472 Ba
ch 17

Zack wanted the earth to swallow him up, he had no idea when his sister had met Giselle or if that was true, but if it was, it had to have been during the last year, when they were already separated. His hand unconsciously squeezed Andrea’s and she knew something was wrong, very wrong. -Well, if you met Gisselle – he said in a sharp voice, then I don’t understand what your drama is about because you know perfectly well that the woman next to me is not her. Gisselle and I broke up a long time ago. This is Andrea, my girlfriend, so come say hello properly or skip the scene. -Well, little brother, don’t bother- said Noémi downplaying it. You must understand that you had been in a relationship with Gisselle for years. When you told dad “my girlfriend is pregnant”, we all assumed it was Gisselle you were talking about. Zack’s words came back to Andrea’s mind like a blow: “If life was fair, I would have a wife and a baby.” So whatever had happened, it was obvious that it had been very difficult for him. “Hey, Thorcito, your sister is right, don’t bother,” he said with a smile capable of melting the poles. “She’s not a fortune teller, she couldn’t know which girlfriend you were referring to. You know… there are many of us in the harem.” Zack blushed, but Andrea’s eyes were two laughing pools and calling him Thorcito was the funniest thing in the world, so he ended up nodding. “You’re right, cupcake, I didn’t say which girlfriend,” he sighed. “So let’s make the formal introduction. Family, this is Andrea, my girlfriend and the mother of my daughter Adriana. Since she’s the first woman I’ve brought home, and everyone knows that’s true, I hope you behave with the minimum of kindness,” he said, looking at his sisters. Luckily, Loan quickly became playful and distracted everyone from the stuffy atmosphere. Luana pushed her husband’s chair inside while the baby was waking up, and then Milo carried his brother’s and Andrea’s suitcases and gestured for them to follow him. “You don’t have your old room anymore, little brother,” he said. Mom told them to prepare the biggest one for the baby’s crib. I’m just letting you know that I’m going to steal that girl to make a mold for her. She’s a cutie, I’ll eat her up!” He took them to one of the rooms with a view of the mountain and left them alone to settle in. As soon as Loan left, Andrea saw Zack sit on one of the chests in front of the window and pull his hair angrily. She approached him slowly and took her hands out of his hair because it looked like he was going to tear it out. Then her fingers gently caressed it and she murmured: Thank you for reading on LeeNovelas.com. -All these weeks I’ve been thinking why you would have lied to your parents about something as important as having a child. But you didn’t lie to them, did you? Zack clenched his fists and shook his head without looking at her. -No, Gisselle was pregnant – he answered in a whisper. – She aborted it without me knowing.I found out about both things through health insurance, he didn’t even think to tell me. “Things didn’t end well between you two?” she asked. “The world wars ended with less disaster,” he replied. “I had my days of endless excitement and then…” “But you had already told your family that you were going to have a child,” Andrea understood. Remember. Read this novel only at LeeNovelas.com, not on other sites. “I don’t care about the rest of the family,” Zack replied, “but I had told my father. You saw his face today when he held Adriana. I bet no one else has been able to hold her yet because he hasn’t let go! How was he going to tell him that he was no longer a grandfather?” Andrea understood the sadness that Zack felt and slowly caressed his back with a comforting gesture. If he was a sweetheart with a girl who wasn’t his, she couldn’t even imagine how cuddly and adorable he would be with his own child. -I’m so sorry, it’s obvious that it was something very important to you. -I should have told you before but… the truth is that no one in my family ever met Gisselle, I didn’t think my sister would bring her up -he murmured. -Yes, you should have told me, now I look like a homewrecker, but yes, I will be a very sweet homewrecker- she replied and Zack raised his head to look into her eyes. -If my sisters came with the intention of bothering us, this is only going to get worse- he said-. Maybe it would be better if we went to a hotel, or a cabin… -Of course not! -declared Andrea-. We came here so that you could spend a beautiful Christmas with your father, and if your sisters get annoying, then that’s their problem. What’s the worst they can do? Zack sighed, shrugging his shoulders. -I have no idea, but they’ll think of something- he murmured helplessly-. And by the way, what was that about Thorcito? Andrea let out a laugh and smiled mischievously at him. “You said I should give you a pet name, and that’s what came out. I swear that when you looked at your sister I really saw clouds with lightning and thunder above your head. And what was that about Pastelito, let’s see?” she rebuked him. “You said it yourself, you’re sweet!” he exclaimed and Andrea leaned down to look him in the eyes. “Everything is going to be okay. Let them bother us, nothing can be worse than what we’ve already been through this year, right?” Zack nodded tiredly and hugged her waist, hiding his face in her abdomen for a second while she caressed his hair. “You just went from essential employee to friend in a second,” he murmured and Andrea hit him on the shoulder. “You still have to pay me, Thorcito.” “Copy, Pastelito.” Andrea heard him sigh and suddenly a laughing clearing of the throat startled them. -No one in this house can get affectionate until after ten at night, – Zack’s mother laughed, watching them from the doorway. Get changed and go, there are cookies to make! Zack let go of her with a soft gesture and then looked at the closet, because he knew the family traditions very well. Their Christmas sweaters were already there,So the two of them took turns in the bathroom to change. “Look at this, you’re a cute snowman!” Zack exclaimed when he saw her and she did a pirouette before bringing a hand to her mouth. “Thorcito, I’m deeply sorry to tell you this, but you’re a reindeer!” Zack rolled his eyes at his sweater and grumbled three times as they left the room. In the kitchen, which was huge, everyone was gathered and indeed, Mr. Nikola had not yet let go of the baby. “Luana, we have to change the princess! Where’s that onesie you bought her?” he said excitedly. A little later the newly-minted grandmother returned with Adriana wearing a Christmas onesie exactly like her grandfather’s and Andrea smiled seeing that matching clothes ran in Zack’s family. “Well, we have hundreds of activities to do,” Mrs. Luana declared, but first things first. Andrea, we’re very happy that you and the baby are here. Welcome to the Keller family! “Thank you, Mrs. Luana, and I’m also very happy to be here,” she replied softly. “Okay, first task! Baking! We’re going to pair up, the prettiest gingerbread house will get a special gift.” Zack squished Andrea against him in an obvious claim and raised his eyebrows at her. “Tell me you know how to do this!” She smiled and nodded. “I guess you always paired up with your mom before to get the prize,” she accused. “How good is it?”“My mom makes amazing gifts, so we better try to win,” he said. “OK. Luckily for you, yes, I know how to make spectacular gingerbread houses. You go with the decorations and I’ll make the dough.” Zack was infected with the Christmas spirit, and although some already thought they were too old for those games, no one dared to contradict Mrs. Luana. They scattered among the kitchens of the mansion and Zack attacked the candy pantry. Adriana was more than happy in the arms of Mr. Nikola, who pampered her as if she were a princess, and shortly after Andrea was hitting the dough. “Everything okay?” Zack asked, coming up to her. “No, wait, that’s a lot of dough and if you put too much flour in it, the dough will be very hard…” “That’s what I want.” “But then there will be no one to eat it,” Zack replied. “Believe me, when I finish with this little house, no one will want to eat it,” she declared. Besides, your mom said the prettiest little house, not the tastiest. Zack pointed at her with a finger and laughed. “You’re a cheater! I like it! Do you need help?” “Actually, yes, the dough is heavy, my fingers hurt,” she said with a pout. Zack rolled up his sweater and stood behind her, also sticking his fingers in the dough to flatten it. Andrea held her breath for a moment, looking at those tattooed forearms around her, and feeling the heat coming off that body pressed against her back. “Is this okay?” he asked and she held her breath. “A little more…” she almost whispered as he finished kneading the base for the gingerbread cookie. Zack smiled softly because it was easy to feel every shudder in her. She was a nervous girl, but in its own way that was very cute. They spread the dough on four trays and immediately began to make cardboard molds. Zack had never made gingerbread houses like that before, but he was having a lot of fun and when he saw her glue everything together until she built a three-story house he was almost speechless. “Now I understand why so much dough,” he murmured. “Well, let’s make the frosting to stick the cookie to all that,” she said, winking at him. If Andrea was honest, she had to admit that it had been a long time since she had had so much fun, and ending up covered in flour, frosting, and with Skittles in her hair was the best thing in the world. “Is it wrong if I suck your hair?” Zack laughed. “God, you have melted chocolate hanging from your…!” “Where…?” “Wait…!” They were dirtier than two children, and Zack tried to wipe the chocolate off her face with the back of his hand, his hand, his fingers. “Damn, I’m so clumsy, come here!” He laughed, pulling her along and ended up running his tongue over her cheek to get it out. “Ouch!” -Don’t complain anymore! At least you taste good! – he exclaimed and Andrea finished wiping herself off, dying of laughter. They stayed laughing and looking at each other for a minute, until their laughter suddenly stopped. Zack hadn’t seen her so happy since he had met her, and she really was a person who deserved to be happy.- Are you going to kiss or not? – they heard from the door and both turned to see Mrs. Luana, who was carrying the baby. – Mom! Is everything okay? – Zack approached and took the girl in his arms. – Yes, but I think she’s hungry – said his mother. – In that case, I’ll take her for a bath and give her her bottle – Andrea said to Zack with a wink, taking Adriana with her, and barely disappeared down the hall when his mother leaned towards him. – Don’t take it the wrong way, son, but you’re very slow. If you want your father to believe this, you’re going to have to kiss her more.