New Beginnings (26 page)

“Thank you, sweetheart,” he said before he started kissing her enthusiastically.

“Hey! Now who needs to get a room,” Xavier teased them. “I do believe it is finally your turn, sweetness.” Xavier grabbed a present from under the tree and handed it to me. I looked at him in surprise. I never saw him place anything under the tree. He set the box on my lap. It was heavy. I took a deep breath and started tearing into the wrapping paper.

Holy shit! I froze as I stared down at the Canon box. My hand flew up to cover my gaping mouth. This was not a cheap camera. It was the Canon EOS 5D Mark III. This was professional grade. I know it set him back a good $3500.00. This was way more camera than I would ever need for work. Renatta made an appreciative sound. She knew how just how expensive this camera was.

“Xavier, you shouldn’t have. Thank you. It’s a lot of camera,” I mumbled.

“But it’s not too much for you. Ella, I want you to think about what we discussed,” he said softly. I frowned at him not exactly sure what he was talking about. “About traveling with me. About pursuing your passion for nature and landscape photography.”

“Oh, right.” I remembered the conversation well. It was the night he was in Vancouver and we both were having a hard time dealing with the separation. Besides, I knew I didn’t want to return to work after the baby was born. I ran my hand over the box lovingly.

“I talked to Gabriel. Remember he has a friend who owns a gallery in Seattle. I want you to think about putting together a portfolio for him. I’ve seen your photos, Ella. You have an eye and the talent to capture breathtaking landscapes. I think you could be very successful with it.”

“But the baby,” I protested.

“Can travel with us,” Xavier said. “Babies are very portable, Ella. There’s no reason why we can’t travel as a family.”

His words were painting a beautiful picture for me. Xavier didn’t travel a lot, but when he did we at least could all be together. But then there was Renatta. I shot her a pained look. She just smiled at me.

“Ella, don’t worry about me. Tom and I have been talking. I’d like to open my own portrait studio. Xavier is right. I’ve seen your photos, too. They are stunning. I know just how good you are at it. You are wasting your talent at CoolPix. Besides, you know my true passion is portraits and weddings.”

“I’ve set Renatta and Tom up with my real estate agent. They are going to look at potential locations for her studio next week,” Xavier said.

I set the box down on the floor and practically jumped in Xavier’s lap. Grabbing his face in my hands, I started raining kisses all over his face, murmuring my thanks in between kisses. He just smiled and laughed at my exuberance.

I headed over to Renatta and pulled her to her feet.

“You urged me to come out here after my marriage fell apart. In addition to Xavier, I have you to thank for all the positive changes that are happening in my life. I love you, girlfriend.” Tears filled both of our eyes as I hugged her tightly. “I know you are going to be my maid of honor next week, but will you also take some photos of our wedding? I would love it if you could.”

Renatta wiped at her eyes. “Of course I will, Ella. Nothing would make me happier.”

We hugged for a few minutes more before I broke away. Walking over to the tree, I picked up the last little box that sat beneath it. Curling back up on the couch next to Xavier, I handed him the present.

“Merry first Christmas, hotness,” I said before I kissed him chastely on the lips.

He tore into the paper, stopping short when he revealed the blue Tiffany and Company box. His eyes widened at me. Carefully, he pulled the white ribbon off, removed the lid, and pulled out the blue velvet bag.

“I’m sorry to say that it’s nothing terribly special. I mean at least not like the gifts that have been exchanged here this morning,” I mumbled, sounding nervous even to my own ears.

Xavier reached into the blue velvet bag. He pulled his hand out and opened it. Nestled in his palm were the two cuff links that I had bought. They were X’s and O’s. He fingered them quietly as he studied them thoughtfully.

“They are hugs and kisses. I thought maybe you could wear them next week.” I paused for a moment. “I don’t know. I guess it seems a little silly now. You don’t have to wear them if …”

He silenced me by sealing his mouth over mine. His free hand wrapped around my nape holding me to him. When he broke away, I noticed his eyes glistened.

“They are beautiful, Ella,” he said sounding a little gruff. “I’ll wear them all the time. I love them and what they represent. Thank you, sweetness.”

“Thank you,” I whispered at him.

“Well, is anybody hungry?” Tiffany asked. “Renatta, come on. Let’s go fix a breakfast feast,” she said, as she grabbed Renatta’s hand and pulled her up from the couch.

Within minutes, Tom and Gabriel followed after them leaving Xavier and I alone in the living room. I leaned into him and sighed. He continued to look at the cuff links.

“I checked with Renatta on the camera. She said that you mentioned once how you wanted to upgrade to this one. If it’s not the one you want, we can return it.”

“It’s perfect, Xavier. Thank you. It’s precisely the one I wanted. I’m going to learn how to use it as quickly as I can so I can start to use it as soon as possible.” He silently kissed me on the head again.

“Thank you for helping Renatta out with her portrait studio. I know you’re helping her with more than just a real estate referral,” I said. Tom and Renatta were the type of couple that happily lived from paycheck-to-paycheck. There was no way they had the spare cash to start up a business.

He tensed for a moment. I had a feeling that he was doing this for Renatta in an attempt to get me to quit my job sooner. For a moment, I thought I should be a little upset with him about that. I didn’t like feeling manipulated, but on second thought I knew he was doing it because he cared about the baby and me.

“I know I’ve said this before, but you are quite perceptive, Ella. Are you angry with me?”

“Of course not.” I instantly answered him. “It’s what Renatta has always wanted to do. Besides, I really don’t want you traveling without me again. Those nights were so difficult to get through. And like you said babies are portable.”

He wrapped his arms around me and pulled my back to his front. “Thank you, Ella. Thank you for being so understanding. Let’s see what everybody is up to in the kitchen.”

He shifted me off his lap to stand. Holding his hand out to me, he pulled me up off the couch. Keeping our fingers entwined, I followed him into the kitchen.

The day went by in a blur. Renatta and Tiffany cooked up a full turkey dinner. It was delicious. We sat around the dining room table for hours and talked and laughed. My Christmas was so perfect. I didn’t want it to end. Unfortunately, we needed to head back to Seattle tomorrow. There were preparations that still needed to be completed for the wedding. Renatta and I had our final dress fittings on Thursday. My parents were due in on Friday. Before I knew it, New Year’s Eve was going to be upon us.

I looked over at Xavier. He was smiling widely causing the skin to crinkle around his eyes. Those devastating, icy blue eyes were twinkling with happiness and humor. He was so perfect, so gorgeous, and he was all mine. He caught me staring and winked at me. My heart skipped a beat. I blushed and looked away only to catch Renatta smirking at me.

“What?” I mouthed at her.

“You.” She mouthed back, shaking her head.

She was right. I was a hopeless case when it came to Xavier and his good looks.

Following dinner, we all curled up around the fireplace in the living room again. Everyone was fairly quiet though. It must have been all the food we consumed.

As the fire got down to embers, we all headed to bed. Xavier started the fire in the small fireplace in the bedroom while I climbed into the bed.

Instinctively, I rolled over to my side when he climbed into bed. He surprised me by pulling me onto my back. The intensity in his blue eyes took my breath away.

“Thank you, sweetness.” I frowned at him not sure what he was thanking me for. “The last twenty-four hours have been perfect. I haven’t enjoyed a Christmas since my parents passed, and they are only going to get better once our baby joins us.” He bent down and kissed my belly. The gesture filled my eyes with tears. He kissed me deeply before he rolled me over and pulled my back into his front. As soon as his warm hand splayed across my abdomen, I quickly drifted off.

Monday morning following breakfast, Xavier and I, along with Tom and Renatta, said goodbye to Gabriel and Tiffany and made our way back to Seattle. Gabriel and Tiffany were staying in Leavenworth until Friday when they will head into Seattle for our wedding.

On the ride home, I reached in my bag for my cell phone. For the first time in days, I turned it on.

“That’s bizarre,” I said, staring at my phone.

“What is it? Xavier asked.

I frowned at the iPhone display. “I have five calls from that restricted number again. There were two from Friday, two from Saturday, and one from this morning. Who can it possibly be?” I glanced over at Xavier.

Immediately, I noticed his grip on the steering wheel tighten imperceptibly while his lips pressed into a hard line. “I don’t know, but I don’t like it. Just keep ignoring the calls. We should probably look into getting your number changed as well.”

The remainder of the ride home was a quiet one. Xavier sat brooding while staring intently out the windshield. Something about these calls was really upsetting him, but he wouldn’t tell me what. Did he know who was behind them and just not telling me? Or does he really not know and that is what had him truly worried? No. I think he believes Stephen is behind them some how, and that’s what truly has him on edge. He just hasn’t been able to prove it yet. I’m certain he’s got one or more of his people working on it.

He remained quiet once we got back to the condo. Even all through dinner. The best I could get out of him were monosyllabic answers. It was starting to drive me crazy! Just as I was about to scream, the shrill ring of a phone sounded from his office. He bolted out of the kitchen. I just stared at his retreating back.

“Damn it!” Xavier bellowed from his office.

Quickly, I finished cleaning up dinner and headed down to his office. He was pacing while on the phone and he looked positively murderous.

“Tell me you know how this happened, Scott … Did you get with Matt in IT … Let him know I’ll meet with him tomorrow … Thank you.” He hung up the phone and sank into his office chair. Holding his head in his hands, he looked positively defeated.

I stood frozen on the threshold of his office afraid to move for a moment. Something happened at work since he mentioned IT. Walking tentatively toward him, I stopped next to him and ran my fingers through his hair.

“Is everything all right at the office?” I asked quietly.

He let out a deep sigh. “My personal financial records were finally hacked into. It would seem whoever was trying to get into them three weeks ago finally succeeded.”

“Well, isn’t that kind of public information? I mean you are on Forbes 400. Don’t people pretty much already know what you are worth?”

“That’s true, Ella. However, the information that was accessed was for my personal accounts, which indicates exactly what’s currently available as liquid cash.”

“I don’t understand why that information would be important to someone. Has your IT department been able to find out anything from the IP address?”

“The IP address was spoofed.”

“Spoofed? Is that some technical geek term?” I tried to lighten the mood. It didn’t work.

“The IP address was falsified,” he said, sounding perturbed.

“I’m sorry. I’ll leave you be,” I said quietly.

I turned to walk away when a warm hand grabbed my wrist tightly. “Wait,” he said as he pulled me onto his lap. I went willingly straddling his legs. He buried his face in my neck. “I’m not angry with you. I’m angry at the situation. I don’t know what’s going on, but I’ve got a really bad feeling about it, Ella. The restricted calls you’re getting and now this. They are related. I’m certain of it,” he said with a touch of fear in his voice.

I squeezed my arms around his shoulders a little tighter.

“I wish I could tell you that everything is going to be okay. I wish I could make you feel secure,” he murmured.

“Xavier, everything is going to be okay. You have so many resources in place to make sure of it. How could I not feel secure with you?” He groaned into my neck shaking his head. I knew he had to be thinking about the first time Stephen cornered us in the parking garage. Xavier felt responsible for what happened, which I did not. Would the poor man ever stop blaming himself?

I pulled back and broke his hold on me. Climbing off his lap, he gave me a look of surprise. Grabbing his hand, I pulled him up out of his chair. “Enough of this wallowing. It’s back to work tomorrow. We can’t do anything about what happened tonight. The only thing you can do is work with your IT department and strengthen your security so it doesn’t happen again.” I started pulling him down the hall toward the bedroom. “It’s late. I’m tired, and I’m not going to sleep without you,” I said, walking toward the bedroom determinedly.