“Then stop saying that. I’m staying, and we’re seeing this through.”
“Why would you want to do that with me? Why bother dealing with my stress?”
“Because you’re a good person, Javier. And I really, really like you. Plus, I love Aleesa, and I’m not letting her deal with this alone either. She understands something is going on, you know?”
His eyes stretched with surprise. “Does she?”
“Yes. She asks questions.”
“What kinds of questions?”
“She asks if you are mad. If you are sad. She doesn’t understand the full scope of what’s going on, but she knows something is troubling you. And that little girl is the biggest empath I have ever been around. She absorbs emotion and feels it all.”
“Oh.” His chin dropped. “I did not realize. I will talk to her later. Let her know everything is okay.”
“That would probably help. I’ve been telling her the same too. She’s still happy.” I smiled as he raised his chin again. “And she still loves her daddy.”
That brought forth one of his smiles. “I am glad that I can trust you.”
“Always.”
“That will never change, will it?”
“What? You trusting me?”
He nodded.
“Never.”
He sat up higher in his chair, then flicked his fingers, gesturing for me to come to him. I walked around the table edge to reach him, and as soon as I did, he placed his large hands on my waist, guiding me down to his lap. I wrapped my arms around his neck and settled in, breathing in his scent. He’d been sweating, that much was clear, but there was still that hint of deodorant, that warmth of masculinity.
“If my questions bother you, I am sorry,” he murmured in my ear. “I have to remember that not everyone in my life is out to hurt me.”
I rubbed the heart of his chest. “Eloise really broke your heart, didn’t she?”
He lowered his head, but I didn’t miss the small nod. “I really did try with her. I tried to make her happy and to give her the best life. Basketball was what I was good at, and it gave us the life we had always dreamed of. But it does not matter how much money you make, or how big your house is, or how shiny your cars are. If someone does not want to be happy, they will not be. Apparently, Eloise felt something with Rafael that she did not feel with me. I guess that is what hurts me the most. Knowing that she had to look outside of the home and life we built to find whatever it was she was seeking.”
I stayed quiet, letting those words simmer.
“When I think about it, though,” he went on, “Eloise and I were probably not meant to be. We married young and fast and grew apart long before her situation with Rafael. I just refused to admit there were bigger issues, because ignorance is bliss and all. It is just a shame that my ignorance cost us so much.” He released a ragged breath and held on to me tighter. “But at least with you, I can feel happy again.”
My heart thumped a beat faster. “Are you just saying that because you’re in a vulnerable state right now?”
“No, Octavia.” He leaned back so he could stare into my eyes. “I mean it. I am happy with you. I am so lucky that I get to come home every day and see your face. I am grateful that you are here and that I can talk to you. When I look back over the last few years, I wonder how I was getting by without you.”
My throat felt suddenly raw. “Aww, Javier.”
“Maybe you do not realize it, but you have changed mine and Aleesa’s life, Octavia. If anything were to ever happen to you, it would break us to pieces. So yes.” He tightened his arms around me. “With you,I am happy. And I hope nothing ever takes you away from me.”
I held back my tears. “No one has ever said something that sweet to me. Did you take a crash course in romantic things to say to women?”
He rumbled a laugh. “I did not, and that course sounds like it would be absolute torture.”
I giggled behind a soft, slow kiss.
Groaning, he slid a hand past my waist to cup my ass.
Before our kiss could deepen, we heard our favorite disruptor.
