Chapter 5
Xavier
Instead of just taking care of myself, I now had two extra people to take care of. That was the uncharitable thought that went through my mind as I passed the sleeping blonde who had collapsed in my arms three days ago.
Yep, three days. To be fair, she'd slept, albeit fitfully, since she passed out, so there wasn't much to do other than check that she was still breathing and her fever had broken.
I had no clue if she was a lost traveler, a salesperson, or just an injured driver, but the small bruise that had formed on her forehead gave me some clue as to what had brought her to my doorstep.
It was impossible not to notice that she was gorgeous, even while doing a good impression of a drowned rat.
Her thick, golden-blonde hair mostly covered her face, but I'd caught a glimpse of her almond-shaped amber eyes when she woke a few times over the past few days.
She had a gorgeous, girl-next-door appeal even at her worst, which meant I needed her to wake up, get better, and get gone because I didn't need to see her appeal when she was at her best.
Nope. No, thank you.
I was already too invested in this woman and her well-being; watching her eyes flutter shut and her legs buckle had shaved at least a month off my life.
She slept fitfully, but when she did, I took care of the baby, wasting two or three diapers with each change—and there were a lot.
She ate like a grown man, which meant the canister of formula was damn near empty, and I couldn't leave, not with two females taking up all of my time and attention.
Finally, on day four, when I went to check on the woman I'd dubbed Sleeping Beauty, her amber eyes were open and a little wary as she sat up and looked at her surroundings. When her gaze landed on me, she blinked and then her gaze focused on my bare chest. "Hello?"
I flashed a smile at the way her voice went up at the end. "Hey."
"Um," she said, drawing the word out to about six syllables, her gaze swirling with uncertainty.
"So, thank you for letting me into your home, and I apologize for the fright you must've had when I passed out.
" She let out a nervous laugh and covered her face.
"I was driving up here for a job interview and the weather got worse and worse, so I slowed down, but someone going down the mountain didn't, and I swerved—too much, it turns out—and I hit a tree. "
Shit.
Those amber eyes watched me carefully before she started to sway on the bed and clutch her head.
I went to her and gripped her shoulder just enough to grab her attention. "Relax," I whispered when her golden gaze collided with mine.
"I'm just... I'm sorry."
"It's fine," I lied. "Settle down. You hit your head."
She practically vibrated with nervous energy as she shook her head, as if that act alone could undo the past four days. "I can't relax or settle down. I'm... how long have I been here? I have a job interview that I have to get to, like, yesterday."
A sinking sensation settled in the pit of my stomach at her second mention of a job interview. "Four days," I muttered.
Her eyes widened in shock, and her chest visibly rose and fell, quicker and quicker. "Four days? Please tell me you have a really strange sense of humor."
"I don't." No one who knew me would ever accuse me of having any sense of humor.
Her brows arched. "Ever?"
"Ever," I confirmed, barely able to hold back my smile in the face of her incredulous tone.
"That's too bad because I could really use a laugh right about now.
" Her shoulders fell in disappointment, and her eyes closed for a few seconds.
When they opened again, she sat up taller in bed and squared her shoulders as if she were preparing for battle.
"Okay. Thank you for the unexpected hospitality, but I, um, I should really get going. "
I didn't ask how she planned on doing that because we'd come to it when we came to it.
A baby's cry tore through the silence.
My shoulders sagged, and I covered my face with my hands.
The woman gasped. "You have a baby?"
I nodded. "Apparently, I do, which is why you're here."
She let out a half-groan, half-laugh kind of noise and shook her head. "This has to be the worst first impression in the history of first impressions."
I smiled to myself at her words, her ability to laugh in the face of extreme humiliation. She was embarrassed but not to the point of being self-conscious. Hell, she was charming. Dammit.
"I swear I would've been on time, but the storm came in out of nowhere. Or maybe it wasn't nowhere; maybe it's because I'm not used to the mountain weather and you knew about the storm all day, which is probably why you were at home and not outside. Oh, or maybe the baby was the reason."
"Stop."
She gasped and pulled her lips into her mouth as if that was the only way to stop the barrage of words that flowed from her mouth. She flashed what appeared to be a smile and exhaled slowly. "Sorry. I'm Rosalee."
"I'm Xavier."
She smiled. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Holloway." She tossed the blanket off her body and swung her legs over the side of the bed before she froze. "Oh, um." Rosalee looked around, likely in search of her clothes, eyes wide and filled with concern.
"You were soaking wet and shivering. I had to get you out of those clothes and into something dry. I didn't do anything," I stammered. "Other than undress you and put some of my clothes on you. Obviously."
She covered her face, and her shoulders shook.
Holy shit, was she crying?
"I believe you," she said eventually. "I don't know if I should or not, but I believe you, Mr. Holloway."
"Xavier," I corrected. Holloway was my last name, but I wasn't anybody's Mister Holloway, and I would never be again.
The baby let out another cry, and that spurred Rosalee into action.
"I believe you, Xavier. I'm just embarrassed.
God," she sighed and looked around the room.
"I'm supposed to be here to lighten your load, to make things easier for you, and you've been taking care of me for the past four days. Could I have made this more of a mess?"
"It's fine, Rosalee. I'll get you some clothes."
She nodded, her cheeks and neck burning pink. "I'll go check on the baby."
I nodded. "Follow me."
"Yeah. Okay." She took two steps toward the door, and her legs buckled again. "Oops."
"New plan. You stay here, and I'll get the girl."
Rosalee shook her head. "You go, but I'll be right behind you. I just need a minute."
Figuring she needed a moment to herself, I nodded and headed toward the now-wailing baby. "It's all right, little girl. I'm here." I picked her up and held her against my chest, and almost instantly, she settled down. "See, you're good. All good."
"What a sweet picture you two make." Rosalee's voice sounded behind me, soft, sweet, and husky.
A shot of lust pulsed through me, and it only grew worse when I turned to look at her in my U of T T-shirt that hung to the middle of her thighs, making it appear as if she was in nothing but that T-shirt.
My gaze locked on her shapely legs and my nostrils flared, heat knocking around in my body with the same intensity as my heart banged against my chest.