Page 12 of Blue Sky

I started brewing a pot of coffee, and then gathered the ingredients. I had eggs, store-bought salsa, tortillas, oil, avocado, and pre-shredded cheddar cheese. I opened the jar of salsa and poured some into a cast iron skillet. Once the salsa was bubbly, I cracked four eggs into the pan, covered them with the lid, and set the stove to simmer. I warmed some oil in another pan and fried the tortillas. Finally, when everything was cooked, I plated the tortillas, scooped an egg and some salsa onto each, sprinkled them with cheese, and placed a sliced avocado on top. The lack of cilantro and queso fresco was unfortunate, not to mention the store-bought salsa and refrigerated tortillas, but I hoped the meal would taste great anyway.

As I was pouring the coffee into mugs, I heard footsteps in the hallway. For some reason, my hand was shaking.

Once he came into view, I did my best not to drop the coffee pot. Holy hell, he was fine. He was wearing a sexy smirk and a tight blue flight suit with a zipper down the middle. My first thought was how much I wanted to see what was under his flight suit. I tried not to stare, but I couldn’t help myself.

“Morning. How did you sleep? Is Sky up?”

“No, she’s still asleep. I slept great, thank you. She didn’t wake once.”

“Great.” His eyes narrowed at the plate of food and then his gaze turned to the shiny, spotless kitchen floor. “Look, Paloma, you don’t have to cook and clean for me. I hired you to watch Sky. That’s it. You aren’t my maid or my cook.”

“Oh, I know. I love to cook. And I love a clean house, especially one as beautiful as this. If I’m going to live here for ten weeks, I want to keep it clean. I hope you don’t mind.”

He shrugged. “No, I definitely don’t mind. I appreciate it. Thank you. We used to have a maid come once a week. I can still hire one, so you can focus on Sky.”

Control your face, Paloma. He lives a completely different life than you.

“Oh, no. I’ll be fine. It’s just the three of us. I’m happy to clean when Sky naps.” I couldn’t fathom why he would want to waste money on a maid. It couldn’t be that hard to keep this plate clean.

“Okay. Thank you.”

I took his plate of food and placed it on the kitchen table with his coffee. “Do you like cream and sugar in your coffee? I did the best I could with what you had—you didn’t have any cilantro and I had to use salsa from the jar. I can go shopping later today.”

“I like my coffee black. I’m sure the food is great.” He dug his fork into the eggs, and then he shoved them into his mouth. For a moment, I was jealous of the eggs.

I studied his face as he ate his food. His eyes brightened, and a smile formed.

“These are amazing. I usually have a bowl of cereal. My wife never liked to cook, and I’m never home. But I can grill a mean steak.”

A wave a satisfaction overtook me, but I felt guilty for being secretly happy that his wife never cooked. Was I a horrible person? I couldn’t fathom having a hot, sexy husband like Beckett and not wanting to take care of him. But we were clearly from different cultures. It sounded like they had a strong marriage. Maybe she worked also.

“I saw a picture of your wife. She was very beautiful.” I stopped there. I wanted to ask how she died, when she died, how she lived, how they fell in love, everything, but I had no right to ask these questions.

His tone lowered. “Yes, she was.”

He finished his food in silence. But at least he ate every bite.

He handed me a slip of paper. “Here’s all my contact information. You clearly have my phone number, but when I’m flying I won’t be able to answer it. If there is any emergency at all, please contact my command. Today will be an easy day, getting back into the swing of things. When I get off, I’ll come back here and then you are free to leave to go see your sisters. I can give you a ride wherever you need to go.”

“Oh, that won’t be necessary. It’s not too far and I like to walk,” I lied. It was two miles down the road. I would’ve most definitely accepted a ride, but I didn’t want Beck to see where my uncle lived. Or worse yet, have Beck meet my Uncle who could quite possibly be in a drunken stupor. So, I would walk, knowing that my traveling time would even further shorten the time I would be able to spend with my sisters.

“Okay. Do you have any questions?”

I hesitated but then I spoke. “Just one. Do you want me to speak to her in Spanish?”

He pursed his beautiful lips for a moment. Ugh, why had I said that? Maybe he didn’t want his daughter to speak Spanish, and now he was probably worried he would offend me.

“If not, no worries. I can speak English.”

“No, Spanish is great. Her mother wanted her to be bilingual.” He downed the rest of his coffee. “But then you are going to have to teach me, so I know what she is saying.”

I laughed. I’d love to teach him Spanish. First word that came to my mind was cómeme, eat me. My mind was way too dirty.

I pushed that thought out of my head. “Bien. I’ll sing songs to her, and read her books. If her next nanny also speaks Spanish, she will be fluent.” I paused and gazed into his eyes. “As for you, I’m happy to teach you.”

Sky cried and we both jumped up.

He reached his hand out to stop me. “Wait, let me get her. I want to see her before I leave.”

I nodded, and he left the table. He came back a few minutes later, holding her. Seeing this handsome man wearing a flight suit while holding his daughter was almost too much to bear.

He handed Sky to me and for a moment, our bodies met. A shiver went through me. He was so sexy, I couldn’t stand it. I fantasized about him throwing me up against the wall and fucking me until I couldn’t see straight.

God, Mónica had been right. I was totally already dreaming about him. What the hell was wrong with me? Here I had the opportunity of a lifetime to leave my town and start a life, and I was already distracted. This kind man had offered me a job, a home, and I was repaying his generosity by lusting after him.

I was no better than my mother.

“Bye, Paloma. I’ll see you later.”

“Bye! Have a great day! Don’t worry about us.”

I couldn’t help myself from watching him walk away. Once I shut the door, I warmed Sky’s bottle. Excitement filled my soul.

After changing and feeding Sky, we had read books, played peek-a-boo, and cuddled on the sofa. I enjoyed every second of being around this sweet baby girl. I inhaled her scent, kissed her toes, and finally put her in her swing.

In ten weeks, I would have a new life. I would be free from this town. And I owed it all to the little girl in my arms.