It’s solid.
I grab the mug from the patio table and head back inside, slamming the door behind me. I put the mug in the dishwasher, and then start cleaning in a frenzy. I need to let off some steam. I just chickened out from telling my sister some really, really important news and then my ex showed up at my house unannounced. I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel about that. Am I supposed to be flattered? I just feel vaguely violated.
I scrub the floors, sweeping and mopping and vacuuming until sweat is beading on my forehead.
It takes about two hours for me to slow down. By that point, I’ve cleaned the kitchen and two bathrooms so that they’re gleaming and tidied up the living room and dining room. I sigh, slumping down on the couch. Then, I reach for my phone and see a message from my ex-boyfriend.
Mark: I’m sorry. I should have called before showing up. I can give you the number for a buddy of mine who can finish the deck for you if you don’t want me to do it.
That’s when I start crying. I’m a mess. I’m barely holding myself together, and I don’t even know why it’s so hard. I have a good job, I have a family that loves me, I have savings and investments and I’m ticking every box except the ‘getting married and having kids’ box, which I never even wanted to tick in the first place.
But now, I’m just confused.
Maybe Ashley’s pregnancy hormones are making me crazy, too. Is that a thing?
I read Mark’s message again and guilt starts to seep into my heart. He was trying to help me, and I kicked him out.
Why did our relationship fall apart anyway? I remember fighting a lot at the end, but maybe it was just a rough patch that I gave up on. Maybe Mark wasn’t the problem.
Maybe he’s the best I can do, and I’ve thrown away my only shot at happiness. What’s the alternative? Tinder? Online dating? Cats?
Stella: I’m sorry I kicked you out. Thank you for the wood.
Mark: If I had a nickel for every time a woman said that to me…
I laugh despite myself, and I remember why I started dating him. We were together for nearly a year, which was the longest relationship I’ve had in the past decade.
I sigh and stare at the phone. I want to text him back. I want to tell him to come over, to fix my deck, to give me some more wood, to hold me and kiss me until I don’t feel so empty inside.
My fingers hover over the keys and I bite my lip. He’d be here in ten minutes—I know he would. I could bury my face in his chest hair and feel human skin against mine for one night.
I bite my lip. I already know I’m losing this battle. I’m going to text him, it’s just a matter of time. It’ll be messy, we’ll end up fighting about something, and I’ll make myself feel worse. But for one night, I could have someone beside me.
I start typing a message when my doorbell rings. I glance at the door and jump when someone starts banging on it.
“Stella!” My sister’s voice calls out. She sounds anxious. “Stella, I know you’re there! Stella!”
“Coming!” I glance at my phone and sigh, turning the screen off.
When I open the door, Ashley comes barreling through. She takes a couple steps and spins around toward me, her chest heaving up and down as she stares at me.
I close the door and turn to face her, frowning.
Her eyes blaze. She shakes her head. “When the fuck were you going to tell me that you’re defending that prick of a mayor we have?! Huh? When?!”
My heart drops.
Shit.
8
Adrian
“We have a problem.” Barry’s furry eyebrows draw together and his moustache trembles. I nod, opening the door wider to let him in.
We’re at the back service door of the Mayor’s Residence, but I still check to see if anyone has seen him come in. Satisfied that he’s been able to move undetected, I close the door and follow him to the small living room around the corner.
“What’s going on?”
“Ashley King is going to be deposed.”
“What?” I exhale, bringing my hand to my forehead. “I thought she was going to be left out of it. How did the DA find out about her?”
Barry purses his lips. “Something about leaving the construction company that’s being investigated, and then two days later starting work at your brother’s foundation.”
I sit down on an overstuffed couch, leaning my elbows on my knees. I stare at the Persian carpet, letting my eyes follow the intricate patterns as I try to make sense of what Barry’s telling me.
Barry has been my loyal investigator for almost a decade. He worked for my parents before me and has been an invaluable source of information since I started this political journey. I trust him implicitly.
He’s still standing with his arms crossed over his barrel chest. “If she tells them about Police Chief White, this whole thing could get a hell of a lot messier. It’ll go from everyday construction corruption to high-level, jailable offenses.”
“They’re already jailable offenses,” I snap.
Barry scoffs. “People don’t give a fuck about construction, but they sure as hell care when you fuck with the police, Adrian. This isn’t the same league.”
I take a deep breath. I told Stella I would keep her sister out of it—I promised her that I would let her tell her sister that she was part of my defense team in her own time. Now, the clock is ticking. If she doesn’t already know that Stella is one of my lawyers, she’ll know soon enough.
“Ashley wasn’t supposed to be part of this.”
“She’s the link between you, Hansen Constructions, and the police. She was always going to be part of this.”
“I know what she is,” I sigh, rubbing my temples. “This is bad.”
Barry makes a noise and finally sits down on the couch across from me. He crosses his ankle over his knee and spreads his arms across the back of the couch. He stares at me with dark eyes.
“What do you want me to do?”
I stare at him, wondering what he’s actually asking me. I don’t really know what he’s capable of, or what he thinks I want from him. Much of our relationship consists of him dealing with things and me not asking any questions.
I sigh and shake my head. “Let me make a couple phone calls. I’ll let you know later tonight if I need you to do anything.”
Barry nods, heaving himself off the couch and padding out of the room. I hear the latch on the back door shut gently, and I blow all the air out of my lungs. For a large man, he moves surprisingly silently. I glance around the corner to make sure the door is closed, and then I walk over to lock it. Glancing out the window, I can’t even see which direction Barry went.
I shiver. At least he’s on my team, and not working against me.
Taking a deep breath, I walk over to the kitchen. I know what I need to do, but I’m dreading it. I need to call Stella and ask her what’s going on with her sister—what she’ll say, what she knows, how she feels about all this. It kills me to put Stella in the middle of this mess, but I don’t see another option. Unless I get out in front of it, this little investigation about a construction project will turn into a brutal, national-news-making headline.
The phone rings three times before she picks up.
“Yes?” I can’t read her voice. She says nothing more, and I take a deep breath.
“I need to talk to you.”
She scoffs. “Oh, you need to talk to me, do you? Hold on, Mr. Mayor. I’ll be right over. Just bend over when you open the door and I can kiss your ass while I’m at it.”
Click.
I stare at my phone in shock. I don’t remember the last time someone hung up on me. I call again and she doesn’t answer.
My best guess is that her sister found out about her defending me. I can imagine the turmoil it’s caused.
I take a deep breath and dial her number again. It rings five times this time, but she picks up.
“What?” She sounds exasperated.
“I’m sorry, Stell
a.” I run the fingers of my free hand through my hair. “I… I’m guessing that Ashley found out?”
“You’re guessing right. Why are you calling me at 7 p.m. on a Saturday night? Don’t you have a life?”
“No.”
Silence. I take a deep breath.
“Look, I had nothing to do with her finding out about you and me. I would have stopped it if I’d have known.”
“First of all, please don’t use the phrase ‘finding out about you and me’ ever again. There is no ‘you and me’. I am one of your lawyers. You are a client. That’s it.”
I take a deep breath. People don’t usually talk to me like this, and it’s taking all my self-control to hold my tongue. Stella sighs.
“I think I can guess why you’re calling.”
“Yeah?”
She snorts. “Yeah. You found out that Ashley is getting deposed, and you’re shit-scared that they’ll find out about all the other shit that went down last year. So, in true ‘Mayor Adrian Maguire’ fashion, you don’t give a fuck about me or my family, and you want me to do your dirty work, find out what Ashley is going to say, and try to minimize the damage. How am I doing so far?”
I chew my lip. “Pretty good.”
“Before you picked up the phone, did you stop to consider what this is doing to me, Adrian?” Fuck, I love it when she says my name. “Did you consider that maybe my sister—my pregnant sister—currently thinks that I’ve betrayed her in the worst way? Did you think of that?”
“Of course I thought of that, Stella,” I sigh. I take a deep breath, squeezing my eyes shut and pinching the bridge of my nose. “Look, I’m sorry. I am. I never wanted this for you or your sister.”
I chew my lip. She says nothing.
“Can I see you? Please?”
She lets out a breath, and I hold mine. “Fine. I’ll come to you.”
She hangs up again. I don’t even care that she’s hung up on me twice in one evening, because my heart leaps in my chest. She’s going to come here.
I’m going to see her tonight.
I slip my phone into my pocket and head to the bathroom. I splash some water on my face and fix my hair. I look at my t-shirt and frown. I head to my bedroom and find a sweater, pulling it on and checking myself out again. I change from my house slippers to a pair of brown shoes, and then fix my hair again.
Then, I pace back and forth from the kitchen to the living room until the doorbell rings.
9
Stella
Damn, he looks good. How does he always look so put together, even when he’s in the midst of a crisis of epic proportions? I feel like a sack of shit, and I’m sure I look no better than I feel.
Adrian nods at me, opening the door for me to step through. I catch a hint of his scent as I enter the house, and my heart flutters.
No.
I need to nip these feelings in the bud. I cannot be attracted to this man. He’s selfish, arrogant, he basically ruined my sister’s life—or tried to, at least. He’s a corrupt politician and I have a bright career. Even thinking of getting involved with him is a bad idea.
Who said anything about getting involved, anyway? I’m here for business.
“Through here,” he says, motioning to a big room on the right. It’s massive, with expensive cream furnishings and a glittering chandelier. A grand piano is in the corner, sitting on top of a plush rug.
“Drink?” Adrian looks at me and nods to the bar in the corner.
I shake my head. “No, thanks. Let’s just get this over with.”
He grins, and a current of warmth snakes through my belly. Selfish. Arrogant. Corrupt. I hate him.
“So,” he starts. “I appreciate you coming over here. I could have come to you.”
“I’d rather not have you in my house.”
His grin widens as he arches his eyebrow. His stupid, sexy dimple appears. “You sure do know how to make a guy feel special.”
“I don’t think you need any help in that department.”
He laughs, nodding. “Touché. Sure you don’t want a drink? Bourbon?”
I pinch my lips together. “Fine.”
Sitting down on a long sofa, I watch Adrian lean over to grab a couple of glasses. His deep maroon sweater pulls across his shoulders as he pours. and I can’t help but stare at his butt. My cheeks flush and I look away, letting my eyes roam around the room.
I don’t look at him again until he’s handing me a crystal glass full of amber liquid. My fingers brush against his as I take it, and my blush deepens.
“So,” he says, his voice gravelly. “As you know, I have a little bit of a problem.”
“We both do.”
He nods, sitting down beside me on the sofa. My breath catches in my throat. I was expecting him to sit on the chair, or on the other long couch across from me. His body is right next to mine, his knee almost touching me. My heart hammers against my ribcage and I take a quick sip of bourbon. It burns on the way down.
“I didn’t know the District Attorney would find the connection between Ashley and my brother so quickly. I’m sorry that you didn’t have more time to tell her.”
I take a deep breath. “Thank you. I appreciate that. I know it wasn’t your fault.”
He glances at me, his icy blue eyes drilling a hole into mine. “Was she mad?”
I laugh bitterly and then nod. “Yeah. She was mad. Have you ever seen an angry pregnant lady? It’s not pretty.”
He grins.
I shake my head. “She’s not really speaking to me right now, but that’ll blow over. I just don’t want this to hurt her. You know about… her past.” I pause, gauging his reaction. He dips his chin down, holding my gaze. I take a deep breath. “You’re probably worried about them tying in the former police chief, but I’m more worried about my sister.”
“That’s understandable.” He shifts his weight on the couch, and his leg gently touches mine. Butterflies erupt in my stomach and a blush stains my cheeks. I take another sip of alcohol.
“It’s in both our interests to keep this contained.”
“Well, also, I am paying you to do that,” he grins. He glances at me over his glass as he drinks.
I snort, shaking my head. “You’re unbelievable.”
“I get that a lot.”
That makes me laugh, despite my best efforts to be mad. I shake my head and stare at the ceiling, taking a deep breath to compose myself. Adrian puts his hand on my arm and I turn to him in surprise. His face is serious.
“Look, Stella. I know I’m an asshole sometimes.
“Sometimes?”
He grins. “Especially ever since this—” he waves his hand around the room. “You know, since I started in politics. But I’m not a bad person. I don’t want to drag your sister down with me. And I don’t want to drag you down, either.”
My heart thunders. He holds my gaze and my mouth goes dry. His tongue slides out to lick his lips and I find myself mimicking the movement. His eyes flick to my lips and warmth curls in the pit of my stomach.
I clear my throat and glance away. “I appreciate that.”
He pulls his hand away from my arm, but I can still feel where his fingers were. It’s as if he’s imprinted his mark on my skin. I want it back. I want his warmth, his touch, his smell.
“The DA will definitely be deposing former Police Chief White,” I continue. “It would be crazy for him not to. If he’s already connected Ashley to this mess, he’ll definitely be digging around. It’s only a matter of time.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.”
“Do you have any other skeletons in your closet? Anything else I should be aware of?” I stare at him hard, drawing my eyebrows together. “I’ll go to bat for you, Adrian. I’ll defend you to the best of my abilities and protect my sister from all this. But I need to know that you’re not hiding anything else.”
“Hand on heart,” he says, moving his palm to his chest. “I promise that there’s nothing else. It’s just the cons
truction contract. The police chief and Ashley… they were just collateral.”
I snort, glancing at him. “Collateral.”
His face twists. “That came out wrong.”
“I think it came out exactly how you meant it.”
“You must think I’m a total dick.”
“That’s very perceptive of you.”
“Why did you come here, then? Why are you helping me at all?”
I pause to consider his question. Why am I here? I lean back on the sofa and take a deep breath. I buy some time by taking a sip of bourbon, letting it soak over my tongue and slide down my throat like liquid fire. Then, I shrug.
“For my sister,” I finally answer. I’m not sure it’s the truth. I wanted to come here. I wanted to see him. I wanted to feel his gaze on me, to smell his cologne. I wanted to be the one that he called, and I wanted to hear his voice when he said all the arrogant, cocky things he loves to say.
He nods. “Well, I’m glad you’re here.”
My whole body aches at his words. I nod, not looking at him. “I’ll talk to my sister tomorrow and prep her for her deposition.”
“I thought she wasn’t talking to you.”
“She’ll come around. She always does. She’s my sister.”
Adrian nods. He drains his glass, and I put the rest of mine on the coffee table. I stand up and brush the front of my pants, and then sling my purse over my shoulder.
He looks me in the eye and nods. “Thank you.”
Tension pulls between us like a string. Heat in my center yearns for him, pulling me closer to his broad, muscular body. I gulp.
“Yeah.” I can’t manage to say anything else.
He takes a step toward me and my heartbeat increases. I drag my eyes up to his, but I don’t see the arrogance, the bravado. The mask that he’s always worn slips away for a few moments and I see a man who’s scared, but calm.
We stand like that until I inhale and dip my chin down. “I’d better go.”
Love/Hate: The Complete Enemies to Lovers Series Page 39