“Yes.Absolutely.That’s?—”
“Speaking of comfort,” Clay interjected.“Did I tell you about the glowing feedback we got once we switched mattress brands?It turned out the memory foam wasn’t doing people with bad backs any favors.”
Well, damn.Was I invisible?Did I even exist?Not once had Clay looked toward me like he wanted to include me in the conversation.I might as well have been a briefcase he brought along with him to a lunch meeting.
Fuck this.My damn pride was worth more.I texted Matteo, hands shaking, teeth grinding until I heard the sound mixed with the rush of blood in my ears.
Me:I’m unpacking later.Come over tonight.9 o’clock.
I sent him the address, then set the phone aside again.If nobody gave a shit about me, nobody would give a shit about me getting something I needed tonight.
After kissing Papa goodbye and promising to have him over for dinner soon, there was a quiet ride to the house with my husband and I sitting on opposite ends of the back seat with our noses in our phones.My husband.His wife.The slim platinum band on my ring finger told the whole story.I would have to buy myself an engagement ring.Dammit, I deserved something sparkly.I should have asked for that.I should’ve asked for a lot of things that didn’t occur to me until now.
A glance at him from the corner of my eye revealed a sharp profile I could’ve spent hours staring at.My chest warmed along with other parts of me, much further south.It was even more unfair that he had to be so handsome with a face that begged to be admired and a body that begged to be ridden like a…
Enough of that.I went back to my phone, hands trembling, my core quaking.
The sleek Mercedes rolled through a pair of iron gates, which slowly swung open on our approach.This wasn’t my first time rolling up the driveway, having followed the delivery truck after moving out of my apartment, but the house was no less impressive the second time around.Two stories, with two wings extending from a center structure.The bright, gleaming white walls made the whole mansion gleam like a pearl against a deep blue sky.Wide steps led up to a flagstone patio wrapped around the mansion’s front and sides, then spanned the back patio leading to an infinity pool.That was a perk I would have to take advantage of.
“Welcome home.”There was cold sarcasm in Clay’s voice, but that didn’t surprise me any more than his behavior at the restaurant.
He got what he wanted.
He had won.
He didn’t have to be friendly anymore since there was nothing more to talk me into.
“I won’t expect you to carry me across the threshold,” I assured him since he wasn’t the only one who could be sarcastic.
“How do you know I wasn’t looking forward to that?”
Rolling my eyes as we came to a stop, I retorted, “So sorry to disappoint you on this special day.I’m sure you had all these expectations for what your wedding day would look like.”
He scoffed as he opened his door.“I’ll find a way to get over my disappointment.”His driver opened my door, and I thanked him, following Clay up the steps and through the front door of my new so-called home, where a large, cellophane-wrapped gift basket waited.
“What’s this?”he murmured as he picked it up, then opened the door so I could follow.
Curiosity broughtme to a stop beside him so I could watch him untie the black satin ribbon holding the black-tinted cellophane together.“Oh, he didn’t.”There was laughter in Clay’s voice as he scanned the contents before checking the card tucked among an array of sex toys, including vibrators, nipple clamps, and scented lube, with white roses and lilies tucked among the packages.
I was still puzzled after reading the handwritten card.
Congratulations to the happy couple on your nuptials - hoping this adds to your wedding bliss.
It was stamped with the letters DW.
“A good friend of mine.Dante West,” Clay explained with a wry chuckle.
Interesting friend, I thought, wondering what I had gotten myself into.The gift had to be some sort of joke, right?“I’ll be unpacking,” I announced, hanging a right at the top of the winding staircase leading to the second floor.There were four enormous rooms up here, which Clay claimed were mine.It was clear he hadn’t given them much thought.They weren’t even set up as guest rooms.He would need friends to fill them, and I couldn’t imagine him having any.Not unless there was some monetary gain in it for him.
The room at the far end would be my bedroom, and when I stepped inside, I was just as impressed by the stunning view as I had been two days back when the bulk of my belongings were delivered.Papa used to tell me about the old days in LA, the smog that used to blanket the horizon.Now, it felt like I could see forever with nothing but a cloudless sky and the downtown skyline in front of me.
What a shame my future seemed so cloudy.
I had to laugh at myself as I got undressed, ready to shed my suit and all the bullshit that went with it.I didn’t have to play the part anymore.Not in the comfort of my home, which was very comfortable, for sure, even compared to the sprawling Spanish-style home I’d grown up in, modeled after Papa’s first resort in Santa Barbara.I had grown up wanting for nothing, and Papa had reminded me more times than I could count how rare that was.I knew his life story by heart, had it drilled into my head from an early age.
Maybe if Mama had survived my birth, I would’ve learned about more than my father’s struggles and the benefits of hard, focused work.Not that I could complain.Aside from this whole sham of a marriage, I had a good life.So damn good,I reminded myself over and over as I unpacked books and clothes, shoes, and photos which I arranged around the bedroom.I had traveled the world, soaking in everything I could learn about hospitality—traditions and expectations from one culture to another, seeing what worked, deciding what I would do differently.It was my passion.
By the time I finished, it was well past nightfall.No wonder my stomach was growling.There was no time like the present to get myself acquainted with the house, so I traced my steps back down to the entry hall.I turned right at the bottom of the stairs and headed deeper into the main section of the mansion.The rooms in this area were all interconnected and open and came to a stop, with the family room, kitchen, and dinette visible from where I stood.The wall facing the back patio was nothing but glass, giving me an enticing look at the pool and the twinkling lights beyond it.
