“Wait, Senator Freeman did you just say she was lighting up the room?”
“Ignore that, Navy.”
“Oh my god, you are so in…”
I said one last goodbye before hanging up. I didn’t need to hear what that last word was. It haunted me for the past few nights. The nights I didn’t want Xari to go back to her room. The nights I wanted to keep her beside me because I slept better when she was near.
“Oh my god, Evander!” Xari wanted to jump into my arms. I felt it. I saw it when she bounced on her toes. “You already planned to go with me.” She rubbed her cheeks and shoved me. “Now my cheeks hurt from smiling so hard.”
“I can’t wait to go!” Frankie chirped, hugging me from the side. Xari held on to my other side and I wrapped my arms around both of them.
My girls…
“Ooh! I’m gonna pick out outfits. Come on, Xari.”
“Go ahead, Frank. I’ll be there in a second,” she replied with a laugh. Frankie rushed out of the room and I waited to hear her footsteps above my head before grabbing Xari and kissing her. Her lips tasted like fruit.
“You could have let me in on the surprise,” she said when we broke apart.
“Wouldn’t have been a surprise then, would it?” My hand slid up to cup her breasts and pinch her nipples. They were already hard for me. Perfect golden pebbles.
“I’m starting to think you more than like me, Evander. I might even say you…care.” She was grinning like there was a joke somewhere between her words. There was no joke. Only truth.
I cared about Xari.
I more than cared about her.
“If I did care…would that be so bad?” I tugged on a chestnut brown spiral curl and Xari’s espresso eyes sobered.
“It wouldn’t be bad at all. It would stop me from feeling lonely…like I’m the only one who cares between us.” The fine arch of her brows fell a little as she frowned.
“You care about me?” I asked.
“Yeah. I thought you could tell.” She shrugged.
“How would I be able to tell if you never opened your mouth? You normally say all kinds of reckless shit without a problem. But when it comes down to telling me how you feel…you clam up? Bad girl.” I tipped my chin and nipped at her bottom lip, making her squeak. “Shh…” I pointed to the ceiling and she nodded.
“I didn’t want you to think I wanted a relationship or anything. No strings attached, remember?”
“Well, what do I do if I want to void our previous contract?” My hands rode her tiny waist, pulling her closer. Xari was like oxygen. I needed her near and around me at all times. The closer….the better.
“You’re the lawyer, Freeman.”
“I am…” We fell into another kiss because I was helpless. Sucking and biting on her lips and tongue was the greatest high.
“Xari!” Frankie’s voice sounded from the steps. “Come on, I need your help…please? I’ll make you more bagels.”
Xari pulled away from me and smiled. “I gotta help our girl pick out clothes. We can talk about voiding that contract later.” She bounced out of the room and I watched her ass as she left.
What the fuck was she doing to me?
I was seriously considering moving forward with her. Now that I knew her and saw past the bratty, seemingly immature exterior, I saw a woman I wanted to grow with.
Fuck. I needed to take a walk.
I went to the mailbox and made sure to take deep breaths and look up at the night sky. Normally, the housekeeper grabbed the mail but I needed an excuse to stretch my legs. I grabbed the small stack of envelopes in the mailbox and flipped through them. Two of them were for Xari. One credit card statement and one car note. I left them both on the island for her when I walked into the kitchen. I didn’t open her mail but I remembered when she first started working for me how she couldn’t stick to a budget and had no plans for extra streams of income. She hadn’t paid her car note because she thought her parents were still paying it. The same went for all her bills.
She went from stacks of statements to two. Her car and her consolidated credit card.
The whiteboard wall near the pantry was decorated in Xari’s curly handwriting with Frankie’s schedule mapped out for the week. She pushed the schedule to me and Alexis promptly, and she’d never been late picking Frankie up from school or activities. Her parents were worried that she’d never grow up but as far as I was concerned, Xari was growing into a beautiful, rooted woman.
“Daddy! Come watch me model!” Frankie had to stop shouting through the house. It shattered whatever thought I was having every time. I headed to her room and found her dressed in a pair of distressed jeans and an orange halter top that tied around her neck. All I saw was pretty bronze skin fit for a princess. My brows bunched together and I sighed, folding my arms.
“You’re wearing a jacket over that shirt, right?”
“A jacket? It’s getting hot outside now. I’ll bake.”
“Okay, so why not a tank top?”
“Because I like this shirt.” Her eyes held onto defiance and I knew I had my work cut out for me.
“Look, sweetheart…you’re beautiful. This color is amazing on your skin but you’re not wearing a halter top.”
“Seriously, Dad? It’s a shirt. I’m not showing a lot. Just shoulders.”
“And your back. It’s too much, Francesca.”
“I have a cute Gucci tank that would look adorable with these jeans. Go through my shit until you find it.” Xari was the tension breaker Frankie and I both needed.
“What if I find something else I like?
