KARMA COLADA

Chapter Four

THERE was a heavy price to pay for letting a six-year-old boss you over.

And Naomi was definitely paying it.

Judging by the state of her face—more specifically the stark, Sharpie-drawn whiskers on both sides of her cheeks—Naomi was seriously reconsidering the idea of motherhood in general.

But of course, not all toddlers were Brody Harmon.

At least, that's what she hoped.

Her mother used to say that she was a perfect little angel growing up—unproblematic, happy, far from fussy. Then again, don't all mothers say the same thing about their own offspring?

Naomi dragged her feet up the stairs to her apartment, feeling like she had fifty pounds of imaginary weight shackled around her ankles. She didn't know how Rachel did it, being a full-time nurse on top of a full-time mom.

Seriously, single parents don't get the recognition they deserve.

Even Naomi's mother sacrificed so much for her, being a first-generation immigrant who had her own business to run. And yet somehow, Norma Wu was still able to magically squeeze time to help her daughter with homework, and mother-daughter movie nights. Her mother loved movies so much, in another life she probably would've been an actress. Or maybe a really bossy director.

Naomi never knew her father, who had started a new family back in Malaysia, but she didn't need to. After all, her mother's sole love and attention was more than enough.

Upon reaching the second landing, Naomi gasped and nearly teetered backwards down the stairs.

Someone was there. Waiting for her.

But not just anyone.

No, she'd recognise those green eyes and easy smile anywhere.

"Nice whiskers," he noted casually, because no introduction was necessary when it came to her high-school sweetheart.

"Xavier!" Naomi's croaked out, flabbergasted.

"In the flesh," Xavier said with a proud tip of his chin. "Happy to see me?"

For some reason, Naomi couldn't think of a reply.

What does one say to 'the one that got away', after not seeing them for a full decade?

Xavier Kennedy was just as she remembered—rakishly handsome. The last time she saw him was at the airport, just before Xavier left for Stanford.

His hair was longer then, tousled into a boyish cut not unlike a Disney hero's. It was apparent that Xavier still went to the gym because his physique had hardly changed since high school. Naomi could see the contours of his muscles under the fitted sweater he was wearing, the outline of his strong legs in his khaki slacks.

She gulped inaudibly.

The memory of their goodbye kiss was like a fresh cut in her mind. As she drunk in the sight of him now, her lips tingled from a phantom kiss. Naomi hoped he didn't notice the effect he still had on her, even after all these years.

When Naomi finally got her brain to work again, she asked, "What are you doing here?"

For a second, Xavier faltered. Then his confidence was back again.

"I need help."

Naomi's heart fluttered. The great Xavier Kennedy in need of saving, and she was the one he chose to be her saviour.

"I'll put the kettle on. Tell me what you need," Naomi said with a sincere smile, and Xavier let out a breath of relief.

He flashed that smile of his, the one that made her nervous. "I knew I could count on you, Nomie."