Page 159 of What About Us

He got me a new water tumbler, several new blankets, fresh paints and brushes, a Kindle, a laptop, a freaking iPad. Don’t even get me started on the designer handbags, the shoes, the trip to Milan wrapped up in a box.

Then, with paper littering the floor and a bow tied around Cally’s neck, Xander takes me by the hand and says, “More this way.”

“What the hell? Xander, this is wonderful, and I’m so spoiled, but you don’t have to do more. Also, where are we going to put that new cat perch for Cally?”

“Wherever she wants it,” he says with a shrug. “She’ll tell us when she knows.”

I shake my head at him, and he takes my hand and leads me through the house to the garage.

“No.”

I stop, and he frowns down at me.

“You haven’t even seen it yet.”

“Xander, if it lives in the garage, it’s too much.”

“My Maserati lives out there.”

“Exactly.”

He smirks and pulls me along, opens the door, and I sigh.

Before Thanksgiving, I’d mentioned in passing that it was time to get my truck in for maintenance and such and my tires were looking a little bald.

That was not code for Buy me a new truck for Christmas.

“Babe, that’s a truck.”

He grins at me. “I know. Now, I didn’t go crazy. It’s basically just the newest model of the truck you had before. And it’s the Limited edition, so it’s sleeker and not so beefy. She’s pretty. I’m hoping you’ll take me for a ride in it because you’ll look sexy as fuck driving that thing.”

All I can do is stare at him.

“Where’s my old one?”

He blinks down at me. “Oh, it’s just parked over at Tucker’s place for now. You won’t have a problem selling it, but it’s yours to do that with. Not my place.”

“But it’s your place to buy me a new one.”

He turns to me and cradles my face in his big hands, his thumbs ghosting over my freckles.

“You’ll be safer in this, and that’s the most important thing to me. It’s my place to protect you and to make sure you have the best, so yes. It’s my honor and privilege to give this to you. Plus, it’s red.”

Well, when he puts it like that, it’s just practical.

“Thank you.” I boost up on my toes to press my lips to his, and then I take his hand and lead him back inside.

“You don’t want to sit in it?”

“Oh, I do, and I will, but you haven’t got your present yet.”

“Baby, you let me come all over your tits earlier. Best present ever.”

I roll my eyes and then snort out a laugh. “Uh, that’s just a Thursday morning around here, babe.”

“You mean I can do that every Thursday? It’s a date.”

I’m laughing my ass off when I lead him into my studio. Xander doesn’t usually come in here, so I felt confident in keeping his present here until today. It’s sitting on my easel, wrapped in gold paper with a red bow.