She winked at me. “Anything for love. I’ll email you the video tonight, when I get back to my computer. Keep it close, and keep a backup copy, just in case. You never know what that jerk might try to pull.”
“Trust me, I will,” I assured her.
But strangely enough? I had the feeling that Father wouldn’t try anything else. He realized he’d been defeated, and I wasn’t worth losing his precious company over—and for once in my life? I was okay with that.
43
FLETCHER
Adam madeit back to the hotel late that night, utterly exhausted. He barely had the energy to shrug out of his clothes before he collapsed on the bed beside me. I didn’t mind, though. I cuddled close and wrapped the blankets around us both, needing that nearness as much as I was sure he did.
“Did everything go okay?”
“Everything is going according to plan,” he said around a tired smile. “I don’t think Father is going to bother us anymore. I got my point across. I think we’re finally free, kitten.”
I sighed, relief washing over me. I didn’t realize how much I needed to hear him say those words until right now. “Thank god.” Maybe now we’d be able to sleep without fear of the boogie-man creeping out from the shadows, hunting us down with fang and claw.
We stayed in the hotel that night and left in the morning, driving to our new home on Burberry Street. I wiggled in the passenger seat, bubbling with nerves and anxiety. I’d only seen pictures of the house, both inside and out, but the minute we pulled into the gravel drive and I laid eyes upon the red brickexterior and the front porch in need of a fresh coat of white paint, I grinned from ear to ear.
“It’s perfect,” I whispered.
“It’s ours,” Adam agreed.
The moving crew had delivered our belongings yesterday, before Adam returned to the hotel, but everything was in a state of disarray. When we went inside, all I saw was a sea of boxes and totes stacked around the living room and kitchen, our furniture shoved wherever it fit.
Adam led me through the house and showed me every room. Most of them were empty, and it was tiny compared to the manor—two bedrooms, an office area, a full bathroom upstairs and a half-bath down. Kitchen, living room, hallway. That was it.
It was hard to really get a good picture of what our new home would look like, put together, but Adam said it was safe. That was all that really mattered.
We spent the day sorting through boxes, putting enough of our stuff away that we could function, at least. As the day went on, though, doubts crept in. This was such a big change… This place was a matchbox compared to the manor. So small, so cramped. Did Adam really want to throw everything away for me? Was I worth it?
I chewed on my lip while sorting through the silverware. Not all of it was going to fit in the much-smaller drawer. Adam had so much stuff, so many things that wouldn’t fit in this new home. He’d have to get rid of a lot to make it feel like we weren’t packed in like sardines.
And what if we did have kids, in the future? Would this house even be big enough? Sure, there was a fenced back yard, but it was small too. Just big enough for a little patio and fire pit and a strip of grass that would only require a push-mower.
“Fletcher?” I barely registered Adam saying my name before the doorbell rang. DING-DONG! That startled me out of mythoughts, and I dropped the handful of butter knives I’d been holding loosely in one hand. They clattered to the linoleum floor with a clang.
“Shit!” I cursed as one of them landed on my bare foot.
“Are you okay?”
“Fine, just… See who’s at the door?” Why would we have visitors? Unless we’d moved into one of those overly-friendly neighborhoods with a welcoming committee. Ugh…
Adam walked off, dodging boxes in the entryway to open the door. I busied myself with picking up the fallen cutlery, cursing once more when I lifted up and banged the side of my head on the extended silverware drawer. “Damn it!”
Today was not my day…
My stomach growled, making the weirdest sounds. Maybe I was just hungry. We’d grabbed breakfast at the hotel before we left, but I’d been nervous, so I hadn’t eaten much. Now it was nearly six in the evening and my tummy was demanding food, but of course, we didn’t have anything to eat here, which meant we’d need to go out and buy something.
That’s when I smelled it—the salty, savory scent of pepperoni and melted cheese. My nose twitched. Was I really that hungry that I was imagining food coming to me? Or did Adam secretly have pizza delivered? Was that who was at the door?
I peeked around the corner to see Aria Winters standing there, a bright smile on her face and a couple boxes of pizza in her arms. Swinging from one wrist was a little blue gift bag. She set the food down on the counter, then offered me the bag.
My eyes widened. “For me?”
She nodded. “Yeah.”
Frowning, because I had no idea what in the world it could be, I reached inside and drew out a small velveteen ring-box. Aria motioned for me to open it, and when I did, my jawdropped. There was a massive diamond set amongst a cluster of smaller diamonds on a gorgeous golden band.
