Chapter 12 #2
“You look great. Remember what I told you. We want people to think we’re together tonight, so no talking about you being my assistant, okay?”
She nods and gives me a big smile. “Got it. What do I say if anyone asks me details about us being together?”
I stop a few feet outside the dining room to think about that question. “Just say you’ve known me for a while.”
That should work if Ava starts interrogating her, which I know she will. My sister-in-law is nothing if not curious.
“Maybe we should come up with a story. We can say we got together while we were in Aruba. That was a great trip, wasn’t it?
You took some great pictures, and we had dinner at that really great restaurant with those giant lobsters.
Remember how big they were? We can tell everyone that was the night we first got together. ”
Her memory of that trip is much better than mine.
All I remember is that damn model complaining about sand in her crevices for half the day I was shooting her.
After that, I don’t remember a thing, but that isn’t surprising since I spent the night alone in my hotel room trying to drown my sorrows after the day I had and because I was missing Eden.
“Better to keep things vague. When you start getting into fine details, that’s when things go wrong.”
Turning to look at Sam, I give her one final once over. Her long blond hair looks perfect tonight. That red dress is a showstopper. And as always, her pretty face impresses.
Let’s see how Eden likes it when the shoe is on the other foot.
Have you ever heard someone say when they walked into a room the entire place fell silent? Like they could hear a pin drop? That usually means everyone in that room is shocked by what they’re seeing.
Well, that’s what happens when Sam and I walk into the dining room.
I notice Ava looks stunned, which seems strange since I told her I’d be bringing someone just a few minutes ago.
All three of my brothers are equally as surprised, as evidenced by how their mouths drop open when they see us.
(Let’s be honest. That reaction is for Sam, not me. They’ve seen me all their lives.)
The best reaction, however, comes from Eden. Even though Rob from IT is clearly talking to her, she instantly ignores him to stare wide-eyed in our direction as I direct Sam to my seat.
“Not to worry, Ava. Sam and I are fine with sharing. Sorry, we’re late, everyone. I sort of sprung us on Ava at the last minute. How is everyone doing tonight? This lovely lady is Sam. Sam, my family.”
Nobody says a word. They all just stare like Sam and I are from outer space, and they don’t know how to talk to aliens.
“Hi! It’s so nice to be here,” Sam sweetly says.
The meal doesn’t even begin before I see Eden get up from the table and storm out. I have to stop myself from running after her since that’s my kneejerk reaction, but that would look odd since supposedly the two of us mean nothing to one another.
Ronan is the brother closest to where I’m sitting, so I lean over and say with a chuckle, “Maybe Eden and Ava are fighting tonight.”
Baffled, he shrugs. “I have no idea. Who is Sam over there? You’ve never mentioned this person before, but now you think you should bring her to Matthias and Ava’s party?”
“Yeah, why not? Everyone else gets to bring a date. Why not me?”
He looks around me at Sam and then returns his attention to me. “Dude, how old is she?”
“I don’t know. Twenty? Maybe twenty-one. I’m not sure.”
He stares at me, his eyes as wide as saucers. “That’s pretty young.”
“Age is just a number, dude. What matters is what people have in common.”
Leave it to that brother to get all moralistic about Sam’s age. She’s over eighteen and an adult. What more matters?
Since I don’t want to talk to him anymore, now seems like a good time to find out where Eden went since she hasn’t returned to the table. Turning to Sam, I whisper, “I’ll be right back. By the way, you’re twenty-one, right?”
She smiles and shakes her head. “I don’t turn twenty-one until next February, Marius.”
“Great. Well, if anyone asks, just say you’re already twenty-one, okay?”
Sam starts to say something, but I quickly get up and head in the direction of where I last saw Eden run off to. It doesn’t take me long to find her in the kitchen standing at the sink.
“You’re going to miss dinner if you don’t come back.”
When she turns around, I see tears in her eyes. I take a few steps toward her because I naturally want to make things better, but she stops me dead by holding her hand up.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” she asks sharply.
I know this woman as well as I know myself. She can’t hide an emotion once she has it, and at this moment, she’s so angry she wants to kill me.
“Well, right now, I’m coming to find you because I saw you storm away in a huff from the table. I’m sure Rob from IT is worried too, but since he’s a clueless tool, he’s not coming to find you anytime soon, I bet.”
“You know what I mean.”
Best to come clean, at least on this issue.
“I figured turnabout was fair play. No?”
She wipes under her eyes and sniffles away her tears. “I told you I wanted to let the world know about us and that I want to have a baby soon, and this is how you respond?”
“Doesn’t feel so good seeing someone you love with another person, does it?”
Eden takes two steps toward me and stops, but I get the sense if she had anything big and sharp, like a pike, my head would be sitting atop it right now. Rage fills her expression, even as tears continue to fill her eyes.
“I pleaded with you to tell everyone about us. I pleaded, and you said just a little while longer. I could have handled that, Marius, but now you’ve gone and done this, and I can’t do it anymore.
I’m done. Whatever you thought you’d accomplish with this little stunt of yours, you did a lot more that I don’t even think you realize. ”
Before I can say anything more, she pushes past me and marches out to the dining room.
I follow her, and as I pass where she’s sitting on the other end of the table, I hear her tell Rob from IT that she’s sick.
A minute later, Ava walks the two of them out, leaving me miserable and angry at how things happened.
“I wonder what’s wrong with that woman,” Sam whispers to me.
“Probably sick. In fact, I might be coming down with something. I think I need to bow out of this party. Maybe another time.”
As I stand up from the table, Ava walks back in and gives me an odd look. “Are you going too?”
“I don’t feel well. Must be something I ate earlier today,” I say as I nudge Sam to get up also.
She looks at me strangely too, but as she stands up, she politely says to Ava, “You have a lovely home. Thank you.”
My brothers all stare at Sam and me as I hurry her out to her car. Can’t people get sick? It’s not like any of them are dependent on us to have a good time tonight.
By the time we reach her car, Sam is asking what’s going on, but I’m not in the mood to answer questions. I just want this night to be over and my life to go back to the way it was.
“Marius, is that it?” she asks when I open her car door for her. “I thought we were going to stay for the entire party.”
“Yeah, thanks. I promise to give you a nice bonus in your next paycheck for being so cool about things tonight. I guess something I ate for lunch is the problem.”
Looking up at me, she smiles and reaches out to rub my stomach. “I hope you feel better. I’d like to do something when you’re up to it.”
“Maybe. I don’t know. It’s probably not very professional of me to date people I employ, though.”
That’s a pretty lame excuse now. Like hello, maybe shut the fucking barn door before you watch all the horses run out.
“I don’t mind. I think you’re very professional,” she says, and I hear almost begging in her voice.
“Drive safely, Sam. I’ll talk to you soon.”
Before she can try to kiss me since that seems to be where this is going tonight, I walk back into the house and straight up the stairs to my old room.
I’d go to the penthouse, but the idea of waiting around for Eden to get home after Rob the IT guy doesn’t exactly sound like how I want to spend my night.
I flop down on my bed and close my eyes as I silently recap the night.
My assistant now thinks I want to sleep with her, which wouldn’t be problematic if she hadn’t made it perfectly clear she’s into me for the past six months.
Okay, you don’t have to say it. That was a shitty thing for me to do.
Trust me. I know. If I give her a really big bonus like buying her a new car or a paid vacation to some island resort with all the bells and whistles, maybe that will fix things?
And then there’s the issue with Eden. All I wanted to do was show her how much it fucking hurt to see her with someone else. Why couldn’t she understand that?
I bet you’re saying I deserve whatever she’s going to do. Fine, you might be right, but if I know my Duck, it’s going to be big and bad and hurt like a motherfucker.
Maybe I’ll give her the night to cool down.
As I drift off to sleep, I know things will be okay. She loves me, and I love her. We’ll be good after she has some time to think things over.