by Lucy Gage
“You're joking.”
“Em, would I joke about diamonds any more than I'd joke about shoes?”
Emily was suddenly more overwhelmed than she was when he gave them to her. “No,” she said meekly.
“Sweetie, he wouldn't have given them to you if he didn't want you to have them.” Emily didn't speak. She had no idea what to say. “Em, don't freak out.”
“I'm not freaking out. I'm just a little overwhelmed.”
“I didn't mean to make this stressful for you. I shouldn't have said anything. I got carried away with the excitement.”
“It's okay. Look, I should go. I'll tell you all about my dress once I see it, okay?”
Charlie was a little somber. “Yeah, sure. I'll talk to you soon. Love you.”
“Love you too. Bye.” Em hung up her phone and just sat there, dumbfounded. The earrings seemed like a lot when she had no idea how much they cost. Now they felt like way more than he should be giving her at this point.
Em was sitting on the sofa, eyes closed, processing her feelings when she heard Rob's voice from across the room. “Am I interrupting?” he asked.
She opened her eyes. “No.”
He sat next to her. “What's wrong? Did she give you a hard time, too?”
“Nothing like that. Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure, anything, anytime, always.”
“When did you buy those earrings?”
“We went out to Edina before lunch the other day to pick up some last-minute gifts and I got them then. Why?”
“So, before I said I'd be your girlfriend?”
“Yeah, I guess so.” Emily shook her head. “What's wrong?”
“I seriously feel like Vivian in Pretty Woman right now.”
“Emily, you're not a hooker. Why would you say that? We hadn't even slept together at that point.”
“Exactly!”
“What do you mean 'exactly'? It's not like I bought them for you because you were sleeping with me!”
“No, but I almost slept with you that morning and then you bought me $8,000 earrings!”
Rob scrubbed his hands over his face. “First of all, while I would have paid full price for them because I think you deserve that, they were on sale because it was Christmas. Second of all, I didn't buy them for you because you wanted to sleep with me, I bought them for you because you were going to have to put up with so much crap just to be my date to the gala. And third – and most importantly – I was already starting to fall for you. You broke up with Josh for good that morning. I was hoping you'd give me a chance. I would have waited to give them to you before the gala if you hadn't already said you'd be my girlfriend. But I wanted you to have something special for Christmas, so I gave them to you early.”
Emily put her head in her hands. “You didn't buy me anything else ridiculously expensive, did you?”
“Define ridiculously expensive.”
“Like more than a mortgage payment. And I don't mean million-dollar home mortgage, I mean average- American mortgage.”
He hesitated and Emily looked at him like he had to be kidding. “Well, the other stuff wasn't more than that combined. But the shoes might be.”
“Shoes? What shoes?”
“For the gala. I told Christopher to do the same for you that he does for Amy. She likes shoes. Sometimes they're expensive, but I figure it's the least I can do when I drag her to everything.”
“Oh, my God, Rob. You can't buy me designer shoes!”
“You don't like designer shoes?”
“I don't know if I like designer shoes! I'm not Charlie. I don't buy expensive shoes. But I do know that you can't buy me stuff like that! We just started dating! You're not helping me feel less like a whore, here!”
“Em, you're not a whore. Stop saying that. And I bought my mom and Amy both a piece of jewelry to keep the first time they went to a red carpet event with me, too. Do you think I consider them to be whores?”
“No.”
“Then why would you believe I think that of you?” She had no response to that.
“Look, Em, I told you the first night that one of the things I liked about you was that you're not that kind of girl. You're beautiful and put together but you don't look like it's the only thing that matters to you. And I may have wanted to rip off all your clothes and make passionate love to you the second you kissed me, but I didn't think of you as that kind of girl, either. And I love that about you! I love that this thing between us, this amazing sexual energy, isn't your usual thing. It's not mine, either. Don't get me wrong, I'm a guy and I like sex. A lot. But I've never had what I have with you with anyone else. I've never wanted someone all the time like this. I've never wanted to try anything and everything. You know you're not the latest in a long line of women. I told you that already. But I didn't tell you that I wasn't exactly adventurous before, either.”
“You weren't?”
“No!”
“So, some of the things we've done are new for you, too?”
“Not all of them, but, yes. Most of them.”
“Really?” He nodded. “Then where did you learn it?”
He laughed. “The same place most guys do. I watched movies and read the Kama Sutra.”
“You've read the Kama Sutra?”
“Well, technically, I own it, too. That and The Joy of Sex.”
Emily giggled. “You own them?”
“Why, do you want to read them?” he teased.
She shyly shrugged. “Maybe.”
Rob laughed. “Any time you want to read them, feel free. They're in the night stand on the opposite side of the bed from the condoms.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously. And if you find something you want to try, just let me know.”
She smiled at him. “Thanks.”
“For telling you that you can read my sex books?”
She laughed. “No. For making me feel better.”
“Oh, there are more ways I could make you feel better...”
“See, that just makes me feel like a whore again...” she said, trying to keep a straight face.
“I'm sorry, I didn't mean...”
“I'm teasing. Only teasing. I wouldn't mind if you want to make me feel better. I seem to recall that you were about to kiss me when Annie called...”
“I was. Did you want me to kiss you?”
“Yes, please.” He smiled and moved his face close to hers. He looked at her for a moment and shook his head. “What's wrong?” she said.
He pulled back. “Nothing. I just feel like a jerk.”
“Don't. I'm just not used to anyone buying me expensive gifts. For any reason.”
“Josh not a big gift giver, I take it?”
“Not really. Which was fine. It didn't bother me. But considering that he was my only serious boyfriend, it's hard to go from L.L. Bean gift cards at Christmas to cashmere sweaters, lingerie, diamond earrings and designer shoes. And it's not just the budget. It's not that Josh isn't generous, but he's always been more about giving himself and his time. He came from a place where people had more time to give than money and even when he had more money, it didn't occur to him to spend it. On me or anyone else.”
“Well, I like to do both. So get used to it.”
“Do I have a choice?”
“No. As long as you're mine, I'm going to shower you with love and affection and lots and lots of gifts. It's how I was raised. But we give back. Time as well as money. Lots of celebrities do charity work because it's good for publicity, but I'm not one of them. I have money and you can't take it with you when you go. I don't spend it all frivolously, but I like to give gifts to people who mean something to me and to donate time and money to causes I think are worthy.”
She smiled at him, the smile she hoped, by now, told him how much she cared for him, that he constantly surprised her in all the best ways. She leaned in and kissed him gently.
“I won't be ungrateful and act like you're trying to buy
my affection. I know that's not what it is. It'll just take some time to adjust.”
“That I can accept. Now come kiss me. I missed you.” He pulled her onto his lap.
“I wasn't on the phone that long!”
“I still missed you. Kiss me. Please?”
Em obliged and kissed him, making up for the time she was talking to Charlie by getting right to the passionate part. Rob tossed pillows from the sofa onto the floor in front of the fireplace and carried her over to them. In minutes, they removed clothes, frantically touched, caressed, groped. Emily wanted him, desperately. But she remembered something important.
“Condoms,” she managed between kisses.
Rob smiled and pulled a string of them out of his pocket. “One step ahead of you,” he said. She laughed as she helped him out of his clothes.
For minutes afterward, they gently caressed and nuzzled each other as they lay together in front of the fire. “Did you do some reading while you waited for me to get off the phone?” Em asked when she could speak again.
“Well, I made some phone calls, too. But you were still busy, so I thought I'd learn something new while I waited.”
She kissed his cheek. “My little scholar. I'd say you aced that one. Learn anything else in your studies?”
“Oh, lots.” And for the rest of the afternoon, they spent time in front of the fire trying new positions, laughing at themselves when things didn't go very well and lying in each other's arms, content.
Eventually, hunger won and they went upstairs to shower before dinner. Em never liked showering with Josh as much as she enjoyed showering with Rob. For one, the shower in her apartment was much smaller than the one in Rob's master bath and Josh was such a big man that he took up most of it on his own, so she felt claustrophobic. For another, showering with Rob was about more than just getting clean, even when all they were doing was getting clean. And kissing. There was also kissing.
The pleasures of the afternoon had erased the sadness and frustration she felt when talking to Annie and the concern that had come at the end of her conversation with Charlie. Whatever this really was, wherever it was headed, it felt right. Like this was a direction she should be going.
At any rate, the girl she once was finally found her way out of the rubble left behind with the demise of her relationship with Josh. And she didn't want to go back into hiding ever again.
Rob was a better cook than he let on – Em wasn't sure if it was humility, or if he was insecure and afraid to fail to live up to expectations. In a way, it was a relief to know he wasn't perfect.
When they finally sat down with an impressive dinner and a bottle of wine, they both grinned ear to ear. Neither of them needed to say how pleased they were with the results of the team effort. The food was delicious, and that got praise, but the real feat was meshing so well the first time out of the gate.
On that high and the bliss of the orgasms they had given one another, Emily broached the hot topic on her mind: where she would live for the next two weeks. After the last few days, it seemed like they needed to discuss things.
With her head on his chest, Em said, “Can I ask you a question?”
Rob played with her hair. “Anything, anytime, always.”
“Would you want me to stay with you?”
He turned to look at her. “You mean when we go back to the hotel?”
“Yes.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Are you asking me about staying all the time? As in moving your things into my suite?”
She took a breath. “Yes.”
“Would you want to stay with me?”
Emily sighed. “Yes. But...”
“But you're still worried about what people will think?”
“Yes.” She bit her lip.
“If that wasn't an issue, would you want to stay with me?”
“Yes. I think I would. Even though it sort of feels like we'd be living together.”
He laughed softly. “I suppose it does. What if I ask the hotel to keep your room open and to put it on my bill when it's time for you to leave? That way, you can still have the room if you need it or want it, even if it's just for appearances, but you can stay in the penthouse without having to go back and forth. And if you want, you can put everything in your room there, just like if you were staying with a friend.”
“Can I still sleep with you at night?”
He kissed her forehead. “I'd be disappointed if you didn't.”
“I think that can work. Rick and Liam both said I should just do it, but I wasn't sure...”
“That I would want it?”
“That I was ready for it and that you would want it.”
“What changed your mind?”
She took a deep breath and sighed. “They both made good points about it being practical. But really, it was talking to my sisters today that made the difference. I realized that I've been living the life of someone else, some person my mother wanted me to be. After talking to Annie and then Charlie, I decided that my hesitation was about my mother. She's the one who thinks that the kind of love in romance novels is a myth. I was always more romantic, passionate and creative than that as a girl. I let her turn me into someone I'm not, and I can't keep living my life that way anymore.”
Rob gave her a small smile. She continued, “I don't know what's going to happen after these two weeks are through. Not with me, not with us, not with my job. But I know that I want to spend as much time as possible with you while I'm here. And it makes no sense to be wasting that time going back and forth to my hotel room when it's just a place to store my things.”
“I don't want to push you, Em. I will be more than happy to have you stay with me there or here or wherever you want to be. As long as it's what you want. Don't do it because you think it's what I want.”
“No. I want it, too. I do. It should feel like we're rushing things, but it doesn't. I don't know why. I can't explain it. But it doesn't feel wrong. It feels right.”
“I think so, too. I should be up front with you, though, and tell you that I wasn't planning to stay at the hotel after New Year's. All my business in town will be done after the gala. I was going to come back here. If you want to stay there, still, we can.”
“No! No, my schedule calms down significantly after the gala. I have a ton of interviews this week and only one or two next week. Mostly, I'm just going to be checking into the museum with the curators, dealing with the photographer and then writing the articles. I don't even have to be there every day. I'd love to come back here with you for that last week. It's been heavenly staying here, having privacy and feeling like a normal couple.”
“If that's what you want, then we'll plan to come back here after the gala, okay? We'll keep the suite for that night in case we change our minds and so we have a place nearby to get everyone ready. You let me know what you want to do when the time comes, but I'll plan to be back here on New Year's Day. Does that sound good?”
“It sounds perfect. Let's get some sleep. We have an early morning, and I've got a long week ahead.” She kissed him and he used the house remote to shut everything down for the night. As she drifted off to sleep, he told her he loved her again. She was beginning to look forward to hearing it. And she had hopes that, one day soon, she'd have the courage to tell him when he was awake.
Minneapolis, Minnesota, two days after Christmas...
The next morning flew. Before Emily knew it, she was in the limo, headed back to the hotel with Liam to meet Christopher for her fitting. When they got to the penthouse, Liam stayed outside the door. “Aren't you going to come inside and eat lunch?”
“Do you want me to see you naked? Because he'll strip you down to your panties.”
“Oh. Right. I hadn't thought about that. What are you going to do for lunch?”
“I'll head downstairs once he's up here. I have to go back down and get him. Eat your lunch while you can. I'll be back to take you over to the museum in an hour. If you're done before then and yo
u want to head over, send me a text.” She agreed and Liam went back down the elevator while she went in to eat lunch.
A few minutes later, Em had just eaten her sandwich and Christopher burst through the door with an entourage.
“Emily! So good to see you again!” He air-kissed her and then directed his minions where to set up everything. Emily ate as fast as she could, just in case. Within ten minutes, the living room looked more like a bridal fitting room than a hotel penthouse. All but one of the minions was directed to wait in the kitchen until they were called.
“Okay, you hot thing, let's get this show on the road, shall we?” Christopher motioned for Em to come over to the podium he had set up with mirrors in front.
“Now, I've got three dresses for you to see. The first one is what I expected to put you in the other night. If you love it and it looks as good as I know it will, we won't bother with the other two. I'll let you see them, just in case you think you'd like to try, but I know you're going to love this one. So, go behind that curtain,” he gestured to the little makeshift dressing area, “and strip down to your panties. You have the bra Rob got you?” Em nodded. “Good. Put that on, put on the robe that's hanging on the screen and then come out here to the podium.”
Emily did as instructed. A couple minutes later, she was standing on the podium in the robe, when the minion carried the most gorgeous dress she had ever seen over to where she was standing. Em knew her jaw must be hitting the floor.
“That's for me?” she said in awe.
Christopher laughed. “Oh, honey, you're adorable. I'm thinking there won't be a question that you'll love it.” He spoke to his minion without making eye contact. “Get the shoes. Don't come back in until I say.” The minion left the room and Christopher said, “Take off the robe and then I'll hold the dress so you can step into it. Ever done a wedding gown fitting?”
Emily laughed as she took off the robe. “Nope. Never been married. Or engaged. Or even had a proposal.”
“Seriously? A sexy girl like you? I don't believe it. Rob is obviously head over heels. Surely he's not the first.” He held out the gown as she stepped into it.
