Nine #2
“I was going to wait for Christmas to do this, but I think here—now—may be better.”
“Do what?” I asked.
He stared at me for a long moment; the tension ratcheting up between us.
I held on to the knowledge that he loved me, that he’d held me as I fell apart those weeks ago after Felix’s doctor’s appointment, how he’d promised never to leave me when I was in labor.
There were a million different little things he’d done before that to show me that he loved me.
I hadn’t paid close enough attention before, but I was now.
He deserved me to trust him. Fully. I sucked in a harsh breath. I’d never given him one hundred percent of my trust because I’d expected him, at some point, to revert to being a man whore.
Adam, who loved his son and hired an aging Army veteran to help raise him so that he could do his brother Owen a solid.
Yes, Adam had a past that I didn’t like. But he’d proven repeatedly that he was more than his hookup days, and yet, even during my pregnancy, I continued to hold them over both of us.
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered. My voice was hoarse with emotion.
“What for?” That frown line deepened into real concern.
This was hard to say, but he’d given me his truths a few weeks ago, letting me see his vulnerability when he told me the full extent of his parents’ apathy. He deserved to know that I’d worked through what he’d told me and how it fit with his past.
“I didn’t always trust you the way you deserve to be trusted.
There were times I didn’t believe you could be faithful to me.
That was because of my anxiety, my fears.
I walked in here and saw you frowning, telling me that you needed to do this now, and my mind wanted to go to something bad.
But I know whatever you’re going to tell me isn’t bad because you’ve proven over and over how much you care for me.
For our son.” I swallowed the lump in my throat that had turned my voice hoarse.
“I’m so, so sorry, Adam, that I let those concerns into our marriage.
They never belonged there. They won’t be allowed back in. ”
As I said that, a weight lifted, seeming to flutter away. It was mental but it had been heavy—an anchor tugging me back into past thinking. I knew I’d continue to struggle to overcome my long-term thinking, but I already enjoyed feeling lighter, more focused on the present.
I smiled up at Adam as the frustration melted from his face, and he kissed my palm before taking my hand in his. “There’s nothing to apologize for, sweetheart.”
“Oh, yes, there is—”
“No.” His voice was firm, his eyes resolute. “We’re in this moment.”
He meant that we’d laid his past to rest. I nodded. “Yes. We’re here. Now. With a better, more solid future.”
His smile bloomed, and it was glorious, as if he’d shed years of worry. “Exactly. Ah, Naomi, my love.” He tugged me closer, kissing my neck. “You just gave me the best night I’ve had in ages, maybe ever. I want to return the pleasure to you. That’s why I want to give you this gift now.”
“Oh. That sounds amazing. And like a delightful surprise.”
He tipped my head back and kissed me. As always, I lost myself in his touch, taste—in Adam. He pulled back but didn’t release me, not wanting the connection to break either.
He tugged something out of his pocket. “I’m fucked for Christmas, now, so please don’t hold that against me.”
“Adam…”
He pressed the box into my hands, folding my fingers around the edges.
“Open it, Naomi,” he coaxed.
“I…”
“Now, sweetheart. Please.”
I sniffled as I laughed. “As if I can say no to you.”
“Well, I don’t want you to start now.”
I smiled more brightly, which made Adam’s frown slide away.
Breathing easier, my hands still shook a little as I ripped the paper.
I’d saved all my wrapping paper and gift bags as a child and young adult, making sure I had something nice to put Mimi’s gifts in.
Now that I had a nice paycheck and, well, Adam’s fat bank account, I enjoyed ripping the shit out of paper—as present giving should be.
The box was a bit too long to be a necklace and too big to be another piece of jewelry. I couldn’t figure out what he’d bought.
I slid the lid off and gasped, my gaze rising, slamming into his.
“You…”
Adam shuffled his feet. “You don’t like it?”
“I adore it,” I breathed.
His smile grew. “Good.”
“But…but…Clara never said a word.” I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.
“She didn’t mean to mention her retirement plans to me either, because I don’t think they were anything more than a nebulous one-day kind of idea.”
“Then how did you find out?”
Adam shrugged. “She got tipsy at the Christmas party last year.”
I gasped, gripping his wrist as my world tilted. “You’ve known for an entire year and kept it from me?”
He gulped, eyes widening. “I…”
I dug my nails in a little. “I need to sit down.”
Collapsing into the chair, I stared at the shiny name plate that would go outside my office door.
Naomi Kramer, Owner
Silken Whisper
Adam kneeled beside me. “I thought about taking you on a trip—”
“Felix is too little,” I said.