by Lila Rose
“Adalyn.” At least his tone was softer than he used on his mom.
But I was still in panic mode because a sudden thought popped into my head. I slid my hand to my neck, gripped, and rushed out, “I didn’t pressure him into giving me this job. We hadn’t been, um, seeing each other then. If anything, he peeved me off until, well, to be honest, he still sometimes does, but I don’t mind so much anymore, and he’s really great with Drew. Just last week we were at his house because he cooked us dinner—”
“Adalyn.” I heard Vice laugh.
However, I powered through. “Which, by the way, I think is amazing, a man willing to cook, so thank you,” I said to Grace. “And Vice played pool with Drew. He gave him one of his sweaters to wear outside. It was the sweetest moment I’d had in a long time. Drew just adores Vice, and I don’t mean just because of his house either. I was sure Drew wanted—”
“Adalyn,” Vice called louder.
Jolting, I whispered, “Yes?”
“Relax, baby.” He smiled and tugged me to his side, where he placed his arm around my waist.
Flushing, I took a chance to look at both women. I was surprised to find they were smiling at us with tears shimmering in their eyes.
“Sorry,” I mumbled, “I got a little flustered.”
“It’s fine, dear,” Grace said. “We’d come to steal Vice away for lunch, but we’ll let you get back to work.” She winked, and I wanted to die since it seemed she thought I would go back to making out with her son.
“Adalyn,” Melanie called. “Molly just rang before we came in. She mentioned something about a get-together for wedding talk.”
“Okay.” I nodded. “Thanks for letting me know.”
“Fantastic. Kisses,” she said with an air kiss and then walked out. Grace came up to her son, and he leaned in to kiss her cheek.
“We’ll talk soon,” she told him in a tone that brooked no argument.
“Yes, Mom.”
“Adalyn, lovely to meet you.”
“You also, Mrs. Salvatore.”
“Grace, dear. Call me Grace from this day on.”
I wasn’t sure if I would ever see her again because I was terrified what Vice had to say about me telling his mom, his mom, I was his girlfriend. Still, I replied with, “Um, okay, thank you.”
Then again, when he curled his arm around me, I took it as a good sign he hadn’t minded.
I had to think positive.
He wanted me. I wanted him.
Stating I was his girlfriend to his mom wasn’t too bad, right?
Once they left, closing the door behind them, I shifted away from Vice and faced him. “Can you please just kill me now?”
“Why?” He smirked.
“They knew we were kissing. Your moms knew. And then my mouth wouldn’t listen to my brain when I told it to shut up, and I kept raving on about things they didn’t need to know. I just made the biggest fool out of myself, and you ask why? And then I went….”
“What?”
“No, never mind. I really should get back to work. I’ve been in here way too long. People must be conjuring up stories about us.”
“I don’t care what they think. I want to know what you were going to say.” He stepped closer, and I backed up, so he came forward again. When I was backed into a wall, he stood in front of me.
“And then you went…?” he asked again.
Expelling a heavy breath through my nose, I closed my eyes and muttered, “And then I went and told then I was… that I’m, um, your, you know.”
“Girlfriend?”
“Yes,” I cried, my eyes springing wide as I glanced up at him. “Girlfriend, Vice. And we hadn’t even talked about anything. I’m not a clinger if you’re worried about that.”
“I’m not.”
“And I don’t want anything to do with your money.”
“I know.”
“I like your company, Vice. I like seeing you each day. I like talking to you, even when it’s at times when we’re going head to head about something stupid. I may have jumped us ahead, but I’d like to think you want the same thing here.”
“I do.”
My body deflated, relaxed. “Oh, well… good. So you’re okay with me saying that G word in front of them?”
“More than okay,” he growled low. Just before I got another taste of my boyfriend’s—cue giddy giggles, which makes me sound like a teen, so I mentally groan and think of Vice as my man without a giggle—mouth, someone else knocked on the door.
“Fucking hell,” Vice snarled and then moves off to open it while I once again straighten myself, and prayed I didn’t have a guilty look on my face.
“Vice, I tried ringing your assistant’s phone, but she’s not even at her desk, and it’s not her lunch break. I wanted to see if I could make a time for a meeting with you?” Kylie Whore-face asked from the doorway. Vice had hold of the door. She couldn’t see me since I stood near the wall behind the door.
“Is this meeting about work, Kylie?”
She giggled, and I knew it had nothing to do with work, but the new policy on dating within the company. Kylie wanted to get her claws into Vice. My Vice.
“Of course it does,” she replied, all sultry.
Stalking over to the door, I grip it and force it from Vice’s hand to open it all the way. Kylie gasped, her hand fluttering over her heart. “Oh, you scared me.” She laughed and glanced at Vice to see if he was watching, only he wasn’t. His eyes were down on me with his perfect, twitching lips.
“Excuse me, Adalyn.” Kylie sneered. I faced her again. “I tried calling your desk. It’s not good to leave it unattended.”
“Sorry, Kylie. I was busy. What can I do to help you?”
“I’d like to book in a meeting with Vice please.”
“Oh, really? What time are you free, Vice?” I asked.
“I’m not sure—”
I interrupted him. “Never? Did you say never, because that’s what I heard? Actually, Kylie, if you have any questions regarding anything, I’ll be sure to help you out. If not, you can see Henley.” Shifting to Vice, I grabbed the back of his neck, tugged him down and planted my lips against his quickly. “Now, honey. We’d better get back to work.”
Oh, oh, oh… what did I just do? I overstepped, and it was the second time in a couple of minutes. Someone needed to lock me up and throw away the key or at least keep Vice away from me because it was his fault both times I overstepped.
Panic seized my heart to a point it hurt in my chest.
“Breathe, Adalyn,” Vice’s amused voice said in my ear. “As you can see, Kylie, Adalyn deals with all meetings. Also, if it has anything to do with the change in the contract, I don’t want to hear about it.” Once Kylie stormed off in a huff, Vice turned my still stiff form his way, using his hands on my hips. “Relax, woman.”
Blinking, I asked, “How did you know I wasn’t?”
“The freaked-out expression on your face. Don’t second-guess your actions, baby. People now know, which means we can move things up….” Move things up. Does he mean sex? Vice chuckled and lowered his voice even more. “I’m not talking about that just yet. Lunches are with me now. I get to walk you to your car, and when you arrive in the morning, I expect a greeting. We’re still learning about each other. The other part will come. At least, I hope so.” He winked, and I blushed.
Great, all I could think about was getting naked with Vice, and pondering it at work wasn’t good.
Tapping his stomach, I said, “I’d better get back to work.” And think about shaving my legs, underarms, and cleaning up down below.
“Where did your mind just go?”
“Hmm? Oh, nowhere.” I grinned. “Don’t you have a business or two to run?”
“I suppose I do.” He gave me a quick peck and then went back into his office while I stepped out and walked to my desk. I didn’t bother looking around. I knew I had eyes on me. They could stare all they wanted. I was more than happy, and no one was
ruining it.
Then I remember my conversation with John, causing my stomach to sink. Even if I’d gone about it the wrong way, I was glad I’d mentioned me dating since I knew where Vice and I were finally at.
John would have to deal, and honestly, I didn’t understand why he was so bent out of shape about me dating in the first place, not when he was the one who cheated and then left me for her.
Chapter
Twenty-One
“Due to the moms’ visit and everything after, I forgot to ask what exactly happened with your ex?” Vice queried through the phone. I was sitting in the living room while Drew did his homework close by at the kitchen table.
“Ah, Drew is doing his homework right now.”
“Shit, sorry. I didn’t think.”
“That’s okay. I’ll tell you about it tomorrow.” I’d been surprised when Vice had called. Usually we stuck to texts, and then I’d see him at work. So when I saw his name flash up on the screen, my whole body quivered in excitement. He was moving up that step, straight into our relationship, right along with me, and knowing it made me dizzy with all the right feelings. “By the way, Molly rang me before and mentioned what her mom said about a get-together. I think we’re looking at it for the following weekend.”
“Sounds good. Just… don’t listen to the moms too much. I know they’ll say some embarrassing shit about me.”
Laughing, I admitted, “I’m looking forward to hearing what they have to say.”
“Damn,” he muttered, amusement in his voice. “There was something else I forgot to mention. Grayson and Kenzie are coming over Saturday afternoon. I’ve invited Molly and Clint also. So I’d like you and Drew there as well. I know Drew has an early game that day… but that is if you can make it?”
“I’d like that. Can I bring Mom? Oh, maybe Kenzie can get Trent to come as well.”
He groaned. “You and Kenzie are terrible, but I’ll mention it to her.”
“Actually, don’t worry, I’ll text her later. We have to talk about jewelry anyway.”
“How is the business going?”
That right there, Vice calling my jewelry a business, and not a hobby, was something amazing. Just like the man himself.
“Good,” I whispered, my voice shaking with emotion.
And he knew it. “And there’s your sweet,” Vice growled deeply into the phone. “You’re voice does things to me, Addy.”
My heart jumped in my chest. “Now isn’t the time to be…” I lowered my voice and looked behind me to see Drew concentrating on his work, “hot, Vice Salvatore.”
“So there will be a time for it? Say, when you’re alone in bed?” he teased.
“Maybe.” I grinned.
“Christ, woman, you surprise me all the time. What also surprised me was your reaction to the spanking DVD.”
“You remember that?”
“Couldn’t forget your cheeks heating or the sound of your voice when you cried spanking. It was like you were asking me to spank you.”
“Um.”
I did very much like a little rough in the bedroom. It was something John hated and would never do. But the way Vice was talking about it made it sound he wouldn’t mind trying it out. Which of course thrilled me.
“Adalyn.” His tone was rough. “Would you like that?”
“One day,” I admitted quietly.
“Fuck. That pleases me greatly, baby.”
“Vice,” I whispered, getting hot all over.
“Mom,” Drew called, as he came into the living room. “Is that Vice? Can I talk to him? He’ll know how to help with this math problem.”
Clearing my throat a few times, I said, “Ah, yes, it is, but I could probably help you.” Drew just stared at me. “I could.” Another stare and without blinking, which was kind of freaky.
“Vice—”
“Baby, any other time I would gladly help Drew out, but not while I have an erection.”
“You do?”
He chuckled. “Yes, Addy. Tell him I’ll call him in half an hour to help.”
“You will?” I asked, surprised. It seemed Vice wasn’t the only one getting surprised all the time.
“Baby, with you comes Drew. Half an hour,” he said, and then ended the call.
Looking to Drew, I said, “He just has to do something, but he’s going to call back in half an hour to help you.”
Drew showered me with a bright smile before skipping back to the table.
Vice had turned my world upside down, and I wouldn’t want it any other way. Heck, I still couldn’t comprehend why he liked me, but I was going to go with it. Life was about chances, and Vice was a chance I was willing to take, even when it didn’t make sense.
“Drew, do you need help with anything other than math?”
“No, I’m good, Mom.”
“We’ll read later. You wanted to start Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, right?”
“Yes!”
“Great. I’m just going to call Molly from my room, and Nana should be home soon. She said she was going to bring takeout.”
“Awesome. Will you bring your phone out when Vice calls?”
“Of course, honey.”
“Thanks.”
It was great to see Drew so taken with Vice, nearly as much as I was. In fact, it warmed me all over. I’d been scared to see how Drew would react when I finally introduced him to a man I liked. I was sure it had just been luck Drew liked Vice before I even admitted to myself I did too.
Closing my door behind me, I pressed Molly’s name and placed my phone against my ear. I hadn’t actually spoken to Molly about Vice and me. I felt it was time to do so. It had been on the tip of my tongue earlier when she’d called about a get-together, but I’d chickened out for some reason. Maybe fear she wouldn’t like my dating her brother.
“What’s up, buttercup?” she answered.
“Molly, there’s something I need to talk to you about.”
“Finally!” she cried.
“W-what do you mean?” My pulse quickened as I paced the room.
“You’re calling me about Vice, right? My brother who you’re dating…”
“How? When? Who?”
She giggled. “Vice called me a while ago and asked if I would be okay if he dated my best friend. I was down for it, but I knew things were new and fresh, so I let it go and waited for you to come to me. There’s only one thing that sucks about this though.”
Vice had asked Molly if he could date me.
Oh my God. Swoon and sigh happily.
“What?”
“I can’t ask for any deets if he’s good in the sack because that’d be just gross, him being my brother and all.”
My whole body sagged in relief, right before I burst out laughing.
“This isn’t a laughing matter, girlfriend. I need to know my friend is satisfied in every department, and every time I think I could ask you, I get hives.”
“Stop. Please stop. You’re killing me.”
“I’m killing you?” she grumbled. “You’re my friend. I’m supposed to live vicariously through you since I’ll nearly be an old married couple.”
“Babe, it’s not like you ain’t getting any,” Clint shouted. “She may need to live through you because your brother’s a dud in bed.”
“Clint, shut the hell up. I do not want to think about my brother and a bed. That’s so wrong,” Molly screamed, while Clint laughed in the background.
“So you don’t want to know anything?” I queried.
“Nope. Nothing, well except if he makes you happy.”
“We haven’t slept together yet, but—”
“I meant in a general happy sense, you bitch, not in bed happy.”
I snorted. “Yes, Molly. He makes me happy, and even Drew thinks the world of him. Though, it is only new,” I finished in a quieter tone.
“Don’t go there, Addy. When it’s the one, it’ll be forever, and nothing nor no one will be able to come between the two o
f you. And, honey, my brother has never, and I seriously mean never, acted the way he does with you. He’s smiling more, he texts me, calls me, and the moms. They see it as I do. He’s taken with you in a big way.”
My ears started to ring because my blood was coursing through my body in a rapid speed. I liked that a lot. No, more than liked, I loved hearing Molly say that because it made me feel special.
Vice made me feel special.
“Adalyn? Addy? Clint, I’ve lost her. Adalyn Sage, you talk to me right now.”
“Here,” I muttered.
“Honey, I see good, no… grand things for you and Vice. Take it, hold onto it, and make sure you enjoy it all. Even the bad time because let’s face it, my brother can be a dick sometimes, but the good times will make up for it. Now, I’ll see you this weekend. Can’t wait to see you and Vice around each other. Even though I’ll be barfing in my mouth the whole time.”
“Love you, Molly.”
“Love you, Addy.”
Some days life could give you lemons when all you wanted was lemonade. It was what you did with those lemons, how you dealt with them that could make or break you. I wouldn’t say I’d done well with those lemons, but I wasn’t perfect, no one was. I let them beat me sometimes. But I also did the best I could and, if the lemons I had to deal with were what led me to my lemonade, I would do them all over again.
Great, now I want a lemon meringue pie with all the lemon thinking.
Seriously, why am I swapping lemons for life choices? What am I even talking about?
I even worried about myself some days.
My phone in my hand rang. I fumbled with it a few times, nearly dropping it, and then finally I managed to place it against my ear. “Hello?”
“Baby” was all Vice said, and I smiled like a fool.
“Hi,” I whispered, and then I heard a herd of elephants running down the hall right before my bedroom door was thrown open.
“I was just coming to see if Vice rang when I heard it ring. Is it him? Is it? Can he help me now?” Drew puffed.
Vice chuckled in my ear. “I’ll talk to you soon, Adalyn.”
“You will.” I grinned and then handed the phone out to Drew. He stepped forward quickly and snapped the phone out of my hand.
