Trust Me? The Trust Me? Trilogy (20 page)

He
looks at me and asks, “Did I say anything stupid last night?”

“Not really, you passed out on the way home and mumbled something about your father being arrogant. That’s pretty much it.”

He looks at me with saddened eyes. “We had an argument about work again.”

I decide to let him talk to me rather than tell him that Mike already told me what had happened.

“So you thought you would get drunk?” I ask as he smirks at
me.

“That was never my intention. I wanted one to calm me down, and I didn’t stop I guess. I’m sorry for ruining our night. Did you eat anything?”

“You didn’t ruin my night, babe; I was just surprised to see
you that way, especially when I didn’t know the reason.”

He swallows a lump in his throat. “They’ve narrowed the search for the embezzler,” he says, finally confiding in me.

“That’s good, isn’t it?”

“Depends how you look at it. It’s either me, Matthew, Rachelle, Benjamin, Brielle, or Father. It’s definitely not Father or Brielle, and it’s obviously not me. That leaves Matthew, Rachelle, and Benjamin. I can’t
imagine that any of them would be involved. Especially Benjamin, he’s like a brother to me. I don’t know what to think.”

I look at him; his eyes are full of sorrow and despair. I lean over and hug him.

“I know this is hard, but they will find the culprit soon, and it’s very difficult to imagine Benjamin would do such a thing. I’m sure it’s not him. I’m sure he’s as stressed about it as you are.”

He manages a half smile. “You didn’t answer me. Did you eat
anything?”

I look at him wryly. “No,” I say quietly as he looks at me and frowns.

“Can we take that sick day today?” he asks me quietly.

I’m surprised. “You don’t want to go to work?”

“Not really, I’d rather stay here with you, plus I’m hung over.” He takes the painkillers with the water I left on his bedside table. I see that he needs this; he needs to be here with me.

“Okay, babe, we will take a sick day.”

He kisses my cheek. “I love you,” he says sincerely.

“I love you too,” I say as I lie back down on the bed.

He reaches for his pants and pulls out his cell phone. “I’ll
send an email to Benjamin to let him know I won’t be in today, and I better tell Mike,” he says, typing away on his cell phone.

“Guess I’d better call Mel.” I pick up my cell phone off the
bed and dial her cell number.

Once I’ve finished pretending to be sick on the phone with Mel, I lean in to kiss Aiden and pin him to the bed. He laughs. The sound is heaven to my ears. Hearing him laugh after seeing him so sad is a relief. I
cuddle into his side with my head on his chest, my fingers tracing circles on his chiseled stomach.

“Aiden,” I say quietly.

“Yes, baby?” he says, his mood seemingly lifted, his face
turning toward mine.

“You know I’m here for you, no matter what. I love you. You know that, right?”

“Of course, and I love you.”

He holds me tighter. We spend most of the day in silence,
cuddling on the bed, until our stomachs grumble too loudly to ignore. He slowly lifts his arm from around me and stands up.

“Hungry?” he asks as he puts on some jeans.

“You read my mind,” I say, smiling. Standing up, I look at
my little black dress, crinkling my face. Aiden notices my lack of enthusiasm for getting into my dress.

“Here, wear these, baby,” he says as he gets out a pair of gray sweatpants and a T-shirt from his closet. He hands them to me.

“Thank you. I really didn’t want to wear that today,” I say, gesturing to the dress. I put on the pants and top.

“You look better in them than I do.”

I walk up to him, stretch up on tiptoes, and put my arms
around his neck. He takes in a deep breath and kisses me, holding me around my waist. His kiss is strong and passionate. He moves his hands down to my ass, slapping it and making me laugh.

“C’mon, woman, feed me,” he says, sounding like a caveman
and slapping me on the ass once more. I walk out to the kitchen, and we raid his cupboards in search of something to eat. We decide on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

“I didn’t picture you as a peanut butter and jelly kind of
guy.”

“Oh really? What do you picture me as?”

“More like a caviar-on-croutons kind of guy,” I say, laughing.

“Only on special occasions,” he says, moving in and hugging
me from behind.

We eat our peanut butter and jelly at the dining table.

“Are you feeling better?”

“Yeah, thank you for being here. It means a lot to me.”

“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.” I casually scoff another mouthful. “Oh, and thanks for the flowers yesterday. I love them.”

“I’m glad you love them. Get used to it. You’re going to have flowers delivered every Monday from now on. That’s a promise.”

I roll my eyes at him, thinking he’s joking.

“No, I mean it. So you never forget how much you are loved.”

“I know how much you love me, babe. Don’t waste your money.”

“It’s not a waste of money. They liven up your office, and anyway, I know you love them. It’s a done deal. Flowers every Monday, no arguments.”

“You’ll get sick of it eventually and will stop giving them
to me.”

He grins from ear to ear. “Is that a challenge, Miss Taylor?”

I laugh at him. “Take it how you will,” I say then continue to eat.

“You’re on.” His eyes seem to light up.

Oh, how I love lighthearted Aiden. He seems much calmer than he has been in the past twenty-four hours.

* * *

We spend the rest of the day on the sofa watching movies as
Aiden holds me tight the entire time. His cell phone rings at various times throughout the day, but he ignores it, eventually putting it on silent.

It gets closer and closer to night, and I start to feel hungry again. My stomach growls.

“Hungry?” Aiden asks, holding me tightly.

“A little.”

He picks up his cell phone. I see the screen. There are thirteen missed calls. I bite my bottom lip and wonder if I should say
something. I decide not to, letting him deal with it in his own way. He dials a number, and I hear the ringing on the other end then someone picks up.

“Hello, sir.”

“Hi, Mike, can we get some takeout food? The usual is fine.
Make it for two please.”

“Certainly, sir.”

“Thanks, Mike,” he says and hangs up.

“Hope you like Indian food.”

“How did you know?” I ask, feeling slightly bemused.

“I know everything, remember?” I shake my head as we go back to watching our movie.

Mike eventually shows up with our dinner, we eat together, it gets late, and as we have work tomorrow. Aiden takes me home.

***

Mike pulls up in front of my house, and Aiden walks me to my door, holding my heels and black dress as I fumble like always to get my keys out of my bag. Finally, I manage to find them, and we enter the house. We walk
down the hallway to my room. The lights are out; Sarah has obviously gone to bed. I try to make my way barefoot through the house, and I walk straight into the dining table, the push making it move across the floor and creak. I stop
and start to giggle. Aiden takes my hand and walks me to my room. How does he know my house in the dark better than I do? We get to my room, and he turns on the light, putting my shoes on the floor and my dress on my bed. He walks
toward me and takes me in his arms. His grip is strong as he kisses me again.

“I love you, Aiden,” I say to him as he ends our kiss.

He breathes slowly, closing his eyes, his head pressed against my forehead. “I love you more than anything in this world, you know
that, right?” I get the feeling he hasn’t said that to many, if any, of his other girlfriends.

“I know.” I take in a deep breath as his eyes open, staring straight into mine. He sighs and lets me go, kissing me once more on the
forehead.

“I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” I see his angst returning. “Baby, you’ll be fine.” I try to reassure him.

“I know, but I’m not looking forward to the fallout and
accompanying argument with Father as to why I wasn’t at work today.”

“Guess that’s going to be inevitable, but don’t worry about it until tomorrow. Try to have a good night’s sleep, babe, and I’ll see you tomorrow. Are you still coming here to stay the night?”

“I’ll be here; I’ll come straight after work.”

I hug him once more as we walk to the front door, missing the table this time. I give him a goodbye kiss, and he leaves to get into the
car with Mike. I walk in and close the front door, locking it before I go the bathroom to have a shower.

***

The weeks that follow are filled with a usual routine. Friday to Sunday I spend at Aiden’s apartment, eventually finding a permanent
position for a toothbrush in the en-suite and homes for other things like some essential clothing items that stay at Aiden’s apartment. He stays at my house every Wednesday, also finding a place for his toothbrush and some clothing at
my house. My feelings for him grow with every touch, every kiss, every heartbeat. I know he truly is mine, and I truly am his. The hype over the investigation for Aiden’s work dwindles down slightly. The detectives’ leads are getting them closer, but there is still more than one suspect.

“It’s Christmas Day, Aiden. Merry Christmas, babe,” I say as I reach my hand under the bed to pull out his present. His eyes bulge when he sees the big package in front of him, wrapped up in silver and blue wrapping paper. He picks up the box, shakes it, and listens for movement.

“I didn’t know what to get you. There are few different things. Open it,” I say excitedly.

He tears the paper to find a box filled with gifts, including a couple of shirts, various colored ties, a copy of a movie that he
likes, and a framed photo of us at Skye’s birthday party. He looks up at me and smiles, a smile that warms my heart.

“Thank you, I love this,” he says, holding up the photo.

He bends over and pulls out two small rectangular presents from his bedside table, wrapped in silver and pink wrapping with little bows on top.

“You got me pink wrapping paper, babe.”

He hands me the two gifts. I tear the paper on the first one
to reveal a light blue Tiffany & Co. bracelet box. I look up at him in shock.

“No way, it’s too expensive.”

“I like to spoil my girl,” he replies.

I take in a deep breath and open the box. I see a white gold chain bracelet with
xoxo
as a centerpiece glistening in the light. “Oh my god, Aiden, I really love it.” I take it out of the box.

“It reminded me of the text message you sent me after our
first date, when you put the xoxo for the first time at the end of the message.”

“I remember, thank you,” I say sincerely as he places it around my wrist. “I was so worried that I had been overly affectionate by
sending the xoxo that night.”

“Well, it made my night even better when I saw it. Now open the other one.”

I tear the wrapping to find another light blue Tiffany &
Co. box.
“Aiden!”
I scowl at him, furrowing my eyebrows but following through with a smile.

“Shh, just open it.”

I shake my head, opening the box. It’s a matching necklace in white gold with
xoxo
as the centerpiece.

“This is too much. It must have been expensive.”

“You’re worth it, baby.”

“I feel bad. Shirts suck compared to this.”

“I love the photo, baby. It’s exactly the perfect gift.
It’ll look awesome on my desk at work, where I will be reminded every day how lucky I was to find you. I love anything you give me. To be perfectly honest, the best present by far is the gift of your love.” He strokes my arm. I lean
forward on my knees and hug him.

“I really, really love your gifts, Aiden, thank you so much.” I sit back down on my feet and hand the necklace to him. I lift my hair out of the way as he places the necklace carefully around my neck and fastens
the clip. He kisses my shoulder again, sending a shiver down my spine.

***

We get dressed and head over to my mother’s for Christmas lunch.

“Just letting you know that Mom can be a little quirky, but
I do love that about her.”

We pull up in front of mom’s unit in the Aston Martin. We get out of the car, taking Mom’s present with us, and push the doorbell as we arrive at her door.

“Coming,” she yells as she runs to the door. We hear a bang
then something fall and crash onto the floor.

“Oh,
crap,
” Mom says. I look at Aiden and laugh as Mom opens the door.

“Sweetheart, I’ve missed you. I’m glad you’re here. Merry
Christmas,” she says, hugging me tightly.

“Merry Christmas, Mom.” I hug her back. “Mom, this is Aiden.” She’s still holding onto me. She looks up at Aiden.

“Hi, Aiden, it’s nice to meet you. I’ll give you a hug in a
minute; I need my Jeni fix first.”

“Mom!”

She huffs and finally lets go.

“Hi, Ms. Taylor,” Aiden says kindly as she hugs him tightly,
his eyes bulging at her strength.

I roll my eyes.

“Please call me Ev. Ms. Taylor is so formal, and Evelyn makes me sound so old.” She laughs. “Come inside, you two, I have a roast turkey in the oven. I hope you’re both hungry?”

We walk into Mom’s small one-bedroom unit. There’s a tiny backyard for her dog, Bella.

“Where’s Bella, Mom?”

“Ha! The naughty girl stole a piece of ham while I was
cutting it, so she’s been banished to the backyard.”

Aiden and I both smile as we make our way to the kitchen, still carrying her present. I place it down on the kitchen counter

“Do you need a hand with anything, Mom?” Aiden caresses my
back.

“Nope, you two love birds sit at the table. Lunch is ready.”

“Mom, let me help.” I pick up the peas and carrots and take them to the table.

“Fine, if you must. Aiden,
sit,
” Mom says sternly.
Aiden does as he’s told and sits down at the round table. Mom places the last of the food on the table, turkey and roast vegetables.

“This looks amazing, Ev.”

“I want to say thank you, Aiden, for making my baby girl
happy. She seems to be back to the happy, cheerful Jeni that I know and love so much.” She has tears in her eyes.

I roll my eyes with embarrassment.

“She makes
me
unbelievably happy too, Ev. Thank you
for having such a great daughter,” he says with love in his eyes.

“Okay, okay, enough you two with the ‘We Love Jeni Appreciation Society’ please,” I say as I start to load up my plate with the
turkey.

We eat our lunch.

“That was delicious. How did you make that stuffing?” Aiden asks Mom as I take our empty plates to the sink.

I leave them to it as I start to clean the kitchen. I look
out the kitchen window to see Bella playing with her ball. Losing my concentration, I accidentally drop a plate on the ground, smashing it into pieces, a shard coming up and cutting my leg.

“Oh,
fuck
,” I say loudly.

“Jeni, language,” Mom scolds as they both rush to the kitchen.

“You okay, baby?” Aiden’s face falls as he walks toward me and sees blood dripping down my leg. “Baby, you’re cut.”

He kneels on the floor and wraps a napkin around the wound while Mom cleans up with a dustpan and broom.

“Yeah, it’s just a scratch.” I lean forward to pull out some Band-Aids from the drawer. Mom walks in and trips over Aiden’s feet. I put my
arms out to catch her and stop her from falling. She giggles and pats him on the head.

“Sorry, sweetheart.”

He smiles at her as she keeps walking.

“Now I know where you get your clumsiness from,” he whispers
as he puts the Band-Aid over my wound.

Time passes as we chat with Mom about anything and everything.

We exchange our presents and realize it’s time to leave for
dinner at Aiden’s parents’ house. We say our farewells to my eccentric mother and get back into the car and head off to his parents.

* * *

We drive up a cobblestone driveway as Callie and Alistair’s mansion comes into view. The two-story home sits on ten acres of land on the
outskirts of Mornington Vale. White fairy lights twinkle in the moonlight across the roofline and down the walls. The trees surrounding the mansion are also covered in twinkling fairy lights, giving it a romantic feel. We pull up
where the other cars are parked.

I survey the amount of cars that are parked in front of the home and ask, “How many people will be here?”

“A few.” He takes the bags containing the gifts from the car
and walks me to the front door.

Callie is waiting at the door; she’s dressed in a white dress with a red apron and a Christmas headband in her short blonde hair.

“Aiden, you’re here, and, Jeni, it’s good to see you again.”
She takes us both in her arms.

As we enter the foyer, I see a giant staircase leading up to the second story. Its rails are made of dark wood, and they line the stairs elegantly. We proceed to the living room, where everything is white. It’s all a
bit sterile. Everyone is already seated, exchanging gifts.

“Hi, everyone,” Aiden and I both say in unison.

Aiden takes the bags of gifts over to the giant Christmas
tree, which is beautifully decorated in black, silver, and red decorations. It looks magnificent with its twinkling silver lights.

I sit down on the sofa arm and look around the room. I see Nana sitting next to the tree with Alistair and Blair, and on the arm of the
chair next to Blair is Benjamin. Sitting on the sofa next to me is Brielle and then a young guy I haven’t met, but I assume he’s Brielle’s boyfriend. Callie stands in the doorway next to an older gentleman dressed in chauffeur’s attire.
I’m guessing he’s Alistair and Callie’s driver.

Aiden hands out his gifts to everyone. Of course, I didn’t help pick them out or contribute financially toward them. The gift giving continues with expensive, outrageous gifts for everyone, including me, as
Callie and Nana move to the kitchen to prepare for dinner. Aiden is busy talking away to Benjamin. I decide to go to the kitchen to see if I can be of any help with the food. On my way there, I hear Callie and Nana talking. I stand behind
the door so they can’t see me.

“So they think they know who it is then?” I hear Nana say to Callie.

“I believe they have narrowed it down to two people, but they won’t tell Alistair who,” Callie replies to Nana.

“I hope they catch them soon,” Nana says.

“So do I. The stress is unbearable. I don’t know how much more of it Aiden and Alistair can take, or me for that matter. I hope Matthew
gets what’s coming to him,” Callie says sternly.

“You think it’s Matthew?”

“I don’t know who else it could be,” Callie replies as Brielle walks toward me.

“Hey, Jeni,” Brielle yells, making me jump.

“Hey, Bree.” I walk through the swinging doors of the kitchen, pretending that I have just arrived.

“Ladies, is there anything I can help with?” I ask Callie and Nana, who abruptly stop talking.

“Darling, you can take this out to the table if you like,” Nana says as she hands me a large bowl of vegetables.

After depositing them on the table, on my way back, I see Blair in the library off to the side talking to someone. I stop and look into
the room to see Blair move toward Benjamin and kiss him. My hand shoots up to my mouth in shock as a little excited squeal escapes me. They hear my squeal and turn to look. I quickly lean against the wall, hoping they didn’t see me.

I am standing there with my hand still covering my mouth when Benjamin reaches around and pulls me into the library.

“What did you see?” he asks sternly, holding me tightly at
arms’ length.

“Ben, don’t be so dramatic,” Blair says, rolling his eyes. “Let her go, you are hurting her.”

“It’s not your job that’s on the line here, Blair,” he says, still holding tightly onto my arms.

“Don’t worry. I won’t say anything.”

Benjamin lets go of me and runs his hand through his hair.

“
Jesus
, Blair, I told you someone would find out!” Benjamin yells at Blair.

“I think it’s sweet. I had my suspicions anyway,” I say, looking at Blair. He smiles at me as Benjamin paces the room.

“Oh, Ben, stop being so dramatic and tell them already. No one’s going to care.”

Ben gives Blair a death gaze.

“Like I said, it’s not your job on the line, Blair. Your father knows you’re gay. If he found out I was as well, he would definitely fire me on the spot. You and I both know that,” he says sternly.

“Then let him fire you. You can come and work with me.”

“I don’t think Aiden would appreciate having to find a new PA.” He continues to pace the room.

Blair looks at me for an answer.

“I think that—”

“No one is interested in your opinion,” Benjamin says harshly.

“Ben, stop that! Where’s my fun-loving, caring, honest, loveable Ben gone?” Blair asks.

“Sorry, it’s a stressful time for me,” he says, scratching his head.

“Benjamin, I think you should be proud of who you are, and if you’re in a relationship with another man, be proud of that too. You shouldn’t have to hide who you are because you’re scared of one man’s
reaction.”

He sighs as Blair takes his hands. “C’mon, baby, we got this. Let’s walk out there holding hands. We won’t even have to say anything to them. They will just know.” Blair is almost begging. Benjamin looks at me.

“What will Aiden think?” He looks concerned.

“He will be thrilled. He already thinks of you as part of the family. Now it’ll be official. If you’re worried about Aiden being angry,
the only thing he’ll be angry about is you keeping this from him.”

Benjamin’s face crinkles. He looks at Blair as he kisses him gently on the lips.

“Okay,” Benjamin says hesitantly, instantly making Blair and
me smile.

“You’re doing the right thing,” Blair says as he takes Benjamin’s hand.

“If I get fired, you have to pay me the same wage,” Benjamin says to Blair.

“Deal,” Blair says as he walks out of the library into the
dining room.

I follow, smiling. They stop at the doorway of the dining room, where everyone is now seated waiting for us. I walk in and sit next to Aiden. He takes my hand under the table. Blair walks in and stands by the end
of the table, taking a glass and tapping it with a knife to get everyone’s attention. Everyone looks up as Benjamin walks in, looking a bit pale and sweating as he loosens his tie from his neck. He swallows a lump in his throat.
He looks directly at me. I give him a big smile and nod at him.

“What are you doing, Blair?” Alistair asks loudly in annoyance.

“Father, Ben and I have an announcement.” Blair’s face is
radiating happiness, but Benjamin’s is growing paler and pasty.

“Get on with it. I’m hungry,” Alistair says.

He takes hold of Benjamin’s hand; Aiden looks at me in shock.

“I’d like to officially announce that Ben and I are finally
coming out. We’ve been a couple for over a year, and we thought this was as good a time as any to tell you all.” Gasps fill the room as Brielle claps uncontrollably and squeals.