New Beginnings (22 page)

I went to laugh until a face splitting yawn took over. “I need to clean this up so I can take a shower.”

Xavier placed his hand over mine. “No, let me clean this up. You go ahead and shower.”

“Thank you,” I said gratefully.

I made my way into the bathroom and started to remove my make-up and brush my teeth. Before heading back into the bedroom to get undressed, I started the shower so the warm water would be up by the time I was ready to get in. Sure enough, the bathroom was full of steam as I made my way to the shower. Too tired to move, I just stood under the water for a few minutes.

The glass door clicked open. Warm hands started to rub my shoulders. I moaned at the feel of his hands on me. The amount of pressure he applied to my tired muscles was perfect. The man can massage.

After a few minutes, he reached for my shampoo. Gently, he washed my hair before washing his. After he paid special attention to washing my body, I returned the favor.

Before I could take it any further, he reached behind me and shut the water off. I gave him a surprised look. He leaned down and kissed me on the end of my nose. “I want you in our bed,” he said huskily.

Clicking the shower door open, he reached and grabbed two towels. He wrapped one around his waist while I wrapped the other under my arms. There was no waiting to dry off. Xavier scooped me up and quickly headed for the bedroom. Our wet towels were off and in a heap on the floor before I could even blink.

The following morning Xavier woke me up with a bang. It was literally a huge bang that had me jumping out of the bed and rushing out of the bedroom to locate him.

I found him standing in the hall staring dumbfounded at the mess on the floor. He was bringing me breakfast in bed when he accidentally dropped the tray. Tea and orange juice had splashed on the wall while the rest pooled on the floor among the broken glass. The plate that housed the scrambled eggs, bacon and toast had shattered spilling its contents all over the floor mixing in with the tea and orange juice. It was a colossal mess.

“Don’t move!” he shouted at me, holding his hands up. “There’s broken glass everywhere. I don’t want you stepping in it.”

I looked down at his feet and noticed he was barefoot as well. I ran back to the bedroom and threw on my slippers. Ignoring his pleas, I carefully walked around the mess and headed into the kitchen. With the paper towels, cleaner, and the garbage can firmly in my grasp, I headed back to the hallway. Xavier bent down to help me clean it up.

“So much for surprising you with breakfast in bed,” he said sheepishly, as we headed back to the kitchen.

After putting everything away in the kitchen, I wrapped my arms around his neck. “I’m just glad you are okay. The noise scared me half to death. I couldn’t imagine what had happened.” I stood up on my tiptoes and kissed him.

“I’m sorry I frightened you. If you aren’t very hungry, what do you say we get ready to go and get something to eat on the way to Leavenworth?”

“That sounds perfect.”

We ended up stopping at a bagel place in Bellevue. To save time, Xavier decided to get it to go so we could eat in the car. He parked on the street just a few doors down from the place. I stayed in the SUV while he ran in.

Patiently, I waited for an obscene amount of time. How long does it take to get two bagels with cream cheese and two drinks? I was just about to turn the SUV off and head in when he emerged with a stunning woman on his arm. I froze in my seat unable to move. Xavier looked anxiously at me while she continued to talk to him.

The woman was supermodel gorgeous. She was just a few inches shorter than him and I noted she was wearing flats. Her straight, brown hair was thick and cascaded down her back stopping midway. She moved gracefully dressed in jeans and a fashionable brown leather jacket. Even under the bulk of her clothes, you could make out her svelte figure. She looked like she was from old money. I tried to ignore the way she looked like she belonged with Xavier. They looked like a perfectly matched supermodel couple walking down a runway. She was comfortable in his presence, which told me she knew him well. Well enough to be an ex? I’d find out soon enough. They were just about to the vehicle.

Xavier opened my door offering me his hand to help me out of the SUV. “Ella, I’d like you to meet Karen Stapleton. Karen and I went to high school together. Karen, my fiancé, Ella.”

I held my hand out to her, but she took me by surprise by walking over and hugging me instead. “Ella, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” she said as she stepped back. She smelled of some expensive perfume, which was too flowery for my liking.

“Thank you. It’s a pleasure to meet you as well.” I instantly felt out of place. The woman towered over me. Upon closer inspection, I noticed she had the most beautiful green eyes.

“Congratulations. Xavier tells me you two are getting married next week. I had read about it, but just couldn’t believe that our Xavier here was ready to settle down.” She reached over and squeezed his upper arm giving him a sweet smile and a wink.

Instantly, I fought back the red haze that tried to cloud my vision as I stared at her hand on his arm. I knew my reaction was foolish, but old habits die-hard. I even resisted the urge to open my mouth to challenge her comment of
our
Xavier. I was making progress.

“Ella and I aren’t just getting married, Karen. We are expecting our first child in July.” He stepped out of her grip and wrapped his arm around my waist possessively giving me a beaming smile. I was shocked that Xavier had told someone about the baby. I tried to hide my own surprise.

Her eyes grew wide as she glanced down at my abdomen. “Oh. Um, I had no idea. Well, congratulations. That’s wonderful news.” She stumbled over her words looking stunned. Her tone sounded as if she thought it was anything but good news.

I grabbed his arm to check his watch. “Xavier, Hun, are you ready? We really need to get on the road,” I said politely.

“Yes, of course. Karen, if you’ll excuse us. My brother is expecting us. Have a Merry Christmas. Give my best to your parents, please.”

“Oh, yes, of course. You two have a Merry Christmas. Please say hello to Gabe and Tiffany for me. Ella, it was such a pleasure to meet you. I wish you two all the best,” she said sincerely. She stepped in to give Xavier a hug, which ended up being an awkward one-arm hug since his left arm remained locked around my waist. She hugged me the same way.

We got back into the SUV. Before pulling away, Xavier handed me my bagel and a small bottle of orange juice. He set himself up with his own food before he pulled back out into the traffic. The smell of the food quickly reminded me of just how hungry I was. We were both quiet while we ate.

“So, Karen is an ex, yes?” I finally asked when I was done eating. I watched him carefully as I asked the question.

He gripped the steering wheel a little tighter and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Yes,” he finally said. He gave me a puzzled look. “How did you know?”

“Just a guess really. You two looked way too comfortable together, which gave me the impression that you two were quite
familiar
with each other,” I said quietly. Thinking for a moment before I continued. “You said you two went to high school together. So, you’ve known each other a long time. When did you date?”

He let out a sigh. “Are you sure you really want to hear this?” he asked carefully.

“Yes. I’m generally interested.” I smiled at him trying to show him that I was really okay with hearing about her.

“She was a grade below me. She was a friend of Gabe’s. We double dated a couple of times, but it never went beyond high school. I believe she has gotten quite friendly with Tiffany.”

“Oh. That’s nice.” It still didn’t explain why they seemed so comfortable with each other. Then it dawned on me. “She was your first. Wasn’t she?” I asked quietly. I’m not even sure why I asked when I really didn’t want to know the answer. But not knowing was killing me more. I really just needed to know that my instincts were right on target.

“Yes,” he said quietly. He gave me a careful look. “You are very perceptive, sweetness.”

Well, somebody had to be his first. I could’ve gone the rest of my life not having met her, though. I was with him now. We were getting married in a week. I needed to let it go.

“She’s very pretty. You two looked perfect together like some kind of supermodel couple,” I said, staring out the window.

“Ella,” Xavier said in warning. He reached over and squeezed my knee until I looked at him. “She might be pretty, but I don’t give a damn how we looked together. She’s in my past. You are my present and future.”

“I know,” I said softly. “I’ll say this, at least your ex’s aren’t a bunch of skanks.” I stifled a yawn.

He chuckled. “Get some rest, baby.”

He was right. I was tired from being jolted out of bed this morning. I grabbed my pillow from the back seat, reclined my seat back a bit, and tried to get some rest.

I woke with a jolt gasping for air. It took me a minute to realize that we were no longer moving. I jumped out of the car feeling like I was going to be sick. Of course, I would dream of Xavier having an affair with the beautiful Karen Stapleton. The images my mind conjured up of the two of them together were sickening. Bending over, I put my hands on my knees and tried to calm my stomach and get my breathing under control.

The front door opened and Xavier was by my side within seconds. He had a hand on my back and was leaning down trying to look me in my face.

“Ella? What is it? What’s the matter?” He sounded panicky, frantically pushing my hair out of my face.

“I’m fine,” I choked out. “Just a bad dream.”

“I’m sorry to have left you. You were sleeping so peacefully. I was going to unload the car first then come out and get you.”

“That’s okay.” I waved my hand dismissively.

“Do you want to talk about it?” He rubbed my back soothingly.

I shook my head at him as I straightened myself up. I noticed Gabriel and Tiffany were standing in the doorway.

“Ella, you’re white as a ghost and trembling,” Xavier said, sounding concerned. He wrapped an arm around me and led me into the house. Gabriel and Tiffany got out of the way and followed us into the living room. “Tiffany, can you please get Ella a glass of water?”

“Of course.” She turned and rushed towards the kitchen.

I sat down on the couch as Xavier helped me out of my coat. Gabriel stood behind the couch. Tiffany came back into the living room with a glass of water in her hand. She held it out to me.

“Thank you,” I said gratefully before I downed half the glass.

Xavier turned to Gabriel and Tiffany. “Could you give us a minute, please?”

They nodded and discreetly left the room. Xavier sat next to me taking my cold hands in his big, warm ones.

“Did your dream have anything to do with Karen?” he asked carefully.

I flinched at the way he said her name, which totally gave me away. Xavier crushed me to him.

“Please don’t do this to yourself. You know that you are all that matters to me,” he said passionately.