Avoiding Intimacy (Avoiding #2.5)(50)

he called from the door of his bedroom.

“It’s too bad you don’t even know how to use your dick,” she called over her shoulder, wrenching the door open.

“Cunt!”

She smiled. Now there was a compliment.

As she walked out of the door, she realized how much she could not wait to meet with Cassandra and get her life back on track. Because she was crumbling in her new existence.

CHAPTER 10

MAY TWO MONTHS EARLIER

Chyna heard the door click closed in the living room, and she jumped up from her closet floor. She had turned the place upside down, debating on what to bring for two months in Milan. She always packed heavy. Well, she had always had someone pack heavy for her. She and Adam had just returned from Alexa’s graduation party in Atlanta, and her two biggest Louis Vuitton bags were still stuffed full of garments she had never worn. How could she possible decide what she was going to wear two months out?

Trying not to think about it anymore, she wandered out of her bedroom and down the hall. “Hey, you,” she said, walking up to Adam and throwing her arms around him. “How was work?”

He bent down and kissed her on the mouth. “I’m glad it’s over, and that my night belongs to you.”

“Me, too,” she said before she deepened the kiss.

“I wish all of my days belonged to you,” he whispered against her lips.

“They do,” she said, threading her fingers through his hair.

“Except for those two months when you go to Italy.”

Chyna sighed, resting her head against his shoulder. “Are we having this conversation again?”

“Nothing wrong with me wanting you close.”

“No, there’s not,” she agreed. “But, come on, Italy for a photo shoot for two months. It’s a dream come true.”

He held her tighter. “I didn’t know it was your dream though.”

“Well, it is,” she said, breaking his hold. “I really don’t want to talk about this again. I feel like we’ve had this same discussion a dozen times since I got the job offer.” She shook her head and started walking back to her bedroom.

“Can we talk about how you got this job again?” Adam asked. “Seems kind of suspect.”

“Is it suspicious because someone thought that I could perform a job well or because I want to go?” she demanded, her anger rising.

This was ridiculous . He just couldn’t fathom why anyone would hire her. She had no prior experience, no references, and no in to the modeling world besides a mother who no longer spoke to her. Yet, she still managed to get this job. He didn’t understand that she needed none of that.

She still managed to get this job. She just needed a break, and she had found it.

“Why do you have to change the subject?” he asked, striding down the hallway after her.

“Because you make it seem like I can’t do whatever I want to do,” she said, pushing the door open with her hand.

“I never suggested that. I merely want to know how you ended up getting a modeling contract thousands of miles away from me without batting an eyelash.”

“Oh, so you think I batted an eyelash?”

She whirled in place. “Is that what you think?”

Adam walked slowly up to her, standing all tensed-up in the middle of her bedroom. He placed his hands on her arms and stared down into her eyes. “No,” he said with a wry smile. “That’s not what I think.”

She stared up into his hazel eyes that were looking so intently down on her, and she felt bad for getting so riled up. She was leaving in twenty-four hours and didn’t need this bickering. Why did she have to get like this? He only had her best intentions at heart.

“I was merely curious about the circumstances surrounding a job that you didn’t apply for or know anything about. I don’t want you walking into some kind of scam,” he told her reassuringly.

“I’ve told you about how I got the job,” she said, not breaking eye contact.

“It’s not a scam.”

“Tell me one more time,” he requested, running his hands down her arms.

“I met Marco,” she began.

He raised his eyebrows.

“Mr. Moretti,” she corrected, “the fashion designer for Marco’s clothing line, at his grand opening.”

“And, you got those tickets…” he prompted.

She shrugged. “I don’t know. They showed up at my front door.”

“Right. They showed up at your front door,” he said, his voice disbelieving.

Chyna soldiered on. She was telling him the truth, even if he was refusing to believe her. She didn’t know how she got the tickets, and frankly, she didn’t care because those tickets led her to get the job. “Mr. Moretti offered to do a photo shoot with me when we met at the opening.”

“Just like that. For no reason. No other offer,” he said snidely.

Chyna swallowed. “No. No other offer.” Okay, so she fibbed a bit, but he didn’t need to know that. “I told him I would think about it, and then I took his card and left.”

“And, you thought about it and decided you wanted to go to Italy for two months.”

“I didn’t know he would want me to go to Italy for two months when I agreed to model for him,” she told him exasperated.