a routine with Javier. And why they seemed to just…fall into bed together every night. There was no conversation about their relationship, no agreement made or boundaries set.
And all of that made Natalie more nervous, but she was too happy to rock the boat. Even though…well, the other shoe was bound to drop sooner rather than later.
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 wit
h 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 giv
e 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.
Spanish Passions (Friends Forever Book 2) Page 10
