Diamonds, стр. 23

When she returned, a butler directed her up the back stairs to the bedroom. The spa had blown out her hair and done her makeup. She opened up the closet and pulled out a shimmery gold dress. It was the fanciest piece she had brought with her, and she hadn’t ever thought that she would have a place to wear it on this trip, but she had wanted to be prepared for anything.

The form-fitting material clung to her body like it had been made specifically for her. It dropped to her knees and had a tiny button at the back of her neck with a long open slit down the middle of her back. She paired it with black Jimmy Choos and clasped the gold buckles around her ankles.

After assessing herself in the mirror, she grabbed the Christmas present she had gotten for Jude from her suitcase before walking out of the bedroom and into the living room. Her eyes nearly bugged out when she saw everything he had done.

The room was completely decked out in Christmas decorations. A tree—a real freaking Christmas tree—sat in one corner with red ornaments and a star on top. She had no fucking clue where he had gotten that on an island in the middle of the Caribbean. Red and green pillows were on the furniture, decorated wreaths were hooked to the windows, stockings hung from the built-in bookshelves, and candles burned everywhere. The television was even set to appear as if an open fire was blazing in the fireplace.

Jude was standing in the middle of the room in a tuxedo, drinking a glass of scotch. He smiled at the shocked look on her face. “Merry Christmas, beautiful.”

“What is all of this?”

“Well, I didn’t exactly bring you somewhere that is very festive. Since we didn’t end up in New York City or Paris where we could do Christmas activities, I thought that maybe I could bring Christmas to you.”

“It’s…amazing,” she breathed. Truly, she was mesmerized.

“I’m glad you like it. Christmas has always been my favorite holiday. I used to go to Tahoe and go skiing with my parents when I was younger. But once I grew up, I usually worked too much around the holidays to really enjoy myself. So, thank you. I’m enjoying Christmas this year because of you,” he said, pulling her into his arms.

“You did all the work.”

“But you made it worthwhile.”

She stared up at him, speechless. How did I get so lucky on that night at Allure to go home with this incredible man? She’d had no idea what she was getting into, and she didn’t regret a minute of it. He was handsome and charming. He took care of her, appreciated her, enjoyed her company. In fact, her company was enough for him, which was something she had never experienced before.

“Before we go into the dining room to eat dinner, I do have a Christmas present for you,” he told her.

“Me first,” she said, remembering that she was holding his present in her hands.

He laughed and took the small box from her. “You didn’t have to get me anything.”

“I wanted to.”

After setting his scotch down on the glass coffee table, he pulled back the gold-and-silver wrapping paper and opened the box to reveal a silver Rolex with a black face.

The week before, she had been frustrated while looking for a present for him. She had wanted to get something extravagant, something to match the gifts he had gotten her. But she wouldn’t have access to her trust fund until July, and she hadn’t wanted to draw attention to her credit card with an obscene charge. She could chalk up a Rolex as a gift for Gates.

He slipped the watch out of the box and slid it on to his wrist. Then, he wrapped his other arm around her waist and crushed his mouth down on hers. She smiled against his lips.

“You’re amazing. Thank you.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

She had been unreasonably afraid that he would toss the watch aside because it wasn’t up to his standards. She had known the idea was irrational, but it had still eaten away at her. She had never felt like this before, and she wasn’t sure what to make of it, except that she liked him enough to care about his opinion.

“My turn.”

He reluctantly released her before picking up a slender red-wrapped box. She slowly tore away the paper to reveal a navy-blue box with HW printed in gold on the top.

She swallowed and anxiously looked up at him. “Harry Winston?”

He took the box from her hand and pried it open for her to see the contents. Inside was a cursive B gold pendant inlaid with a series of exquisite diamonds on a slender gold chain.

“Oh my God,” she whispered.

Jude removed the necklace from the box, and when she reached up to pull her hair off her back, he secured it at the nape of her neck. It rested against her skin just below her collarbone.

He pressed his lips to her shoulder. “There. It’s perfect.”

“You’re perfect,” she murmured before kissing him.

Dinner could wait.

“BRYNA! How was your trip with Gates?” Celia asked as soon as Bryna stepped through the door.

“Great,” she said hollowly.

She dropped her Louis Vuitton luggage in the foyer.

The plane had landed only an hour ago, and already, she was feeling jet-lagged. The remainder of the trip had been a dream come true. She and Jude had spent seven full days together, and in that time, she had found that she liked him even more. She liked him so much, in fact, she felt his absence like a weight in the pit of her stomach. Leaving had been a true test of control. She was already desperate to return to her slice of paradise.

She just wanted to drive back to his apartment and stay there for as long as she could.

Unfortunately, Jude would be leaving the next morning on business, so that wasn’t a possibility. Somehow, between the time she had left Jude’s place for home to when she would leave with Gates to go to the Chateau Marmont New Year’s party, she would have to come down from the high she had been riding on cloud nine.

“I really wish you had told me that you were going to spend time with Gates,” Celia crooned. “I would have preferred you were with family for the holidays, of course, but I understand that you wanted to spend time with your boyfriend.”

“That’s great, Celia,” Bryna said dryly.

“So, what did you do? Did you two have a good time? I’m sure you’re mother missed your terribly. I know we did here, and your father as well.”

Bryna sighed dramatically. Coming down from this high was going to be easier than she had thought. “Can we talk about this later? I’m really tired. I didn’t get much sleep while I was gone.” She let the implication of her words sink in.

“Oh, uh…sure. I’m glad you’re home,” Celia said.

“Yeah.” That made one of them.

Bryna ascended the steps and crashed into her bedroom.

She slept for a couple of uninterrupted hours and only got up because she was starving. When she came downstairs to scrounge up something for dinner, Pace was in the kitchen. It was hard to believe that she had been eating incredible meals with Jude in St. Barts just this past week.

“You look tan,” Pace muttered before biting into a peanut butter sandwich.

Don’t engage. Retract claws. “Yep.”

She reached into the fridge, and she pulled out an apple and a bottle of Pellegrino. She wasn’t going to waste any more time in the kitchen if Pace intended to stick around. Eating out sounded like a better option.

“You weren’t really with Gates, were you?”

She bit into her apple and didn’t respond. She didn’t want to have this conversation. She tried to imagine herself back in the villa—lounging beside the pool, Jude swimming, the feel of his body pressing against hers as he took her in the cabana. Soon, that would be her life, and she wouldn’t have to deal with Pace anymore. She would get into LV State and spend her weekends with Jude in Los Angeles.