Chapter 19

Amara's POV:

I woke up to the sound of Sebastian’s giggles next to me. I shut my eyes tighter for a moment before the realization hit me that it was already morning. Did he wake up before me? Whenever he did wake up before me, he’d sneak into my room and cuddle with me, or he’d wake me up and pout, saying he was hungry.

“Come on, bud, leave your mommy alone. She’s still asleep,” I heard Zavier’s voice say and could feel someone reaching over my body. Was he here too?

“Okay,” Sebastian mumbled in his disappointed voice.

“No, no, I’m up,” I was quick to say, yawning and bringing my hand in front of my mouth.

I turned around onto my back and stretched out my arms. Sebastian saw that as his invitation to cuddle with me. It was moments like these that I valued the most: my baby and me cuddling. I wrapped my arms around him and kissed his face.

“Are you leaving for work?” I asked, remembering that Zavier told me he’d be going to work. I pulled Sebastian a little closer so that he could cuddle me comfortably.

“Not yet. I’ll go in a little later; I'm going on a jog. Could you have breakfast done after? Or not, if you have a lot going on for tonight's dinner,” he asked, rambling a little as he sometimes did. It happened whenever he tried putting in a request.

“I’ll just make us something simple.” I shrugged. I still needed to feed myself and Sebastian, but I knew I couldn’t make a grand breakfast today. There was so much left to do still! I knew the maids came to clean on Thursday, but I wanted to tidy up the place a little more.

“Okay, can I do anything to help out?” Zavier asked, standing by the side of my bed, making silly faces for Sebastian.

“Uh…yes, actually. Could you get him ready before you go to work?” I asked, pointing to Sebastian, who stuck his tongue out at his father.

“Of course. I’ll go now.” Zavier smiled and ruffled Sebastian’s hair before going on his run.

Sebastian and I continued to cuddle a little longer before we went into the bathroom. I set him on the counter, handed him his toothbrush, and applied a tiny amount of toddler’s toothpaste on it, letting him brush his teeth while I brushed mine. Then, I set Sebastian back down and let him play on my bed while I started showering.

I put away the jasmine-scented body wash, rinsed all the bubbles from my skin, and took a good minute just letting the water wash down my body before turning the water off. I stepped out onto the mat and wrapped the towel around my body. I looked around the bathroom I’d come to love. It was so spacious. I could walk around freely and actually get ready in here. I quickly dried my skin and opened the door to check on Sebastian. He waved at me, smiled, and went back to the cartoons he was watching.

I quickly started putting on my clothes for the day, keeping them light and breezy: just a shirt and a pair of shorts. Once we were done, we headed downstairs. One of us went to play while the other started preparing smoothies and breakfast.

I picked up my phone and started texting Amelia.

“Hey, Am,” I sent her.

“Good morning!” she responded.

“Are we still on for today?” I texted her, confirming whether she’d be able to babysit for me. Even though we confirmed it yesterday, I still wanted to make sure nothing had come up in her schedule.

“Of course, around 2 p.m. works for you?” she replied.

“Yes, Ivan will pick you up, right?” I responded, looking up from my phone and seeing Sebastian looking through his toys.

“No, I'll drive myself, then we'll get to hang out with Bash till after the dinner thingy, right?”

“Yes, yes,” I replied and was given a stuffed animal by Sebastian.

“Good, we have the perfect movie night planned for him,” she replied. I smiled and looked over at Sebastian. I knew for sure he’d love a good movie night.

“Okay, bye now! XOX,” I texted, remembering I still had a few things to do for the morning.

“See you at 2, XOX.”

When I put the phone down, I went to play with Sebastian while Zavier finished getting ready for work. Once he was done, we heard him coming down, so we all went into the kitchen to have breakfast. Like always, the two were goofing around. It was quite something to see how these two interacted with each other.

“Come on, bud, let’s help out Mommy. Then, we can hang for at least five minutes,” Zavier said, wiping Sebastian’s hands and helping him down. Zavier collected most of the dishes and gave Sebastian the cups to carry to the sink while Zavier brought me the rest. He then took the countertop cleaner and a paper towel, walked back to the table, and helped Sebastian up so that they could wipe the counter clean.

As I washed the dishes, I heard Zavier mention getting ready to Sebastian. So, he hadn’t forgotten about it, I thought to myself. I wiped the sink and went to sit on the couch. After a few minutes, I heard footsteps coming down the stairs and looked over to see the two rushing down, Zavier holding onto Sebastian so he wouldn’t fall.

“Well, sweetie, I have to go to work now.” He bent down to Sebastian’s level and ran his fingers through his hair.

“Aww.” Sebastian pouted, looked into his father’s eyes for a moment, and hugged him without letting go. Zavier held onto him as he stood up straight and walked over to me, gently passing Sebastian to me before kissing the back of his head.

“See you later, okay?” he said before leaving.

“What do you say we go read some books about animals, hmm?” I asked, tickling him lightly on the stomach.

“Hmm, okay.” He shrugged and held onto me, resting his little head on my shoulder as we headed to the couch to cuddle and do some reading. After the book, we started playing with some Play-Doh. I started testing him on his colors; he could finally identify the color blue.

Once we were done with learning, I cuddled with Sebastian for a bit. He then requested to watch some weird cartoon about two dogs and a parrot. I didn’t understand what the cartoon was even about; it was so different from what I watched growing up, but Sebastian seemed to like it. While it was on, I could prepare some lunch for when Amelia arrived.

I texted Zavier to let him know I wouldn’t be able to make him lunch today. I prepared some pasta marinara for Sebastian and Amelia. While I cooked their lunch, I just ate the leftovers from breakfast. I heard my phone buzzing and went to check it. It was Amelia asking me to open the gates. I pressed the button, waited till her little red car got in, then pressed the button again so it could close. I walked to the front door and opened it for Amelia.

“Holy smokes, I felt so broke driving down here,” Amelia said, looking around in disbelief. Neither of us had truly seen something like this in person before, and I remembered being in her shoes not so long ago.

“Imagine fake living here.” I laughed, half-joking, half-serious.

“Why is the driveway so long?” Amelia asked, looking at the long path that led up to the house. Just walking to the front was a workout.

“I honestly have no idea why this place is so big,” I mumbled, looking at the house. Zavier had said this was a “small family home.” What did a normal-sized one look like to him? The mansion his mother owned?

“Wow,” she mumbled, mouth hanging open as she looked up.

“Exactly…come on in.” I chuckled, calling her over and walking into the house, holding the door open for her.

“Of course,” she mumbled and kicked off her shoes, putting them to the side.

“I could give you a quick tour,” I told her. If she planned on spending time with Sebastian, she’d have to know her way around.

“Yes, please. First, let me go hug my nephew and give him kisses."

We walked into the house, and Sebastian ran to his auntie, hugging her and getting picked up by her. I started showing her around. There were four rooms upstairs, one of which was pretty much a storage room. Downstairs, there were more rooms, one that looked like a guest room, an office, a mini library, and, of course, Sebastian’s play corner.

“This place is so amazing,” Amelia said, looking around at Sebastian’s corner.

“Yes, I love it!” Sebastian giggled and looked up.

“You do? Why don’t you show me your favorite place?” Amelia set him down and lowered herself to his level.

“Hey, I made some pasta marinara for you two, okay? I’ll go ahead and start with the preparations,” I informed them, but they were both too busy and just gave me a nod.

I watched as the two went to play. Then, I walked to the kitchen and pulled out the ingredients. I started to prepare the appetizers and put them in the lower part of the oven for now. After that, I started making the dough for the pie and let it cool in the fridge.

Two hours later, most of the preparations were done, and I moved on to the dining room. It was so huge. I looked up at the crystal chandelier and sighed. I heard footsteps coming my way and saw Amelia coming back inside from the backyard with a sleeping Sebastian in her arms.

“Can I take a shower before leaving? I didn’t plan on getting mud on me,” Amelia asked quietly. I looked at her. She sure did look like she needed one. This was the aftermath of playing outside with Sebastian.

“Of course. Let’s get him to nap first.” I put down what I was busy with, wiped my hands, and took Sebastian from her to lay him down on the couch.

I led Amelia to my bathroom and gave her a towel and a new outfit to wear once she was finished. She looked around. “This bathroom alone is bigger than my whole room,” she said, looking around, clearly just as impressed as I was when I entered this room for the first time.

“I know! I was thinking the same thing.” I laughed, putting down an extra towel in case she planned on doing her hair too. “Enjoy the shower."

I left the room to pack Sebastian’s bag but then rushed back downstairs as I remembered I had put in a pie for Amelia to take back. She never accepted money for babysitting, but I still felt bad about it, so I paid her in different ways. I checked the pie, and I was right on time. I sprinkled the cinnamon sugar on top then wrapped it up nicely.

I heard Zavier coming in and walked over to him at the front door. “Hey.”

“Hey. Wow, the house smells so good,” he said, loosening his tie and walking over to me.

“That would be the apple pie I made for Amelia,” I replied, taking off the oven gloves.

“Is she still here?” he asked, leaning against the counter as he watched me move around.

“Yes, she’s showering quickly before leaving,” I replied, putting the spices I used back on the rack in the order I preferred them.

“Oh, how is it all coming together? Need any help?” he asked, removing his suit jacket and resting it on the chair.

“Well, I could use your help with the main course,” I requested, knowing he’d be a bit more familiar with this than I was.

“Of course. Is that all that needs to be prepared?” Zavier asked, already rolling up his sleeves.

“Yes, everything else just needs to be heated before being served, and I will bake the pie once we finish the main dish, so it can be fresh,” I mumbled, turning back around and wiping the counter.

“Sounds good.”

Amelia came down the stairs with Sebastian still sleeping on her chest.

“Hello, Amelia,” Zavier said, looking at my sister and then at the sleeping boy in her arms.

“Hello, Zavier,” she replied with a slight smile on her lips.

“How have you been?” he then asked, standing up straight.

“Work’s been a little busy. I’m glad I’m able to spend some time with this little guy,” she said softly, looking at Sebastian and then back at him. “You?”

“Oh, the same. Work's busy, but Bash knows just how to make someone’s day.” Zavier smiled as he spoke about his son and looked at him.

“Very true. Well, I should get going. Good luck with the dinner,” she said, already walking to the front door.

“Thank you,” Zavier said, leading the way to the door.

“Here, I baked you and Ivan a pie. Enjoy.” I remembered the dessert and brought it for her.

“Oh, thank you so much.” She smiled, holding the pie and Sebastian’s bag in her free hand.

“Take care,” I said, pressing a soft kiss against Sebastian’s cheek after Zavier did the same.

I watched as she got Sebastian into the car seat and then securely settled the pie and his bag in the trunk. She finally got in herself and drove off. Once the gates were closed again, I walked back inside and went in search of Zavier.

“Shall we prepare the beef enchiladas, then?” I asked, looking over at him and leaning against the doorway.

“Of course. Let’s do it.” He got up.

We went into the kitchen and started preparations. Zavier offered to cut up the vegetables and such, which was probably all he knew how to do, but I had never questioned whether he could cook or not before. We started chatting, mostly about random things while we prepared the food.

“So, do you know how to cook?” I asked as I moved the meat around in the pan.

“Somewhat. It’s just not my taste? I don’t know. I don’t like my cooking that much; I preferred the cook’s food—and yours, now,” he replied, shrugging as he focused on cutting the tomatoes.

“Ah, I see. So, nothing at all?” I raised a brow at him, curious to know.

“I suppose pancakes and waffles. I do like when I make them myself, but the savory foods—not so much,” Zavier answered, looking up at me.

“Understandable.” I shrugged and turned to lower the heat.

“Shit!” I heard Zavier curse. I turned around to see his finger bleeding. I cursed quietly, rushed to get a towel, and moved to him.

“Is it bad?” I asked, patting the towel over the finger and holding it under the water.

“It’s not too deep, but I was cutting the peppers before, and now it burns,” he whined, letting me handle it. I gently moved my fingers over his, waiting till the cut stopped bleeding under the water before pulling his finger out from under the water stream. I turned off the water and took a clean towel to dry his finger before examining the cut. He was right—it wasn’t too deep.

“Hold on. I’ll go get a band-aid,” I told him and went to a drawer to get one. I searched through the options and picked one of suitable length before coming back to him. “Let me see,” I said, already taking his large hand in mine and opening his hand.

“Amara, it’s not that big of a deal,” he mumbled, watching as I carefully applied the band-aid for him. I stroked my fingertips over his to make sure it was all okay before I realized what I was doing and blushed a little.

“Thank you,” he said, looking down at me. I looked up and was greeted by his gorgeous green eyes. My breath hitched as I looked at him, and I took a deep breath before taking a step back.

“I think I can handle the rest. Before you get any more cuts, you should go ahead and get ready,” I told him. He wanted to protest at first, but I narrowed my eyes at him. I didn’t want him to get any more hurt.

“Fine, fine. Just go get ready too, okay?” Zavier said before taking his leave. Once he was gone, I finished cutting the tomatoes, added them all in, and mixed the beef.

Once I was finished with the dish, I put it in the oven and checked the time. I had exactly an hour and a half to get ready. I went upstairs, straight to the bathroom. I stripped naked to take a shower and hopefully scrub the food smell from my skin.

After showering, I wrapped a towel around my body, got out, and pulled out the blow dryer. I applied some heat protection to my hair and then started drying it. Next, I picked out a black strapless bra and adjusted it to be the right fit, pairing it with some black bikini-cut bottoms. I’d most definitely end up wearing a dress, so I wanted to wear the correct underwear that would look flattering with it

I stared at the options in my closet and couldn’t decide. I put on a wool robe, walked to the vanity, and sat down. I looked around for my curling wand and plugged it in. I applied some more heat protection products and then lightly applied some makeup, leaving my lips for last. Finally, I went for a wine-red shade of lipstick with a layer of lip gloss on top.

I took out a jeweled hair clip and clipped back the newly curled strands of hair. I removed the wand's plug from the outlet and got up. I heard a knock on the door. “Amara? Are you done?”

I sighed and walked to the door. I tightened my robe first before opening up the door. I saw Zavier had picked out a black and red three-piece suit. I saw him in suits every day, but he looked absolutely handsome. It was the right fit for his body. Even his dark hair was combed back perfectly. He was wearing a gold chain under the dress shirt that matched his watch.

“Good?” he asked, spinning a full 360 degrees for me, making me smile a little.

“You look perfect, and I don’t even know what to wear!” I sighed.

“Need help?” he asked curiously. I frowned at first, but then I remembered who the man in front of me was. Plus, he proved he was perfectly capable of choosing his own outfits.

“Sure.” I stepped to the side and let him in. I watched as he walked to the closet and looked through the dresses that were hanging. I crossed my arms as I looked at him, watching him closely as he pulled out a bodycon red dress with small white stone detailing that would match the clip in my hair.

“This?” he asked, holding it up to my body and tilting his head.

“You tell me, Mr. Fuentes.” I looked between him and the dress.

“Wear this. You will look even more stunning.” He handed me the dress. “I’ll wait outside for you,” Zavier said and left the room, shutting the door behind him. I sighed and put the dress on.

It was the perfect fit, as always. I ran my hands down my sides, turning to look at myself from the side. A smile curled onto my lips. I loved it; I loved how it fit me perfectly. It wasn’t the most comfortable dress as it fit me like a second skin, but I loved it.

“You can come in,” I said, facing the door as I rested a hand on my hip.

“Amara…wow…come here,” Zavier said, mouth hanging open a little. I sauntered my way to him. He took my hand in his and twirled me around, making me giggle a little as this was unexpected. He then rested his hand on my hip.

“My pretend girlfriend sure is beautiful.” He chuckled and walked us to his room. Weird, but I went with it.

“Well, my pretend boyfriend isn’t all that bad either,” I teased.

“Wait here,” Zavier told me, disappearing into his room. Not long after, he came out and motioned for me to twirl around. “I think this will be fitting,” he whispered in my ear as I felt a cold pendant rest on my bare skin. I looked down and saw he was putting a diamond necklace on me. Was it real? How was this even a question with Zavier freaking Fuentes?

“Wow, Zavier…isn’t this too much?” I turned around and looked up into his green eyes.

“Not for you.” He smiled and booped my nose. Then, it happened: we did that staring thing again where I just got lost in his eyes, and it was as if the universe stopped moving as I admired his beauty.

We leaned closer to each other, his hands on my hips as mine rested on his shoulders. That was when Zavier’s phone rang.