by Claire Angel
I was confused and looked back towards my tables to find that the flowers were all facing different directions. “No way. How did I miss that?”
She started laughing and I was so glad to hear that sweet sound that I began to laugh as well. We both turned towards the tables and quickly fixed the flowers to face towards the entrance.
“My mother has always had a certain standard, certain rules that were not to be bent and this was only one of them.” She looked around the shop. “I miss her presence here. It’s just not the same. I try, but she had a certain touch that lingered long after she left. But now, it’s been months since this place has felt her presence.” She took a deep breath and gave me a smile. “Do you know how to mop?”
“Of course. As long as you don’t have one of those horrible spaghetti mops, I’m sure I will have your floor shining in no time.” Her face lit up with her smile and I thought that maybe this could all work out after all.
I followed her to the kitchen, where she handed me the bucket and the mop. She pointed towards the sink and told me the soap was in the cupboard. With those instructions, she went back into the shop and left me to find my own way. I decided to tackle the shop first and then I would return to mop the kitchen floor as well.
In the front, I found her sitting with some paperwork and her laptop. I wasn’t planning on bugging her, because the more time she had uninterrupted, the quicker we could get out and have a chance to talk. I had forgotten how therapeutic hard labor can be and I had the floor mopped without realizing how quickly it came to an end. “Don’t worry about the kitchen; the cook already mopped that floor.” She smiled at me and then continued, “I’m almost done. I just have to place one more order and then we can go.”
I gave her a small nod and took the bucket and mop back into the kitchen. The kitchen was small but functional, with everything stored in its place. I’d always admired a clean kitchen; it made me appreciate the food from that kitchen so much more.
Her laptop was packed away and she was standing behind the counter when I came back to the front. “Are you ready to lock up?”
She smiled at me. “Thank you. That spared me at least half an hour, so I’m yours for approximately that amount of time.”
“And I will gladly accept the trade. I know of a cozy little bar around the corner. Would you like to go there?” She nodded and we left the café behind.
There weren’t many patrons at the bar tonight, so we had our pick of any table we wanted. I pointed towards a booth in the corner of the bar and Diane followed my lead. A waitress arrived to take our drinks and Diane only ordered a soda. “Make that two.”
She looked at me inquisitively. “You can order anything you want. You don’t have to stick to soda just on my behalf.”
I just smiled. “I don’t have to drink alcohol to have a good time with you. You are interesting to me, whether I’m sober or not.” The compliment made her blush and she looked down towards her hands on her lap.
The waitress returned with our drinks and she placed them on the table. Diane took a sip of hers, still avoiding my eyes. She put her glass back on the table and I took her chin into my hand and turned her face towards me. “I can’t help it. I desperately want to kiss you.”
Chapter 12
Diane
While Xander was mopping the floor, I had a few sneak peeks at his gorgeous body. His shoulders were so masculine and forearms were irresistible. I couldn’t help fantasizing about him sweeping me off my feet and carrying me to a bed to make sweet love to me. But sitting in the booth so close to him, I was almost touching him. I felt like a little schoolgirl, naïve and innocent. I could feel my cheeks blushing as his hand touched my face. He wanted to kiss me and I wanted to kiss him back so badly. I couldn’t bear to look into his eyes because they made me weak and I had to stay in control of myself.
He placed a few dollars on the table and picked me up in his arms, carrying me out of the bar. Utterly shocked at his brazen move, I looked into his eyes, “What are doing, Xander?”
“Taking you home.” He smiled softly kissing my cheek and kept on walking towards his car.
As he reached his car, he dropped my legs. He cupped my face and kissed my lips. As his lips touched mine giving the tickling effect, I felt the world fade away and the earth disappeared beneath my feet. My legs buckled, he opened the door and assisted me into the passenger seat, giving me a deep kiss before he shut the door. I realized I was playing with fire. I was undressing each part of his body through my eyes a few minutes back and now I was nervous. Maybe I was already caught in the act.
Then he walked around to his side of the car. As he got in on his side, I gathered all my courage and said, “Xander, please don’t take this the wrong way but if we are going to make this contract work, we have to stick to the terms and conditions.” The smile he had on his faded suddenly.
“We agreed that we would stay platonic friends and nothing more. I don’t know if I’m ready to break our agreement.” I could see his mind working overtime and then he agreed.
“You’re right, yet again. I just didn’t expect to feel this way. If things were different, maybe…” He went silent without finishing his sentence and the rest of the drive home was silent.
He stopped the car in front of my place. I stepped out of the car thinking if I was being rude. His silence was giving me heartache. But I had to be careful with my heart when Xander keeps on giving mixed signals, “Thanks for the lift.”
He nodded and I walked towards to door. I was just about to open the door, he grabbed my arm and pulled me back, “Can I pick you up tomorrow? I want to introduce you to Kayla and show you my life. You will have to know certain things about my life, our life if we are going to be able to convince the judge that we are genuine.”
“Sure. I’ll be ready at eight.” I smiled weakly and he looked into my eyes.
“Thanks.” He said and let go of my arm. “Goodnight. See you tomorrow.”
“Goodnight!” I opened the door and got inside without looking back at him. My heart raced and I didn’t trust myself anymore. My heart was ached and yearned for him. Why couldn’t things be different?
I kept thinking about him the whole evening. Later, lying in bed with my blanket pulled all the way up under my chin, I couldn’t fall asleep. My head was re-playing the evening over and over and each time I imagined there were different outcomes and different responses. Each fantasy ended with us sleeping together. What a disaster…
Here I was, lying in my bed all alone. For the first time in my life, I felt lonely, like I was missing a part of me, a significant part of me. I didn’t know when I fell asleep, it was a restless sleep and I dreamt about judges and babies, money and hospitals. Xander was running towards me, but there was this massive crack in the floor and he couldn’t reach me. Somewhere in the distance, there was a siren going off. The siren screamed louder and louder until I woke up. And it was the sound of my alarm. I couldn’t believe it was time to wake up already; it felt like I hadn’t slept for a full minute. That meant Xander would pick me up within the next hour, so I quickly jumped out of bed and went to take a shower.
I packed a day bag with my swimsuit, towel, a casual set of clothes and a set of more formal wear. With Xander, you never knew what to expect. After finishing a good breakfast, I saw that I still had five minutes before he would arrive. I went back to my room to make sure I’d thought of everything.
The doorbell rang and I knew that Xander was early, as per his usual habit. A good thing in general, especially for business, but not always a good thing when you were picking up a date that was still running around trying to make sure her make up was perfect. I took a last look in the mirror and gave an approving nod — no worries on that front for me.
I opened the door and I was greeted with Kayla on Xander’s hip. She shied away and pressed her head against her father’s broad chest. She had beautiful green eyes and I could see the resemblance between her and Xander. She was definitel
y going to make heads turn when she grew older.
“Hi, Kayla. I’m Diane and your Dad has told me so much about you. You like trolls, right?”
“Yeah, Dyna.” She answered in her sweet voice.
I took the little troll out of my bag and offered it to her. “I got you one. I hope you like purple.” She smiled at the doll and stretched her arms out towards me.
“Aww…” I hugged her and it was the warmest hug I ever had in my life.
“Tank you, Dyna.”
We walked towards the car and Xander opened the back door for Kyla.
“Dyna, will you sit here with me?” Kyla asked.
I looked at Xander and he nodded. “Of course, I’ll sit with you, sweetie.” I slipped in the back seat and struggled for a bit trying to figure out the safety clip on her car seat. I heard the successful click and with a sigh of relief, I sat back next to her.
All the way to their home, Kayla was talking in her broken vocabulary and half-formed sentences. Every so often, Xander would fill in the blanks. By the time we got home; I knew everything about her set of trolls she had at home, their names and their likes and dislikes.
As we reached Xander’s place and his a guard opened the double garage door and Xander drove inside. The entire basement was full of various types of cars. I saw the limo we rode that day when we went to the yacht, the car he dropped me off with last night and a few more that I hadn’t seen before. They all looked very expensive. But I didn’t have much knowledge about cars, so I couldn’t identify most of them.
Xander parked and got out of the car. He reached my door and opened the door for me. I was still leaning over Kayla’s seat, trying to loosen the buckle. It was not a rocket science to unbuckle a seat belt, but when you are used to the expensive things, you get nervous for no reason.
Finally I got the hang of it and I picked Kayla out of her seat to get out of the car.
“Welcome to my favorite floor in the house, my garage. I love my collection of cars, all different models. You’ve already met three of my ladies and if time allows, I will gladly introduce you to each one of them. They are all obviously jealous of my love for Lucy’s Luck, which you’ve also already had the pleasure of meeting.”
“Yes, I remember. That’s the name of your yacht.” I was gobsmacked by the beauty of the cars. Each one was unique and I could see that they had different functions.” I pointed towards the Jeep-type of vehicle, “If you don’t mind, I don’t have to meet her in person.”
It made Xander laugh and little Kayla joined in the laughter, although she didn’t understand the joke. It still broke the ice and I ended up laughing along. She was definitely a cutie pie, a little ray of sunshine.
“Let me show you my house,” Xander said.
“Sure, I would love to,” I replied I was excited to see his multi-story house.
“Kayla, let’s show your house to Diane.”
“Yeah!” Kyla jumped with happiness.
“Let’s go girls.” Xander led us towards the lift. We stepped out the lift and I was excited and nervous at the same time.
“Let me show you the western wing.” I nodded.
In western side there was a playroom, Jacuzzi, Sauna and cocktail bar. There was a tennis court, a putt-putt course and five huge gardens with different paths and verandas.
“We sometimes have tea parties for my grandmother here. My father’s mother. She is still very active and I like having her here. She lives with my uncle most of the time as my Aunt is not well since last year.” I followed Xander as he walked through the entrance hall and over to the entertainment area. I felt like walking through a resort. It was hard to imagine that someone can actually have this type of house.
Xander signaled to the butler I’d met before and he clapped his hands. The next moment a long line of servants appeared. “I would like to introduce my staff. You have already met my butler, James. She is Mrs. Potter, the head of the team and the head chef, Mr. Williams and his assistant chef and the kitchen maid.” I greeted them and we headed to the next floor along with little Kyla jumping around. It was an ultra-luxurious big hall.
“This level is where we receive guests and have small functions, like cocktail parties or small gatherings for international delicates.”
“Wow! You have a party hall in your home only.” He laughed at my comment and I felt like an idiot.
Then he took me to the next floor. “This level is reserved for our guests and there are three guest rooms, each with their own en-suite. The western wing is reserved for the kitchen and laundry rooms; there is also space for the staff to relax away from the demands of the main house.”
Xander led me to one of the guest rooms and it looked like a five-star hotel room. I’d only seen places like this on TV. “If you like, you can choose any of these rooms for yourself, or you can stay on the fourth level, where Kayla and I live. I will show you your room when we get there. I just thought as we are here, I can give you the option.”
My room. It was like I was having a beautiful dream.
There was a dancefloor, a gym full of machines and an arcade on the third. Also, there was another entertainment area, featuring a lounge with views over the city and spa with a sauna.
No wonder if there is entertainment area and a spa on every floor.
“We sometimes have a team of masseuses come over as a treat and as I like to have my privacy. I thought it best to install a full spa with all the various techniques of relaxation readily available.”
“It looks great, especially the city view is amazing.”
“Yes, I like to spend most of the time on this floor. And I never feel lonely then…” He looked down like he regretted saying the last sentence.
My heart cringed. How lonely this man was. But ignored like I didn’t understand what he just said. I knew he may not like showing his weak side to me.
“So you do take massage from girls in your spa?” I knew It was a stupid question but I wanted to lighten his mood.
“No.”
He laughed out loud and Kayla and I also joined him. And again Kayla didn’t understand the joke.
Kayla was massaging her eyes with her hands. “I think Kayla is sleepy.”
“Yeah. It looks like. Let’s take her to Becky.”
On fourth floor, a young woman was waiting. Kayla ran towards her and jumped into her arms. “This is Ms. Rebecca. Kayla calls her Becky. She is Kayla’s nanny and my lifesaver in so many ways.”
“Hi! Ms. Rebecca. I am Diane.”
“Hi! Mam.” She smiled at me. And I can tell Kayla loved her too much.
“Will you be able to take care of Kayla? I am taking Diane for a lunch.” Xander asked Ms. Rebecca.
She nodded and Xander turned towards me and said, “Come with me. I will show you your room.”
“Yeah! Sure.”
“Please don’t feel pressurized to stay on this floor if it makes you uncomfortable.” He took my hand and we walked towards the door directly opposite the staircase. As he opened the door I was in shock. It was massive and my whole apartment would fit into the living area. Next, he opened the glass sliding door and we stepped out onto a porch overlooking the entire city. The view was spectacular; there were couches on the porch and a sunbed on the one side. I couldn’t believe my eyes and looked at Xander, “Are you sure this is all just one house? Are there no other families living in this place?”
He pulled me closer without paying attention to my question. I was already fighting the urge to be in his arms since last night. I refrained myself looking into his eyes as I knew looking into his eyes will make me weak.
He came closer as I could feel his hot breath and it made shiver. But as he was about to put his arms around me, he stopped and took a step back. “I’m sorry. You just feel so comfortable, like you are home. I am sorry. So, what do you think? Would you like this room or one of the guest rooms?”
After thinking for a while, I thought I would be an idiot not to accept. It will be lux
urious holidays and I was excited to start living it. I turned towards him and asked, “I like this room so much. Thank you and I promise I will uphold my end of the contract and I’m sure we will get you full custody of your daughter.”
“And I will, in turn, make sure you and your mother have comfortable lives from here on out.” He said looking into my eyes.
For a moment, I wondered at the extent of his offer. For how long did he intend to make our lives easier? The end of his sentence sounded very indefinite.
Chapter 13
Xander
I was glad she chose the larger room on the family floor. Luckily, Kayla was too young to really understand what was happening. To Kayla, Diane was just a good friend who wanted to play and spend some time with her. I heard giggles coming from Kayla’s room and as I peeked into the room, I saw that Becky, Kayla and Diane were playing on the floor. Kayla was running between them on her short stubby and wobbly legs, causing quite a funny scene. It appeared that Kayla had decided it was an entertaining game to run from the one to give the other a hug and then turn around and run to the first. Each of the ladies then called her back as soon as she turned to leave, causing her to giggle all the way to the other.
I couldn’t help laughing as well. It was beyond adorable and I felt such a deep love and pride for my baby girl. She was so innocent in all of this, so helpless and dependent on me to make the right choices. I just wanted her to be happy in a good, stable and loving home. I wanted to give her the opportunities that I never had, but the one thing I couldn’t give her was a real mother. I didn’t believe that Lolita could be a devoted mother.
It was almost lunchtime and Becky brought Kayla’s food to her little table. I was just about to ask Diane to join me on the rooftop to fly to our lunch appointment when Kayla pulled Diane’s hand towards the table. “Sit by me! Sit by me!”
Diane was oblivious to everyone around her and was so focused on every request that was made that I couldn’t distract her. I had to admit, Diane was different from any of the leeches I had met at the bar, or even any of the blind dates Jared had set up for me. She didn’t care about impressing me; she just played without a care in the world. I’d never before met anyone so innocent, even slightly gullible. I thought of her accepting my yacht invitation, without thinking where the yacht was located, or where we were even going. She just had placed her trust in me.
