The Husband Beside Me(28)

“So technically it’s not my fault I don’t have to go to your stupid family nights.” He laughed, thinking he got one up on me. Little did he know I was waiting to get him back. It was only a matter of time.

“Dad, seriously, why do you love this one so much?” I asked, holding onto my knees as I rocked back and forth. The multi-colored lights blinked annoyingly in the front window, distracting me from the movie. “Because it’s winter and with Christmas around the corner I wanted to watch it,” he said as he continued to watch the movie.

My phone vibrated as I was watching the love scene; my father always squirmed in his seat whenever there was a sex scene. It made him uncomfortable when I was there with him. I giggled a little as I picked up my phone.

Daimon:It’s almost 6pm u better get ur ass home

Stupid Daimon. He knew I was here and I wasn’t about to leave my dad until the movie ended.

Me:Watching a movie with my dad, will leave when it ends

My father coughed as the girl mounted the main character. I stifled my laughter when she stripped naked.

“Don’t you think you should go home now? You’ve been with me since the morning,” my dad said, obviously uncomfortable.

“All right, Dad, I’ll leave. I’ll call you tomorrow,” I said as I stood up and went to put my boots on.

“Okay, Addie,” he said over his shoulder. Once I was dressed, I headed back inside and gave him a quick kiss on his cheek. “Bye, Dad.” I headed out not really looking forward to going home.

Daimon and I had avoided what had happened, even though flashes of that night would come back to me, making my body heat with desire. Daimon was beyond easy on the eyes, but he and I were fire and ice. We simply didn’t mix.

“Well, the movie ended pretty quickly,” Daimon said as he headed toward me, walking on my father’s walkway.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, surprised at seeing.

“I’m here to get you. There’s a pretty strong snowstorm forecast. I didn’t want you to use it as an excuse to not come home,” he winked.

I smiled at him, wondering what the real reason was.



We walked into the penthouse, a stark difference from my father’s festive fiesta with multicolored lights and gaudy Christmas decorations. The penthouse was stunning with rich, deep dark colors and clean lines. Only once did I mention to Daimon about getting a Christmas tree. “Don’t you dare!” he hissed. “I hate Christmas!” Great! Three years have to go by before I was able celebrate my favorite time of the year.

As I walked in and took off my boots, I could smell something distinctive. I passed a happy Drako and walked into the living room. There by the large floor-to-ceiling window stood one of the largest Christmas trees I had ever seen. The white lights had already been woven in, making the tree glow softly. A large box was set on the floor with various expensive looking ornaments.

“What is this?” I asked softly as I walked toward it.

The smell of the fresh pine tree brought back very vivid memories of my mother and me going and picking up our tree at the local market.

“You wanted a tree,” he remarked.

I reached up and touched a branch. Its needles were supple and pliable.

“I thought you said no.” I looked back to see him leaning against the wall, gazing at me.

“I did, but you looked so pitiful when I said no, that I felt like I owed you one,” he shrugged.

“Pitiful?” I cocked an eyebrow.

“Yeah, pitiful. You looked like you were about to cry, like a fat kid who couldn’t get dessert,” he laughed.

“I’m going to overlook your last comment because the tree is beautiful,” I remarked, giddy as I put my bag down and took off my jacket. I knelt down and began petting Drako.

“See, Drako, even the Grinch has a heart,” I said as I scratched his belly.

“The Grinch has nothing on me,” Daimon laughed.

“You can say that again,” I mocked.

I got ahead of myself by putting on Christmas music when Daimon went upstairs to change. I figured he wouldn’t say anything if it was already playing.

Snow was gently falling. The snowstorm Daimon had mention was starting. Big fluffy snowflake clusters softly descended onto the barren streets down below. Manhattan looked like a blank canvas of pure white untouched snow. I gazed onto the wonderment now because the next day, this sweet calmness would be gone and the regular chaos of New York City would take it all away.

“What the fuck is playing on my stereo?” he seethed as he made his way down.

“Her name is Judy Garland and it’s called “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”,” I replied as I walked away from the window and headed to the box on the floor.