Chapter 13 #2
The moment I open my door, I’m caught off guard.
Lying on my desk is a white garment bag.
Placing my work bag down, I hurry over to the bag and unzip it.
A gasp escapes my lips when I spot the gorgeous red dress.
The form-fitting mermaid-style design has a train at the back.
The front drops into a seductive V. The straps are made of sparkling diamonds.
This dress looks as if it could be worn by a celebrity walking down a red carpet.
The label on the garment bag has my eyes ballooning.
I’ve seen that name mentioned only on celebrity blogs and television. This dress must have cost a fortune.
A smile slips over my face when I realize my husband must have had this ordered for me. No matter how much he and I argue or even if we don’t speak, he always knows exactly what I need without me ever having to voice my opinion. I guess this is his way of apologizing for the fight.
Inside the front pocket of the white garment bag is a small card. I pull it out, ready to read the sweet message Nico sent. However, once again I find my mouth wide open in shock. This dress isn’t from my husband at all.
Grabbing my phone out of my purse, I make a phone call.
“I see you got the dress,” the smooth, deep voice on the other end of the phone says in greeting.
“Ezra,” I say in astonishment. “The dress is gorgeous, but I can’t accept this.”
There is a moment of silence at the other end of the phone. “Why?”
His question comes out innocently, as if he truly couldn’t see why I can’t keep the dress. I run my hands through my hair, pushing the straightened pieces off my face.
“Well, first, it’s too expensive.”
“Not for you.” His reply is quick.
The heat of my blush creeps up my face. I shake it off.
“Also, I’m married. And it’s inappropriate to accept a gift this big from another man.”
I’m honored and, honestly, a little flattered by the gift, but I’m not crazy. If Nico brought home an expensive gift from another woman, I’d end up on an episode of someone’s True Crime documentary.
Ezra chuckles. “I love how loyal you are. But don’t worry, I wish I could take credit for that dress.
After bumping into you at the mall, I told my sister about the encounter and how you were looking for a dress for your ceremony.
This is all her. I know nothing about dresses. All I did was give her my card number.”
Knowing that the dress is from Lauren takes a little of the inappropriateness away, but it still feels wrong.
“Look, I truly appreciate it, but—”
“Do you like the dress?” Ezra asks, cutting me off.
I couldn’t lie; the dress is stunning. It had a subtle sexiness to it and looked chic and expensive. Even Mira would approve of it.
Sighing, I reply. “Yes.”
“Then what’s the problem? Any man would be happy to know his wife is happy. Tell your husband it’s a gift from your very pleased clients. A simple thank you for how well you’re doing.”
I glance back at the dress again. As much as I love it, I don’t think this is a good idea.
He must sense my hesitation because he goes on to say. “Look, take the dress. If you decide not to wear it, that’s fine. But it’s yours as a thank you for the job you’re doing.”
Before I can argue, he says he has to go before hanging up.
Running my hand over the beautiful red dress, I again admire how lovely it is. Still, I don’t think it will go over well with my husband, but it’s a damn gorgeous dress. My office intercom rings.
“Tiffany, you have a guest here to see you,” Kim, the front desk receptionist, says.
Weird, I don’t have any meetings until later today.
“Okay, tell them I’m coming.”
I head out of my office and toward the front of the building. The moment I come into view of the foyer, I spot my mother. She sees me at the same time, rising to her feet. She’s clutching her purse to her chest with tears in her eyes.
“Evelyn, what’s wrong?”
She glances at the receptionist before looking back at me. “Can we go somewhere private to talk?”
“Umm, yes, come to my office.” I spin on my heels. I don’t have to look back to see if she is following me. The clicking of her heels lets me know.
Opening my office door, I stepped back and let her in first. She immediately goes over to the dress on the desk that I now wish I had put up.
“This is a black label from Samoht. This was in his summer show three years ago.” She’s enamored by the dress. I knew it was designer, but the way she’s talking about it tells me it’s way more than I thought.
Now I feel even guiltier about it.
“Is this a gift from Niccolo?”
I quickly go over to the desk and place the dress back in the bag and zip it up. I then hang the garment on the hook on the back of my door.
“What’s going on, Evelyn?” I distract her with a question, refusing to answer hers.
She drops into the seat in front of my desk.
For the first time, I take in her appearance.
She looks put together in her two-piece tweed pink skirt and top.
Her black hair is in a blunt bob that touches her shoulders.
Even though my mother is fifty, she could easily pass for someone in her late thirties.
Time has been good to her, or more like her plastic surgeon has been good to her.
My mother drops her head. “He hit me.”
“Who hit you?”
She looks up at me and glares. “James, Tiffany.”
“James, as in your husband James?”
Look, I’m not victim doubting, it’s just hard to believe that the man I spent six days with, the one that doted on my mother and was so gentle with my son, could hit his wife.
She wipes at her eyes. “Yes. I feel so embarrassed saying that. I’ve never been in an abusive relationship. Things like that are so beneath me.”
Only my mother could make domestic violence a class thing.
“I’m so sorry this happened to you.” Despite not having a relationship with the woman, I didn’t want anyone to hurt her. “Did you press charges?”
She cocks her head to the side. “And have all my friends and business associates talking about me? I’d never be able to show my face anywhere again. When you move in the circles I move in, you don’t put your business out there. You’ll have to learn these things married to a man like Niccolo.”
So much of what she said is wrong. First of all, she has no business, so what associates is she talking about? Plus, I don’t care how rich anyone is; if they break the law, they need to face the consequences. I hope Nico knows that if he ever puts his hands on me, we will both be in jail.
“Okay, so what are you going to do?” Not sure why she came to me if she didn’t even press charges.
She fidgets with her sparkly watch. “I thought a lot about what you said the last time we talked in my kitchen. I spent so much time chasing the next new man, I established nothing for myself. Now here I am, once again having to leave a relationship, and I have nowhere to go.”
There was a lot said that day in her kitchen, but that’s what she thought about? You know what? I’m not surprised.
“I haven’t been much of a mother to you, and for that I’m sorry.”
Whoa. Now, that wasn’t what I was expecting. If you had told me that today Evelyn Peters would apologize to me for being an absent mother, I would have thought you were crazy.
“Apology accepted?” Yes, it came out like a question because I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to respond. I mean, I’ve wanted to hear her apologize for abandoning me for years, but I’m not sure if this fixes anything.
She dips her chin. “I was also hoping that I could stay with you for a while. Just until I can get back on my feet. I assure you; it won’t take long. I’m pretty resilient.”
This completely catches me off guard. Had you asked me a few months ago if my mother could come stay with me, I would have laughed in your face. But she did open her door for me when I was running from Nico. No matter how reluctant it was, she let me stay.
I won’t lie, there is a strong urge to tell her ass hell no, but I guess there is still that desire to have a bond with her.
Especially after the time I’ve spent with Ms. Rose.
Having her around the house to help me with Noah, letting me cry in her lap, and taking care of me this morning made me realize how much I missed out on having a mother.
This might be my last chance of forming something with Evelyn.
Besides, I’m not cruel enough to leave her out on the streets.
“Okay. We have another guesthouse on the property. You can stay there.”
Jim and Gloria both stay in the house at the back of the property.
They’ve been with Nico for so long, he built them their own home.
Ms. Rose stays in the largest guesthouse that’s attached to our home.
It has a private entrance into the guesthouse and an entrance directly into our home.
The third guesthouse is connected to the pool house.
It doesn’t have a kitchen, but it does have a bedroom, and full bath. Evelyn can stay there.
“Oh darling, I appreciate this so much.”
“I’ll call Gloria and let her know you’re coming. She will get the place ready for you.”
My mother smiles brightly.
“And you said this is only temporary, right?”
Look, it’s not that I don’t want to help Evelyn, but in the past she and I haven’t always gotten along for extended periods of time. I’d like to hope this will be my chance to form a relationship with her, but I’m also not going to be stupid.
She places her hand on her chest. “Definitely. As soon as I finalize things with James, I can move out of your space.”
Nodding, I pull my phone out of my pocket and make the call. I can’t help but hope and pray I’m not making a mistake.
After a long day at work, I walk out of the bathroom with my towel wrapped around me. I startle when I spot my husband in my room. For the past few days, he’s been MIA. I wasn’t expecting to see him today. Had I known, I would have hidden the object that’s lying on my bed in my closet. Fuck.
Nico is standing over the red gown, his hands stuffed down in his pockets.
“Beautiful dress,” he says calmly. However, the way his jaw is tensed coupled with the fact that he hasn’t looked at me tells me he’s not calm at all.
“It’s uhhhhh,” I think about telling him the bogus shit Ezra said, but I wasn’t going to lie to him. I never have before, and I never will. “Ezra and his sister bought it for me. I tried to get them to take it back, but they said it was a gift. If it’s an issue, I won’t wear it.”
Slowly, those dark brown eyes turn in my direction. If I didn’t know this man loved me, I’d be scared shitless right now. The way his gaze seems so blank is frightening.
“Do you like it?” he asks.
Something about that question feels heavy. It’s almost like he’s asking more than if I like the dress. I’m almost too terrified to answer that. I feel like saying yes makes it seem like I’m doing something I shouldn’t be doing. As if I’m saying yes to liking Ezra and not just the dress.
I squeeze the front of my towel tighter as if it could possibly go anywhere. Licking my lips, I stick to my routine of not lying.
“It’s a beautiful dress, but,” I quickly say. “I have no problem sending it back.”
He remains calm. I can’t read him at all, and it bothers me. He’s quiet for so long it’s almost as if he’s gone to sleep standing up. I don’t try to fill the quiet. I wait for him. Finally, he dips his head and turns back to the dress.
“Keep it.” He glances back at me before turning to walk out of the room.
“Nico,” I call out to him before he can leave.
He stops but doesn’t turn to face me. I don’t know what I want to say. Part of me wants him to demand I give the dress back. I want him to tell me I couldn’t wear anything another man gives me. I want him to show me he really wants me. The other part of me knows that isn’t fair to him.
“Nothing,” I finally say.
He glances over his shoulder at me before turning back and walking out of the room.
I look over at the red dress. For some reason, it’s not as stunning as it was before.