Jesus, this hurts like a motherfucker.
I let my pain morph into anger. The images of her and Adam together are aiding that.
“Well, you might want to check your facts because I am, without a doubt, his wife. Now, do your job, and call upstairs. Tell my husband that I’m here to see him, and be quick about it.” I flick my fingers at her in a derogatory manner as I take a step back.
Okay, maybe that was overkill with the my-husband bit. And I honestly don’t ever treat people like I’ve just treated Pit Bull Barbie here. Being in the service industry, I’m treated like this regularly, so I always make sure to be respectful to people. But she’s really pissing me off, and if she and Adam are—well, whatever. I just don’t like her.
She strides back to the desk in front of me, sits her ass in the chair, and picks up her earpiece before putting it in. Then, she presses a button on her phone. “Mark, I have a woman here claiming to be…well, she says she’s Mr. Gunner’s…wife.” She flicks a look at me. “To be honest, she…” She spins her chair away from me, like she thinks doing that will mean I can’t hear her. “Well, she looks like a homeless person. Maybe she’s a mental patient who’s escaped from a facility. Should I call security?”
There’s a long silence while I stare at the back of Pit Bull Barbie’s head.
“Well, yes, she is small, I suppose. And she does have blonde hair, but it’s kind of disgusting—fine, okay.” She shoots me a glance over her shoulder. “What’s your name?”
I fold my arms over my chest, letting out a sigh. “Evie.”
She relays my name down the phone, and we go back to silence again.
Maybe I should just get my cell out and call Adam myself. Now that I think of it, I probably should have done that in the beginning.
“Are you sure?” she says. “Because—I’m sorry, what?” she gasps, her back going rigid. Then, more silence. “Fine,” she snaps. “Tell Mr. Gunner I hear his message loud and clear.”
She spins her chair back to me. Looking like she’s just been slapped on the face, her cheeks bright red, she bites out the words to me, “Take the elevator to the eighth floor. Mark Evans, Mr. Gunner’s assistant, will meet you there.”
“Thank you,” I say primly, giving her a smug look even though I really want to give her the middle finger.
I swivel on my heel and march over to the elevator. I press the call button. The doors immediately open. I step inside and press the button for the eighth floor, which also happens to be the top floor.
The door closes, and I crumble against the elevator wall.
Holy shit!
I can’t believe I just did that.
I just announced to Adam’s receptionist—and quite possibly a woman he’s fucking—that I’m married to him.
Me and my big mouth.
I really shouldn’t have done that. I can’t imagine that she’s going to keep that piece of news to herself.
And Adam, though not celebrity famous, is a notable person. He’s the head of Gunner Entertainment, for God’s sake. It’s newsworthy.
If this gets out…I’m screwed.
And as the elevator ascends, taking me closer to Adam, my stomach drops right back down to the ground.
It’s Christmas—well, almost. It’s Christmas Eve. Adam and I are at the supermarket, shopping for a turkey and all the trimmings.
We’ve left our food shopping pretty late, but between school and working every available shift I can at Grady’s in the run up to Christmas, I haven’t had a chance to get to the store. And Dad hasn’t had time to get out as Casey’s been sick with a touch of the flu, but she’s on the mend now.
Max has gone home for the holidays. I got the impression that he didn’t want to, but he had no choice.
Adam isn’t going home, so he is spending Christmas with us. As far as I know, he hasn’t spoken to his mother since she came in October. Adam hasn’t told me what went down with his mother after I had left, but I get the feeling that it wasn’t good. If he wants to talk about it, then I’ll listen, but I’m not going to push him.
He hasn’t mentioned his dad, but I know they’re not close. Adam’s dad is not the kind of father who calls up for no other reason than to have a chat with his son.
I’m just happy that he’s spending the holidays with me.
Dad is even letting him spend the night at our apartment tonight, so we can all wake up together tomorrow morning to open presents.
Adam will be sleeping on the couch.
We still haven’t gotten to the actually-having-sex stage in our relationship, not that Dad would let Adam sleep with me if we had gotten there. Not a chance in hell.
And I want Adam. I really do. I’m crazy about him. I love him. But I’m just not there with the sex thing yet. The thought kind of terrifies me. I’ve seen the size of his cock, and I honestly can’t wrap my head around how the hell it’s supposed to fit inside me, not that I’ve said that to Adam.
He’s just so patient with me. It’s amazing. He’s amazing.
“I’ve never done this before,” Adam says, pushing the cart alongside me.
I continue to deposit food into it from off the shelves. “Done what?”
“Shop for Christmas food.”
“No?” I give him a surprised look.
“Nope. The house staff always got the food and prepared it. Believe it or not, I didn’t actually have to shop for food until I moved here with Max.”
“That’s tragic.” I laugh.
“Yeah,” he agrees, laughing.
“So, what did you do for Christmas?” I imagine, with the money his family has, they probably spent it in Aspen or somewhere equally as nice.
His eyes lower. “Christmases were usually pretty shitty in the Gunner household. If Ava and Eric weren’t fighting over one thing or another, then Eric was getting drunk and waiting for the moment he could leave. We weren’t really the open-the-presents-around-the-tree kind of family. I usually spent most of each Christmas up in my room.
“When I was around thirteen, I started spending Christmas alone. Ava and Eric decided I was old enough to fend for myself, so they would go off—separately—to do whatever with whomever, so I would be home alone. There was the staff, but I would let them go home, so they could spend the day with their families. And I would just eat whatever our housekeeper, Millie, had made for me before she left, which was always something nice.”
“Your parents left you alone on Christmas?” I gasp, my heart hurting for him.
He shrugs like it doesn’t matter. Averting his eyes, he picks up a pack of cookies and starts examining them.
But I know it bothers him, and it makes me ache for him.
“I mean, I only spent two Christmases alone before Max found out, and he never let me spend another Christmas alone again, so it wasn’t all bad. Christmases got better after that. Max would take me to his house. Even though his parents are as close to fucked up as mine, they’re always home for Christmas. And it didn’t matter ’cause I was with Max, and we always had a laugh.”
I hate his parents. I’ve never even met his dad, and I hate him already.
No, I don’t hate them. I loathe them.
I mean, what kind of people leave their kid alone at Christmas?
The fucking evil kind—that’s who.
Stopping in the middle of the aisle, I walk over to where he is and wrap my arms around him from behind, hugging him tight. “Thank God for Max. I’m going to let him know how much I appreciate him when he gets back after the break,” I say into his shirt.
Adam turns in my arms and looks down at me. “I hope you’re not going to show your appreciation in the same way you show me that you appreciate me.”
I laugh, slapping his shoulder. “No, dork. I’m just going to thank him.”