Page 72 of Fixed Up Ever After
Standing in front of her, dressed in dark denim jeans and his usual black T-shirt, stood Javi. And in his hands, he was holding two things: a greasy bag of food and an old copy ofThe Giving Tree.
Lola opened her mouth, but the only thing that escaped her lips was a sob.
CHAPTER43
Javi
Three weeks. That was how long it took for every piece of the puzzle to fit together to create this moment right here. Javi would not soon forget the look in Lola’s eyes when she turned around and saw him standing only a few feet behind her. Her eyes were blown wide and her lips didn’t know whether to smile or scowl at him. There seemed to be a raging war inside her, probably wondering if she wanted to hug him or cast him out.
There was a chance he only made things worse between them. If she rejected him again, he would have to give her up. He knew when he was fighting a losing battle, but he hadn’t failed yet.
Three weeks ago, Javi met Travis for lunch. Out of concern for his daughter, he wanted to reach out to someone who knew what was going on because Lola tended to bottle up her emotions and not feel them until they became overwhelming.
Javi only spoke about the incident he saw between her mother and Lola at the wedding. There was far more that needed to be said, but it wasn’t his story to tell. This was how they came to an agreement that Travis would leave Lola alone long enough for her to focus on the shop and come support her on opening day.
Bringing Marisol had never been part of the plan, so it was a pleasant surprise to see her at the shop as well. It made sense though, given their troubled history. Perhaps she was there to patch things up with her sister. The only person missing from the scene was Luciana.
Good.
Travis broke the silence and stood up. “Well, I think it’s time for Marisol and me to go.” Lola didn’t so much as turn around to acknowledge him. “We will see you later for the—”
“Yes—” Javi cut him off, not wanting to spoil the other surprise he had waiting for her. A surprise that was contingent upon her response to him being here.
“Right. We will just see our way out.” He winked at him and offered his arm to Marisol. As they walked out, he noticed Marisol’s gentle squeeze of Lola’s shoulder and the way Lola relaxed her body.
Soon the door closed, leaving the two of them in absolute silence for the first time in three weeks.
“This was you? All of this was you?” So his girl found her voice. Her ever-changing emotions made him want to take all the doubts away. “But how? And what the fuck, Javi? You’ve been avoiding me for three weeks and now you come in here holding”—she gestured down to the book she hated, causing Javi’s lip to quirk up in a smirk—“that damned book and food? Like that’s going to fix everything?”
He flinched at her statement. The past three weeks hadn’t been easy. More than once he had been tempted to seek her out, just as she did for him. Each time he came up short though. There was still much left unsaid between them, but he didn’t want to add any extra stress as she prepared for her opening. Javi had things to prepare for as well and they all revolved around her.
They both needed time apart to find their way back together.
Lola stared at him expectantly, waiting for a response. He took a step forward and her body gave an involuntary shudder, giving away that she was affected by his proximity.
“No, I don’t think this will fix everything,” he said, putting the book and food on the table. From his experience, food did wonders to calm the most strenuous situations. Ofelia said it was better than flowers, so he took her word for it.
“Javi, did you talk to my dad? What did you tell him? You don’t have to continue to stick up for me.”
“You still don’t get it, do you?” Javi laughed, which only made Lola purse her pouty lips together in anger. “I admit, talking to your father may have been a mistake. I don’t regret telling him what happened, but I should have asked your permission first. I’m sorry.”
Lola remained stoic, not answering him with words. The slightest nod of her head told him to continue. “He came to me as a father and asked what I would do if my daughter was hurting. So I told him. I said nothing on this earth would stop me from making it right. I wouldn’t let my own stubbornness or pride force me to miss out on the best thing to have ever happened to me.”
He thought of Camilia and the lengths he would go to for his daughter. Travis was struggling to find his footing and Javi had attempted to give him advice, not knowing what he would do with it, but hoping he’d make the right decision.
Showing up and admitting you were part of the problem was a good first move in his book.
Lola sucked her bottom lip between her teeth. “And my sister? Did you talk to her too?”
“No, I think that might have been your father. He seemed determined to fix a sibling relationship he had a part in breaking. But it’s up to you on what you want to do.” Not that he needed to tell her this, she had done a good job of standing her ground like she rightfully deserved.
Yet she still didn’t seem at ease with him in the room and he was starting to second-guess his plan. “Listen, I’m sorry about talking to your dad—”
“No. Surprisingly, I’m not mad about that.” Lola admitted, cutting him off. “I know you did it for me. I’m mostly mad at myself.” Her voice came out so small, cracking on the last few words.
Every muscle in Javi’s body tensed. “Why are you mad at yourself? You didn’t do anything.”
“And that is exactly the problem. I shouldn’t have let my doubts take over and push you away. I should have fought harder for us and when I was finally ready, I thought you wanted nothing to do with me anymore. Which is, once again, my fault.”
