Chapter 18
Eighteen
REESE
“You should have never dropped out of college.” Zoe tosses the paper back to me where my neat handwriting remains, with a list of boundaries that Malaki and I have to follow in order for this whole thing to work out.
“Well, I wouldn’t have, but…” I look at Charleigh, who’s crawling all over the kitchen.
Zoe bends and kisses Char on the head before moving toward the door. “I’m heading out to catch the bus. I have class in an hour.”
I glance at the clock.
Malaki said we had breakfast plans at eight, and I have no idea what that entails. Are we going somewhere? He remembers that I have a daughter, right? She’s pretty much with me all the time unless I’m working, and even then, she sometimes has to tag along.
“If you want to wait, I can probably drop you off,” I say.
“You have plans.” She walks backward toward the door. “With your fiancé.” She says this with a French accent, and I can’t help but laugh.
“That’s the worst accent I’ve ever heard.”
She gives me the finger and disappears through the back door.
It’s just me and Charleigh in the kitchen, waiting for Malaki.
Nerves lie quietly in the pit of my stomach at the thought of him meeting her.
It’s silly, but what if he changes his mind and doesn’t want to go through with this anymore after learning what it’s like to have a baby around?
Charleigh is a good baby. She’s happy, and her giggle is infectious, but she’s still a baby. She cries sometimes. Is he going to be okay with that? Benedict wasn’t. The first time he held her, she screamed bloody murder, and he quickly shoved her back into my arms.
I nibble on my thumbnail and get on the floor with Charleigh. Sweet potato-flavored puffs are scattered around her, so I pick one up and hand it to her. She gnaws on it with her gums before taking it out of her mouth and trying to feed me.
“No, thank you.” I laugh. “That’s yours.”
Charleigh puts it back into her mouth and then looks over my shoulder to stare.
My heart stalls.
I follow her line of sight and peer at Malaki standing in the hallway with a pink box in his hands.
His boy-next-door smile appears. “We’ve just met, and she’s already ratting me out.”
I quickly stand up, leaving Charleigh on the floor with her soggy puffs.
Malaki walks farther into the kitchen and places the pink box on the table, his attention remaining on Charleigh the majority of the time. “I was waiting to see if you were going to put that in your mouth,” he says to me.
I choke out a laugh, but words fail me when I watch Charleigh hold out another soggy puff. Malaki and I share a quick look as he squats down in front of her. She cranes her head, the crazy wisps of her dark hair flying backward.
Malaki gasps dramatically. “For me?”
Charleigh wiggles against the tiled floor and scoots closer to him, which is her way of saying yes. The soggy snack, falling apart in her tiny fingers, remains outstretched between them.
“Charleigh, I don’t think he wants–”
Malaki opens his mouth and allows Charleigh to shove the puff inside. My hand comes up to cover my own mouth.
Charleigh squeals with excitement after Malaki sits back on his heels, pretending to chew the puff that no-doubt fell apart the second it touched his tongue.
“Mmmm,” he says as he nods. “That is delicious.”
I laugh so loud they both look at me. Charleigh giggles, and Malaki smiles proudly, like he’s passed some test.
And okay, fine. Maybe he did.
“I can’t believe you just ate that,” I say through a laugh.
“When a girl as cute as her offers you something, you take it.” He heads over to the pink box on the table. “I learned that the hard way from Volkova’s daughter.”
I scoop Charleigh up in my arms, along with the container of puffs. She bucks against me, wanting down again. I sigh, place her back on the ground, and stand to see Malaki holding out the pink box for me.
He raises his eyebrows. “Donut?”
I stare into the box and pause when I see that some are missing. “How many did you eat on the way?”
The box is big enough to hold a dozen donuts, yet there are only four inside.
Malaki shrugs. “I only had three. Your sister took the rest.”
“What?” Zoe!
Malaki places the box on the table but leaves the lid open. “Yeah, and I let her take my car too.”
I gape at him. “Did she ask to take it? Oh my god.”
He moved us into this nice house, and now he’s letting my sister take his expensive car? What’s next? A pony for Charleigh?
Malaki gives me a strange look. “No. But I would rather her not take the bus to the university. It’s not the safest, plus I have my own personal Uber driver.” He winks at me.
“You don’t have to go out of your way to take care of us,” I stress. “And if you don’t want Zoe living here too, that’s okay. She can always move back into the dorms. She was only living with me because it was easier with her watching Charleigh.”
It was part of the deal: I co-sign for her student loans, she watches Charleigh for me.
Malaki pulls out a chair and gestures to it. “Sit.”
I want to argue, but I don’t. Instead, I sink down into the seat while keeping an eye on Charleigh crawling around.
The donut box is shoved toward me. “Eat.”
“I’m not really hung–”
My stomach growls, and Malaki glares at me.
Fine.
I reach forward and grab a donut with pink icing. He smirks and closes the lid.
“What?” I ask.
“I knew you’d grab that one.”
“How?”
“Because red Skittles are your favorite. You clearly like the taste of strawberries.” He sniffs the air. “You smell like strawberries too.”
“My shampoo is strawberry scented.” My teeth sink into the donut, and I almost moan. God, that’s good.
Malaki leans back in his chair and watches me chew. “And here I thought you just smelled of Skittles because of how many you’ve eaten since I’ve met you.” He flashes me a teasing smile, so I tear a tiny piece of my donut off and throw it at him.
To my surprise, he catches it with his mouth.
He chews it slowly while keeping his sights set on me. A swallow works against his throat, and my stomach dips, which reminds me…
I clear my throat and eye the paper I spent an hour on this morning while giving Charleigh her bottle.
Boundaries.
I slide it over to him and hastily remove my fingers so he doesn’t accidentally graze them with his.
“What is this?” he asks in a low tone.
“Read it,” I say, mid-chew.
Charleigh has crawled over to me and tries to pull herself up by using my leg. I beam at her and quietly say, “What are you doing trying to stand, little missy?”
“Boundaries?” Malaki stares at the paper with his eyebrows drawn together.
After a few minutes, he smooths his forehead and smirks. “Does this mean you’re going to accept that we’re engaged?”
I purse my lips. “We’re fake-engaged.”
“Same thing,” he mutters.
I nod to the paper. “Not according to those boundaries.”
They’re not really to protect me, but more so for him.
I’ve been groomed to believe I’m an inconvenience, a nuisance—a leech, if we’re talking specifics here. The last thing I want is for Malaki to think I’m using him any more than I already am.
There’s the thought of him not being the person I think he is either. What if something happens between us, and he runs off to tell Benedict about our ruse? There’s a part of me that trusts him. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be in his house, along with bringing Charleigh around him, but trust is fragile.
I clear my throat. “If, for some reason, we have to be in public, we will obviously have to act like a happily engaged couple so we can keep up with the facade that Benedict believes. But behind closed doors? We remain professional. I’ll keep my job so I can help pay rent…
” My words trail as I glance around the kitchen.
It’s bigger than my entire apartment. “And I will obviously cover all the things I need, like baby food for Charleigh and–”
Malaki chuckles deeply, cutting me off mid-sentence. He waits until my mouth is shut to shake his head. “No.”
I jerk backward. “No?”
“You’re not paying rent.”
I sit up straighter. “Yes, I am.”
Malaki sighs. “Reese, do you really think Benedict is going to believe that you’re engaged to a pro hockey player if you’re working as an Uber driver?”
I glance toward Charleigh who has moved on from pulling up on my leg.
“Don’t tell me you’re one of those guys who thinks women shouldn’t have jobs,” I mutter, pushing my donut off to the side.
Malaki pushes it back toward me. “Of course I’m not.
My mom worked her entire life up until she got sick.
If she were alive, she’d kill me if I thought that.
But Ubering isn’t your dream job, right?
According to your sister, you dropped out of college to take care of Charleigh, and you work as an Uber driver because of the flexible hours and fast cash.
Oh, and she mentioned something about you selling hand-stitched quotes in college too. ”
That’s it. I’m kicking Zoe out and back into the dorms.
“What were you in college for?”
I turn my nose up. “It doesn’t matter.”
He taps his fingers on the wood table. “Says who?”
“Says me.” I avert my gaze to Charleigh again, who’s clapping her hands like she’s cheering us on.
“Fashion?”
I pause, and he smiles.
“How did you know that?” I ask.
Malaki doesn’t answer. Instead, his smile grows deeper.
“Fashion with a minor in marketing,” I finally say. “But I can’t do anything with half a degree, and I have to work, Malaki. I have to save money somehow, and my measly embroidery business made next to nothing.” My voice shakes with panic.
I get up from my chair to pace.
“Babies are expensive, and I don’t want to be any more of a hassle to you than I already am.”
And again, what if he suddenly decides to turn on me and tells everyone that I’ve been using him? If Benedict were to find out, he’d have plenty of proof that I’m an unfit mother with unstable finances.
I turn my back to Malaki and place my palms onto the counter. I hold my breath before exhaling deeply.
It isn’t long before there’s a tap against my shoulder. I glance backward, and to my surprise, Charleigh is face level with me. Malaki is holding her with one arm while taking her hand in his other to tap me on the shoulder.
My lips twist, and a quiet laugh slips from in between them.
Charleigh smiles, her two lonesome bottom teeth cuter than ever.
I turn all the way around, unable to keep myself from smiling.
Malaki stares at me. “You’re not a hassle.” He turns toward Charleigh. “But I understand where you are coming from and your need to save money. We will come up with something.”
I take Charleigh from Malaki. “Well, surely whatever we come up with can’t be any worse than me telling my ex that you’re my fiancé.”
Malaki scoffs. “That’s the best idea you’ve ever had. What are you talking about?”
I roll my lips together, hiding a smile.
“Come on.” He reaches out and pokes my cheek. “Let me see them.”
Don’t do it.
Charleigh wiggles in my arms and smiles at Malaki.
“Charleigh shows me her dimples,” he says, giving her a lopsided smile.
I grimace and try my hardest to ignore how easy this seems. I feel too safe. My guard is already wavering, and it’s day one.
Maybe I should’ve written no giving me butterflies on my list of boundaries, because at this point, I am completely screwed.