Chapter 18

Amara’s POV

It had been a few days since that morning, and I had to admit that I thought things would be weird between us. Instead, it seemed like we were getting along better, even though we were acting like we had forgotten about that night—like it had never even happened. Of course, for me, things were a little different. Every time he’d touch me with innocent intentions, my mind would go back to that night.

I looked over at Sebastian and Zavier. Sebastian was sipping on some leftover smoothie. In the past, he never liked smoothies. It must have been the texture, but ever since he saw Zavier drinking his in the morning, he kept asking for some, so at some point, I started giving him his own little cup, and he seemed to be liking it. I watched as Zavier did some card trick, blowing Sebastian’s little mind, and I knew I would be hearing all about it later.

Tomorrow, we’d be having dinner with the Fischers, and I still hadn't figured out what I’d prepare for them. I did have a few ideas, but I needed to run them past Zavier first.

“Hey, Bash, can I borrow Daddy for a moment?” I asked, looking over at the little boy.

“Otay,” he answered, shrugging and running off to the basket that held some of his toys.

“What’s wrong?” Zavier asked, walking over to me into the kitchen. There was a slight frown on his face as he looked at me.

“I just needed to talk to you about the dinner tomorrow,” I replied, sitting down on one of the barstools.

“Yes, of course. What do you want to talk about?” He also sat down and leaned towards me a little.

“The actual dinner. I have a few ideas of what I can make; I just need your confirmation to do the grocery shopping,” I said, pulling out my phone and opening up the notepad app, hoping he’d pick out something from there.

“Oh, I thought we’d be ordering food.” Zavier frowned, confusing me as well.

“Won’t they wonder why your so-called girlfriend who has a degree in culinary arts isn’t the one making the meal?” I asked, nudging him playfully with a slight smile on my lips.

“Uh, no, because her so-called boyfriend is a billionaire?” he replied in the same playful tone and smirked at me, making me sigh.

“Fair enough, but I think I still want to be the one to prepare the meal. A homemade meal just makes it feel a lot more special, you know?” I tried explaining, hoping he’d understand where I was coming from.

“That is true, but won’t a five-course meal be too much for you?” Zavier asked, playing with the cuffs of his dress shirt and struggling a little with the buttons.

“Not at all. It’s not like I have to prepare for a whole party.” I shrugged. The restaurant I used to work at had many different dishes that I had to prepare daily, and even with help, it could be a little much sometimes.

“Okay, then. Sure.” Zavier shrugged.

“One question: can my sister come over tomorrow? She’ll be able to look after Seb while I prepare the meals,” I asked, turning so we could face each other and taking his hand. I held it in front of me and started doing the buttons he was struggling with.

“Of course. Uh, one question: what will we do with Sebastian tomorrow? Should we call someone to babysit him?” Zavier asked, his olive eyes focused on me and what I was doing. Once I finished one side, he gave me his other arm to do as well.

“My sister already offered. She and Ivan will take him out and bring him back after dinner,” I replied, finishing up the buttons and looking up into his green eyes. He thanked me softly, and I just smiled and nodded.

“Oh, that works perfectly. They must really love him,” Zavier mumbled and seemed lost in thought.

“They do. They always talk about adoption but get scared to do it. I’ve told them many times they’ll be great parents.” I shrugged, getting lost in my trail of thought too. Amelia was so happy when I was pregnant. It was slightly weird, but I understood why. She’d always loved babies.

“With the way they look after their nephew, I can believe that.” Zavier smiled. I got lost in his eyes for a moment then looked over at the clock.

“Oh my god. We’re running out of time for the menu.” I sighed and unlocked my phone again.

“Yes, yes,” he mumbled.

“Okay, for appetizers I have in mind: cheese-stuffed mushrooms, shrimp tartlets, smoked salmon, deviled eggs, or ginger-tuna kabob,” I offered. Only two of these things were food I truly liked.

“Oh, his wife really loves cheese-stuffed mushrooms and, um, the shrimp tartlets too, if possible,” Zavier answered, picking the two I wanted. I smiled at his choice.

“Of course,” I muttered, writing them down and then offering the next dish. “Now, for soups, we could either do French onion soup or cream cheese chicken soup."

“I’ll say French onion soup.” Zavier got up and stood straight, fighting with his red tie.

“Okay, now for the salads: summer Asian slaw or cherry tomato couscous salad?” I then asked, crossing off what had been eliminated.

“What would you like?” he asked, making me think for a moment. What would fit better and, of course, taste the best?

“Cherry tomato couscous salad,” I picked.

“Okay. What will the main course be? Can I make a recommendation?” Zavier asked, pulling out his phone and starting to type something.

“Yes, of course.” I wondered what he’d pick.

“Beef enchiladas, but it’s a specific recipe. I can send you the link,” he then said, looking at me.

“Um, yeah, sure.” I shrugged. I was sure if there was a recipe, I could follow it and not screw it up. That was how I managed to make all my father’s dishes perfectly. He wrote down every little step for me.

“Thanks. You can pick the dessert,” he answered, sending me the link.

“What do you think of cinnamon apple pie with vanilla bean ice cream?” I bit down on my lip, already looking forward to tomorrow’s dessert.

“Sounds delicious to me.” He smiled.

“Okay, perfect.” I checked the last box.

“Goodbye, now. I’ll see you later.” He waved and winked at me.

“Yes, bye.” I watched as Zavier walked to Sebastian and hugged him, kissing his forehead before waving at him and walking to the door slowly. A very upset Sebastian walked up to me, pouting.

“He left,” Sebastian pouted, looking at me with his arms crossed.

“He has to work, baby.” I ran my fingers through his brown strands. “Tell you what—do you want to play with Aunty Charlotte?” I asked, knowing that would cheer him up. Charlotte had asked if she could take him out. After confirming with Zavier first, we had settled for today.

“Yeah!” Sebastian cheered.

“Great. She’ll pick you up in an hour. Let’s get you ready, hmm?” I patted his head and got up from my chair.

“Otay, come.” He took my hand and started leading the way.

I followed Sebastian up to his room and started getting him ready, making sure to pack his bag with some of his favorite toys and an extra pair of clothes too. By the time I was done getting him ready, I had around fifteen minutes left and decided to finally do my hair and make-up and change into something else. Today, I woke up earlier, so I had a shower before going downstairs. Now, I just had to finish getting ready.

“Okay, baby, a red sundress or yellow sundress?” I asked, holding the dresses to my body.

“Red!” Sebastian pointed to the red one.

“Okay, then. Red it is.” I smiled and put the yellow dress back into the closet.

I put on the dress and did my hair and make-up while reading to Sebastian. It was a very short story about a turtle, and he seemed to like it. Then, I heard my phone ringing; it was Charlotte. She had arrived.

“Come on, Bash.” I picked him up and carried him and his dino backpack downstairs. I opened up the door and set him down, letting him run and hug her legs.

“Hey, buddy. Missed me?” Charlotte asked, barely balancing on her heels as she bent down to pick him up.

“Yeah!” He grinned, holding onto his aunt.

“Hello, Amara.” Charlotte then looked at me, smiling. I really liked her; she was sweet.

“Hello, Charlotte. Everything good?” I asked, leaning on the archway.

“Yes, I’m glad I’ll get to hang out with my little buddy. How are you?” she answered, tickling Sebastian's neck before looking over at me.

“I’m good. Do you want to come in?” I asked, stepping aside. Deep down, however, I hoped her answer was no because I had some plans.

“No, no, we’re just leaving.” She smiled and waved at me.

“Be careful,” I told them, waving back to her and Sebastian.

“We will,” Sebastian grinned, making me smile.

I had plans to go out with Amelia. It would just be a simple brunch. Maybe we would even buy groceries together…boring stuff, I know, but we liked doing that together. I took the keys, locked up the house, and got in the car. Before driving, I checked social media under Zavier’s hashtags to figure out what news about us was out. When I scrolled down, I saw there were pictures of him and me from our date night. Luckily, the quality was a little bad, and you couldn’t really make out my face. My identity was somewhat safe, but I knew sooner or later, it wouldn’t be. I could find all of the Fuentes’ exes and even flings on here if I searched. It was clear strangers really loved these people and their personal lives.

I decided to wear some sunglasses. It wouldn’t cover much, but who knew—it might help. I drove to Terry’s Terrace, where Amelia and I planned on going for brunch. I arrived right on time and could see her walking to a table. I followed behind her.

“Hey.” I smiled, taking a seat across from her.

“Mara, hey. Right on time,” she replied, handing the second menu over to me. “So, how’s everything been so far?” she then asked as I looked through the menu to see what I’d order today.

“Good, actually. I really love living in a house,” I answered truthfully. I crossed my arms on the table as I looked at her.

“That’s good. I’m assuming Seb is happy too,” Amelia said, flipping through pages.

“Very much. He does miss you and Ivan from time to time,” I said, thinking of the times he asked about them.

“Yeah, we miss him too,” Amelia said, sighing. I bit down on my lip. Should I just tell her now? It was best that she heard it from me.

“I have to tell you something, though. The night of the date, Zavier and I were drunk and ended up sleeping together,” I whispered to her in case someone was listening in on our conversation.

“You what?” she whispered-yelled, making me glare at her.

“I know, I know. We both agreed it was a mistake—” I was quick to say, but her face was already judging me.

“So, you’re telling me you both swept it under the rug?” she asked sarcastically with a brow raised at me.

“Yes…” I answered, her look making me slightly unsure now. I didn’t like that look; it intimidated me. It always had, ever since we were little and she was babysitting me.

“See, this is why I knew this was a bad idea.” Amelia sighed hopelessly.

“It won’t happen again; trust me,” I assured her, knowing how bad it sounded. It was a mistake. One that wouldn’t happen again.

“Let’s just order food,” Amelia said a little coldly.

We did just that and started talking about other things. I asked if she was sure about babysitting Sebastian tomorrow, which she and Ivan were. We chatted more about her and Ivan. They’d planned on moving, but it seemed like they’d put that on hold. Once they moved, they would be a lot closer to us. Sebastian and I would love that. After brunch, we went to do our grocery shopping. Amelia was surprised by the number of items I needed, but I needed to make a five-course meal the next day!

After grocery shopping, I had to go home again to make Zavier’s lunch. This time, he sent a driver to get it, so I was all alone again. I decided to go for a jog and do a little workout.

I felt a little safer jogging in this neighborhood because of all the security and privacy. It was clear that rich and famous people lived here. I fixed my baseball cap, slid up my sunglasses so they wouldn't fall, and jogged back home. When I got home, the first thing I did was shower, followed by a nap.

Whenever Sebastian wasn’t around, I liked to sleep and get the rest I deserved but sadly didn’t always get. Around noon, my alarm went off, waking me. Knowing I had to prepare dinner, I went downstairs and started prepping. I made a broccoli and chicken salad for starters and then pizza too. I popped it into the oven but didn’t turn it on yet because I wanted it to be fresh when we ate.

I made a mini pizza and packed it up nicely with some of the salad for Charlotte. When she dropped Sebastian off, I gave it to her, and her face lit up.

“Oh my, thank you!” She grinned.

“You’re welcome. Enjoy, and thank you for taking the little man out.” I smiled, holding onto Sebastian, who hugged my leg.

“Of course, have a good night.” She smiled and took her to leave.

After she left, Zavier came home and went upstairs to refresh himself. After he finished up showering, we all had dinner like a family. Then, of course, it was Sebastian’s bedtime, so we both gave him cuddles and then read him to sleep. I then got myself ready for bed and went down for a glass of water when I saw Zavier sitting on the couch in the living room, watching some movie.

“Hey, could you come over here?” he asked, and I nodded, going over to him.

“Everything okay?” I asked, looking at him and then at the screen. I noticed he was now wearing shirts at night.

“Yeah, I just think we should discuss a few things, so we know for sure we won’t get stuck tomorrow.” He patted the seat next to him…the last time we had this conversation, things ended differently.

“Okay, yeah, sure,” I mumbled and sat down.

“Let’s start with our full names. Mine’s Zavier Alejandro Fuentes. I’m 32, and my birthday is on the first of November,” he said, lowering the volume of the TV and turning to face me. I had no idea he was so much older…and I couldn’t believe I was learning this just now.

“Okay. I’m Amara Iris Reid. My middle name is the same as my mother’s name. I’m 24, and my birthday is on the first of October,” I then replied, pulling my leg up to sit with them crossed.

“Oh, you’re only 24?” Zavier asked, surprised, looking a little like he was in disbelief.

“Mm-hmm…” I hummed awkwardly. I supposed he thought I was a little older.

“Okay, so if they ask about our parents, you already know I wasn’t too fond of my father, but I love my mother. With you, it’s the other way around. You refuse to talk about your mother, and your father taught you to cook.” He changed the subject, luckily. It seemed like he was paying attention when I spoke to him.

“Yes, yes, sounds good.” I nodded. Everything he said was correct.

“Okay, I remember the schools you went to from your portfolio, so that’s good. I went to River High and then to Spain for two years to finish a business course. Then, I stopped and focused on my business,” Zavier continued. I found it fascinating how he had built himself up—of course, his parent’s foundation helped too, but he did do a lot himself.

“Yes, your shoe line took off that year, and you also started doing real estate, right?” I asked curiously, sipping my water as if it were wine.

“Mm-hmm. What’s your goal in life? Surely, it can’t end at just wanting to be someone’s cook,” he then asked me, taking me by surprise a little.

“I’ve always wanted my own restaurant, but I don’t know if that will still happen.” I shrugged, playing with the sleeve of my shirt.

“How so?”

“Sebastian. Having a child was a blessing to me, but with my loans and such, I’m not too sure if I’ll be able to save enough for myself. But, I know I’ll have enough for his college,” I answered. My parents didn’t have enough to send me to the best colleges, but I wanted to make sure Sebastian could go wherever he wanted without going into debt, even if it meant I’d never get to achieve my dreams from when I was a little girl.

“You won’t ever have to worry about Sebastian as long as I live. I plan on paying for everything he needs, Amara,” Zavier said in a serious tone, hand resting on my shoulder as he made me look up into his mesmerizing eyes.

“You know you don’t have to,” I whispered, never wanting my son to be someone’s burden.

“I’m his father. It’s my duty to take care of him too,” he replied, frowning a little, almost as if I had offended him.

“Mm-hmm…” I hummed and broke eye contact.

“Should we go over the backstory again?” Zavier cleared his throat.

“Yes, okay. So, we met at a party, took an interest in each other, and not long after dating on the downlow, I got pregnant,” I continued, memorizing the whole story we came up with.

“To protect you and the baby from being dragged into the media, we kept things a secret and even lived somewhat apart,” Zavier added, and I nodded to confirm he was correct.

“Now that the secret is out, we live together, but we're trying to keep my identity safe for as long as we can. We are not married or engaged yet. We just love each other and our son and are taking baby steps towards the next point in our life,” I added the last part. It was a lie, but man, we’d sell this to them so good.

“Sounds pretty solid to me.” Zavier grinned.

“Should we go to bed, then? I have a lot of preparing to do tomorrow,” I asked, letting out a yawn.

“Yes, I will run to the office in the morning for a meeting before coming home, okay?” Zavier informed me, getting up and rearranging the pillows on the couch before he sat back down.

“Of course. Good night, Zavier.” I smiled and hugged him without thinking.

“Good night, Amara,” he replied and kissed my cheek. I just nodded and went to refill my glass of water before heading up to my room.