Chapter 10
SIENNA
“Stay away from my daughter, ho! I don’t give a fuck who your family is! I will beat you the fuck up!”
“You should let me call and cuss her the fuck out,” Ellie stated.
“Ellie… Stop it, okay. That’s not necessary. Now go finish working on the dress I gave you.”
Ellie rolled her eyes and headed back to the sewing studio.
Shaking my head at the foolery that was Courtland Fails, I deleted the fifth message she left on my boutique’s voicemail.
The first four voicemails were just as violence laced.
If Courtland thought she was putting any fear into me, I couldn’t wait to bump into her just to show her my family’s name had nothing do with the hands I was dealt.
Although I had security following me, I still knew how to defend myself.
So, I wasn’t in the least concerned about Courtland.
The only person who would keep me from being around Whimsy was me.
Kicking Courtland out of my prettily constructed mind, I went about dressing another Christmas tree that I just had to have for the boutique.
This one was a little taller than the others.
Inspired by the tree in Synder’s foyer, I decorated this one in the same color scheme.
Between customers, I worked on adding as many ornaments as possible.
Sighing, I placed a brown teddy bear wearing a red sweater onto the tree.
I really missed Whimsy…and reluctantly, I missed Synder, too.
I told him to give me a few days to decide if the position was a good fit.
Really, I just needed time away from him to get my mind right.
I was in too deep, and I was only with him for three days.
Maybe if I thought of him as Synder Sneaux, an ordinary man, who didn’t know me from a speck, then I could’ve put him out of my mind. Shit. It wasn’t like he spit gold when he talked.
I promised him that I would give him an answer before his next game, which was tomorrow.
It was an away game, so he would be flying out tonight, which sucked because Thanksgiving was tomorrow.
My family’s traditions were deep and everyone was normally expected to be at Thanksgiving dinner.
However, this year, all I could think about was being with Synder and Whimsy.
With every hour that passed, I found a new reason to push back the time in which I would call him.
The stress of it all made me put several ornaments in the same spot.
Truth be told, I couldn’t be around Synder and not feel something. Whatever was sprinkled all over that man stuck to me and wouldn’t let loose of me. I smelled him at night and dreamed about him when I shouldn’t have. His ass hit me like a ton of bricks and recovering was nearly impossible.
You gotta recover, Sienna.
“Right,” I mumbled to myself just as the doorbell sounded.
“Welcome to…” My words trailed off, and my heart caught them. I nearly fainted at seeing Synder strut into my boutique.
It’s okay! You’ve got this. Remember, he’s just Synder Sneaux. He’s not your man. He’s not even your friend for real. He’s just a regular man who needs a nanny. And he doesn’t spit gold!
“Shi-Shi!” Whimsy shouted and pried herself out of her daddy’s arms.
Plastering a wide smile on my face—a smile I truly felt—I opened my arms for Whimsy to run to me. I picked her up and hugged her.
“Hey, Whims!”
She giggled cutely and hugged me back. Little Whimsy was with her, making my heart warm.
Offended, Synder stated, “Hey to you, too. I’m the one who drove her ass here.”
Smacking my teeth, I replied, “Hi, Synder.”
“‘Sup, Sienna.”
The way he said my name… I heard it rolling off his tongue in more ways than one.
Now you’re just being foolish.
“Wait. You’re flying out tonight. Why are you here?”
“Whimsy missed you. She wanted me to ensure you won’t change ya mind about comin’ back to see us.”
I didn’t miss how he slid us in there. “I never said I was coming back.”
“You did,” he replied.
“How so?”
“You said, See you later, Whimsy! Remember?”
I burst out laughing. “You know what I meant.”
Unashamed, he smiled and shrugged. “We figured we’d come and help you pack.”
I wouldn’t front like Synder coming all the way here wasn’t sweet. It was. His eyes said it all. He was in too deep, too.
Covering my mouth with my hand, I whispered in Whimsy’s ear, “Is your dad telling a story?”
She giggled hard and pretended to whisper in my ear. It wasn’t much of anything, but I listened intently. After she got whatever it was off her chest, I cackled with her.
“Whimsy and I have decided that you will most definitely be helping me pack,” I told Synder
He grinned broadly. Unfortunately, his smile was still my undoing. That damn pep talk didn’t do shit.
Ellie came from the back to see what all the commotion was.
“Ellie, this is Synder and Whimsical. Synder… Whimsy, this is my baby sister, Ellie,” I introduced them.
Ellie shook Synder’s hand and smiled at Whimsy. “I love your name,” she said to Whimsy.
Whimsy giggled and blushed. It was strange that my sister, the one who hated anything that had to do with the holidays, loved a name like Whimsical.
“I’m done with the dress,” Ellie said. “I’m going home now.” Just like that, she was back to the Ellie I knew. I only laughed.
An hour later, instead of helping me pack, Synder was all inside my house bothering shit.
First, it was my Christmas trees. Then, there were the pictures on the mantle above the fireplace.
Now, he was inside my bedroom, looking for what, I wasn’t sure.
Which was crazy. At his own house, he never came inside the guest bedroom. At least, not while I was present.
“Looking for something?” I asked him. I was almost done packing, so that we could hit the road.
“Nah,” he said but continued with his perusal. At any time, I could’ve put him out. Only…I liked seeing him in my space.
Shaking my head, I finished packing the last few things I needed for the next few weeks. Synder appeared next to me and booted me out of the way. He closed my suitcases, then carried them to his ride and not my own. I placed Whimsy inside her car seat, to which she fussed.
“Hop in with me,” Synder stated while standing by the opened passenger door.
“If I ride with you, how will I get around for myself?”
He gave me a crazy look. “Girl, I got eight cars you can choose from. Now, get in. My baby said you can’t leave her with me.”
I burst out laughing. “Stop speaking for Whimsy. She has no clue how crazy you are.”
“She’ll learn,” he quipped. He waited by the door until I went over there and climbed in. It smelled like Synder ten times over inside there, causing me to regret my decision the second he closed the door.
Glancing back at the wide smile on Whimsy’s cute face, I just accepted that the both of them had me wrapped around their fingers. I was fighting a losing battle. So much for my boundaries, and my morals. They were both crumbling under the pressure of this man and his daughter.