Chapter 19
Multitasking was something Gema Dodge had come to do without so much as a second thought. Juggling was starting to become her forte, with a few fumbles here and there, but this day happened to be running smooth, thankfully. Gema managed to leave her office in one piece, leaving her assistant with strict instructions that had become routine: not to inform anyone who came by or phoned the office of her trip and the whereabouts. After two years, her assistant simply nodded as she spoke, smiling as he did.
“Yes, yes, Boss, anything NEW?”
Gema had paused, then smiled faintly. “Enjoy the week”.
“You’re too kind” Mark replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes, and Gema had laughed as she left the office to stop at home before going to the airport.
The nanny had Kai all ready to go when Gema came home, and she scooped up her three year old boy, breathing in his smell as she buried her face in his dark curls. Kai giggled and pushed at her.
“Ma! I’m getting too big for kisses!”
“Never” Gema swore, grabbing his things and rattling off a list for the nanny before hopping into the cab bound for the airport.
Yes, the morning had gone just swimmingly, and Gema was looking forward to catching a few hours of much needed rest on her flight to The States. She was taking Kai to Disney World, something he had been so excited about that he had packed his Aladdin back pack six months ago when she booked the flight. Gema didn’t get to be with Kai as much as she liked, having to run and manager the art gallery with her business partner and closest friend, Katie. Thankfully, the art gallery had started to make enough money that she could afford to hire a nanny for half of the day, to pick Kai up from preschool and bring him home, fix his lunch and his dinner if Gema wasn’t home in time to do it herself. She had missed many nights of tucking him into bed, and that she regretted the most. This trip to Disney World was going to be their special time together, and she was almost as excited about it as Kai was.
Carrying Kai’s bag over her shoulder and her own rolling behind her in hand, Gema held onto Kai with her free hand. He was fiercely independent, and resented being pushed in buggies since before he had even started walking. Gema glanced down at the tickets in her hand, frowning as she came to a stop in front of Gate B.
“Now, we need gate E….”
“E comes after D, mami” Kai said sternly, looking around the busy airport. “Look, mom! A real life pilot! Can I go say hi?”
“Kai, honey, hold on” Gema murmured, sitting down and digging out her map of the airport, trying to gage where they should be. Kai tugged incessantly on her leg, and Gema sighed. “I said hold on, Kai, mommy’s trying to figure this out”
Kai fell silent, and Gema spoke half to herself as she studied their positioning on the map. Finally, she figured it out, and stood, sighing happily. “Okay, mommy’s figured it out! We can go now….Kai?” Gema turned around and frowned. “Kai?” Her heart rate accelerated as she looked around frantically for Kai. Oh god no, oh no. Gema looked around wildly before her eyes finally found the smart little maroon sweater she’d bought him because it complemented his eyes and he had just looked so adorable in it. Kai was walking towards the pilot he had seen, his little chin thrust out with determination, and Gema took two steps towards them before someone bumped into Kai, sending him sideways to fall against a briefcase and tumble to the ground along with it. Gema’s eyes widened as he fell, and she winced as she saw him hit the ground hard on his butt. Kai’s face took on a look of surprise, then his eyes met hers.
Gema watched his golden green eyes fill with tears, then his mouth opened to let out a wail. Gema sprinted to Kai, leaving her luggage, as he began to give the performance of his life with one of his notorious screaming fits. But before Gema reached him, a figure in black stopped her. Gema froze in her tracks as she saw the familiar black curls and the tall build. Her breath escaped her, only three feet from Kai, as the lean creature curled its body into a crouch in front of her son and sternly told him to stop his incessant howling. Kai, who had never been spoken to like that before, especially in the midst of a fit, immediately stopped screaming, and peered at the stranger through wide eyes. Gema let out a breath of relief, as people had started to stare, but froze when the dark head turned, and a pair of green eyes landed on her.
His eyes widened for a moment upon seeing her, and something flashed across them along with surprise. Gema didn’t have time to analyze it, she had to get Kai and leave, now. She strode forward to scoop Kai into her arms and cradle him close. Gema kissed his forehead, turning her back on the man and murmuring to Kai.
“There, there, honey, you’re okay, I’ve got you” Kai sniffed and hugged her back, and Gema reluctantly put him down when he began to squirm. Gema got on her knees on his level, and grabbed his shoulders, looking Kai in the eyes. “Now, you are never to walk away from me, do you hear me? Never do you leave my side, do you understand?”
“I only wanted to see the pilot” Kai frowned at her, and Gema frowned back.
“Yes, but I would have taken you, you must not run off again” Kai nodded then and she fixed his sweater, wiping his tears with the sleeve of her cardigan.
“Yes mama.”
“Mama?” Gema’s eyes closed at hearing the from behind her. Vistos. She had almost forgotten he was there. But her body had not, just the sound of his voice made her body constrict in places she had forgotten existed. Gema straightened up and stood in front of Kai, blocking his view of the little boy, and turned to face him. She raised her eyes from his well worn dark leather Sperry’s, up his long muscular legs, over his firm torso.
“Hello Vistos” Gema muttered, her eyes leaving that wide chest to take in that face from so long ago, and was surprised to find a complete stranger looking back at her. Gema blinked once, twice, but Vistos did not appear before her eyes. “Oh! P-pardon me, I thought you were….someone I knew.” Gema apologized, and the man smiled with kind eyes.
“That‘s alright miss, but surely you‘re not that little boy‘s mom?“ He said, his eyes filled with disbelief. Gema thrust her chin out defiantly. She wasn’t about to let anyone question her parenting.
“Surely I am”
“Well damn, I would have bet money he was your kid brother. Excuse my language, but you don‘t look a day over 21.” He replied, flashing her a brilliant smile that lit up his whole face, the disbelief from his eyes gone to be replaced by something warm in his green eyes, and Gema blushed. This man was hitting on her! In an airport! In front of her son! What a rarity!
“Well, that’s very kind of you-”
Before Gema could say anything else, Kai had stepped out from behind her legs and he glared up at the gorgeous man with tiny closed fists and eyes blazing.
“You’re not supposed to use bad words. They don’t use bad words at Disney World, where my mommy is taking me. So you can‘t come.” He informed the stranger, and Gema almost died.
“Kai-”
The man abruptly dropped down to Kai’s level, squatting in the middle of the airport, with hundreds of people going by them. Gema stepped back in surprise, and this beautiful man threw a smile up at her briefly before looking back at Kai. He studied Kai for a while, Kai scrutinizing him right back, then he took a visible deep breath, but Kai beat him to it.
“What‘s your name?” Kai asked pointedly, and the man looked briefly surprised.
“I, am Jamie.”
Kai made a face. “That’s a girl’s name. My name is Kai” He said confidently with a toss of his silky curls. “It’s Italian”
“Is it” Jamie mused, a slight smile on his full lips, his eyes looking Kai from head to toe.
“Do you know my mommy?” Kai suddenly asked, looking up at Gema. “Her name is Gema, and she runs an art alley.” Kai said proudly, and Gema tugged on his shoulder slightly, laughing forcefully.
“Kai, honey, we have to be-”
“An art alley, huh? That sounds really cool.” Jamie said, still engaging Kai. Kai shook his head solemnly.
“It’s very boring. But now mami has money, so we’re going to Disney World!”
“Okay Kai,” Gema said more forcefully before he spilled their whole life story to this stranger. No matter how hot he was, with his thick dark curls, just the greenest eyes, that heart shaped face with his strong cleft chin and that slightly crooked, but totally sexy nose, he was still a stranger! “We really have to go now, so say bye to Jamie-”
“I heard you’d like to meet a pilot. Tell you what, I have a jet myself, and if you’d like, you can sit up front with my pilot and he’ll even let you fly the plane all by yourself.” Jamie offered to Kai with a shrug.
Kai’s eyes lit up as he squealed. “really?! I can drive the plane all by myself?!”
“Yep” Jamie said with a smile, and Kai’s face suddenly turned serious and he reached for Gema’s hand, which she gladly gave him.
“Mom gets to come too” Kai demanded, and he looked so much like his father, Gema could have died.
“That okay with you, mom?” Jamie asked with a smile, straightening up, his look hopeful.
“Please mom!” Kai asked, tugging on her hand, and Gema bit her lip before giving in and nodding.
Fidgeting nervously as she stood on Jamie’s spacious jet, Gema craned her neck to catch a view of Kai sitting in the co-pilot’s seat, in awe of all the controls. She kept asking herself over and over what she was doing here, when all her instincts were telling her to run as far and as fast as she could with Kai in the opposite direction. How could this have happened? She never met anyone, never dated anyone, and here she was on some guy’s private jet! She wouldn’t have even considered it if she was by herself, but Kai looked at Jamie like he was the king of the world when he mentioned his jet.
Whenever Kai questioned her about the absence of a father, she felt awful for not including Vistos in his life, but just remembering the awful things he’d said to her, how he’d treated her as if she was there purely for his amusement, that letter he’d written her, she was glad Kai hadn’t known him. Jamie had probably made Kai’s whole year with this one gesture, and she wasn’t going to pass it up
As if sensing her thoughts were of him, Jamie came out of the cockpit, closing the door behind him, and then turned around, his bright eyes trained on her. Gema swallowed, her insides in jumbles as she watched him walk towards her. She could see the differences in him and Vistos now, how Jamie was more trim, his body resembling that of a swimmer, his shoulders not as broad, but taller than Vistos all the same. His skin wasn’t as tan as Vistos, having more of an olive tone, but his accent hinted at a Mediterranean ancestry. Why did she keep attracting devastating Mediterranean men? His hair was much longer than Vistos used to keep his, it was past the lobes of his ears, and he casually ran a hand through it, tucking one side back as he came to rest in front of her.
“Sprite?”
“Yes, thank you.” Gema replied, and Jamie went to the bar of the spacious jet, pouring himself a drink and taking a swig from it. His back to her, Gema found herself admiring the snug fit of his light weight black polo, the way his muscles rippled under his shirt as he moved his arms and hands. He was a magnificent creature, maybe even more eye catching than Vistos was, if that were even possible. He had a lazy, tranquil quality about him that had Gema trusting him, even though she knew nothing about him. Jamie finally returned with their drinks and sat down across from her.
“Thank you again, for letting him play with the jet.” Gema said, reaching for her glass, and Jamie waved her away.
“It‘s no big deal, I know what that‘s like, I was obsessed with plans with I was a little kid too.” He smiled full out at her, and Gema nearly choked on her soda. Good Lord was he attractive! That smile did weird things to her blood, and she found herself staring at him, and quickly looked down.
“So, Disney World, huh? His first time?”
Gema nodded, deciding she probably shouldn’t speak, otherwise she’d embarrass herself. “What’s the occasion?” Jamie asked, sipping his drink and sitting back.
“No reason, just, it ah, fit into my schedule.” Gema shrugged. She didn’t get out much, didn’t really talk to anyone about Kai either. Only Katie and her assistant, Mark, really knew about her home life.
“Working at the art alley?” He teased, and Gema smiled faintly.
“Art Gallery, he’s still having a little trouble with that.”
“You own an art gallery then? Would I know of it?”
Gema snorted before she could help herself. “I doubt it, by the size of this jet, you probably shop for art in the Louver.”
Jamie threw back his head and laughed, and Gema smiled faintly, having forgotten how nice it was to have an adult conversation. “I actually have a pretty weak art collection to say the least. Could use some work, maybe I’ll swing by France when I’m in Spain this week.”
“Is your trip business or pleasure?’ Gema asked.
“A little of both, I guess. I work for an ad design firm and our newest client lives in Spain so, I’m meeting with him. But I also have some family who live in the area.” He shrugged and Gema nodded. “How long will you guys be in the States?” Jamie asked, sipping his drink and studying Gema intently.
“Just over a week, I want to take him to a few other theme parks, maybe Busch Gardens because it has a bunch of animals.”
“Can I ask if you’re meeting your husband there?”
Gema laughed lightly. “Um, no, I’m not.”
Jamie smiled widely. “Can I assume Kai’s father isn’t in the picture, then?”
Gema only smiled faintly and glanced up the aisle at Kai as he played with the controls in the cockpit. It was time to go, before this got too personal. “You can assume that. Thank you again, but we really must be going before we miss our flight.”
She got to her feet and so did Jamie. “Alright then,” He said with a smile, his hand lightly touching her wrist. “It was wonderful meeting you, Gema.”
She smiled up at him, amazed once again at how tall he was. “It was nice to meet you too.”
Kai rushed over to then, gushing about the controls and how he got to sit in the chair. He pulled on Gema’s hand eagerly.
“Mom, can I fly the plane to Disney? Please? I’ll be really careful” He said seriously. Gema laughed, smoothing back Kai’s curls.
“No, honey, I’m sorry, but Mr. Jamie isn’t going to Disney, and you don’t want him to be late for his meetings. Now, say goodbye, Kai, we have to catch our own plane”
“But….” Kai looked at Gema desperately, and then at the cockpit wistfully.
“Tell you what,” Jamie said, squatting down to Kai’s level again. “You can have my pilot’s wings, okay? But don’t tell anyone I gave them to you, they’re only for special pilot’s who can make the plane do flips in the air.” Jamie held out a pin in the shape of wings, and Kai’s eyes became huge just looking at it.
“Really? I can have it?”
“Only if you promise not to run off from your mom again.” Jamie said firmly, and Kai nodded eagerly, grabbing onto the wings and holding them for dear life.
“What do you say?” Gema urged him.
“Thank you!” Kai grinned and Gema smiled at Jamie, mouthing a “thank you”, and he winked at her. Gema flushed, attempting to hide her reddened cheeks as she grabbed their bags and steered Kai to the door of the plane. What was wrong with her?? She never blushed, and she never let men flirt with her. Jamie walked them back into the airport and watched them walk away, Gema knew because she glanced behind her to look at him again, and he was still standing there, smiling that dazzling smile at her. Shaking her head, Gema gripped Kai’s hand in hers and firmly pushed Jamie from her mind.