Dangerous Conceit by Ali Lee
Chapter 28
“Mommy,” a small voice called, making Lexi think she was still in the middle of her dream. “Mom-my,” it called again along with a tapping on her arm.
“Hm?” she mumbled and never opened her eyes, shifting under the sheet to face the clock on her side of the bed.
“Mommy,” Maura squeaked a little louder with a little more whine, making Lexi instantly open her eyes and look at the time.
“It's already eight,” Lexi groaned but stood to take care of her daughter. “Shh, come with me, sweetie.” Lexi led Maura past Rafa to the restroom, exiting several minutes later and leaving a bottle of medicine next to the bed for when he woke.
Feeling slightly more awake, Lexi picked up Maura and headed down to feed her breakfast. She stepped lightly past the sofas not to disturb Jim or Ray but was surprised that the men were not there. They could have been smoking in the back yard, so Lexi paid no attention until she came to the kitchen.
“Fuck,” she mouthed to herself at the sight of an older woman and man, Angelo, Ella, Jim and Ray. If she knew there would be more company this early in the morning, she would have bothered to wear a bra. “Excuse me.” An embarrassed smile passed her lips and she retraced her steps back to her room.
She set Maura on the bed and slid open her drawer to take out a bra; when she started for the restroom, Maura began to whine. “Mommy, I'm hungry.”
“Shh, I will just be a minute.” Lexi held up her pointer to Maura. “All right, sugar bear?” Maura nodded and Lexi was gone for seconds behind the closed door. When she came out again, Lexi bit her lip. Maura was snuggled in Rafa's open arm, moving her finger up and down his chin.
“It's pokey, mommy.” Rafa smiled and cleared his throat.
“Morning, love,” he coughed, flinching at the pain it caused and moving his free hand over his chest.
“Morning. I'm sorry she woke you. There's some medicine on your nightstand for you to take.” Lexi reached out to Maura who came to her instantly.
“It's all right. I don't mind her, Lexi.”
Lexi grinned but then remembered the company at the table. “I have to go back downstairs. We have visitors,” Lexi sighed and headed back through the door before Rafa could make a response.
Now in jeans, the same tank plus a bra, Lexi entered the kitchen a little more relaxed—a very little. While crowds did not bother her, usually she was at work where she would never have to see them again too. Whoever the older couple was, she had a feeling that impressions were lasting, and anything she said would in fact be used against her later. Lexi decided to let someone else make introductions as she sat Maura in an empty seat at the table and glanced around.
Ignoring her, Angelo and the older man continued to speak between themselves while everyone else sipped from the cup in front of them. Since nobody jumped at the chance to explain to her what was going on, Lexi could ignore as well as any and went to get Maura something to eat.
She made some strawberry oatmeal for her daughter, letting it cool while she poured herself a cup of coffee and put on another fresh pot to brew. Then she sat down next to Maura and stirred sugar and cream in her cup while Maura began to eat.
After five minutes, Lexi had enough of the awkward situation and examined each person at the table. Jim and Ray almost never talked. She noticed the top of a baby carrier behind Ella but Ella did not speak the same as at the restaurant. Maybe Ella was tired from being up all night with the baby. Her stare lingered on the older couple. Who were they? Lexi saw the similarities between the man and Angelo, immediately assuming that it was his father. Both had dark brown eyes and hair, except silvery gray streaked the older man's head. Lexi wondered why they were all sitting at Rafa's kitchen table that early in the morning.
“Are you wondering why we’re all here yet?” Angelo stopped talking to his father and finally looked in her direction. Lexi could not help what came out of her mouth.
“Well, the thought crossed my mind that this could be some sort of intervention, but I’m not addicted to anything.” Lexi took a sip from her cup and smiled.
“So you’re not addicted to Rafa?” Angelo countered, provoking Lexi to bite hard on the inside of her lip.
Prick. She wanted so badly to say aloud but decided this was not the time if there ever was a time.
“Next to me,” he continued, “are my parents, Antonio and Nina. You already know the brothers, Diego and Raimundo. They go by Jim and Ray. They probably didn’t want to be here all night, but they’re two of my best so that’s why I sent them. And you’ve seen my wife Ella; our baby is behind her.” He slid his arm around Ella's shoulder, pulling her closer as if habit. “My parents wanted to meet the woman that Rafa’s going to marry. They think of him as a son and wanted to see if they approve of you.”
Lexi closed her eyes. They were sizing her up. That was worse than what she could have imagined. She took another sip to hide her annoyance. To save her from the interrogation, Rafa walked in the room, holding his hand over his chest.
“Good morning.” He rubbed his face and walked to the older couple. “It's good to see you, Nina.” His face winced as he lowered his body, giving her a kiss on the cheek. “Antonio,” he acknowledged and held out his hand. Antonio ignored the gesture and stood, lifting the white shirt covering his chest.
“How's the recovery, Rafa.” He barely touched the bandages and let the shirt fall back down before kissing Rafa on the cheek and patting it afterwards.
“Fine, fine—I'm fine.” Rafa exhaled and grabbed the empty seat next to Lexi. “So…what's the occasion?” he asked and leaned against the back of the seat, crossing both hands over his chest to lessen the twinges of pain.
“We were seeing if Lexi’s worthy of you, Rafa. We wanted to know what kind of wife she would be,” Angelo said.
Lexi smiled. So many comebacks came to mind that she found it difficult to hold back. Angelo was deliberately trying to provoke her in front of his parents. Instead, she picked up her cup that was not empty and looked at Rafa. “Would you like some coffee too?”
“Yes, that would be great.” Rafa glared at Angelo and held out one of his hands. “Why are you harassing my fiancé? Tell me why you're here, Angelo.”
Angelo returned his expression but looked at his mother to answer. “Ella and I thought it would be nice to help Lexi with her wedding dress, so Angelo and Antonio said it was okay if we went with her. Then we could get to know her better too, since she'll be marrying into the family now.”
They were strangers to Lexi. Rafa considered how Lexi would feel but finally consented. Ella and Nina would be good for her. “That’ll be fine. Make sure you have security with you at all times.”
Lexi carefully picked up the two cups from the counter. It annoyed her that Rafa would shove her off with people she did not know and not ask her first. She let out a slight breath, one that did not get past Angelo who watched her as she set one of the cups in front of Rafa.
“Thank you, love,” Rafa’s voice sounded tired. Lexi realized that he did not expect the surprise visit either. She gave in. There was no reason to make a fuss about one day’s outing.
“You seem annoyed, Lexi. Do you have a problem with Ella and my mother?”
Antagonistic asshole. She thought. Why was he intentionally trying to get her to react? She raised her brow, staring at his face with the sweetest, albeit fake, smile she could muster. “Not at all. I look forward to getting to know them better too,” she lied. To save her from being questioned further, Maura pushed away her bowl and looked at Lexi. “Are you finished, sweetie.” Maura nodded and scooted off the chair, roaming around the table to the baby carrier.
“Mommy!” Maura exclaimed. “Can I have one?” she said of the baby that cooed inside the seat.
Lexi coughed; Maura caught her completely off guard. “Um.”
“Maura…” Rafa saved Lexi the trouble of explaining. “Why don't you go get your doll from your room and show it to the baby?” Maura’s eyes gleamed as she ran from the kitchen, her feet heard scooting up the stairs.
“Yes, Rafa,” Angelo laughed. “Why don't you get your daughter one of those?”
Rafa laced his fingers through his hair and shook his head at the remark, ignoring Angelo altogether. “Lexi, that baby girl is Lily. I’m her godfather.”
Lexi stretched to where she could see the carrier and could not resist when Lily started to play with a rattle. “Can I hold her?” Lexi looked at Ella and then behind her chair. Rafa watched her. Did Lexi want another baby? He closed his eyes and then caught Angelo’s taunting expression about Lexi’s interest.
“Of course,” Ella spoke to Lexi for the first time and smiled, taking out Lily and handing her to Lexi.
“Awe.” Lexi cupped her hand. “She can't be more than a few months old.” Ella nodded while Lexi walked around the kitchen with the baby, adoring the bundle in her arms. When she was far enough away, Angelo leaned across the table and whispered to Rafa.
“I hope you wanted more kids if that says anything.” He moved his chin toward Lexi.
“What’s wrong with you?” Rafa returned in an equally quiet voice. “Running for governor and getting married isn't enough for you? Now you want me to start having babies? If you want more children, talk to Ella.”
Angelo did not respond as Maura ran back in the room. Lexi bent to the floor so she could have a closer look. After showing Lily her doll and stroking her arm several times, Maura seemed satisfied with her time with the baby. “Mommy, will you turn on my show?” she asked. Lexi smiled. With Lily still in her arms, she followed Maura to the family room. After turning on the learning program, she returned to the kitchen and handed Lily back to Ella.
“She's beautiful.” Lexi sat back down and finished her coffee.
“So,” Antonio spoke up. “I thought you ladies would leave here pretty soon and be done in time for dinner. Then we can all eat here since Rafa's in no condition to go out. How does that sound?” He spoke to everyone but looked at Lexi.
“I think that would be perfect,” she agreed, almost warming to the strangers after holding Lily. It was funny to her how a baby could lighten the mood, no matter how tense the situation seemed.
“Then it's settled. While all of you are gone, I’ll help these two dads take care of our babies.”
Our? Lexi considered his word. Antonio really did think of Rafa as a son.