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Mama laughed. “Chile, these days, you have to get it how you live. The both of you know how cutthroat the courtroomandthese law firms are. That’s why I stopped practicing the moment your father became a judge. If he needs to have a fake marriage for a certain length of time to get what he wants and help you, or someone else, in the process… hey. So be it.”
I hadn’t thought about it like that. She was right; it was hard to move up in the ranks at prestigious law firms, especially one like Hunter, Phoenix, Genesis, and Prime. Before talking to Jeremy, I placed a high level of confidence in Violet’s word. Now, I wasn’t so sure. I would give her a chance, though. Maybe there was a reason she hadn’t kept her word to Jeremy for a reason that wouldn’t affect me.
“Well, I’ll tell him to stop by, but please, guys, don’t make it weird.”
While Daddy grunted, Mama gave me a syrupy smile.
“Oh, hell,” I grumbled under my breath, making them all laugh.
I texted Jeremy and warned him that it was my parents’ home, and when he texted back, he let me know he was seventeen minutes away.
That seventeen minutes was the longest seventeen minutes of my life.
The entire time I waited, I wondered if I was playing with fire.
Not just because I knew he wanted my help but because I was genuinely attracted to him, and I hadn’t been attracted to a man, like this, since my husband. The sound of the doorbell ringing caused me to jump. Sakura wasted no time jumping up and scurrying to the door, and I know she did that because I told her I would talk to him outside. By the time I made it to the door, she was inviting Jeremy inside. I had to admit, he looked good as hell in his green Grinch sweater and jeans. I couldn’t help but smile as I walked over to him.
“Dressed for the occasion, aren’t we?”
“Milli made me.”
I laughed and gave him a soft hug. One that I wish would have lasted longer than it did. At the sound of my mother clearing her throat behind me, I rolled my eyes and sighed.
“Jeremy, this is my mother and father, Anna and Leonard. They wanted to meet you before returning to the movie room.”
They all shook hands, but the moment Daddy tried to strike up a conversation, I pleaded with Mama for them to go away. She led him away, being sure to tell Jeremy he was welcome to stay and watch the next movie with us. I was glad the rest of our family had come and gone before he arrived, otherwise, it wouldn’t have been so easy to have him to myself.
“Sorry about that.”
He gave me that sexy smile as he took a small step in my direction. “It’s cool.” Jeremy extended the gift bag that I hadn’t paid much attention to in my direction. “Merry Christmas, Maritza.”
Every time he said my name…
“Why are you doing this?” I asked softly.
“I already told you.”
My head shook adamantly. “I need more than… because you wanted to. There has to be a reason. There’s always a reason.”
His body radiated a calm that was the complete opposite of me. “That is the reason.” Jeremy stepped closer, closing the space between us, forcing me to hold my breath to create more. “I thought about you and wanted to get you something, so I did. That’s it.”
Hesitantly, I took the bag from him. The first gift was a coffee mug that hadAllegedlywritten in a cursive font, and I couldn’t wait to use it. It was the kind of cute gift that I would cherish forever. The second gift was the exact Vincent Van Gogh Montblanc pen that I wanted for my collection. It was twenty-five thousand dollars, and the fact that he’d gotten it for me… just because… was rattling me.
“I asked your sister for suggestions on gift ideas, and she told me about your pen collection.”
“Did she tell you that I wanted this one specifically?”
His head shook as I continued to stare at the pen. “No.”
Blinking my watery eyes, I looked up at him. I closed the space between us completely and stood on the tips of my toes to hug him. The warmth of his body as he wrapped his arms around me caused my eyes to close as I sighed in relief.
I missed this.
The warmth of a body.
The embrace of a man’s arms.
The caress of his hands.
