Xander tilts his head to the side and squints at me in confusion.
“My grandmother and aunt live together. My uncle lives next door with his family. They didn’t know I was coming. I just got in my car and drove there one day.”
Xander strokes my hair but says nothing. He puts his lips to my head and kisses my temple.
It’s hard to get enough air to continue, but somehow I do. “When I found out, I assumed they must not have known about me because they wouldn’t have let me live in an orphanage all these years. I hoped they would want to get to know me...” Uncomfortable emotions creep up, and I focus on the lights outside the window, an airplane passing in the distance.
Xander kisses my cheek.
I turn back to him. “They knew about me the entire time and said my mother always thought she was better than them and ran off with my dad. They wanted nothing to do with me. They said”—I gulp a breath—“I should have died with my parents.”
“That’s horrible.”
“Yeah, it was.”
“I’m sorry, babe. You deserved better than what you were dished out.”
“I know, but I’m glad I didn’t live with them. I guess I got lucky in that matter.”
He pushes my hair behind my ear. “How do you do that?”
“What?”
“How do you see so much good in so many messed-up things?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. It’s better than seeing the bad all the time.”
Xander pulls my mouth into his, slipping his tongue against mine, rotating me completely on top of him, and rewrapping his limbs around mine.
“I feel kind of bad,” he murmurs between kisses.
“Why?” I lock my hands around his head and get lost in all that is Xander.
“I was just going to tell you how I mutilated all my cousin’s dolls.”
I jerk back. “You did what?”
Xander shrugs. “I liked to pretend they were hurt, and I had to perform surgery. So I took scissors, popsicle sticks, and string to operate. My aunt wasn’t too happy, but my cousin Susie thought it was cool. Well, until she realized her dolls were permanently mangled.”
I laugh so hard tears pour down my cheeks. Xander laughs, too. When we finally sober, I say, “I’m glad your skills have improved.”
“Amen to that.”
“So, you always wanted to be a surgeon?”
Xander’s eyes brighten. “As long as Ican remember.”
“I considered becoming a doctor.”
“Why didn’t you? You could be. You’d run circles around most surgeons I know.”
“I interviewed with my company after graduation. I thought I would try this out, and if I didn’t like it, maybe go back. But I love what I do.”
Xander smiles. “You’re good at it, too.”
“Thanks.” I stroke his head and trace the scar from his surgery. “Does that hurt when I touch it?”
“No.”
