to stay at their place overnight, even after the countless times I clearly said no?!”
“That’s why you annoyed me. If you didn’t say no in the first place, I wouldn’t have ‘nagged’ you to come over.” He shrugged.
“What-” I shook my head and closed my eyes as I tried to calm down. “Now you’re making it out like it’s my fault that you didn’t talk to me.”
“It is your fault,” he simply stated.
I started to smile, thinking he admitted I was right, before his words fully registered in my brain. “You’re impossible!” I declared, huffing in defeat.
He chuckled and placed a peck on my forehead before I had time to pull away, and I glared at his smirk. “You know, a synonym for impossible is incredible. So you’re saying I’m incredible. Thank you, but I already know that.” He boasted, pulling me into his torso by wrapping his arms around my waist with an iron grip.
I rolled my eyes at his arrogance. “Whatever you say, Adrian,” I said, mocking. “You’re the boss.”
The charity fundraiser suddenly appeared in my mind, making a small frown replace my mocking expression. “Adrian… I don’t want to go home with a stranger tomorrow…” I trailed off, biting my bottom lip at the thought of David Walter’s sickly smug smile violating me with his eyes as he put money on me.
Adrian’s amused expression suddenly darkened, and his iron grip – if possible, became tighter around my waist. “I’ll take care of it,” he reassured me, mirroring my frown.
I studied his expression briefly before my mind decided it was safe to trust him, and my stiff body relaxed slightly in his hold, making his frown also disappear and his all too famous smirk return to his lips.
“Who knows, maybe you’ll get to go home with me.”
My relaxed expression instantly transformed into a glare as my head snapped up to meet his amused gaze.
“I’m kidding,” he said. “I can’t participate – I’m the one hosting the event.”
Surprisingly, a rush of disappoint flowed through my body as the words left his mouth, and I slumped slightly in his hold. His eyebrows shot up in surprise and I began to blush furiously.
“Unless… you want it to happen?”
“No!” I exclaimed too quickly, my cheeks heating up even further. “No… I just…” I trailed off, frowning as I quickly racked my brain for a valid excuse. The reality of the situation was I didn’t even know myself. “I just prefer to go with you than with anyone else,” I finally said, both to him and myself.
“I’ll take care of it, Emily,” he reassured me, looking down at me with an expression I hadn’t seen come across his handsome features before, “I promise.”
I nodded before smiling slightly at him. “I know you will. Thank you.” I wrapped my own arms around his waist as I pulled him into a hug. Adrian instantly pressed himself against me and rubbed my back comfortingly, making the small smile stay glued onto my lips from the comforting gesture.
“Mr. Kingston, I – oh! I’m very sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt anything!” Suzie squeaked, and I instantly flushed as I tried to pull away from Adrian – who kept me in his iron grip hug.
“You’re not interrupting, Mrs. Brown. What can I do for you?” Adrian asked, smirking down at me as he said the words. I looked over to Suzie in mortification and found her giving us an amused glance before clearing her throat.
“I received a call from your parents, confirming their appearance at the fundraiser. Where would like them to be seated?” she asked, smiling slightly as the blush continued to blaze my cheeks.
“Put them on my table. I also need you to add an extra chair in between Allen and me. Anything else?” he asked, finally tearing his gaze away from my mortified expression to look over at Suzie, who was scribbling down the new information in a small notepad she was holding.
“No that was all, Mr. Kingston.” She gave me one last amused glance before scurrying down the hall. As soon as she was out of earshot, my head snapped back towards Adrian’s smirking expression and I glared.
“Let go. Do you know what she was probably thinking when she saw us?!” I exclaimed, placing my hands on his muscled arms in an attempt to pull them away from my waist.
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” He chuckled at my failed attempt to move his arms, and I huffed and slumped in his