Chapter 15 Devon
DEVON
Mocking Kairo for being overdressed has come back to bite me.
His mother, Clarice, sweeps us back into the city and brings us to a late-night restaurant that, in any other situation, would be rather romantic.
Snow is falling outside, coating the bushes lining the path up to the door in a white powder dusting that glows due to the sparkling lights woven between the branches.
Inside, elegant Christmas music fills the air from the live musicians on a small, circular stage at the back of the restaurant.
A Christmas tree bigger than anything I’ve ever seen takes pride of place in the middle of the restaurant floor, with all the tables situated around the giant fir.
It’s covered in silver and gold baubles and enough lights that those on the ceiling have been dimmed to prevent oversaturation.
We’re led to a private table at the back by a man dressed in a tuxedo with a festive red bow and as I sit, I catch the subtle sparkles woven into the fabric of his suit.
Clarice is dressed in a fine red dress that wraps her thin body up like ribbon, and Kairo’s returned the tie to his neck while we were driving.
Now it’s me, in dark jeans and a flour-stained T-shirt, who sticks out like a sore thumb.
The table is laden with sparkling silverware, crystal glasses lined with gold, and a small vase of gold roses as the centerpiece.
It’s a beautiful place and the festive warmth would usually put me in a great mood.
But Clarice has barely taken her eyes off me since we met and I feel sick.
For the first time in a long time,
I fought the urge to reach out to Kairo for comfort.
Something about his hand in mind felt like it would be a token of safety, but my walls prevent me from doing so.
So I keep to myself as we sit around the table with Kairo on my right and Clarice on my left.
The waiter pours water from a crystal jug and then silently bows away from the table, leaving a silence that’s interrupted when Clarice stands suddenly.
“I see someone I must speak to. Be patient.”
Fuzziness fills my chest as if I’ve just been scolded while Clarice sweeps away from our table and vanishes around the Christmas tree, leaving Kairo and me to exchange a glance.
“I’m sorry,” he murmurs, his voice low. “This was not my plan at all.”
“It’s fine.” My smile remains tight. “It would happen sooner or later, right?”
“True, but my mother is…” He visibly winces. “I’ll do my best to help you. How is your arm?”
I glance at my cast and flex my fingers. “Fine, why?”
“If you need an escape, it’s the perfect excuse.” Something pained flitters in Kairo’s eyes and he straightens up as Clarice reappears around the tree.
I observe them together while she retakes her seat and get the distinct impression that Kairo hasn’t just been struggling under his father’s shadow.
“So.” She speaks curtly. “You are the woman with her clutches on my son.”
My brow lifts.
She’s straight to the point with an insult thrown in just like that.
With no time to find out if my responses will affect my deal with Kairo, I smile politely. “
Yes. Firm clutches, I might add. He’s an incredible man.”
“He takes after his father.” Clarice sniffs and looks down her long nose at me. “So, is it his money you’re after?”
“Mom!” Kairo cuts in sharply.
“What? I’m just asking and I have a right to know what kind of woman is joining this family.”
“A woman I care deeply for,” Kairo remarks. “And if you want to find out more, then you will treat her with respect or I’m leaving. I have no qualms about causing a scene here.”
Clarice appears visibly shocked at Kairo’s sudden outburst.
Meanwhile, I’m unable to take my eyes off him as a yearning heat pours through my entire body. I
know he’s pretending, but he almost has me convinced as well.
“I understand,” I say, aiming to keep the peace. “You’re protective of your son and your family. I don’t blame you at all.”
Clarice nods just once, then we’re interrupted by the waiter.
She tries to order for all of us, but Kairo shuts that down quickly where I’m concerned, leaving me free to order a small salad.
I can’t stomach anything else in a place like this, and the food here is undoubtedly too rich for my stomach.
“So, Devon, tell me about yourself,” Clarice says as she delicately stabs her fork into a stick of asparagus. “How did you make my son fall for you?”
“I can’t tell you that part because how he fell for me is his own business,” I reply calmly, chasing a small, perfectly round tomato around my plate. “But I’m an accountant, mostly. That and I dabble in some baking, but nothing serious. Kairo and I met at a… party.”
Choosing my words carefully, I see that Kairo looks grateful. “I was celebrating a friend’s promotion and Kairo was out looking to relax.” The lie spins like silk. “We quickly found out that we shared the same sense of humor, and things just spiraled from there.”
“Until you were hit by a car.” Clarice sounds accusatory so to aid her, I hold my cast aloft.
“Yup. I’m terribly unbalanced.”
“So it would seem. As an accountant, who do you work for?”
Clarice’s interrogation is exhausting.
She fights to drag every tidbit of information about me and my family out into the light, but I dodge her questions as smoothly as I can, unwilling to give away anything that could hurt me.
Kairo is with me, often jumping in when her questioning gets too intense, but there’s a strange dynamic between them.
Kairo almost seems on edge, like he’s preparing for something I can’t quite put my finger on, and I’m bowled over by the urge to make him proud.
It’s like we’re defusing a bomb together but neither of us can see the other’s instructions.
If this is what he deals with on a daily basis, then his desire to help me feels even more reckless.
The questions continue until she starts to ask me details about my exact injuries, but before Kairo can jump in with another rescue, a fragile yet familiar voice rises up behind me.
“Devon, is that you?”
We all turn, and I lock eyes with Andora Wiltshire, a woman I haven’t seen since I last attended a bakery competition with my mother about seven years ago.
“Andora?”
“I thought that was you, child. How stunning it is to see you!”
She surges forward and clasps my shoulder in one wrinkled hand. “It’s been far too long!”
Despite the quiet urge to recoil, I hold my ground in front of Clarice and smile brightly.
“I know, I’m so sorry I haven’t shown my face at the shows in a while. Life has been busy.”
“Yes, yes.” Andora chuckles. “Your mother often told me of your fancy life in L.A. I always meant to come out and visit you, but you know my circuits. I would turn to dust before leaving the tarmac.”
“Mom told me that Frank passed. I’m so sorry. I meant to send a card but…”
Trailing off, Axel pops into my mind, and I swallow hard around the lump in my throat. “He was the most adorably trustworthy judge of my buttercream.”
“Don’t fret, child.” Andora chuckles. “He passed fat and happy like any dog desires. We need to have a proper catch up, and I want to hear all about how you’re entering the circuit next year. I have missed your melt-in-the-mouth lemon squares!”
“I would love that.” My smile widens even as exhaustion pulls at the corners of my mouth. “It’s so nice to see you.”
“And you, my dear.” Andora finally seems to realize there are other people at the table and she flashes them both a friendly smile. “Clarice! I thought you were in Paris at this time of year.”
“Not this year,” Clarice replies tightly with a pursed smile. “Kairo decided to get engaged.”
Andora’s smile widens as she glances at Kairo, then meets my eyes.
A soft, wispy laugh rises from her and she pats my warm cheek with her cool hand. “I’ll let you get back to your dinner. I’ll call your mother, dear, and we’ll set up lunch.”
“That sounds amazing, thank you.”
“Bye now!” Andora wiggles her fingers at all of us while being swept away by her husband, and the table falls silent. Kairo flashes me an encouraging smile and Clarice eyes me curiously.
“Aren’t you just full of surprises?” She speaks curtly. “How do you know Andora?”
“She judged quite a few of my desserts at some bakery competitions.”
Clarice’s nose wrinkles as if a foul scent has suddenly come her way.
“You bake well enough to reach her level?”
The smile struggles to remain on my face. “Yes, I do, actually. A family trait.”
“She judges worldwide,” Clarice continues as if she’s trying to catch me in a lie.
“Yes, she does.”
“Kairo, when were you going to tell me this?”
Unable to find fault in my words, Kairo suddenly becomes her target and while his shoulders tense, he smiles.
“I had no idea. Devon is so humble when it comes to her creations.”
My heart flutters and warmth floods my cheeks as he looks my way.
“But her talent clearly speaks for itself.”
Clarice’s attitude shifts after that.
Suddenly, she speaks to me like I’m an equal and her questions, while still probing, are gentler than before.
Apparently, my association with Andora is enough to earn me a decent, civilized conversation while Kairo, looking pained, does his best to guide our discussions away from personal matters.
By the time Clarice has drilled me on my education and financial situation, I’m at my wits’ end, and thankfully, she’s at her limit.
“Having dinner so late was a terrible idea,” she murmurs as she stands, glancing at Kairo with accusation in her eyes as if it was his suggestion. “It’s late. Time to go.”
She leads the way out of the restaurant much like the way we entered, but her sourness melts away from my mind the second we step out into a glorious winter wonderland.
The hours spent inside have given the snow enough time to coat the entire street and every parked car in a thick layer of snow.
This late at night, the road and sidewalk are mostly untouched and every surface is crying out for that first perfect imprint.
“Come, Kairo.” Clarice heads toward her limo, but Kairo hangs back.
“No, mother. I’ll be seeing Devon home.”
Clarice doesn’t even look back at us. “Fine.”
Kairo and I stand side by side as Clarice enters her limo without a word and then she’s gone in a flash, leaving us to the silent world the snow has created.
“Devon.” He sounds pained. “I am so, so sorry. My mother is…” His face twists while searching for the right word.
“You don’t have to apologize,” I assure him gently. “She’s your mother, and I got the impression she thought I was some kind of gold digger. It must come from a place of concern, right?”
“Something like that.”
Snow lands ever so gently in his hair and before I fully process the urge, I’m reaching up and lightly brushing it away.
His brows lift in surprise and when my thoughts catch up to my actions, warmth floods my cheeks and I look away. “And it turns out I was the worst dressed out of the two of us.”
“I would rather have shared waffles than steak,” Kairo says warmly. “Please, let me take you home.”
In the soft glow of the twinkling lights from the surrounding shrubbery and the icy breeze nipping at my fingers and nose while snow drifts lazily around us, I nod.
“Sure, you can take me home.”