Page 34 of Fixed Up Ever After
“Lola—”
“Not now, Javi. Please.” She didn’t mean to snap at him, which she had been doing a lot since leaving the plane. She heard his intake of breath, but Javi didn’t try to say anything. She didn’t know if him talking or not talking was worse.
She let those thoughts leave her mind as she checked into the room. The chipper young woman hummed as she input her information into the computer. “Okay, Ms. Roberts. Your poolside king bedroom is ready for you. You’ll be on the sixth—”
“King bed? There are two of them, right?” Lola interrupted her spiel.
The woman shook her head after glancing down at the computer. “No ma’am. Just one bed.”
“I booked two queens, though. Could you see if you have anything else available?”
“I’m sorry ma’am but we are booked for multiple weddings this weekend. This is the only room we have available right now.” She didn’t actually sound sorry, more like she hoped that Lola wouldn’t press her about it anymore.
The dam holding her tears back was going to break any second. She needed to be far away from this lobby when it did. “That’s fine.” Her voice sounded hoarse and far too small.
“Great. Once again, I’m so sorry about that. You will be on the sixth floor on the left. Please call down if you need anything and thank you for choosing us for your Colorado stay.”
Lola turned her back on the woman before she finished, making her way to the elevator. She pressed the up button and immediately expected the elevator to open for her. When it didn’t, she pressed it again and again and again…
“Preciosa.” Javi’s large hand covered hers, pulling her back to his chest. She didn’t fight him, she just let it happen. Not a moment later the elevator door slid open and Javi walked them both inside. It was a bit awkward to walk pressed up against his chest, but she no longer trusted her own legs to lead her.
He pressed the button for the sixth floor and let the elevators close. Neither of them spoke after that. She listened to the steady beat of his heart and counted backward from thirty to keep her composure for a little bit longer.
The elevator dinged, signaling they had made it to their floor. This time she pulled away from him so Javi could lead them to their room. She trailed behind him as if each step cost her dearly. She watched in silence as Javi opened up their door, propping it open to allow her in.
The room was beautiful, as she knew it would be, and very spacious. The small hallway held a bathroom off to the right and at the end opened up into a sitting room with a couch and two chairs with a coffee table. A coffee bar sat on the opposite side of the wall. Past the sitting area was the bedroom with one large king-sized bed overlooking the balcony.
And that’s when Lola lost it. The stress of the day, preparing to see her family and her ex, and finally the stupid mess up of rooms pushed her over the edge. She couldn’t stop the panic attack if she wanted to. Anxiety was stupid and nonsensical. Each hole in her perfectly curated dam had weakened her resolve. Now it was destroyed and she unleashed the bubbling sobs in her throat.
CHAPTER22
Javi
From the time they boarded the plane until the moment they made it to the hotel, Javi had felt the tension rolling off Lola in waves. Each time he attempted to provide comfort, with the exception of the plane ride, she flinched at his touch or snapped at him. He didn’t take it personally though because his girl was so deep into her own head that she was barely registering reality.
It just didn’t make sense why she was icing him out and that bothered him. Lola had given him very little to go off and though weddings and families could be a stressful thing, the degree to which Lola felt anxious wasn’t normal. So what was he missing?
He hadn’t expected a welcoming committee upon his arrival, but at the very least he expected more than the reproachful looks he got from her mother and sister. The three women all held a striking resemblance to one another. All had a thick head of midnight-black hair, but Lola was the only one who wore it in its natural curly state. They had the same plump lips and hazel eyes. The other two women lacked the curves Lola had, curves Javi found extremely alluring.
Her father was the only one who seemed interested in meeting him. The only other person Javi couldn’t quite get a read on was the other man sitting with the family. He assumed he was the groom-to-be, but Javi noticed the way Lola’s body stiffened when she acknowledged him. Javi made up his mind right then that he didn’t care for the man.
He didn’t get the chance to talk to her between her checking them in, assaulting the elevator button, and entering their room with only one bed. Admittedly he didn’t mind only having one bed, but since she seemed uncomfortable with it, he was going to offer to take the pullout couch.
At least he was until he turned around to see full-body sobs wracking through Lola’s body. It happened so fast it nearly gave him whiplash. One moment she was quiet, lost in her own thoughts, and the next her cries rang out around the room, nearly bringing him to his knees.
“Preciosa.” The nickname tasted vile on his tongue. He didn’t deserve to call her that, not when she was crying and shuddering so violently he thought she’d come crashing to the ground.
Not even a second after his thought, Lola’s legs gave out and she crashed onto the couch next to her. Her sobs only grew louder, her body shaking as if caught in the cold. Javi crossed the room in two long strides and sank down on the spot next to her. “Lola.” Her name sounded like a plea on his lips. A plea for something he couldn’t quite put into words.
But now was not the time for talking. No words could form through that avalanche of emotions. He did the only thing he knew how to do, the only thing that didn’t need words. She didn’t fight him when Javi opened his arms and pulled her to his chest.
There were times when Camilia got so worked up that she couldn’t form any words and reasoning with her proved impossible. Javi struggled for a long time because he had always been one who needed to talk things through, but Ofelia helped him realize sometimes emotions were too big, too vast, that no words could break through those barriers.
Nonverbal communication was better at that.
The sobs rolled through her body into his. Lola gripped the front of his shirt, bunching it tightly in her fists. He rubbed her back, hoping the single action conveyed everything he was feeling and couldn’t say. The anger for her family. The frustration with himself for not being able to do more. The curiosity to learn what made her feel so overwhelmed.
For twenty minutes they stayed like this, him just holding her until her sobs turned into soft hiccups. She was far from better, but it was a start. One he could work with if nothing else triggered her.
