Chapter 29: Trust (Gianna's POV) He came out of the shower in black sweatpants and nothing else and then walked over to the bed, sitting down beside me. "Since when do you wear glasses, wife?" he asked, turning to look at me. "I wear them at work too," I mumbled, still reading The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. I can't remember who this book is translated by though. "What are you reading?" I showed him the cover, still reading. "What's it about?" I sighed, turning to him. "You ask a lot of questions." "But you don't answer them. All of them anyway." I rolled my eyes. "It's about a boy in Barcelona in 1945 whose mom passed away. And he finds comfort in a book titled The Shadow of the Wind but when he goes to find other books by that author, he discovers that someone's been destroying every copy of every book by that author. And then because he has what could possibly be the last copy, he gets thrown into disaster. Murder, madness, and doomed love. Does that answer your question?" "Doomed love?" "Well, I haven't read the whole thing, I'm telling you what I see on Goodreads," I chuckled, going back to reading it. "Put the book down," he said, nudging my leg with his. "Why?" I asked, grabbing my bookmark and putting it in between the pages before closing the book and putting it on my nightstand. I turned to face him. "I'm going to work later than usual tomorrow." "Okay," I said slowly. "So?" "So are you still going early?" "I have to. I have clients coming in. And I have a dress to make. It's too complicated so I need to help my designers." "Then I'll drop by and take you to lunch." I chuckled, taking my glasses off and putting them on my nightstand. "Why? You had so much fun at McDonald's today?" He rolled his eyes, putting his hand on my thigh. "I just want to take my wife to lunch." Does he like me or is he playing me? "Okay. Come to my office and pick me up. One-thirty, like today, okay?" "Yes, ma'am." "Okay then. Goodnight," I sang, flicking my lamp off and lying down. I rolled over, having my back facing him but he grabbed my waist and pulled me closer until my back was flush against his front. I should have smiled but I didn't. Because I can't figure out if he has an ulterior motive as I did earlier or if he genuinely likes me from the start. His leg went over mine and he kissed my shoulder once. I couldn't bite back the smile any longer. I turned around, smiling to myself, glad that he couldn't see it in the dark. He leaned in and kissed me, his fingers digging into my waist. I closed my eyes and kissed him back. I woke up the next morning with my back to him but he had his arms still tightly around me. I quickly turned my alarm off and rubbed my eyes, slipping out of his grip. I sat up and began pulling my slides on but he grabbed my waist and pulled me back down. I groaned, lying back down. "Don't go," he mumbled, still more than half asleep. I patted his arm. "I have to. Let me get ready or I'll be late." "Then be late," he groaned, throwing his leg over mine. "I can't," I sang. "I'm a busy woman, Allister." "No." "Hubbie, let me go," I laughed. "You should call me that in front of people," he said, finally letting me go. "Which one? Allister, hubs, or hubbie?" "All three." I sat up, pulling my slides on and then standing up, gathering my hair in a ponytail. "I'll keep that in mind. I'm going to get ready, okay?" He nodded sleepily, rolling onto his stomach and hugging the pillow, going back to sleep. I got ready, wearing a skirt and a satin button-up. I threw my hair back in a bun and used a claw clip to secure that. I put on white heels, grabbed my stuff, and then headed downstairs, stopping at the bed. "I'm going," I sang, ruffling his hair which was looking extra fluffy from his shower last night. He rubbed his eyes and propped himself up on his elbows, squinting at me. I chuckled, squatting down by the bed. "Bye," I grinned, brushing his hair out of his eyes. He leaned forward and kissed my cheek once. I left after that, stopping downstairs to eat breakfast and then driving myself to work. It's not my car, but it's the car Mr. Kieran said I should take out of the ones they own, so it's the one I'm using. I got in, remembering to take my dagger today, keeping it in my purse. I got in the car and drove off. I've got a lot to do today, I hope I can get some done by lunch. Otherwise, I'll have to cancel that lunch date with my hubbie. ☆════ ⋆★⋆ ════☆ I stood behind Brad, looking at the sketches on his computer. "No, no, no, wait. Why are you putting the zipper on the side?" "Because the back is lace." "So?" "So zippers look trashy on lace, Gi." "Then add buttons instead of a zipper. And didn't she want a cut out in the center of her torso?" I reached over to the other table, grabbing the reference images. I put my pencil between my teeth and looked at them one by one, looking for the right picture. "Hmm." I pulled the pencil out and held the image in front of him. "Look. This cut-out isn't meant to be here, is it?" "But how do I put it on the torso if we're working with layers on the skirt? It won't go together." "That doesn't matter, we have to do what the client asks and make it look good. If she wants layers of mesh on top of the skirt with this exact cut out on the torso and these tassels from the shoulders, then we have to do it." "All right, all right, relax. You're getting frustrated now." I sighed, dropping all the images and my pencil on the table, leaning my hip against it, looking around at everyone else in the room who was working on their own projects. "What kind of tassels does the client want?" "Swarovski," I mumbled, staring at him. He snorted, looking up at me. "You're kidding, right? Swarovski? With this dress?" I nodded. "I told her other tassels would look better, but she wants a Swarovski. If we can make it look good then we have to do it. So, organize those damn Swarovski and send those tassels for production." "Ms. Gianna." I looked at the door, where our receptionist was standing. "Yes, Caroline?" I sighed in exhaustion. "You have a visitor." I glanced at the clock. It's one-fifteen. Oh, shit. "Send him to my office, please." I retied my hair, turning to Brad. "I want those Swarovski gems by tomorrow and I want your design finished without any mistakes." "Why are you so pissed off today? This design is so complicated, how can I finish it by tomorrow?" "Brad," I huffed. "This dress is meant to be shipped out in the next two weeks. I want the sketch by tomorrow night, if not tomorrow morning. Understand?" "All right," he nodded. "As you say." "You can go a little earlier for the lunch break, you've got a lot to do." I scanned the room once and then went to my office, where a visitor was already waiting for me. I was expecting it to be Ace. But it wasn't. I stood there, wide-eyed. "Leo?!" "Hello," he grinned, standing up from the chair that sits across my own. "Oh, my god," I laughed, walking over, both of us hugging each other quickly. "Jesus, what are you doing here? I haven't seen you in years." I grinned, both of us giving each other a tight squeeze. "I visited last time three years ago," he chuckled when I pulled back to look at him. "How've you been?" I asked. "Good. Great. I am uh… getting engaged," he laughed. I gasped, "Congratulations!" "To you too. I heard you got married." "I did," I nodded with a smile. Leo is the high school ex-boyfriend. The French one. We kept in touch, he comes and visits me every few years or so and we're good friends now. All of that, I didn't think to tell Allister because it's not that important. "So, tell me. What are you doing here?" "Well, my wife-to-be actually really wants the perfect dress for the wedding." "Mm, I see," I sang. "And I was thinking the best designer I know is you. So, would you make it for her? Of course, this is business, so we will pay you," he said, his French accent sounding the same as it always did. I loved his accent as a teen when I was falling for him. I'm used to it now, that doesn't make it any less charming though. "I'd love to make it for her. You should have brought her today, we could have started now." "The office looks busy-busy. Are you sure you have time?" "Yes, I always have time for you and now your wife-to-be." "Thank you," he smiled. He looked behind me. "Ah, you have a visitor." His 'S' always sounds like a 'Z' because of the accent, it's still cute. I turned around and saw Ace pushing the door open and walking in. He looked at me, then at Leo, then back at me. "Hello," he said, nodding towards me. "Hi," I grinned. "I will come again tomorrow, okay?" Leo asked. I nodded at him before he pulled me into another hug, kissing the side of my head before leaving. "Should we go?" I asked, turning to Ace. I could tell just by looking at his face that he did not trust me. The trust I thought he had, he should have, wasn't there right now. He is not happy about what he just walked into and he is not happy that he saw me with a man. But he has no idea who Leo even is or that he's getting engaged. "What?" I asked. "Who was that?" "Leo." "Who's Leo?" "Nobody," I shook my head. "Nobody?" He glanced at the door and then back at me. "Gianna." "Ace." "I just walked into your office and saw you hugging a man and then him kissing you on the head. I'm asking before I get pissed off. Who is he?" "Nobody," I shook my head. He can't ask me like that. As if he's accusing me. No. I won't accept that. He wants an answer, he better ask nicely. "Gianna," he chuckled dryly, closing his eyes with his tongue rolling along the inside of his cheek. "Nobody," I said slowly. "What are you going to do about it, hubs?" . . . . . Chapter 29