Just Go (13 page)

I’m staring at myself in the mirror when an older lady walks in and smiles at me. She’s beautiful for her age, the look of a pure mother. Like someone who spent their whole life taking care of others. Someone comfortable.

“Hello," she says to me, a warm smile spreading across her face.

“Hi,” I answer.

“You’re the young lady with Adam tonight, aren’t you?” How in the world does she know that? We’re sitting in a corner where no one can see either of us.

“Um, yeah,” I answer, confused.

“I’m Elle, Paolo’s wife. He wouldn’t stop talking about the young beauty that Adam brought in. So proud of that young man.” Her smile is so sweet, I hate to break her heart about the type of person Adam really is. One that’s lying, cheating, and will do anything for money. I’ll just make sure to leave out the fact that he’s the best sex I’ve ever had, and probably will have. And the fact that I can’t stop obsessing over him. “You seem lost.” Her voice breaks into my thoughts.

“Oh sorry. I’m Annaliese,” I hold out my hand to shake hers when she pulls me into a hug.

“You’re wonderful, Annaliese. Adam is a lucky man. He deserves something good in his life.”

“Really?” I realize I said it out loud as soon as I see the look on her face change to a serious look.

“Oh yes. I still remember the day he found her. Poor man, poor, poor man.” She shakes her head and pats me on the shoulder. “Take care of him, and treat him well. He might look tough on the outside, but we’re all worried about him.” She walks into a stall, leaving me stunned and alone, staring at the bathroom wall.

What did she mean by that? How strange would it be if I continued to talk to her while she was going to the bathroom? Really freaking weird, Ann. Don’t be that person. I wash my hands quickly and head back to the table, slowly walking to gather my thoughts. If he found her, that would mean he didn’t cheat on her, right? And if that’s the case, then my entire belief that he isn’t cut out for a relationship is crap.

“Hey, you were gone for a while. Everything okay?” He asks worriedly as I sit back down.

“No lies, right? You said earlier you only play by the truth. Right?” I blurt before my head has a chance to catch up with my thoughts. My hearts beating out of my chest. This could change everything.

“Uh, right….” His eyebrows furrow. “What happened?”

“Did you cheat on her?” If I waited any longer, I probably would have chickened out, so I let the ball drop and see his facial features relax. He smiles, a very relaxed smile. A smile I haven’t seen on him yet tonight. Then, he leans in towards me, elbows resting on the table. Looking me square in the eyes, he clears his throat before he talks.

“Annaliese Ryder,” he starts and I get chills from his gaze. “I never cheated on my wife.”

“But—”

“Do you always believe everything you read in magazines, Annaliese?”

“I don’t—“

“What about the Internet? Are you a believer that everything you see online is true?”

“No, but—“

“So why is it that you believed so strongly something about me, something so personal that only I would know the truth, just because someone in the media told you?”

I’m stunned. Shocked. His eyes are pinned to mine and I don’t know what to say. This changes everything, and now I feel like a terrible person for judging him like I did, before even getting to know him.

“My father told me,” I whisper.

Our dessert arrives but Adam never takes his eyes off mine. The waiter speaks to us, and Adam replies, but I can’t hear anything over the ringing in my ears. Why would my dad lie to me like that? I don’t follow gossip magazines, and only every now and then watch shows about celebrities, so I never had a reason to second-guess him before. Plus, my dad never lies to me. Ever.

We sit in silence, staring at each other for what feels like lifetimes. His jaw ticks, and he shakes his head and chuckles to himself, finally breaking eye contact.

“So that’s it? Your dad told you, and that’s what you believe?”

“Sounds crazy, but that’s why I believed him. My dad has never lied to me, Adam. I've had no reason to second guess him.” Now I wonder how many times he’s really lied to me and what secrets he’s keeping.

“And now?” His gaze meets mine again. It’s such a loaded question.

“I don’t know,” I whisper, shifting my gaze to the table. I know it means that my dad lied to me. I know it means that Adam isn’t the cheater that I always thought he was. I know it also means that my belief that Adam isn’t good relationship material has been thrown completely out the window. I don’t know how to tell him all of that yet, though, because I’m not sure how I feel about that. This means that he might actually want to be with me, and only me. I’m not sure I’m strong enough for a relationship with him, though. He’d crush me.

“Do you still believe him?”

“No,” I whisper then move my eyes back up to him.

A smile breaks across his face and warms parts of my body that react to him so well.

“Good.”

Chapter 12

Adam

My phone won’t stop buzzing in my pocket but I ignore it. Annaliese’s eyes are huge, waiting for me to say something. I’d love to proclaim my feelings for her right now, but that’d really push her away. She’s so timid when it comes to me, and so outgoing with the rest of her life. I at least know why she’s like that now. She’s thought this entire time that I’m a cheater, all because her damn father lied to her about me. I thought that Vick and I were on good terms, but it seems that I’m going to have to have a little chat with him next time I talk with him. He’s been spreading lies about me, and that I’m not okay with.

“Try it,” I say taking a piece of the chocolate dessert that was delivered to us on my fork and holding it up to her. She opens her mouth and lets me feed her the warm dessert, moaning as she closes her mouth around the delicious piece of chocolate heaven. I made sure that Paolo knew to send their best foods out to us tonight, and her reaction to her meal and desert has not disappointed. Hell, I couldn’t stand up right now if I needed to, since I’ve been sporting full wood since I first laid eyes on her tonight. Even with the intense discussion topic, my dick never stood down like it knows what it's supposed to do around Annaliese. Just watching her mannerisms and facial expressions make me want to take her over the table right now—my cock is already nodding its head in agreement. I can’t do that, for so many reasons, but my brain and my dick aren’t friends right now.

“You like?” I growl as she licks her lips of the chocolate left behind and smiles at me, her eyes glowing, but still worried.

“Delicious. Thank you.”

“So, Annaliese.” I hear my voice, but I can’t stop the words from coming out of my mouth. My heart’s beating and I feel like I’m sweating.  I’ve never been this damn nervous before—even on my wedding day. I’ve never felt anything like what I feel for her. It’s mind boggling, knowing what she does to me when she has no clue she’s doing it.

“So, Adam.” She’s grinning at me. Grinning! She’s been on edge all night, and for good reason. She knew I was upset, and I had every right to be. She has every right to be upset right now, too, but not at me. At her father. The man who caused all this drama tonight.

“You ready to get outta here?” I need to get her back to my place. I need to show her how much she means to me. Annaliese is not just another ‘fuck.’  She’s the real thing. I want to keep her with me, I want to be the one that makes her smile first thing in the morning, and the one that makes her sigh last thing at night. The thought used to piss me off when other women would try to force themselves into my life, but it all feels so natural with Annaliese.

There’s just one problem with this whole thing.

Her father.

“Sure, that sounds great,” she says, then puts her hand over her mouth as she tries to hide a yawn. The cutest damn yawn I’ve ever seen. I smile and her eyes go wide when she realizes she just yawned on our date. “Oh God, I’m sorry. I’m not bored, I promise. I just… haven’t been sleeping well since this job started.” Her voice falls and I can’t tell if she sad, embarrassed, or both. I’m slightly pissed off that she’s having to work for her father, and even more so that she hates her job. As much as I’m a workaholic, I love my job and my company. I try to make it worth my employee’s time to work for me, and I try to make it to where they enjoy their job as much as I do. To hear that someone like her hates what she has to do for a living, because she can’t work in the field she loves, is enough to piss me off. Not at her, but at society.

“It’s okay, don’t worry about it.” I smile at her and she relaxes. “Come on, let’s go.” I stand, holding my hand out for her to take. When her small hand comes around mine my dick jumps just from her touch. Every time. 

We thank Paolo and he makes her promise that he’ll see her again, and though her agreement just seems polite, I see another visit for us here in the future. If I have it my way, we’d eat here every week. And I’m a man that almost always gets his way. My phone buzzes in my pocket again for the fifth time tonight and I sigh, pulling it out to glance at the screen.

Shit.

“Hey, I need to take this. I’ll be right back,” I tell her as I kiss her forehead and walk to the side of the building, leaving her waiting in the alley with Paolo for our car. I hate to leave her there, but I’d rather not have this conversation around her.

“What?” I snap as I put the phone to my ear.

“You aren’t here,” his voice comes through the phone, trying to intimidate me.

“No, and I may not be for a while, Vick.”

“Mind telling me what the sudden change is? We had a lot riding on your bets.” That sentence right there tells me everything I need to know. It has to be coming from the inside. There’s no other option.

“Why don’t you tell me? I’m tired of my fighter being put up against people double his size. I’m tired of the damn looks your men have been giving me. And I’m tired of the phone calls and threats, Vick.”

“No one is threatening you, Adam.”

“So you know about this?” I’m about to jump through the phone and strangle him. Vick Ryder has gone from someone I respect to someone I’d like to beat the shit out of in a matter of an hour tonight.

“Of course. There’s nothing I don’t know about, Adam.” The line goes silent but I know he’s still there. “Nothing.”

Shit. There’s no way he can have eyes on Annaliese at all times. There’s no way he knows about us, or he’d be…. Oh shit.

“It’s you, isn’t it?”

“She’s off limits, Adam. I thought we knew that.” Holy hell. He is talking about my girl.

“Why go to these lengths, Vick?” And why does he think me losing a little bit of money would make me stop seeing her? None of this makes sense.

“You need to learn, Adam. Things don’t always go your way.”

“You’re threatening my fighter and his family over her!” I scream at him, my voice echoing down the alley.

“You don’t know how to play by the rules, Mr. Chicago.” He emphasize the last syllables, like he’s mocking me. I didn’t give myself that damn nickname and I hate hearing it.

“Goddammit, Vick, she’s a grown woman.”

“She’s my daughter, Adam. Stay away from her,” he growls then hangs up.

Son of a bitch.

My mind is racing and I can’t think straight. I can’t let go of her; I just got her. Hell, I barely have her. He’s nuts if he thinks I’m going to bow down to him. I have so much dirt on him he would rot in jail if authorities ever got wind of it. He should be afraid of everything I could to do him. Instead, he’s threatening me, like he has the upper hand. We’ll see about that.

“Everything okay?” Her voice rings down the alley and cuts through the ringing in my ears. I can’t believe this is all because someone messed with his daughter. Someone had the nerve to fall for his daughter, and fall hard. Shit.

“Yeah, great. Sorry about that. Trouble at work.” I turn off my phone and shove it in my pocket, then walk towards her and pull her into a tighter hug than I originally planned. I can’t let this girl go. She makes me feel more than I’ve ever felt. She makes me feel real. “You ready?” My voice is gravely and emotional, full of hatred for the man that raised her.

“Where to, ma’am,” I smile when I see her grinning at my forced twang. Every now and then it slips, when I forget where I am. Most times it goes unnoticed, but I like her grin, so I’ll let it slide with her.

“Can you pull over?” She looks at me anxiously.

“What?”

“Just… stop driving, okay?” she pleads. I slow the car and pull into the first parking spot I see.

Once I’m parked, I turn and look at her. She’s worried about something, that much I can tell. Her hands are clasped, her face is tense.

“What’s wrong, Annaliese?”

She sighs, then looks up at me with glistening eyes and a sad smile on her face.

“Adam, I’m not sure about… this,” she whispers, damn near close to tears. “It’s all so crazy. A few hours ago I was dead set on believing you wouldn’t ever be capable of being a decent human being—“

“Thanks for that, by the way,” I interject and she cocks her head at me. I know she was just believing what she was told, but to assume that much bad about me, without ever actually talking to me about it, still stings.

“I’m not saying what I believed was the truth, but at the time I thought it was. Imagine building a picture of someone in your head and believing it for a long time, then come to find out suddenly it’s all been a lie.”

“Oh, I can imagine that quite perfectly, actually.” Her father put himself on the top of my shit list tonight.

“So now what?” Her eyes are big and her lips are shiny. She’s so damn beautiful.

“Now… we see where this goes,” I say hesitantly. I’d rather tell her that now we start planning our future, because I’m damn sure she’s the girl for me, but I’m not certain she knows the same truth just yet.

“I’m afraid.” Her voice is barely a whisper as she moves her gaze somewhere outside the car. Somewhere away from me.

“Of what?”

“Everything, Adam,” she says then returns those piercingly beautiful eyes to me. “You’re famous. Women throw themselves at you daily, you have more money than I’ve ever dreamed of having, and your business is huge. How would I even begin to fit into your lifestyle? I’ve been hurt before by men, Adam, but….” she trails off and the sad look in her eyes makes me want to kiss all of the hurt away.

“But?” I push gently, wanting to hear all of it.

“Most of all, I’m afraid you’ll hurt me, and I won’t make it out in one piece,” she whispers. Ashamed. Her lips press together and her face shows more emotion now than I’ve ever seen come out of her.

“Hurt you? Annaliese, I’d never hurt you.” How can she think this? I could have anyone, but I chose her. I want her.

“Not on purpose, maybe. But something’s bound to happen.”

“You can’t think that way. This is new to me, too, you know. We take baby steps, and we do this together.” She can’t. I won’t let her. I’m not saying I’m not scared, but I’m not going to let it stop me from taking this chance.

Sometimes that one person comes along that makes you want to take every chance. Annaliese is my chance. My chance at being better.

She’s looking down again, thinking way too much about this. I reach over and gently lift her chin enough so her eyes meet mine. Looking into her eyes right now, I feel like I can see into her soul. She’s scared, she’s curious, but she’s also excited.

“We’ve got this, Annaliese.” I slowly move towards her, across the console of the car, and gently kiss her soft lips. “Give me a chance.”
Please
, I think but don’t say. I’m not to the point of begging yet, but I’m not above it. Screw her dad.

She sighs and opens her eyes.

“Just one.” She’s hesitant but there’s a smile playing on her lips. She wants this more than she’s letting one.

Yes.

“That’s all I need.” The smile that breaks across my face feels foreign, but so good. I’m certain I’ve never felt this level of happiness before. I lean across and kiss her harder than earlier. A kiss that tells her I’m all in, I’m here with her, and she’s with me, and nothing can stop us.

Then her phone rings.

“Sorry,” she smiles as she reaches for it. “My dad. He worries.”

I take a breath to calm the nerves that are running through my system. He’s going to make this incredibly difficult.

“Hey, Daddy,” she answers as I silently count down from 100 to calm myself and not pull the phone from her and tell him how I really feel. “Yeah okay,” she looks worried then glances over at me and smiles. “I gotta go, Daddy. I’ll take care of it in the morning.” She waits a moment longer, then sighs. “Fine.” She clips, then presses ‘end’ and puts her phone back in her purse.

“Everything alright?” I want to know everything he said to her, but that’d be a little too intrusive.

“Yeah,” she sighs. “He’s just protective. Sometimes too protective.” She groans. “I have to get home.” Dammit, I was hoping she’d end up at my place. I still can’t get the thought of being inside her again out of my head.

“You sure? It’s still early,” I say hopeful. She gives me a sad shrug and smiles.

“There’s stuff with work that came up. My dad needs it done tonight. And apparently I have a meeting with him in the morning about an employee of mine.” She rolls her eyes and shakes her head. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be, you’re just doing your job. I’ll get ya home.” I take her hand in mine and move it to my mouth, laying a gentle kiss on her knuckle. The minute my lips hit her skin I feel a warmth spread throughout my body. I want her, and from the look in her eyes she’s on the same page as I am, but she’s also a dedicated worker, and I respect that.

The drive back to her place doesn’t take too long, but I don’t let go of her hand the entire time. I need the connection to her. She’s so real, and everything else in my world seems so fake. Plus, her hands fit perfectly in mine.  By the time we pull onto her street, my mood has taken a dive. I don’t know how to do goodbyes like this. Because I want to see her again. Soon.