Carved in Stone (The Stone Series) (15 page)

             
“Pfft,” scoffs Alisha, “that bitch ain’t no mother, she’s a damn Velociraptor. It’s a wonder she didn’t eat her young at birth and use their bones for a toothpick!”

****

              Lunch was nothing more than a huge vacuum of self–recrimination as I replayed over and over the scene between Aidan’s stepmother and me. With my appetite all but gone I slugged down the glass of white wine Alisha handed me in the slightest chance it may make the last hour disappear – no such luck of course. Alisha, God love her, did her best to try and cheer me up but really her heart wasn’t in it because she kept bursting into fits of giggles.

             
“I promise you Gabby, in a few days you’ll see the humor in it all. In the mean time babe, know this, you were totally justified. Everyone in that building knows there is no love lost between Aidan and his stepmother; he barely tolerates her presence when she comes in on the rare occasion. Aidan even moved the board meetings for Stone Investments to an off-site location several months ago. If you ask me, it was way past time someone put her in her place. The bitch had it coming.”

             
I, on the other hand, had absolutely no doubts whatsoever that I would ever find anything comical in the whole sordid situation. And to top it all off, I was dreading Aidan’s reaction to the confrontation between his stepmom and I.

             
I knew I wouldn’t loose my job, Alisha had convinced me of that but still it wasn’t the ideal way to interact with your boyfriend’s only living parental figure.

Me and my fucking
temper!

             
After lunch we headed back to the office, Alisha declaring she was bringing over take-out and a couple of bottles of wine to Mia’s after work. Obviously designating herself as my moral supporter and I suspected she was bursting at the chops to spill the entire awful event in gory vivid detail to Mia.

             
I left Alisha with one purpose, to drown myself in work all afternoon in the desperate hopes of avoiding all thoughts of the confrontation.

             
It didn’t work! My stomach churned as the argument kept replaying over and over in my head - every single fucking word. Ugh!

             
I knew it was affecting my work because both Jeremiah and Molly kept popping into my office asking if everything was okay with me. I hadn’t wanted to divulge the whole vile encounter and I was praying both Alisha and Claire would keep their mouths firmly shut about the incident so I told them I had a really bad headache.

             
Jeremiah, not only being the sweetest caring boss in the world but an awesome friend as well, told me to go home early and rest up for the remainder of the afternoon, but being at Mia’s condo alone without any distractions would only give me more time to stew over it.

             
At a quarter to five I began cleaning up my desk, putting files away when my office phone rang. I answered but it lacked my usual enthusiasm; I was just counting down the minutes until this god-awful day was over and I could burry it in a glass or five of wine.

             
“Gabriella,” said Aidan in way of greeting.

             
Shit, shit, SHIT!

             
“Hey Aidan,” I greeted back trying and failing to sound both casual and chirpy. “How’s everything going in the ‘Windy City’?

             
“Not windy,” he deadpanned.

             
Hmm… “Oookay,” I said nervously drawing out the word as if that alone could stall the inevitable.

             
There was a long pause over the phone and for a minute I thought I lost the connection until I heard a deep sigh from Aidan and then in a low quiet voice that sent a surge of shivers rocketing along my spine he said, “Is there something you would like to tell me Gabriella?”

             
“Ah… I can’t think of anything right this minute.”

             
“Nothing. Nothing at all?” He hedges in a congenial tone.

             
“Umm…”

             
“Like why you tried to kick my stepmother out of my office this afternoon?”

             
“Well…” I drew out in an effort to stall.

             
              “Or why you felt it necessary to attack her verbally; ‘a
fake plastic step-ford wife who’s completely devoid of all decency and decorum’
, are the words I believe she quoted you saying…” verbatim according to her hysterical phone call to me this afternoon.”

             
“Well…umm…”

             
“Gabriella,” Aidan snaps clearly exasperated.

             
“Virginia called me a gold digging whore who was nothing more to you than a fleeting fling!”

             
The words came blurting out from my mouth in a defensive rush, tears stinging the back my eyelids. I hadn’t thought too much about how Virginia’s words hurt me until now because I was too worried about Aidan’s reaction to it all and I was mad with myself for stooping to her level of malice but her words cut me painfully deep.

             
I didn’t understand why she hated me so much, she doesn’t even know me and the one time we’d met I’d been nothing but courteous and respectful.

             
After several long and awkward silent moments pass, Aidan’s grates, his voice threaded with suppressed fury. “Oh she did, did she?”

             
I have discovered over the past couple of months of knowing Aidan, the more infuriated he is the more dangerously quiet his tone becomes and right at that moment, the sheer timbre of his voice alone made all the little hairs on the back of my neck spike up in fear. I’m guessing Virginia neglected to convey both sides of our confrontation.

             
“Well, I guess the cocktail party my stepmothers hosting this Friday and we’re scheduled to attend by the way, is going to be supremely uncomfortable, annoyingly awkward at best.”

He sighs
with frustration once more, sounding tired, irritated and weirdly… resigned.               Choosing to completely ignore the mention of an impending Stone family function, I plow on in an effort to smooth things over between us, although I get the distinct impression Aidan’s not angry at me - he sounds more weary as if the whole situation is more of an inconvenience to him than anything.

             
“Aidan, I apologize for insulting your mom, I don’t know what came over me…well… I mean I do, she was unbelievably rude and obnoxious, to be honest but she
is
your stepmother, you love her of course, she’s family so I should have tried to at least hold my tongue –”

             
“Love,” scoffs Aidan, interrupting my rather lame attempt at an apology, “I can assure you there is no love lost between my family and I, Gabriella, none what so ever. It’s a fucking gratuitous sentiment.”

             
Okay then, that little piece of revelation knocked me flat on my ass, figuratively. By sheer observation, I had kind of concluded that Aidan’s family wasn’t the Brady Bunch by any means, they were bizarrely dysfunctional and barley tolerated each other in social settings and sure, I understood he had a hard time opening up on an intimately emotional level but to believe love was nothing more than a unnecessary feeling waved one giant red flag in my already frazzled brain.

             
What does he unyielding view towards love mean for our relationship in the future? Should not love be the objective we, as a couple strive for? Hell, I was already there! I
am
already head over heels, crazy mad in love with him although I had yet to voice those feelings verbally to him. Nevertheless I was in no freaking way ready for marriage, which was the furthest thing from my mind until Virginia hurled her poisonous venom at me. The next step whether it’s moving in together or marriage was the furthest thing from my mind at this point in time. But I had hoped, prayed Aidan could come to love me in the way I loved him.

             
Interrupting my internal dialogue, Aidan asks softly, tender warmth coating his voice. “Are you okay baby?”

             
“Yeah. I’m all good” I murmur back the lie.

             
“Good. That’s all that matters to me. You’re not to take to heart one single word that woman spews out of her toxic mouth, do you understand me? I’ll deal with her when I get back.”

             
“Okay.” His concern is like a healing balm cathartically washing over my soul.

             
“I miss you Aidan.”

             
“I miss you too button. I’ll be home tomorrow baby so do me a favor; go home, relax, don’t worry about anything and try and stay out of trouble.”

             
“I’ll try but I can’t promise you anything.”

              “Bye baby.”

             
“Bye Aidan.”

Oh yeah, it is official; I have the
sweetest boyfriend in the world. I’m just afraid he’s not capable of loving me like I love him.

Chapter
Thirteen

              Thursday was shaping up to be a far better day than the one before. After two bottles of wine, a mountain of greasy junk food and copious amounts of chocolate and long after Alisha and Mia had dissected in agonizing detail the events of the day we called it a night.

             
Word had apparently gotten back to Jeremiah about yesterday afternoon because as soon as I walked into the office that morning I was met with a belligerent Jeremiah demanding to know why he wasn’t informed immediately about all the drama yesterday.

             
“I thought we were BFF’s Gabby,” he sulked. “You know how I hate to be left out of the loop. I’m dreadfully wounded.” Holding both palms over his heart, his scowl is cool and piercing.

             
“I’m sorry Jeremiah, I was too hurt and embarrassed, not to mention extremely mortified about whole exchanged. I can’t believe it even happened in the first place let alone dreading what Aidan’s reaction was going to be.”

             
My expression must show the contriteness I’m feeling because Jeremiah’s face softens, his lips curving in a small smile of forgiveness.

             
“I promise Jeremiah, next time I smack down with my boyfriends stepmother, you’ll be the first to know. Still friends?”

             
“Always, sunshine,” he replies, playfully nudging my shoulder with his.

             
“But please, next time give me a little warning before you go all ‘Real Housewives of New Jersey’ on me, I want a front row seat!”

             
“Oh God,” I groan, thumping my head down on the desk. “There’s not going to be a next time!”

****

              As the clock clicked over to five on my computer, I hit send on the last of several emails I’d managed to write during the day between attending two meetings, completing three reports, dealing with an urgent issue with the caters who were catering the Decadence Hotel opening next week and answering six phone calls from Mia checking up on me and three from Alisha doing the same. I was exhausted!

             
Logging out of my computer I jumped when the sound of Aidan’s voice startled me from the entrance to my office.

             
“Gabriella.”

             
“Hey you. When did you get back?” I grin, happy to see him. I hadn’t spoken to Aidan since yesterday afternoon but he’d sent a text earlier in the day making plans for this evening.

             
“A couple of hours ago. You ready to leave?” He asks walking towards me.

             
“Ah yeah, I’m all finished here,” I reply, rising from the chair and gathering my purse.

             
Sliding his arms around my waist, Aidan draws me flush against his firm hard chest, bending his head; he brushes his lips across mine.

             
Inhaling a long deep breath, I close my eyes savoring Aidan’s distinctive alluring sent while reaching up and linking my arms around his neck, holding him close to me.

             
“I’m happy you’re back, I’ve missed you,” I whisper softly, placing a slow lingering kiss on the side of his jaw.

             
“Fuck, I’ve missed you too button,” he groans slamming his mouth down on mine.              His kiss is deep, fervent, his tongue plunging forcefully into my mouth, his fingers gripping like a vice firmly on my hips. Both his kiss and embrace is possessive, claiming, dominating, and causing my toes to curl in response.

             
Pulling back, breaking the kiss but not relinquishing his hold on me, Aidan growls, “Let’s go home baby. I need to feed you, and then I need to fuck you long and hard until neither of us can walk.”