REBORN (Metamorphosis Book 1) (21 page)

"Are you ready to go?" Kayden asked, looking at me and then, addressing the girls asked,

"Are you ladies leaving or staying for extra coffee?"  That simple, this charade was over; he no longer wanted to engage with Julian in conversation or give him an opening for his inappropriate behavior.  I just responded yes.  The reality was that I had eaten only a couple of bites.  I had mostly played with my tea and consumed a couple of glasses of club soda.

"We'll stay for a few minutes but walk you out," Vickie responded.

Kayden called the waiter for the bill and gave him his black American Express card, then proceeded to give him his valet parking ticket.

"Can you make sure they bring the car up front?"  Julian looked at him a little puzzled, probably wondering how Kayden could be so forward as to ask the waiter to deal with his parking ticket.  I simply began to stand; Kayden stood right away.

"I'll meet you out front, I need to stop at the ladies' room before we go." And then to Adriana and Julian I extended my hand.  "It was a pleasure to meet you Adriana, enjoy the rest of your day."  I moved away from the table as the waiter came back with the check for Kayden to sign.  Kayden simply signed it, adding a tip for the young man.  I could see the smile in the young waiter's face; Kayden had made his day.

"Thank you sir," the young man told him.

"You're welcome, and good luck in your exams, come see me during your break so we can talk more," Kayden responded and handed him his business card.  Apparently there had been some exchange between the two that I was not aware of.  Now I was the one looking at Kayden with a puzzled look.

As we walked in the direction of the washroom, I asked, "What was that all about?"

"I've been coming here for a number of years now, whether with my brother or business associates.  Brad usually takes care of me so I have gotten to know him.  He is a solid young man, very hard working. I told him I would arrange for an internship next summer at one of my companies."

"Where does he go to school?" I asked.

"He's studying economics at Northwestern," Kayden responded.

"Just like you."

"I see the same hunger in him that I had at his age; he'll do well."

Kayden waited for me outside the washroom while the girls and I went inside.

"He is so hot," Emily remarked.

"Who?" I asked, confused about whom we were talking about.

"Brad, of course; Kayden too but he is seriously taken!"  Emily said as she laughed.

"Okay, that is seriously disgusting; the man could be your father," Vickie responded.

"Girls, this conversation is getting out of hand."  I simply walked into the stall shaking my head while my daughters stayed outside talking about Brad's physical attributes.  Apparently they had wanted to stay to try to hit on him; they hadn't figured out who was going to be the lucky one.

After washing my hands and reapplying lipstick, we walked in search of Kayden.  We found him surrounded by a group of women trying to vie for his attention.  When he saw me he excused himself, and walked toward us.  Emily leaned in and said in a soft voice, "See, like I said, seriously hot and seriously taken."  Vickie burst out laughing; I had no choice but to smile.

"What's going on, are you laughing at me?"  He approached us and then, looking down at me, caressed my face with the pad of his finger.  The look he gave me was one of pure love or was it lust, not sure.  My daughters, witnessing his gesture, burst out laughing again.  Kayden just shook his head and smiled.

He had driven his Lamborghini this time.  "Are we going back to the apartment?" I asked as he helped me into the car.

"No, I was thinking we could go for a ride, it's a beautiful day and you haven’t eaten.  I need to make sure you eat something."

"I am really not hungry."

"This is not up for debate, you have to eat if we are going to have a healthy baby and a healthy you.  For once Julian was right, you have lost a lot of weight.  Unlike him I liked you a little fuller."  He put his hand on my leg and moved my dress up as he caressed it. Oh, this was going to be a fun ride.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Almost three hours later we drove into Galena and found a lovely little restaurant in the downtown area.  "Let's go in here, I heard from a colleague that the food is pretty good," Kayden said enthusiastically.  In all honesty, I was starving, so I followed him into the restaurant without complaint.  I decided to keep it simple and order a clear broth vegetable soup and half a roasted vegetable wrap.  Kayden opted for a chicken wrap and strawberry lemonade.  I tasted his lemonade and it was so good that I drank it all; he shook his head in amusement and ordered two more.  

"This is a charming town; I came here when the kids were young, and haven't been back since.  I only wish we had more time to explore."

"We can comeback another time and spend the night if you want," Kayden suggested.  He was so attentive to my every need that it warmed my heart.

"That would be fantastic.  Please tell me about your childhood, you started talking about it at the table but I want to know more."

"Well, mine was less eventful than yours.  Like I said, I was born in Evanston; my parents had come to study at Northwestern on an exchange program.  My father always told us that he fell in love with my mother the moment he saw her.  It took a while to convince her, but when he finally did he wasn't about to let her get away.  So they married not long after.  I was born a year after they got married, then five years later Carmelo came along with my sister Camila.  You haven't met her, she is a pediatrician in Rio."

"Your parents seem very much in love; it's a pleasure to watch them and see how attentive they are to each other's needs."  Sort of like you Kayden, like you have been today, I thought to myself.

Then the food came and we focused primarily on eating.  Kayden had been right; everything was delicious, from the freshness of the vegetables to the taste of the soup and for the first time in so many days I was able to finish a meal.

"The drive was worth it just to see you eat like you did.  Come on, let's explore a little bit."

He paid the bill and then we walked out of the restaurant hand in hand.  We walked around the downtown area going into boutiques and art galleries.  I ended up going into a candy store and buying a taffy apple, one of my favorite fall treats. Well, I chose it but Kayden paid for it; he refused to let me pay for anything.

"You know, at some point we are going to have to make this relationship more equitable," I said, as I was about to take a bite of my apple.

"It's pretty equitable right now; you give, I take," he said with a smirk.

"You think you are so funny but I'm serious, you have to let me pay sometimes."

"It's not going to happen, don't even think about it.  I told you, you are mine and I take care of what belongs to me."  He took a bite at my lips, and then said, "Mmm, candy apple, delicious!"

"I am serious, Kayden."

"So am I.  The reality is that when you are my wife, everything that is mine will be yours too."

Wait a minute, what did he just say?  His wife, when I was his wife.  He left me stunned; my step faltered and he had the nerve to laugh out loud.  The man had the habit of throwing things out there when you least expected, as if he had said nothing of consequence.

This was too much for me to handle today; perhaps he was talking about some hypothetical time in the future.  "Let it go Ellie," I told myself. "Just focus on the now," I kept thinking.

"Is everything okay, Ellie?  You seem a little distracted," he asked nonchalantly.

I squinted my eyes and looked at him from behind my sunglasses.  "Yes, everything is fine, I was just thinking about what a fabulous day we had spent," I said, feigning an equal nonchalance.

He had the nerve to just laugh; the man was driving me to violence and on purpose!  Well, two could play the same game as well as one.  I decided to simply ignore him.

We drove to Chicago in darkness and arrived at eight p.m., going straight to the penthouse since Kayden had to get things ready for work the next day.  It would be his first full day at the office since the attack and the first time we would be apart in a few days.  I was already missing him.

"We are going to have to talk about our living arrangement, this is a conversation that can't be postponed anymore."  Kayden sounded determined to settle this; I had procrastinated about this conversation for a while.

"Kayden, the reality is that I like my apartment. This is your space, not mine," I told him tentatively.

"This can be our space, we'll make it our space or if you prefer we can buy a new apartment or a house.  I am not willing to live separate lives any longer.  Make a choice Ellie, we'll deal with the rest."

He was right; this nonsense of being in two places was driving me crazy too.

"Can I tell you my decision tomorrow?  There is so much to consider…"

"Like what?" he responded, aggravated.

"Like the fact that I just purchased my apartment; I haven't owned it very long.  Or the fact that I just moved into the city after living most of my life in the suburbs."

"What are you scared of?"

I am scared of you leaving me, of finding myself alone and with nothing, I screamed in my mind, but the words did not come out.  "Can we talk tomorrow after dinner?" was all I could say.

"Fine, I have work to do." And he locked himself in his office.  I changed into comfortable clothing then went to the den to watch TV while reading a book.

I must have fallen asleep, because when I woke up I was in bed and it was daytime.  And Kayden was gone!  I found a note on the night table.

Had an early breakfast meeting, will get home around seven.  Aldo will return when he drops me off to take you anywhere you need to go.  Please, and I say please, don’t go out alone. K

What an infuriating man!  He was controlling and possessive and oh so unnerving, and I loved him so… so much that here I was pondering what I was going to do with my apartment.  I knew what he was doing, he was putting pressure on me to make a decision and given that I'm one of those people who can spend a life-time evaluating the pros and cons of a course of action, it was not a bad strategy.  What he was counting on was that there was nothing I would not do for him.  He was right; there was no place in the world that I would not go to for his love. 

So I decided to send him a good morning text, to let him know I was thinking of him.

Good morning my love, I missed you last night.  Did you sleep well? Love, EMM
 

I figured I'd add some honey to his sourness; see if he could be sweeter.

Good morning baby, no I did not sleep well; never do when things are not right with us.  Will talk tonight, until then I'll be thinking about u.  Love, K

That was so much better!  I decided that I needed to take a shower, get dressed, and plan for the day ahead.  I was going to have to start doing something productive with my days if I was going to survive the months ahead until the baby was here.  A regular nine-to-five job was not going to cut it now since I was going to be gone in perhaps six months.  So I decided instead to leave a message for Ronald to see if I could meet with him this afternoon. 

I took a long warm shower.  Unfortunately being in the shower alone made me think about Kayden and about how much I missed his touch this morning.  Even when he was so infuriating I needed his touch.  I had to get out of the apartment; otherwise I was going to go crazy.  So I sent a text to Kayden.

This morning I'm going for a walk, this afternoon I'll be at the AIC.  See u tonight.  Love, EMM

Kayden responded immediately.

You will do no such thing.  Remember that they have not apprehended the attackers yet, until then you need to stay put. K

Okay, he was using reason this time; I could work with reason.

I understand your concerns, but I cannot live in fear.  Will take the phone with me, need fresh air and sunlight, just like a plant needs it to be strong and healthy.  I'll be fine; will limit my walk to crowded areas.  Love and I mean love you, EMM

If you love me why are you being so difficult? K

I do love you, WITH ALL MY HEART, SOUL, AND BODY, but I love myself too. EMM

Ditto, and because I love you so much I want to keep both you and MY BABY safe, no more meandering or I'm going to have to hire a couple of body-guards to keep you both safe. K