This was the kind of walk-in closet girls dream about. Well, I didn’t, but I could tell it was nice. Hell, I wasn’t much of a walk-in closet kind of person, but even I wanted it sorta.
My mom would probably shit herself if she saw this. If she saw that this is what Adam’s family was like. I bit my lip, my stomach turning as I thought about my mother. I still didn’t know what the deal was with her, and that scared me. Because how was I supposed to handle the situation if I didn’t even know what was going on?
I’ll think of something. Right? I mean, I always did. I could get through this. I had Josh, and now I had Adam.
“What do you think?” she asked, snapping me back to reality. She held up three bracelets. One a metal cuff, the other had a small diamond, and the other was a string of white pearls. “Which one would you like to wear?”
“Oh … I … um …” I’d forgotten about the excuse we used to get away from Adam. I didn’t really think she’d actually let me borrow one of her bracelets. What if I broke it or something? “It’s okay I mean ...”
“I think the pearls would look nice. But that depends a lot on the dress you’re wearing. You are changing, right?” She gave me a soft grin, but she did look slightly worried.
I laughed. “Yes. I have a dress I’ll be changing into.”
I saw the tension leave her shoulders.
“If you really think the pearls would be best, that’s what I’ll wear, I think. I don’t have much experience with this, honestly.” And I had no experience wearing nice jewelry. It was all cheap stuff, mostly from the dollar store, honestly. I didn’t have the money to be dropping on expensive stuff I’d never wear, so I just picked up items as I needed them at the dollar store. If I got invited to a party or something, it’s not like anyone would notice anyways. I mean, it’s not like I’d be the center of attention.
Kathrine smiled as she handed me the bracelet.
“Thanks,” I said.
“No, thank you.” She gave me a soft smile, though she still looked sad.
I returned her smile before heading out of the bedroom, giving her a little time to herself. I knew it was probably really hard on her to come to terms with everything that I had just told her, and she probably needed time to process everything. Time alone. Time without some strange girl, and I was still a stranger. Despite the fact that Adam’s family had gone out of the way to make me feel welcomed, I still didn’t know them very well and was still a bit of a stranger to them.
“I was beginning to get worried,” he said as soon as I hit the top of the stairs.
“I can tell.” I forced a grin over my lips, “Were you just sitting down here waiting for me?”
“Pretty much, yeah. I brought your dress in. My grandma will be here soon; we should all be ready to go when she gets here, in case she wants to head out right away.”
“Alright.” I made my way downstairs and took the bag from him.
“Is everything alright? I mean, with you and my mom?”
“What? Oh, yeah. Why wouldn’t it be?”
He bit his lip, and then shook his head. “No reason. I just worry, I guess.” He gave me a smile and a quick kiss. His eyes sparkled. “Now go get changed, okay?’
“For sure.”
I made my way to the bathroom and locked myself in it. I hope that was the right move to make, I thought as I reached into the bag and pulled out the green kimono-style dress that I had bought, well that Adam had bought, yesterday. I stared at it, biting my lip. Maybe it was too booby … No, that girl had just been trying to make me feel crappy, like she had with every other dress I wore.
I shuddered. Still. I mean, I don’t want to look like a tramp in front of Adam’s family. Right? I knew that if I screwed this up, it was going to be the end of us in some way. He was counting on me to make sure that everything went smoothly. Right? If not, then this was going to be a hard night on Adam. He already had to face Kurt, and that was going to be beyond hard on him.
Well, no point in being slow.
I knew it was true, but I really didn’t want to go out there. I just … wanted to stay in the bathroom by myself where I could pretend nothing was going on. That my parents weren’t questionable, that Adam was no longer using me, that his family was going to be beyond hard on him when he was having such a rough time with facing Kurt. Which is why I need to get out there, so I can support him.
That got me moving. I stripped quickly, slipped into some penthouse that I’d picked up yesterday, and pulled the dress on.
I looked myself over in the mirror just as I heard the front door open and close.
“Grandma!” Gabby called happily.
My heart did a backflip. I had dealt with his grandma before, but that’s when we weren’t actually dating. Was I still going to be able to deal with her know that we were dating?
Just act the way you did when you saw her last weekend, I told myself. It wouldn’t be that hard.
I reached for the door and unlocked it. Alright, let’s see how this goes.
82. Chapter Thirty
It wasn’t long before we left the house and were at the restaurant. It was the same one as before, but this time, it was daylight, and I could see the lake.
Adam reached out and took my hand; he pulled me close to him. His face was pale as we made our way through the doors and towards a small group of people. I squeezed his hand softly.
He leaned towards me. “Is it too early to leave?” He said it like he was joking, but I’m pretty sure there was a small trace of seriousness there.
“We’ll duck out early if we have to.” I gave him a soft smile as I heard the rest of the family greeting each other.
“Oh, um.” His cheeks turned a deep shade of pink, “Just for the record, Josh never wanted to have dinner with us. I just wanted to see you, so um … don’t mention that to him, ’kay?”
He muttered it all so fast, it almost sounded like one word. My heart did a backflip. He had lied to me so he could take me out to dinner? I didn’t know if I should smack him across the chest or laugh. “I’ll keep your secret,” I promised, pulling him closer to me. He must have really wanted to see me, I thought.
For him to go through all the effort of keeping his office a mess. I’d always just thought he was a slob. It never would have occurred to me that he had a reason for having such a messy house!
We came to a stop in front of a group of people. Most of them, I recognized. Even Kurt. I’d already met him before, despite how awkward it had been. He moved towards us quickly.
“Hi!” He beamed. I noticed the girl and the kid were nowhere to be seen. I wonder why?
I felt Adam stiffen beside me, and my hand wrapped around his arm, trying to remind him that I was there for him.
“Hi, Kurt.” I could feel everyone’s gaze on us. No, not me. Kurt and Adam.
Kurt honestly looked happy. “It’s been so long. It’s nice to see you again.”
“Mhm.”
I was guessing, though not sure, that Adam slipped out of lunches like this. He pulled me close to him, and Kurt turned his gaze to me.
“Hi, how are you doing?”
“I’m alright. Thanks for asking.” My eyes burned cold as I stared at him. I knew that I should be nicer. I should care about hearing his side of things, but I didn’t. I couldn’t have cared less about hearing his side of things. I wanted nothing more than to deck him right here, right now. Well, too bad. “I’m so glad we were able to make it. At first, it didn’t look like we’d be able to. See, we actually got invited to celebrate a birthday.”
It was a flat out lie, but I didn’t care. I could see how uncomfortable my response made him, and that made me happy.
He cleared his throat. “Well, I’m glad you were able to make it. I look forward to getting to know you, and to seeing you again, Adam.”
He turned his attention to the rest of the family. Becky gave him a hug, but it didn’t look like she wanted to. The other two hugged him. He shook hands with Adam
’s father, but when it came to Kathrine, he was about to hug her when she stepped out of the way, offering her hand to him, instead.
She caught my eye. I’m willing to bet we both had the same ice cold look in our eyes.
“Well,” Adam’s grandmother cut into the look Kathrine and I were exchanging, “let’s not wait around here. Let’s go sit. Get drinks going. Yes?”
Everyone agreed as we followed her to a private room where there were already wine bottles sitting out.
Adam and I exchanged a look. It was going to be a long day, and we both knew it.
“So,” Josh had decided to sit down beside me, and Kurt on the other side of him, “you two lovebirds have any plans for the rest of the weekend? We were thinking about going up to the cabin.” He motioned towards himself and Kurt.
“Actually, we’re spending some time with my family after this,” I said.
It wasn’t a total lie, right? I mean, Sunday was after Saturday. I just didn’t say how long after. It still counted. Right?
Adam caught my eye and smiled as if thanking me for jumping in. He squeezed my hand softly. One.
That was it. Just once.
I’d started to count, just to make sure I didn’t ignore him if he needed to get away. If he used the code hand squeeze.
“Oh, that’s a shame. It would be nice for all of us to hang out sometime.” Josh’s eyes sparkled.
“It would be,” I agreed. I didn’t mean it, but it’s not like I was going to admit that. Anyways, if I kept talking, Adam wouldn’t have to. “I think we’re pretty busy most of the upcoming weekends. We’ve got a friend with a little daughter who is just adorable to hang out with.”
For some reason, that got everyone’s attention.
“Really?” Josh sounded interested. “She’s welcome to come with us. I’m sure a little girl would get a kick out of staying at a cabin.”
I could feel everyone’s eyes on me, and I could feel Adam’s entire body tense.
“That’s a really sweet offer, thank you, Josh!” I beamed. “But I don’t think it would be a good idea.”
Something shifted in his expression as if he realized what I’d been hinting at the entire time.
“Oh. Um, I see. Well, maybe another time then.”
I looked away, reaching for my wine glass. Everyone was staring at us. It wasn’t his grandma or Kathrine that I locked eyes on, though. It was Kurt’s parents.
I hadn’t met them before, but they had arrived a little late. Hank and Carrion. They seemed nice enough, but it’s not like they were going to be mean to me in front of everyone. Her eyes narrowed.
I gave her a soft smile and took a sip of my wine before placing the glass down and turning to Adam. “And don’t forget, you said you’d come visit Josh with me. He’ll be disappointed if you bail.”
Adam gave me a soft smile. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
We both knew that we still had to tell him about us, and I had no clue how or when we were going to do it, but that didn’t matter to me.
I can’t put into words how much I loved her right now. She was utterly amazing, and I could have dropped down to my knees and proposed to her right then and there.
Fiona had never struck me as a Queen Bee type, but when it came to dealing with Kurt, Josh and everyone else, she had this sense of authority about her. I had to admit, I was impressed, and I was really into it. I squeezed her hand gently. I knew that I was going to have to tell Josh I was in love with her, and I wasn’t sure if he was going to try to kill me or tell me that he had told me so. Either way, she’s worth it.
And that was the crazy thing, she was worth it to me. I would give anything to make her happy. I would give anything to make sure she was mine.
I couldn’t believe that she had wanted to meet Natty and that she had been so cool about everything I’d told her. I couldn’t believe she was so supportive.
I pulled her close to me, placing a kiss on her cheek. “I love you,” I whispered.
I watched her cheeks turn bright pink.
I knew she wasn’t ready to tell me the same, and that was fine with me. I liked telling her I loved her because I liked seeing her reaction to it when I said those three words.
Having her with me made all of this tolerable.
“Adam, are you going to be working with your father much longer?” Kathrine asked.
I bit the inside of my cheek. She had always hated that I wasn’t ‘moving on’ from my father’s footsteps, and it had been an issue we’d had for a while. I shrugged.
“I’m not sure. I’ve got some interesting opportunities coming up soon, so we’ll see.” I gave a wide smile.
Her brow furrowed. We’d talked about it a few times, and I knew why she wanted me to move on. She didn’t want me to be like her family, though she’d never said that, and live off my father’s success.
“So you’ll still be there a while.” She didn’t sound pleased.
“You mean, you’ve got something coming up with your charity?” My father piped up, he sounded thrilled.
My cheeks flushed. I hadn’t told anyone except him and Fiona about that.
“Er, yes,” I admitted.
“That’s wonderful!” My father beamed. “I’m so happy for you. I’m sure it will be amazing.” His eyes sparkled as he looked around the room, almost challenging anyone to say anything negative.
“You’re starting a charity?” My grandmother didn’t sound impressed.
“Yes, I’ve been working on it for a couple years now.”
“Hm.” She didn’t sound thrilled, but I tried not to let it get to me. I felt Fee squeeze my hand softly. “Why?”
“Why?” I almost choked. “Because I want to do something useful with my money.” It came out before I really thought of it.
Besides my parents, I knew no one else at this table donated to charities. No one else here contributed their money to something unless they would gain from it. It was one of the things that made me lose respect for my family, not that I would admit that to any of them. As far as they were concerned, I had respect for all of them. And that was the best way to deal with it. As long as I didn’t have to see them often.
Silence fell over the table, and no one said anything. I knew that most of them weren’t happy with my answer because they had probably felt it was a shot at them.
“I think it’s great you’re following your passion,” Fiona said, saving me yet again today.
I turned to her. Her eyes sparkled as she said it. “Thanks.”
She shrugged. “I don’t need thanking. I do honestly think it’s great you’ve found something you’re passionate about, and it’s amazing you get to help make the community around us a better place.”
My heart skipped a beat, thrilled that she was happy about my choice. Damnit. I knew I shouldn’t base my choices on her, and I hadn’t—but knowing that she was happy with my choice was kinda scary.
83. Chapter Thirty-one
84.
I was so happy when we finally got back to my place. I made my way through the door, dropped my bag on the floor and kicked off my shoes.
“I thought you were going to be gone the weekend?” My brother raised an eyebrow.
“Nope. Just half of it.”
We’d decided it would be best to come home. Adam said he was going to take care of it all and that I wasn’t going to have to worry about telling Josh. I just hoped he was right about it because if he wasn’t, I had no clue how Josh was going to take it. Adam insisted he would be fine about it. I was scared Adam was wrong.
I bit my lip. “So, Mom wants to see me tomorrow. I’m meeting her in the morning; do you want to come with me?”
Josh glanced over at the clock. It was well past midnight. He shrugged. “I think I’ll pass. I’m not all that interested in seeing them, honestly.”
“I didn’t think you would want to come, but I wanted to offer.” I gave him a smile. I have to admit, I was a little disappointed, but I had expected it
. “Anyways, I’m going to head to bed.” I scooped up my bag and padded into my bedroom, closing the door behind me.
“So, you’re …” Josh trailed off. I listened as he and Adam talked. My heart raced.
“Actually, I was thinking I might spend the night. Uh, with Fiona.”
“Thought you two were just pretending?” Amazingly, my brother didn’t sound mad. Was Adam actually right about this?
“We were … and then … now … we’re not.”
“Hm.” My brother didn’t sound happy, but it wasn’t that bad. Was it? I mean … he wasn’t trying to kill Adam. I hope.
“So, are you going to try and kick my ass?”
“No, I told you already, if you want to be with her … I’d rather it be you than anyone else. At least I know you can take care of her. I’ve known for a while now.”
My heart did a backflip. I thought about what he said to me a while ago. What had made me decide Adam and I needed to stop hanging out.
“So, he’s into you,” Josh said.
“Uh, what?”
“Don’t get me wrong; I’m not happy about it, but I guess if you have to find a boyfriend, at least I know all about him.”
My brow furrowed. “What do you mean? He doesn’t like me.”
Josh stared at me, his brow furrowed. “Um, yes, he does, Fee. Don’t you see the way he looks at you?”
I scoffed. He was fucking crazy if he thought Adam liked me, well at least as more than a fake girlfriend. And maybe a fuck or two, but I wasn’t going to mention that.
“And it’s pretty clear you like him,” my brother said, snapping me back to reality.
“So … no talk about how if I hurt her I’m going to go missing and you’ll, I don’t know. Murder me or whatever?”
“Nope. I’m not worried about my sister getting hurt. She’s a tough girl, and she’ll make it through anything that is put in front of her ...” those words almost made me cry, “... I’ve seen her do it, and I know she’ll always do it. Truth is, she’s stronger than both of us combined, and you know it. I’m worried about her finding someone who will make sure she never has to work another day in her life. She deserves to be able to follow her passions without busting her ass as hard as she does now. I’m sure you understand I will not be happy if she gets hurt, and you should probably stay away from here for a while, but all I want is for my sister to have someone she can count on, other than me. As much as I love her, she deserves to have more than just me.”
Interview with a Billionaire: Billionaire Romance Box Set Page 56