“Oh, that’s rich! Throw my mistakes in my face, why don’t you? She practically rubbed against you like a cat in heat!” I sputter indignantly.
“She did not! That’s just crazy talk. Listen… I didn’t mean to throw the past in your face, but even you have to admit you are being a bit hypocritical right now. You need to trust me.”
I drop my head in defeat and pinch the bridge of my nose. I can feel the tears start to prick the back of my eyes. If Aiden were to stray, it would be nothing less than what I deserve. There is no way I can compete with ‘Miss No Cellulite.’ She is dressed like a Porsche while I’m standing here dressed like a Honda, in jeans and an oversized sweater. No man wants an old, reliable car when he can drive a flashy, fast machine. Shit… I probably have animal crackers stuck in my hair still! That’s not attractive!
Gah! I can’t believe this is happening! I can’t compete with that!
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. You have absolutely nothing to worry about. Rocky is just overly friendly. I promise you there is nothing going on with her. She knows I’m married. You’re just being paranoid.” Aiden tries to appease me, but he falls flat with that last statement.
“Paranoid?” I ask quietly. He’d be an idiot not to pick up on my displeasure right now.
“Okay… maybe that was a poor choice of words. I just meant you should trust me. You’re reading into this more than you should.”
Tears fill my eyes, and I want to run and hide so he doesn’t see them. Damn hormones!
“Awww… Don’t cry,” he croons in my ear as he wraps me up in his strong, lean arms. His touch calms me and I quickly stifle my tears.
“You okay?” He leans back and assesses my face. I nod my head in answer to his question.
“Good. Let’s grab ‘wild thing’ over here and go get some lunch.” He points over to his desk. I laugh at the sight of Tessa with the wastebasket tipped over and papers everywhere. She sure knows the most quick and efficient ways to make a mess.
After we pick up the mess and grab our things, I square my shoulders and follow Aiden out of his office. We stop at his boss, McGee’s, office and I kiss the man’s cheek when he stands to greet us. Tessa rests on my hip and leans in to copy my movements. The old grinch’s eyes light up and his wrinkled, hard face actually breaks out into a grin. I swear I haven’t seen him grin in years. It’s a Christmas miracle!
“She’s quite the darling,” he grumbles and walks back to his desk. “You take care now.”
Well… I guess we’ve been dismissed.
“Merry Christmas!” I call out as I leave his office.
Next stop is at Diane’s desk. Diane is the secretary for all the partners. She is sixty, yet looks like she’s forty. I could only hope to look half as good as she does when I’m her age. I’m convinced that she and Rodman have something going on. Aiden says he has never seen them be inappropriate, but the heated looks they give each other when they think no one is watching is quite obvious.
“Thank you so much for the cookies!” Diane exclaims exuberantly. “You’re a doll!”
After visiting for a few minutes, Aiden takes Tessa down the hall to play with the toys that Penny keeps in her desk.
“So what’s bothering you,” Diane asks with concern in her eyes.
“How did you know?”
“You look tired and stressed out, dear. You can tell me if you want. It won’t go past these walls.” She rests her hands on mine and encourages me to open up to her. Diane is the mother I wish I had. I tell her everything… within reason of course.
“What do you know about this Rocky chick?” I ask and feel my face flame with embarrassment. I don’t want people to think I can’t keep my husband satisfied.
“Oh, her,” Diane’s voice falls flat and the concern on her face intensifies. “I wouldn’t trust her if I were you. She’s been sniffing around the men in this office something fierce. If I were twenty or thirty years younger, I’d take her down a peg or two.”
My stomach twists at her warning. This is what I was afraid of. Aiden might be oblivious to her intentions, but she made them quite clear to me with her behavior earlier in his office.
“She calls him late at night and he went out to meet her at a site last weekend on his day off. I didn’t realize she was a woman until I met her today. I walked in on her sitting on his desk. She was practically in his lap and then she had the nerve to touch him in front of me.” I seethe at the memory.
Diane’s hand squeezes mine gently. “Aiden has never shown her any attention outside of being professional and friendly.”
I know her words are meant to reassure, but I’m all too familiar with what can happen when temptation is dangled in front of you. My imagination races with images of her stripping for him in his office and him caving at the sight of a beautiful, naked woman in front of him. Tears well up in my eyes. I can’t curse my hormones enough today.
“Honey, don’t cry. Will it make you feel better if I keep an eye on things for you?” She hands me a tissue, and I wipe my tears before blowing my nose.
“Would you?” I ask sheepishly. I know I shouldn’t be dragging Diane into my insecurities, but it will make me feel better.
“Sure thing, hon. Now go find that sexy husband of yours and get out of here. Penny already passed out the cookies to everyone, so there’s no need to linger. Go and enjoy yourself!”
I stand and hug her, thankful for having a woman like her in my life. My own mother never would have been able to make me feel better. She would have told me to hire a private detective to catch him having an affair and then divorce his ass and take him for all he’s worth. Such wisdom she possesses…
Aiden and Tessa are in his friend Ben’s office when I finally locate them.
“Hey, Ben!” I greet him with a hug. You’d think Aiden and Ben were related with how similar they look, but they’ve been friends since elementary school.
“You look as beautiful as ever, Sam,” he kisses my cheek and winks at me.
“You’re such a smooth talker. I’m going to have to warn Charlotte!” I say referring to Ben’s wife. When I perch myself on Aiden’s lap, he grips my hips and makes me yelp.
“Will you stop?” My stomach grumbles and I place my hand over my belly.
“We should probably get going so we can feed that beast in your belly,” Aiden announces with a laugh and pushes me off his lap before standing.
“Let me just kiss my goddaughter,” Ben says, bending down to pick up Tessa. She nuzzles into his neck and gives him a big hug.
“See you later,” we call out as we leave the office. Thankfully, I didn’t have to see that floozy bitch again.
Chapter Four
Kara
“Miss Andrews?”
I look up from my computer screen to see Jerome standing in my doorway with his hands in his pockets, biting his lip nervously.
“What’s up, Jerome?” I ask with what I hope is a warm smile on my face.
“I… I got you something for Christmas.” He looks down at the ground and rocks back on his heels. “Since you’re going on vacation, I wanted to give it to you now. If that’s okay, I mean.”
“Oh, Jerome! Of course it’s okay!”
His eyes look up from the carpet, and he gives me a tentative smile.
“It isn’t much, but I saw it and thought of you.” He walks over to my desk and hands me a small, green and red wrapped box.
I quickly tear into the paper, excited that he gave me a gift. Each year, I give the kids little gifts, but I don’t usually get too many in return. Not that I expect them or anything. But when I do get them, it makes it that much more special.
Once the paper is gone, I open up the plain, white box. Pulling out the delicate ornament, I’m speechless. It’s a light green, round ball shaped ornament. Hand painted shamrocks wrap around the entirety of it, along with a gorgeous, redheaded Irish dancer. How very thoughtful of him. I love all things Irish, but he couldn’t have kn
own that.
“Wow, Jerome. It’s lovely. Thank you so much! I love Irish ornaments.” I jump up from the chair and round my desk to stand in front of him. “You are quite a considerate young man. Thank you again.”
I give him a quick hug and am surprised when he hugs me back tightly.
“Miss Andrews…” He trails off, and I have a feeling I know where this is going. Poor thing still feels guilty over what happened last year.
“Don’t. I’m serious, Jerome. We’ve gone over this a hundred times. You couldn’t have known and I’m fine now.” I lean back to look him in the face and give him a tight squeeze before releasing him.
“Okay,” he concedes with a small grin.
“I’m giving the rest of the kids their presents tonight, but here.” I hand him a card from the stack on my desk. “You can have yours now.”
He gives me a wide smile and opens the card. “Wicked! A gift card to Best Buy!”
There are a handful of kids that I give a little more to. They are the ones that I work with on a regular basis. Given mine and Jerome’s history I gave him more than I probably should have. But he really was trying to save me that day. He was just trying to save me from the wrong man. The fact that he cared enough, gives him a special place in my heart.
“Thanks Miss Andrews! I better get home. My grandma is coming to visit for Christmas and mom says I need to help get the house ready.”
“You’re welcome and have a Merry Christmas. Tell your mom the same.”
“I will,” he says on his way out the door.
I don’t know what I would do without my kids. They mean the world to me. I sigh and sit back down to finish my work. I need to get home so Jacob and I can decorate the tree!
***
When I got home from work, Jacob wasn’t home yet. I was too excited to wait to decorate the apartment, so I cranked up the Christmas playlist on my iPod and went to town. Our living room and kitchen are now a virtual Christmas wonderland.
There are Christmas themed cookie jars, salt and pepper shakers, towels, and decorative bowls scattered throughout the kitchen. The table runner has been replaced and a big bowl of Christmas tree scented potpourri sits on top of it. A Christmas table runner garnishes the dining room table and for a centerpiece, I filled a glass vase with ornaments. Simple, easy and elegant.
The living room is decked out with lighted garland and decorative pillows. Jacob’s leather chair has a Christmas quilt draped over it. Then I took an oversized bowl and filled it with more potpourri and giant Christmas bulbs to adorn the coffee table. I hung strands of white lights around the picture window and the sliding glass doors. The fireplace mantel has a Christmas wreath over it and lighted garland along the top. I put some nice candlesticks up there as well. They flank an old, ceramic snowman that my grandmother gave to my mother when she was a young girl. And of course, I hung our stockings from the mantel. I absolutely love having a fireplace to hang stockings from.
The door closes, and I spin around enthusiastically. Jacob whistles as he walks into the room.
“Was I that late? You have just about everything done.”
“Sorry. I got a little carried away.” I bounce on my feet like I’m five waiting for Santa to come down the chimney.
“How much sugar have you had today?” Jacob laughs and wraps me in his arms for a kiss.
“Um… I might have had like six candy canes,” I admit begrudgingly.
“I think it’s cute how excited you are. It’s our first proper Christmas together. I want you to go crazy decorating the place.”
“Good. Now get your coat off and help me with the tree!” I exclaim and pick up a strand of white lights to hold out to him.
He chuckles and shakes his head like I have a screw loose, but takes his coat off and joins me.
“So how was your day?” I ask as we take turns passing the strand of lights around the width of the tree.
The tree we picked out last night is thick and lush. It’s the most ideal Christmas tree you could hope to find. Not too wide, not too tall, not too sparse but not too full. It’s just right.
“Same shit, different day. I asked Mack today if he wanted to come to Emma’s for Christmas with us, but he said he had other plans.”
“I thought you said he didn’t have any family around here.”
“He doesn’t. I’m sure he has friends though. Maybe he’s spending it with them.”
“Well, as long as he isn’t alone on Christmas. It would break my heart if he didn’t have anyone to spend the day with. He’s been so great to me, and I couldn’t bear the thought of him alone.” Mack is like a brother to me after everything I went through. He was there for Jacob, and he constantly checked in on me. I can’t count the number of times he chauffeured me around before the attack keeping me safe, and how many times he brought me magazines and snacks when I was recovering.
Jacob walks over and kisses me thoroughly. “And that is one of the many things I love about you. Your big, giving heart,” he says once he pulls away from me.
“That’s sweet, babe. Thank you.” I blush at his compliment.
“So your parents will be here tomorrow night. You excited?” He takes the lights from my hand and pulls them around to his side of the tree.
“For as much as I miss them, I’m not sure excited is the right word to use. Do you have any idea how hard it was to convince them to not bring Fiona with them?”
“Fiona?” Jacob murmurs as he climbs under the tree to plug in the lights.
“The latest addition to their marriage. Remember I told you about her? Apparently my dad brought her into the marriage and my mother decided to share as well. So, yeah. Basically they are branching out into threesomes now. I swear I’ll never understand those two.”
“Why didn’t you want her to come? What if she’s going to be all alone at Christmas?” He looks up at me from under the tree.
“Don’t give me that shit, Jacob. I already made sure she had somewhere else to go before I put my foot down. Could you imagine all three of them meeting your family on Christmas? No. Not going to happen. There’s no way I could stand trying to explain that one to Grace and Candace.”
“Look, Sunshine. Just because she’d be with them doesn’t mean they would have had to sleep in the same room. Maybe your issues with the whole open marriage thing are clouding your judgment on this one.” He stands up and puts his hands on my shoulders.
I huff and refrain from decking him. Of course he’s right. But that doesn’t mean I’m changing my mind. For years growing up, I felt like my parents’ play friends were more important than me. The fact that they agreed not to bring Fiona, means the world to me. Whatever floats their boat is fine. I just don’t want it shoved down my throat any longer. A lifetime of it has been enough.
“Can we change the subject please?” I plead with him. I don’t want to fight while wrapped up in Christmas cheer.
“Sure. How did your last day before vacation go?” Jacob thankfully changes the subject.
“Great actually. Oh! Wait until you see the ornament Jerome got me!” I race over to my bag and dig out the box.
“Jerome?” Jacob asks as he reaches down and starts grabbing ornaments out of the plastic containers I store them in.
“Yeah, look.” I hold it out and he spins the bulb looking at it.
“Wow. The girl looks just like you.”
“You think?” I ask, spinning it back around to look at the dancer. “Huh. I guess she does. That’s so cool!”
Jacob laughs and shakes his head. “You’re a nut.”
“Takes one to know one,” I zing back lamely.
Once all the ornaments are all hung on the tree, I hand the Belleek Irish porcelain star to Jacob to set on top of the tree. I told you I liked Irish stuff. He reaches up and gently sets it on top. When he stands back to admire the tree, he wraps his arm around my shoulder and I lean my head on his chest.
Turning in his embrace, I wrap my arms around his nec
k and pull him down for a sensual kiss. I step back and reach for the hem of my sweater, pulling it over my head.
Jacob’s eyes glaze over and the corners of his mouth tip up slightly.
“Want to have some fun under the Christmas tree?” I ask while tracing my finger over the edges of my pink, lace bra.
His growl is the only answer I get before he tackles me to the ground and proceeds to make love to me slowly and sweetly while the lights twinkle around us.
***
“Thanks for going shopping with me today,” Sophie says as she rubs a hand over her swollen belly.
“It was nothing. I’m not sure you could have managed on your own,” I joke even though I had my concerns numerous times throughout the day.
“I know,” she chuckles softly. “This baby is sucking the life out of me. I can’t wait for my due date next week.”
Truth be told, I can’t wait for her due date either. I’m longing to get my hands on her and Brad’s baby. There is no way in hell he won’t be the cutest little thing ever given their genetics. I haven’t told Jacob, but I think my biological clock is starting to tick. It physically hurts to see little babies and their moms. Sometimes I just want to weep with the need inside me. Crazy, right?
“Wouldn’t it be wild if you have a Christmas baby? I always thought it would be cool to be born on a holiday.”
“In theory. Could you imagine how much it would suck to only get presents once though? I’m sure plenty of kids get screwed and only get a regular amount of gifts, when in reality they’d get more if their birthday was in say, June.”
I nod my head in agreement. That is a very good point. I’m glad my birthday is in August. That would have sucked big time.
“So what are you getting Jacob? You didn’t really buy too much today.” Sophie picks up her tea and sips it, before leaning back and continuing to rub her belly.
“Well, I spent way more than I should have. I wanted to get him a new gun, but I have no idea what is good in a gun. It’s not like I could pick one that is pretty, because really guns are supposed to be manly and they all look similar. And I have not one clue what makes a gun work good, so I asked Mack to help me. He took me to a gun emporium and rambled off a bunch of stuff that I paid absolutely no attention to before he handed me one and said, ‘This should do it’. It’s a pretty kick ass looking gun.”
Their Merry Little Christmas (Love Square) Page 3