water as I come down from my orgasmic high.
“Open your eyes, beautiful.”
I do as I’m told.
I’ll do whatever this man tells me to.
“I love you,” he says irrefutably.
“I love you too.”
“Good, I’m going to take a shower now.”
“Okay,” I say dumbstruck.
He kisses my mouth gently and climbs out of the tub. Then he peels off his soaked boxer briefs and enters his walk-in shower. His eyes are trained on me as all four of his shower heads turn on and stream hot water all over his massively beautiful body. He finally turns away from me and leans his body against the shower wall, allowing the water to his shoulder and his back.
Seeing his ink and his physique from this angle, through the glass doors, makes him look like a work of art. My ovaries immediately send a direct message to all the nerve endings in my body.
Make babies with this man.
Hell, I’m practically drooling.
I can’t believe he’s mine.
“Adrienne.”
“Yes?”
“I told you to finish up.”
Yes, sir.
If I thought I felt stupid gawking at my brand new fiancé as he took a shower in front of me today, imagine how I feel as several Williams women silently make bedroom eyes at him throughout dinner. These women have never been this quiet in my life. The men at the table are no better either.
“This ham is delicious, Mrs. Hodges.” Jason compliments my mother’s cooking.
“Thank you, it used to be one of Adrienne’s favorites.”
“It still is mom.”
Cecily hasn’t said a peep but has been glaring at me for the last hour. On the other hand, her husband has been chomping at the bit to talk to him ever since we arrived.
“So, Jett, the news says you may come back for the playoffs. I play in a fantasy league and it might be good to get some insider info.”
Seriously?
“I’m still on the injured reserve list, but I’ll be ready if anything happens to Rivera.”
“That’s good to hear. You were a phenom in college, by the way. I followed you big time when you were at Penn State.”
“Thanks, man.”
Dinner continues to be awkwardly polite but relatively manageable until Jason looks at my hand. I still have on my ring, but the band is turned around so that the diamond is facing the inside of my hand.
“We’ll have to get this resized.”
He grabs my finger and turns it around so that the diamond shows. It sits high and bright and reflects the light of the chandelier into what looks like a million little sunbeams.
“Whoa, Adrienne!” my Aunt Lorraine exclaims. “Are you trying to blind us with that ring?”
“Ring?” Half the table says in unison.
My entire family whips their heads over to focus their attention on my finger.
“Are you engaged?” Cecily asks incredulously.
My mother’s face turns a shade of gray. She hates being the last to know anything, and I realize I must have disappointed her. I knew I should have prepped her better than this.
“It just happened,” I try explaining myself.
“It must have just happened,” she says. “You haven’t been dating that long, have you?”
“I’m the luckiest guy, aren’t I?” Jason says to break the tension. “I asked her last night, and she thankfully said yes.”
“I’d say that Adrienne is the lucky one,” Cecily interjects with a bitter intonation. “Two engagements in one year? You must have a snapper between those legs.”
I stand straight up from the table and my chair falls back on the floor with a loud crash.
That’s it.
I’m sick of her shit.
I slam my fist on the tabletop and stare her down fiercely.
“What the hell did you just say?”
“I’m just saying what everyone is thinking.”
“You no class bitch!”
My entire family stands up and tries calming us down, especially our mothers. Jason is visibly angry, but I can tell he’s holding back for my sake. The last thing I need for him to do is to overreact in defense of me. I need to fight my own battle this time.
I touch his hand as a signal to stand down.
“Maybe this one won’t dump you,” Cecily spits.
“Cecily, that’s enough of that.” My Uncle Bobby, Cecily’s dad, finally speaks up, albeit ineffectively.
“I should have let you drown,” I tell her.
“Adrienne!” My mother reprimands.
I know, that was low, even for me.
“Are you talking about summer camp?” She guffaws. “You’ve always hated me, haven’t you? You know I didn’t want to put you in the wedding but Mommy made me.”
“You think I wanted to be in that ridiculous blush pink Thanksgiving Day wedding?”
“Adrienne,” Jason grabs my hand because I’m visibly