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Everything about this woman is sexual.
The way she moves.
The way she looks at me.
The way she speaks.
Her scent, her eyes, her lips.
Her fucking nose of all things.
I can’t look at, listen to, or touch her without thinking about fucking her.
She goes back to texting with Mom for a while.
I grab my phone and try to distract myself with emails.
I’m halfway through replying to one when she says, “Did your mother work while you were growing up?”
I nod. “She was a housekeeper at a hotel.”
“Did she enjoy it?”
That’s a question with many answers. I give her the most honest one. “She enjoyed the time away from home.”
I’ve barely spoken of my father since he died. There’s a good reason for that. Just thinking about him dredges up rage I’ve done my best to bury.
I tried to fight it out of my system for years, and that helped to some extent. These days, I simply avoid thinking or talking about him. Adeline’s questions about him this week have caused me extra time in my gym.
She reads me well and nods without asking anything else about that. Instead, she says, “When did she stop working?”
“A year and a half ago. Her back wasn’t good for years, but she refused to quit work. She wouldn’t let me or Hudson help her. She’s stubborn, but we finally convinced her to quit her job and let us buy her a condo. She does some work for me, but not by my choice.”
“What does she do?”
“We set up a foundation to help single parents. She helps run it.”
Her eyes soften. “I don’t think I knew about your foundation.”
“We keep it separate. There’s no reason to tie it to me. Hudson and I just ensure they have what they need. Mom plays a big part in steering their mission.”
Adeline has me neatly boxed as the asshole who stole her company. I can see this new information is messing with that box. She doesn’t say anything further about it because she receives a text that redirects her attention.
We spend the next ten minutes on our phones, at which point she says, “I think I’m going to have to fly to London next week for a few days.”
“For work?”
She nods. “Yes, I’m finally in a place where expanding our retail stores into the UK and Europe makes sense. My COO wants me to go with her to check out potential sites. We’re looking at leaving on Tuesday and should be home by Friday. I’m sorry if that clashes with things I’ve agreed to attend with you.”
There’s nothing on next week that’s of any real importance, so I’m not concerned. “Take my jet.”
Adeline dislikes taking anything I offer. Her independence flares now. “No, we can fly—”
“Take the jet. It’s just sitting there. I’m not using it next week.”
I can see her warring with herself over this, but in the end, she says, “Thank you.”
“You should prepare yourself for my mother to bombard you with requests for your time when you return. I’m almost certain she was planning to get you out ice-skating daily next week.” Being the week before Christmas, Mom would have had her out there at least once. I know she’ll be hopeful that Adeline can spare some time next weekend for it.
