Affinity: A Salvation Society Novel

by Harlow Layne

  “Oh, um . . . I hadn’t even thought about it, but if you want to go, we can.”

  “I think it would be nice to get away. It’s a nice little town where no one will bother us. Normally when I go, I stay with them. Everyone does. They have a nice big house that’s in a gated community that Colton Patrick owns.”

  “Really? Will he be there?” I asked, maybe a little too enthused going by the side-eye Jenner gave me.

  “I can’t say,” he gritted. “She did say the other day that Anna was going to be gone most of the summer.” Was he trying to remind me that Colton Patrick was married?

  He placed our dinner onto the counter a little too hard before he started to pull everything out in a hasty manner. Wrapping my hands around one arm to stop him, I leaned into his side. “Hey, I don’t have the hots for him, so you don’t need to worry.”

  He stopped what he was doing and turned to me. “Who do you have the hots for?”

  I wasn’t sure if he only wanted me to say him, which made sense or if he really wanted to know who his competition might be. Not that he had any. Again, I found this side of him even more attractive.

  “Hmm,” I hummed and put my thumb and forefinger to my chin as if I was trying to think of who it would be. “A certain tall, dark, and handsome man whose name I happen to have tattooed on my finger.”

  He quirked one brow. “Really? Anyone else?”

  “Only you. Now I’m going to get out of my work clothes and into something more comfortable that I can spill tomato sauce on. I’ll be right back.”

  “Yeah, sure. Get comfortable.” His eyes darted around the kitchen, no longer looking at me before he went back to work, pulling out all the containers. The man didn’t know how to order for two, it seemed. He always ordered way more than the two of us could eat, even though he could put away quite a lot of food.

  Slowly I walked backward, watching him and wondering why he had all of a sudden started to act weird. Once he was out of view, I turned around and walked to my bedroom. The moment I stepped foot inside, I took off my heels and rubbed at my aching feet. I wasn’t used to wearing heels for long stretches of time, and now I was paying for it. Maybe I’d get in the hot tub after dinner to make them feel better. I started to strip out of my blouse and skirt as I made my way inside my closet when I noticed all of my things were gone. Not one item of clothing was hanging up. I searched through the drawers of the dresser and found everything gone. Even my bathroom stuff was missing.

  Tears filled my eyes as I looked around to find every last item of mine absent from my bedroom. There weren’t even boxes with my stuff packed up. Trudging back out to the kitchen, I found Jenner sitting in the living room with the TV on, the remote in his hand, and a plate full of food on his lap.

  “I wasn’t sure what you’d want to watch so—” His words cut off when he caught sight of me. “Abbi? What’s wrong?” He looked me up and down. “Are you hurt?”

  If he wanted me gone, why was he playing this silly ruse? He could have had the balls to tell me to my face that he was breaking our deal. A tear slipped down my cheek and then another and another until a torrent of tears cascaded down my face.

  Jenner all but threw his plate on the table and rushed to me. He was about to wrap me in his arms when I held up my hand. None of this made any sense. Why had he brought me back here? Why the dinner? Just why? Maybe he was getting back at me, and all of this had been a game. He deserved an Oscar for his performance.

  “Why? I thought we started something good between us, but I guess I was wrong. I’ll . . . call an Uber and be out of your hair. Don’t worry, you never have to see me again, but you’re going to be the one to explain this to Catherine, not me.”

  I stormed into the kitchen and grabbed my things, and was opening the front door when he slammed his hand on it, forcing it closed.

  “What the fuck are you talking about? Don’t run away. Talk to me,” he yelled. One hand wrapped around my arm and turned me toward him. His face was red, with every feature pinched.

  “Talk to you,” I shrieked. “Like you talked to me before you packed up all my things. What did you do with them, huh? Did you donate them or throw them away? Tell me,” I demanded as I slammed my fists on his chest.

  Grabbing both my wrists with one hand, he laughed. A full-on belly laugh, the sick bastard. “This is about your belongings?”

  “What else would it be about?” I fought to pull out of his hold, but he was too strong for me, and I never had a chance.

  He let go of one wrist and slid his hand down the other until he laced our fingers together. “Come with me, and you’ll see.”

  “And then you’ll let me go?” I hated how good the simplest of things like holding hands felt.

  “If you still want me to let you go, I will.” The humor in his voice only fueled the flames of my anger. I tugged one last time to get my hand back, but he held on with an iron grip.

  He led me out of the living room and toward his bedroom. When I saw that, I dug my heels in. “You can’t fuck me after you did this to me,” I growled as he continued to drag me.

  Jenner didn’t answer back. He continued forward through his bedroom and into his bathroom and closet. I’d never been in his closet before. We’d shared his shower multiple times over the last few days, but we’d mostly stayed naked.

  On one side were shirts, jeans, slacks, and suits, and each was then organized by color. The other side held all of my clothes. They hung there, mocking me. Why had I thought he’d packed up all my belongings to move me out?

  “This morning, when you had to go to the other side of the house to get dressed and leave me, I didn’t like it, and I had this brilliant idea to move everything while you were at work. After seeing your reaction, I guess I should have talked to you about it. You really thought I’d move you out while you were at work?” He took a step back and crossed his arms over his chest.

  God, I was a bitch. I hated that I’d hurt him because I let my insecurities take over.

  I took a step toward him, but when he retreated back, I stopped.

  “I didn’t want to believe it, but I thought you surely would have said something to me. My head was full of all the horrible things CJJ clients had done over the weekend, and this would have been tame by comparison. I should never have thought such nasty things about you. You wouldn’t look at me when I said I was going to change, and my imagination got the better of me. I’m sorry, Jenner. Truly sorry.” Tears filled my eyes once again, but this time because I’d done wrong.

  “Will it always be like this? Me fucking up, and you getting upset?” He slumped against the wall.

  “I hope not.”

  He cleared his throat, and the pain in his eyes nearly brought me to my knees. “Maybe there shouldn’t be an us if we’re always going to be fighting or at each other’s throats.”

  I didn’t want us to end because I flew off the handle before I talked to him. “You have to know that the reason I was so upset is because of my feelings for you. If I didn’t care, I wouldn’t have lost my mind.” The entire time I spoke, tears streamed down my cheeks and dripped off my chin. I didn’t bother to wipe them away. My only thought was I needed to make this right.

  Looking down, he asked. “What are your feelings?”

  I wasn’t going to tell him without him looking me in the eye. Striding forward, I stood in front of him and waited until he met my eye. Taking his hands in mine, I professed what I’d been holding inside. “I’m falling for you. Hard. And it won’t take much until I’m full-blown in love with you. I promise that from now on, I’ll talk to you if I have any doubts or concerns, but please give me another chance.”

  Uncrossing his arms, Jenner cupped my face and used his thumbs to rid me of my tears. “I know you’re sorry. Hell, I’m sorry for not telling you what I’d done. I know what it feels like to walk into your space and find all your things gone. I didn’t think.”

  “Neither did I and I should have. Will you forgive m
e?” I pressed my chest to his.

  “Only if you’ll forgive me.”

  Doing the only thing I could, I climbed the man in front of me and kissed him for all that I was worth. After showing him that I forgave him, and he showed me I was forgiven, I then proceeded to show him how much I loved the idea of sharing the same space. Rolling out of bed, sated and flying high, we donned robes and went back out to our cold dinner and watched Netflix before I had to show him my naked gratitude again and again and again until we fell asleep wrapped up in each other.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Jenner

  My ass had barely hit the seat before my phone started vibrating in my back pocket. Pulling it out, I saw it was Abbi. I set it in my cupholder before I hit the answer button on my steering wheel.

  “How’d the meeting go?” she asked before I could even say hello.

  With my hands draped over the steering wheel, I looked up at the building I’d just exited and answered her. “It was a little rocky at first, but after hearing me out and with Luke vouching for me, John’s going to give me a shot.”

  “That’s great, honey. Did you tell him about the movie Hans Schroeber’s directing that you want to do?”

  “I did,” I answered, laughing. Abbi knew how much I wanted the role.

  “Does he think you have a chance?”

  “He’s going to look into it, and he’s also going to send me a few scripts he thinks I’ll be interested in. All in all, it was a good meeting.” I should have fired my dad long ago and found someone else to be my agent.

  It wasn’t until then I noticed a lot of background noise on the other end of the line. “Where are you?”

  “On my way back from lunch. I had to meet with one of my clients. She wants me to handle her social media–meaning post things for her–and I wanted to make sure we were on the same page.”

  “Maybe I should hire you to do that for me,” I joked. She had been on me to put myself out there more on social media so that people could see the real me and get rid of their perception of who they thought I was. I was trying, but I realized I was boring as hell. All I did these days was workout and wait for my wife to get home.

  “That’s strange,” she muttered as if to herself.

  “What is?”

  “All week, I’ve been trying out the different restaurants around my office for lunch with a couple of my coworkers, and each day I’ve seen Poppy with some guy.” She said the word guy with a questionable tone.

  “What’s up with the guy?”

  “He looks gross. He’s all skin and bones, pale, and looks like he’s coming down from a bender. I don’t know why she’s with him,” she explained.

  He was probably her drug dealer, her boyfriend, or both.

  “And you’ve seen them every day?” LA wasn’t that big of a place, but why the hell would Poppy be hanging out around where Abbi worked all week?

  “Yeah, the first time I was taken aback to see her in the little cafe, but when she didn’t approach me, I was relieved. The other times were just brief glimpses, and I wasn’t even sure it was her, but now I am. I spotted her when I left my meeting, and then when I hit the button for the crosswalk, I turned back and saw her standing at a nearby store. It’s kind of weird, don’t you think?”

  It definitely wasn’t typical to see someone every day for a week when you didn’t plan on it. I knew Poppy didn’t have a job, so there was no reason for her to be anywhere near Abbi.

  “How much longer until you’re at the office?” I wanted her inside, where Poppy couldn’t see her.

  “About three more minutes. Why?” She sounded worried about my question.

  “I don’t like that she’s popping up wherever you are. As far as I know, she’s still on drugs and could be dangerous. I was going to suggest for you to get an Uber or something to take you back to the office, but you can get there before one will ever arrive.”

  “I don’t see her anymore, so maybe it was just a coincidence. Anyway, I didn’t call you to make this about me. I wanted to hear about your meeting, which sounds like it went well. Did you like him?”

  “We got along fine. Anything is better than my father and our toxic relationship.” It wouldn’t take much to be better than my father as a person or agent.

  “I believe things are going to start looking up for you. I feel it deep in my gut. You just have to believe it yourself.”

  “I believe you believe it, and I’m hopeful. John’s going to put out the word he’s my agent. Everyone in the business will know he wouldn’t take me on if he thought I was a fuckup or a liability.” I didn’t tell her how if it wasn’t for Luke’s endorsement, I would have walked away without anything.

  “I’m at the office now, so I should probably get back to work. I’m happy for you, honey. Really happy.” I knew she was. I could hear the smile in her voice even though I couldn’t see it.

  “Thanks, baby girl. I appreciate it. Why don’t you text me before you head home since it’s your first day driving to work?”

  She let out a muffled laugh. “I think you’re more worried about my driving than me.”

  Only because I’d seen how the paps could be when they wanted a shot. Things had died down this last week, giving her the confidence to drive herself to work, but I would be worried until she was safe at home.

  “Just being cautious.”

  “I think I’ll be fine, but I’ll let you know before I hit the road after my meeting. It could run a little long since Catherine was gone all last week.” She let out a happy sigh. “I’m happy to know I was only interesting for twelve short days, and now life is semi-normal.”

  “I’ll give you a semi when you get home.” I palmed my dick as it twitched just thinking about getting my hands on her lush curves, and sinking deep inside her hot, wet pussy. I couldn’t get enough of her. Mondays were the worst after having her every which way all weekend long and then having to go cold turkey while she was at work.

  “I look forward to it, but I really need to go. Melanie is giving me the stink eye. She probably knows I’m talking to you, which only makes it worse.”

  Since Abbi had started at CJJ, Melanie hadn’t been welcoming. I knew it wasn’t easy on my wife when she was the new person there and wanting to prove herself.

  “Tell Catherine when your meeting is over. You shouldn’t have to work under someone who’s hostile toward you.” I was sure Abbi hadn’t told me everything that had gone down between her and her supervisor because the last time she told me, I threatened to call Catherine. But what was I supposed to do when she called me with the sound of tears in her throat because that bitch had been mean to her in front of all her coworkers?

  “I know. I hate to bother her with it, but I feel I have no choice. The job I couldn’t wait to start at, I now only feel anguish over having to go to it every day.”

  “Things will be better if you’re no longer working under her.” I tried to appeal to her, but I knew my words meant very little compared to the way she was feeling.

  “Hopefully,” she sighed. “I really should go. I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Later,” I answered back. Pulling out of my parking place, I headed to a bakery near our house. I couldn’t bake, but I knew how to buy the best damn cupcakes in town.

  Twenty minutes later, I walked out with two dozen cupcakes since I had no idea what Abbi would like. It shocked me that I still knew so very little about her. It felt as if she’d been in my life for months and not two weeks. With that, I wanted her to know that I cared that her job had been less than ideal.

  Since I’d already run five miles after Abbi left for work that morning, once I got home, I went into my office and booked our flight to Fairlane. It would be nice to get away with each other and spend time with friends.

  Thinking of my friend, I dialed up Alex and let it ring.

  “Hey, you,” Alex answered.

  “Hey, how are you doing?”

  “I’m doing good. How about you? Is
everything okay?”

  “Everything’s fine. Why?” I didn’t want her to think I only called her when something was wrong.

  “It hasn’t been that long since we talked, that’s all. Please don’t tell me you called me to say you and your wonderful blushing bride aren’t coming.”

  “We are coming. In fact, I booked our flight a few minutes ago. Are you sure you don’t want us to get a hotel room?”

  “You do not want to stay at the hotel here,” she laughed. “And Riverside is too far away. We have plenty of room for you.” She gave a pregnant pause. “Unless you don’t want to stay here.”

  “I don’t mind, but I was thinking that maybe we could have you, Mason, and Luke over for dinner before we go. That way, Abbi can get to know you better and meet Luke. I don’t want her uncomfortable while we’re there,” I explained before asking. “Is anyone else coming?”

  “I think we can make it work. It might have to be a breakfast or lunch with Luke’s schedule since it’s right before a break. I’ll look and let you know. As for if anyone else is coming, just our friends here so they won’t be staying at the house unless they get too drunk. They’ll all be nice to Abbi, so you have nothing to worry about.”

  “I’m not worried, but I don’t want her uncomfortable.”

  She hummed. “Is there something more going on between the two of you?” The hope in her voice almost had me laughing. Alex was a great friend and only wanted the best for me, and she thought the best for me might be Abbi.

  “We’re more. It’s still new.”

  “Of course, it’s still new. You’ve known her all of what, two weeks?” Alex laughed.

  “Something like that,” I grumbled. “It feels like longer, though. I really like her,” I confessed.

  “And I know from meeting her that Abbi wouldn’t get involved with you unless she felt the same way.” Alex squealed. A loud, clapping noise accompanied her high-pitched noise. “I’m so happy for you. We’ll definitely make time to get together before you stay with us. Is she working now?”