Page 33 of Claiming His Wife
TWO WEEKS LATER, KALILAH FOUND HERSELF seated at the breakfast table in her new condominium. She had finally found a condo that met all her short-term needs. Finn had been there to help her finalize the rental agreement with the agent, and she appreciated his support even though she didn’t ask for it.
He had complimented her on her choice of building and location. Apparently, he lived a few blocks down from her. They’d gone shopping for appliances and furniture together several times. He had offered her his opinion when she requested it. She bought most of her furniture from Ikea and she loved the different wood pieces, however it was a pain in the ass to assemble them. Kalilah had thought the idea of putting together her own furniture would give her a sense of purpose.
That was not the case. All it did was make her want to pull out her hair. The three of them – Kalilah, Kaiya, and Finn – had stayed up past midnight trying to put the furniture together, until Finn had huffed in frustration and declared he would pay people to come over and do it. Kalilah didn’t even oppose him. She was just relieved about not having to see another screw.
True to his word, four men showed up the following day, and put together all the furniture under the watchful eye of her husband.
Ex-husband.She needed to remember that.
Finn had frequented her thoughts lately, a result of them spending more time together. He had settled himself into most aspects of her life, and she didn’t mind it; she liked his companionship. She would miss the gentle truce they’d managed, once she left.
He had taken her dancing last weekend. When he called, she was still apprehensive about everything that happened between them, but Finn was an expert in getting his way. He had even extended the invitation to Kaiya, but she had declined.
Allowing Kaiya to talk her into yet another daring dress was probably not the best idea. She had seen how he looked at her – like she was his last meal before he faced death. Despite his obvious lust for her, he had been a perfect gentleman. Finn had looked good as well, his white button-down shirt was rippled with his muscles. He looked good enough to snack on. Not that she wanted to.
Electric, that was her first and last thought about the night. She had expected a lounge, thinking maybe he wanted to recreate that night at the hotel, however the club was fast paced. She had always thought Kaiya to be the better dancer in the family, but that night her body moved in ways that she didn’t think possible. He told her about the goings-on with his family. Apparently, his mom and younger sister were YouTube vloggers. Kalilah had created a Google account almost immediately and subscribed to their channels; she was loving his mom’s food prep vlogs. Finn’s family was always flamboyant – a total opposite to hers.
“Did I ever tell you that Alexandre isn’t my biological dad?” Finn asked her as they lounged in the VIP section of the club. She thought she heard him incorrectly.
“Did you just say that Alexandre isn’t your dad?”
“He is my dad, he just isn’t the one who impregnated my mom.” Kalilah was shocked, to say the least. She never knew that about him and had asked him if he had ever met his biological father. Finn had simply told her that he had no interest in finding the man or getting to know him. Kalilah didn’t know what to make of his curt tone and had changed the topic. They spent the remainder of the night dancing; Finn at her back while she grinded into him.
The thought of it now warmed her cheeks. She had loved the feel of his arms around her. Finn did nothing that she didn’t want to. When she made the move and kissed him while they danced facing each other, it had shocked him – and her, honestly. The kiss started out soft, but quickly turned into something wild and insatiable. His warm fingers had stroked her body, and euphoric shivers made her quiver for more. The kiss was finally broken when someone bumped into them as the Electric Slide started to play.
They spent the remainder of the night dancing and sipping on cocktails until he brought her home. Her body still hummed with all the sensations from that kiss. She closed her eyes to banish her thoughts. Her phone chirped then, and she saw that she had received a new message.
It was from Jon, and it readMissing you. Love you.She sighed and sent him a quickI miss you tooin return. It seemed that while her communication with Finn flourished, her communication with Jon dwindled, and she couldn’t even blame the distance for it. It was her own guilt paralyzing her. She hated the idea of keeping things from him, especially considering how much she preached about honesty in relationships. Often, when he called, she would glance at the phone apprehensively before letting the call go to voicemail. And his tone when they did talk was often distracted. He questioned her on so many things that she wondered if he was spying on her. But that was impossible: when they Facetimed, she saw that he was at his apartment in Seattle.
She was a good person, well at least she was before she returned to her hometown. She never deliberately hurt anyone, so why was she in this complicated mess? Her emotions were all over the place. Recently, her heart seemed torn between two choices. On one hand, her heart was curious about exploring the desire that Finn stirred, and on the other hand was the safety she felt with Jonathan.
The realization that her heart might be the one to break came with an overwhelming ache that pressed so heavily it threatened to crush her chest. Kalilah rubbed a palm to the phantom ache in her chest, and looked up to catch her sister’s smirking face, focused completely on her. Her sister had moved in with her after she got her new place.
“Something hurts?” Kaiya asked without a lick of concern on her face. In fact, the mockery was so heavy it demanded Kalilah’s attention.
“Shut up.”
Kaiya laughed off the warning as she scrambled off her chair to sit in front of the TV, her coffee mug in tow. Kalilah picked a bagel from Boulangerie, such delightful pastry was treated as the ambrosia of culinary delight by most people who ate it, but Kalilah tore off a piece then continued to mutilate it.
“If you’re done playing serial killer on that bagel, can I have the remaining edible ones?” Her sister interrupted her thoughts with a knowing smile, and Kalilah contemplated throttling her.
Kalilah glared at her sister before launching the entire box at her. Kaiya only snatched it from the air with the deftness of an athlete and grinned at her spoils.
“You’re going to get fat with all that junk that you eat while parked in front of the TV.”
Kaiya shrugged.
“I’m almost skin and bones as it is. I would welcome some extra pounds,” came the quick retort, followed by a low moan of delight as she bit into a pastry.
Kalilah threw her hands up in exasperation before tilting her cup to her lips. She frowned at the taste of the lukewarm liquid. She liked her coffee burning hot or ice cold, no in-between.
“What are you up to today?”
“I got a response from that job you told me about. They want me to come in later today with my photo ID. I really hope I won’t need a valid health insurance card for this position.” She had her old card, but it was expired, and since she wasn’t planning on staying for more than six months, she didn’t see the point of going through the process of getting a new one.
“Fingers crossed, then.”
Kalilah carried her cup to the sink and rinsed it. Her alarm had ticked off at 5am, just when she was about to get some semblance of sleep. Owen, her faithful chauffeur, had delivered the bagels to her doorstep. It had become a habit for him. Always making sure she had her fancies every other morning. She didn’t even bother getting another cup, even though she was still feeling groggy.
