Chapter Seventeen — Cairo
1866 Words
It had been one week.
One entire week since my birthday.
And somehow, I still couldn’t get it out of my head.
Not the gifts.
Not even the car.
Not the fireworks.
It was the feeling.
That was the part I couldn’t shake.
Xander had made me feel special.
Not simply spoiled.
Not simply celebrated.
Welcomed.
Like coming home meant something.
Like I meant something.
And that feeling had stayed with me long after the birthday decorations had been taken down.
It was Saturday, and I was lounging around the house when my phone rang.
Caleb.
I answered.
“Hey.”
“Princess.”
I smiled.
“What’s up?”
“You want to go for lunch?”
I looked at the time.
“Uh…”
“No hesitation. Come on.”
“I don’t know.”
“Why?”
“I’ll call you back.”
Before he could argue, I ended the call.
Because there was one very important problem.
I was twenty-eight years old.
Twenty-eight.
And somehow, I still needed to ask Xander for permission to go to lunch.
Crazy.
Absolutely crazy.
But I knew him.
I knew that tone.
I knew what happened when I simply made plans and told him afterward.
So I called.
He answered almost immediately.
“What?”
I blinked.
“Hi to you too.”
“Why are you calling?”
There it was.
Suspicion.
Every single time I called him and started with um, he already knew I wanted something.
“Xander, um…”
“Where are you going?”
I sighed.
“How do you always know?”
“Where?”
“I want to go to lunch with Caleb.”
Silence.
Then—
“When?”
“Maybe around two.”
“With who?”
“Caleb.”
“I heard you.”
“There’s this cute restaurant he found. He wants us to try it.”
Another pause.
Then his voice became calm.
“Send me what you’re wearing.”
I stared at the phone.
Of course.
Of course that was his response.
“Xander—”
“Take a picture and send it.”
There was that finality again.
I sighed.
“Fine.”
I hung up.
An hour later, I changed into a cream-colored outfit.
Elegant.
Soft.
Simple.
And for the first time, I carried the Hermès bag Xander had given me.
I stared at myself in the mirror.
The bag looked beautiful.
Then I grabbed the keys to the Bugatti.
And that was when I noticed something else.
The interior.
Chocolate brown.
My favorite color.
I actually paused.
How did he know?
It wasn’t the first time he’d remembered something I’d said years ago.
But somehow, it still affected me.
People always talked about love as grand gestures.
Flowers.
Jewelry.
Trips.
Cars.
But consideration?
Remembering tiny things?
Paying attention?
That felt different.
Consideration was the highest form of love.
And Xander had been considering me for years.
Maybe longer than I had realized.
I sent him the picture.
His reply came almost immediately.
Good.
Just that.
I rolled my eyes.
Then smiled anyway.
I texted Caleb that I was coming.
When I walked downstairs, Mom looked up.
Her eyes immediately landed on the bag.
“Wow.”
I laughed.
“What?”
“That bag.”
She shook her head.
“That bag gets me every time.”
“I know.”
“That is expensive.”
“Xander got it for me.”
“I know.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“You know?”
“I saw it on your Instagram.”
I smiled.
“Mm-hmm.”
She just shook her head.
I walked outside.
The Bugatti was waiting.
And the moment I drove away, I noticed people looking.
A lot of people.
I had grown up around luxury.
I knew what it looked like.
But luxury combined with comfort?
Luxury that had been chosen specifically for me?
That was different.
And I was beginning to understand why Xander’s gifts affected me so much.
It wasn’t about the price.
It was the thought behind them.
⸻
The restaurant was beautiful.
Of course Caleb had chosen somewhere aesthetically pleasing.
He was already seated when I walked in.
The moment he saw me, his mouth dropped open.
“Whoa.”
I laughed.
“Hi.”
“Princess.”
He stood up dramatically.
“You look rich.”
I rolled my eyes.
“I am rich.”
“No, no.”
He pointed toward the window.
“You drove here in a nineteen-million-dollar car.”
Then he pointed at my bag.
“And you’re carrying a bag worth hundreds of thousands.”
He stared at me.
“You look rich-rich.”
I sat down.
“Can you stop?”
“No.”
He laughed.
“You have my brother wrapped around your finger.”
“I do not.”
“Please.”
He leaned forward.
“You have access to his money that even I don’t have.”
I laughed.
“Maybe.”
His eyes widened.
“See!”
We both started laughing.
Lunch was easy.
Comfortable.
Fun.
Until Caleb suddenly leaned back and studied me.
“So…”
I narrowed my eyes.
“So what?”
“You and Xander.”
I froze.
“What about us?”
“What is going on?”
“Nothing.”
He laughed.
“Nothing?”
“Nothing.”
“Princess.”
“Caleb.”
“The man spent an obscene amount of money on your birthday.”
“So?”
“So?”
He looked at me like I was insane.
“He bought you a car that costs nineteen million dollars.”
I looked down at my plate.
“He likes giving gifts.”
“He built you a closet.”
I said nothing.
“He planned your entire birthday.”
“Caleb.”
“He had fireworks.”
I groaned.
“Please.”
“And now you’re wearing his bag and driving his car.”
“I told you, they’re gifts.”
He stared at me.
“Then why are you blushing?”
My face immediately became warm.
“I am not.”
“You are.”
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
I covered my face.
“Shut up.”
He laughed.
“Princess…”
“Don’t.”
“You like him.”
I lowered my hands.
“We’re not—”
I stopped.
Because suddenly, I didn’t know what to say.
Caleb noticed.
His teasing expression softened.
“You don’t even know what you two are, do you?”
I looked away.
“No.”
The word came out quieter than I expected.
He didn’t laugh this time.
And somehow, that made the question feel even heavier.
⸻
I went home after lunch.
The moment I walked through the front door, my phone rang.
Xander.
I answered.
“Hello?”
“Where are you?”
“Home.”
“Good.”
I barely had time to process the call before he continued.
“Come outside.”
I frowned.
“What?”
“Come outside.”
“Why?”
“Grab your bag.”
“What are you doing?”
“Come outside, Cairo.”
I sighed.
Fine.
When I stepped outside, his Porsche was waiting.
I stared at it.
Then I looked at my phone.
“You’re serious?”
“Yes.”
“Where are we going?”
“My house.”
I laughed softly.
“You have something else for me?”
“Yes.”
“Xander, what could you possibly have left?”
He simply opened the passenger door.
“Get in.”
I shook my head.
“You’re impossible.”
“And you’re still standing there.”
I got in.
Of course I did.
⸻
By the time we reached his house, evening had settled over everything.
We had dinner.
Then we moved into the living room.
A movie was playing.
Some romantic movie I hadn’t even been paying attention to because I was too busy trying to understand why I was sitting there beside Xander feeling so…
comfortable.
He eventually reached for something on the table.
A small box.
He handed it to me.
I stared at it.
“What is this?”
“The last of your birthday gifts.”
I blinked.
“Last?”
“It wasn’t ready in time.”
I looked at him.
“Xander, this is too much.”
“Open it.”
I slowly opened the box.
And stopped breathing for a second.
A diamond tennis bracelet.
It was beautiful.
Delicate.
Elegant.
Exactly my taste.
“Xander…”
“Put out your wrist.”
I looked at him.
“It’s expensive.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“You drive a nineteen-million-dollar car.”
I opened my mouth.
“You carry a bag worth hundreds of thousands.”
I closed it.
“And you’re worried about a bracelet?”
“That’s not the point.”
“No but.”
He held out his hand.
“Wrist.”
I sighed and gave it to him.
His fingers were warm against my skin as he fastened the bracelet.
When he finished, he turned my wrist slightly, inspecting it.
“It suits you.”
I looked down at it.
“It really does.”
“I know.”
I smiled.
“Thank you.”
He looked at me.
That intense look.
Except it wasn’t frightening tonight.
It was warm.
Almost gentle.
And for some reason, that made my heart beat faster.
⸻
Later, we went upstairs.
I changed into one of the pajamas he had bought for me.
I climbed into bed.
Xander joined me.
His arm settled around me almost automatically.
I didn’t move away.
And that realization surprised me.
Because somewhere along the way, his touch had stopped feeling entirely unfamiliar.
His presence had stopped feeling entirely intrusive.
His care had started becoming something I looked for.
Something I expected.
Something I wanted.
And then Caleb’s voice returned to my head.
You like him.
I stared into the darkness.
What were Xander and I?
We weren’t dating.
We hadn’t said we were together.
He had never officially asked me to be his.
But he treated me like I was already his.
He remembered everything.
He took care of me.
He wanted to know where I was.
He wanted to know what I was wearing.
He sent me lunch every day.
He built a closet for me.
He planned my birthday like it was the most important event in his life.
He bought me things I’d only ever dreamed about.
And tonight, when he put that bracelet on my wrist, his expression had looked almost…
Proud.
I turned slightly.
Xander was already asleep.
Or at least, I thought he was.
His arm was still wrapped around me.
Protective.
Possessive.
Warm.
I stared at the ceiling.
Maybe Caleb was right.
Maybe there was something here.
Something I wasn’t ready to name.
Something that had been growing quietly for four months.
Maybe the real question wasn’t what was Xander to me?
Maybe the real question was—
What was I becoming to Xander?
And even more terrifyingly…
What was Xander becoming to me?
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