Love Undefeated (Unexpected #5) (7 page)

“Mmm…that smells so good.” Her breathy voice woke me up in the best possible way as I whisked the eggs and the flour in the red mixing bowl.

I’d been awake since six o’ clock, answering e-mails by the bed, and checking on her. Mostly checking on her, slapping my eyes once in a while, unable to believe that she was really back on our bed.

I’d stared at her hundreds of times when she was sleeping. Creepy much? Yeah, whatever.

I liked to count the freckles on her arms and shoulders. Nalee was naturally tanned so her freckles were darker, almost pink, some looked light brown against her skin. Coming from a mixed background – her mom was Swiss and Korean and her dad was American Indian, people were often curious as to what she was. I get that she looked exotic and people were often curious about her ethnicity, but one time I almost clocked a guy because he was extremely rude and obnoxious. Nalee, John, and I, along with a few other friends, were attending the annual fundraiser to renovate old frat houses when one of our frat’s new inductees had asked if Nalee was a half-breed because he couldn’t tell what she was. Who the fuck asked those types of questions? John had restrained me from packing in the punches, but I’d talked with my good friend, Bart, Tau Omega’s president, so the fucktard would get his due. Last I’d heard, fuckstick was on bathroom and kitchen duties for six months.

Glancing at Nalee, she looked relaxed and at home. Her face was scrubbed free of makeup and her short hair was pinned up on the sides with Hello Kitty hairpins. She’d found the pink container where I’d kept all of her elastic hair products on top of the bathroom sink.

“What are you making?” she asked as she sat on one of the metal kitchen chairs, lifted her feet and stretched out, occupying another chair. This was Nalee in her naturally peaceful state, one I haven’t seen in a long time.

“Guess.” I smiled as I adjusted myself in my boxers. Catching a glimpse of her smooth legs, I had the urge to feast on her for breakfast, but I wasn’t going to outdo my luck. The fact that she wasn’t running, screaming, or stomping out of my place without a goodbye was way more than I could thank my lucky stars for.

She fiddled with her earlobe and said, “Crepes. Strawberry crepes.”

“Yep. I made my special orange sauce for you, too.” I turned my back from her briefly to tilt the pan with a circular motion so that the batter mixture would spread evenly. I heard her tiny footsteps walking towards the cabinets. The sounds of plates clanging softly against each other brought the familiar whirring to my heart. My place was home when Nalee was here. When she wasn’t it was just a huge amount of space. A majestic space, but still just a space.

“You want coffee or orange juice?” She was now opening the fridge, I knew the minute her eyes landed on her favorite breakfast drink – a disgusting blend of apple, carrot, and some green shit, because she gasped as she raised the plastic bottle. “Xavier, why do you have this here?”

“For you,” I answered simply. “No one drinks that nutritious stuff except you, sweetheart.”

“But this has an expiration date and it looks like you just got this one,” she commented while bringing the puke-colored drink to the table and pouring herself a stiff glass. Stiff because a person’s stomach needed to be stiff to tolerate that shit. I’m pretty healthy, but there were some things my taste buds did not appreciate, one of them being what was going down Nalee’s throat right now.

“I just happened to have it,” I replied, carefully drizzling the crepe with the orange marmalade I whipped up just before she woke up. She didn’t need to know that I bought her drink every other week when I was in the grocery store. And before they’d go bad, I gave them to Rosita, the lady who came in to clean my house every day.

In a playful command, I called out, “Milady, come get your breakfast.”

Holding her plate in one hand, her eyes twinkled at the sight of my breakfast masterpiece. After I filled both of our plates with the crepes – mine without the orange sauce, she turned her head toward me, “Thank you.”

Since my hands were filled with the plates, I leaned down and pressed a kiss to the middle of her forehead, mumbling, “Let’s chow.”

Breakfast consisted of chatter about our respective jobs. She’d recently been promoted as the lead compliance officer for JJ Infrastructure and Environment Consulting. Her eyes lit up when she talked about the new projects she was leading. I couldn’t be more proud of her. She was standing on her own two feet, succeeding in an industry led by men, and she looked extremely happy about it. As I listened to her, I begun to notice the subtle changes in her – her spark was back, her smile stretched wider, and her voice held optimism and hope.

This was what I’d been dreading. A truth that I was coming to realize, a fact I could never accept; she was living her life…and she was doing great without me.

My life had many highlights. The day I was born the world was introduced to one awesome, attractive male specimen. My mom and her friends showered me with more than enough affection and constant praise that could make any guy’s ego grow to the size of Saturn. I had no trouble keeping female companionship. A grin from me could saturate a woman’s underthings. Yeah, I’m a chill guy, but I also know how to perform. In and out of bed. My relationship with Nalee was the first of its kind. I haven’t had a woman I could call my girlfriend before her. I’ve never asked a woman to move in with me except her. And I never needed a woman as much as I needed her.

“Thank you for breakfast and for the wonderful company.” Her hazel eyes shone bright, matching the rays of the beaming sun peeking through the blinds.

“The pleasure is all mine.” I held back from telling her not to get up from her chair, prepare for her day, and leave the house. As the cold orange juice hit the back of my throat, I stopped myself from telling her what I’ve been thinking the whole time she’d been sleeping – that I was hoping she’d give us another chance, that every night before I went to sleep, her text messages, no matter how rude and angry they were, were what kept me going to live another day, and that I’m not a praying guy, but I’ve prayed so many times for her to come back to me.

“Can you drop me off at the restaurant so I can pick up my car?” She was now wearing her clothes from last night after taking a quick shower. She used the guest bathroom, not our bathroom. I’d already taken a shower before I even started cooking, and loaded the dirty dishes in the dishwasher while she showered.

“Sure. Are you sure you’re not gonna be late? I can just drop you off at your work, pick you up later, and pick up your car after work.” I’d given the valet guy an extra hundred bucks to keep her car overnight, otherwise it would’ve been towed.

She lifted her gaze from her phone. “I called Stephanie to let her know I’m coming in late. I’ll just work a few extra tonight.”

Nodding my head, I said, “Sorry I made you late.”

With a swift shake of her head, her lips curved into a smile. “No, don’t be. It doesn’t happen too often.” A pregnant pause passed and before we reached the front door, she wrapped her warm hands across my chest, the act completely surprising me, and said, “I’ll bring my car tonight so I won’t be late tomorrow.”

“You’re staying with me tonight?” I couldn’t hide the exhilaration, the relief, the unexplainable excitement that spread through me. Last night wasn’t a blip on our conversation this morning, our past wasn’t even brought up while she ate breakfast, and up until a minute ago, I was sure that she wasn’t going to call me for a few days or weeks until she felt that it was the right time.

“Why? You have other plans for tonight?” Her delicate brows lifted to her hairline.

Bringing her lips to my mouth, still lingering with the scent and taste of fresh mint toothpaste, I answered, “No. None at all. My schedule’s clear for you.” Always. Forever if you’d have me.

“Alrighty.” Against my lips, she murmured, “I don’t know what I’m doing, Xavier. I don’t know where we’re going. But I’m tired. I’m so tired of running away from you...”

Caressing her back, I let her lean on my chest. My suit might be crinkled again, but I had a few reserves at the office. “You don’t have to do anything, Nales. This time let me take the lead.”

A deep-seated sigh left her lips as she tilted her head up at me, and in a wistful voice, she said, “Okay.”

Okay was good. I’d take okay anytime of the day. For months I’d been chasing her, trying to wear down her defenses, plotting on how to get her back. Now here she was, letting me back in, and I found myself at a loss for words or thoughts or plans.

I knew one thing for sure – there was no turning back this time. I was playing for keeps. More than a billion women on this planet. Only one woman for me. I broke her heart a few times. Made her build walls around me, against me. Yet here she was, standing strong, moving on without me. I’ve fucked up quite a few times. I don’t know if I’ll ever get her back the way she was.

We’d kept the pregnancy to ourselves. No one in her inner circle knew, not even our best friends. Part of it was because she wanted time to adjust to the fact that she was pregnant. A large chunk of it was because she was ashamed of how things were going downhill for us.

During the most difficult time in her life, I’d left her alone to deal with the storm until she got lost in the tornado of resentment, anger, and disbelief.

I’d never get that time back with her.

But I sure as hell would be cherishing the slip of a chance she was giving me.

“I love you, Nalee,” I whispered in her ear when she leaned in before she got out of the car to get into hers.

Granting me a small nod, a tiny smile appeared on her face. “I’ll see you tonight.”

She’d said
I love you
to me countless times. When I woke up, it was the first thing she’d say. Win or lose in Lacrosse, she’d paint her nails and toes with
I love Xavier
while Hello Kitty occupied the other nine digits. It was the last thing she’d say to me at night.

The last time I heard her say those words was when she was in between the state of wakefulness and sleep at the hospital.

It wasn’t for me.

She’d said, “
Saranghae, Serafina
.”

It was for our daughter, our little angel that I never got the chance to hold.

The past two and a half weeks were a chain of happy days. Since that night, I slept over at Xavier’s place. I hadn’t seen much of my own apartment.

We spent the nights frolicking in bed and the days texting each other. He was in and out of so many meetings so he’d text me whenever he got out. Two days ago, he surprised me at my office with pre-packaged lunches from my favorite Italian restaurant, Amadeo’s. We ate in ten minutes and the last forty was spent on the lounge chair, with half of our clothes on. One of the advantages of my promotion was that I now had an office. The view was an alley and a garbage dump, but it was better than being in a cubicle in a noisy room.

I had to answer a call during our cuddle-time. Xavier loved to cuddle, and since I didn’t want to leave his teddy bear warmth, I placed the call on speaker. It was Gregory, one of our head engineers. I was working with him on his latest project to ensure that it was compliant with government regulations and there was minimal or no harm to the environment.

Xavier was quiet during the call as Gregory listed what he needed from me. I was going to hang up on him, thinking he was done, when he’d inserted a question, “How about dinner, Nalee?”