13. Kim #2
Zoe nodded, suddenly uncharacteristically shy. "You're Xavier's grandmother."
"That's right. And you can call me Ellie, if you like." Eleanor reached out and adjusted the ribbon in Zoe's hair. "Pink is definitely your color. You look absolutely beautiful."
The shyness evaporated. "Xavier brought me the dress! And Mommy did my hair!"
"Well, they both did an excellent job." Eleanor straightened, turning to me with that knowing look she always wore. "Kim. Lovely to see you again."
"You too," I managed.
The evening unfolded around us. Dinner was served at round tables draped in white linen, and somehow we ended up at the family table—me and Xavier and Zoe, Eleanor and Helena, Sebastian watching everything with quiet intensity.
Zoe charmed everyone within a five-foot radius.
She complimented Helena's necklace ("It's so sparkly!
Like a star!") and asked Sebastian very seriously if he was a prince, since his mother looked like a queen.
She told Eleanor about her doll's new lipstick makeover and explained, in great detail, the proper technique for the kiss monster attack.
Even Sebastian cracked a smile.
"She's delightful," Helena said, watching Zoe demonstrate the kiss monster on a bemused Xavier. "Absolutely delightful."
"She gets it from her mother," Xavier said, catching my eye.
I looked away, fighting a blush.
Across the room, I spotted Evie hovering near Aria, helping to direct guests and organize silent auction items. She moved efficiently but quietly, like she was trying to take up as little space as possible.
Every now and then, her eyes would dart to our table, lingering on Zoe with something like curiosity.
"Who's that girl?" Zoe asked, following my gaze.
"That's Evie," Xavier said. "Sebastian's daughter. She's helping with the event."
"Can I go say hi?"
I hesitated. "I don't know, baby. She's working—"
"Let her go," Eleanor said. "Evie could use a friend. She's been so serious lately."
Before I could protest, Zoe was already sliding out of her chair and making her way across the room. I watched her approach Evie, tugging on her sleeve, saying something that made the teenager's eyes go wide.
Whatever Zoe said, it worked. Evie's guarded expression softened. She crouched down to Zoe's level, the way Eleanor had, and within moments they were deep in conversation. Evie pulled something out of her pocket—a phone, maybe—and showed it to Zoe, who gasped with delight.
"See?" Eleanor said, satisfied.
I watched my daughter make a teenage girl smile and wondered how she did it. "Kim."
Xavier's voice was low, close to my ear. I turned to find him watching me with an intensity that made my breath catch.
"What?" I whispered.
He didn't answer. Just leaned in and kissed me.
It wasn't a quick peck. It was slow and deliberate, his hand coming up to cup my jaw, his lips moving against mine with a tenderness that made something ache deep in my chest. I forgot where we were.
Forgot the roomful of people. Forgot everything except the warmth of his mouth and the gentle pressure of his fingers against my skin.
When he pulled back, I was breathless.
"What—" I blinked, trying to gather my scattered thoughts. "Why did you—"
"Grandmother was watching."
I turned to look. Eleanor was across the table, deep in conversation with Helena, her attention entirely elsewhere.
"She's not even looking at us."
Xavier shrugged, but there was something in his eyes—heat, maybe, or challenge. "She was a second ago."
My head was spinning. The kiss, the texts from Cole, the way Xavier kept looking at me like I was something precious—it was too much. I needed air. I needed space. I needed to think.
"Excuse me." I pushed back from the table. "I need a minute."
I found the exit to a small courtyard behind the venue, the cool night air hitting my flushed skin like a balm. I stood there, arms wrapped around myself, trying to slow my racing heart.
Footsteps behind me. I didn't have to turn to know who it was.
"You shouldn't have followed me," I said.
"Probably not." Xavier came to stand beside me. "And yet."
"You're going against the rules."
"I've never been much of a rule follower." I could hear the grin in his voice.
I turned to face him. "This is serious, Xavier. I can't do this if you're going to—"
He kissed me again.
This one was different. Hungrier. His hands came up to frame my face, tilting my head back, and when his tongue traced the seam of my lips, I opened for him without thinking. He tasted like champagne and something darker, something that made my knees weak.
My back hit the brick wall of the courtyard. I hadn't even realized we'd been moving.
Xavier's hands slid down my arms, my waist, hovering at my hips. He pulled back just enough to meet my eyes, a question in his gaze.
"Is this okay?" His voice was rough, strained. "Tell me if—"
"Yes." The word came out breathless. "Yes."
His hands tightened on my hips. He lifted me, and I wrapped my legs around his waist instinctively, my dress riding up. The wall was cool against my back, but Xavier was warm, so warm, pressed against me in all the right places.
He kissed me again. Deeper this time. His hands traveled up my sides, slow and careful, stopping just below my ribs. Waiting. Asking.
"Can I?" he murmured against my mouth.
"Yes."
His palms slid higher, skimming the edge of my dress, and I gasped into his mouth. His hips pressed forward, and I felt him—hard, wanting—and a moan escaped me before I could stop it.
He froze.
"I have to stop." His forehead dropped to mine, his breathing ragged. "If I don't stop now, I'm going to—"
"I know." My voice didn't sound like my own. "It's okay."
He lowered me gently, keeping his hands on my waist until he was sure I was steady. His eyes were dark, his chest heaving, and he looked wrecked in the best possible way.
"You go first," he said. "I need a minute."
I nodded. Smoothed my dress. Tried to remember how to walk in a straight line.
When I got back to the table, Eleanor caught my eye. Her expression was knowing, satisfied, like a cat that had gotten into the cream.
I pretended not to notice.
Zoe was back at the table now, chattering to Helena about the "big girl" who'd shown her pictures of puppies on her phone. Evie had returned to Aria's side, but she was watching Zoe with a small smile, and when she caught me looking, she gave me a tiny wave.
Xavier slid into his seat a few minutes later, composed again except for the slight flush on his cheeks. Under the table, his hand found mine and squeezed.
Then the lights dimmed, and a spotlight hit the small stage at the front of the room.
Sebastian and Aria stood together, looking every inch the power couple—he was dark and commanding, she was warm and radiant. Sebastian held the microphone with the ease of someone who'd given a thousand speeches, but there was something different in his posture tonight. Something softer.
"Thank you all for being here," Sebastian said. "The Kealoha Foundation has done incredible work this year, and it wouldn't be possible without your support."
Aria took the microphone from him, her smile reaching her eyes. "We have an announcement to make. As many of you know, Sebastian's family owns several hotels around the world. And next weekend, we're celebrating the grand reopening of our newly renovated property in Hawaii."
She paused, her gaze finding our table.
"We'd like to invite all of you—our family—to join us for the official launch. The whole weekend. Sun, surf, and celebration."
Eleanor clapped her hands together, delighted. Helena smiled warmly. Even Sebastian's stern expression softened as he looked at Aria.
"That includes you, Kim," Aria added, her eyes meeting mine. "And Zoe, of course. We wouldn't have it any other way."
I turned to look at Xavier.
He was already watching me, a question in his eyes.
A whole weekend. With Xavier. At a hotel in Hawaii.
Sharing a room, probably. Sharing a bed, definitely. His family everywhere, watching, expecting. No escape, no buffer, no way to pretend that what was happening between us was still just business.
His hand tightened around mine under the table.
I thought about the kiss in the courtyard. His hands on my skin. The way he'd looked at me when he asked if it was okay.
Would I survive it?
I wasn't sure.
But when I opened my mouth, the word that came out was: 'Okay.'
Xavier's smile could have lit up the whole room. And maybe, just maybe, that terrified me more than anything else