Page 106 of What's the time, Mr. Wolfe
“Absolutely. A promotion now you live with me.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Mmm, I like that. But I’m not going to have sex with you in return for rent, you know that, right?”
“You’re going to have sex with me whenever I want it,” he replied, taking a step towards me.
“What if I refuse?”
He smirked, raised his middle finger to the side of his eye and rubbed.
I giggled.
“Strike one, Ruby.”
My stomach fluttered.
“You’re mine now,” he whispered, and it wasn’t said in jest or with menace. He meant it. I belonged to him, and I wanted to. “And I will cherish you.”
“Forever?”
“Yep.”
“You know what happened to Mr. Wolfe in the fairy tale, don’t you?”
He stepped closer to me, and I backed to the wall.
“Yep.”
“She killed him.”
“I know,” he said, placing his hands either side of my head. “I’ve said this before, Little Red Riding Hood, you will be the death of me.”
Grandma’s funeral came and went in a flash, so it felt. We were just a handful of people and a couple of random strangers. There was no wake, once it was done, we congregated outside as another funeral arrived and just chatted.
“Let’s get together for coffee soon,” Monica said, and Inodded. She’d sat one side of me while Sebastian sat the other. Both had held my hands.
Tony stood by the Bentley, and Sebastian and I climbed in. I hadn’t cried, I’d shed all my tears already, but I pulled a tissue from my bag and wiped my nose. That morning, Sebastian had arranged for a hairdresser to come to the house. My hair was beautiful, and the stylist had also applied a little makeup for me. We had decided to head straight home even though Sebastian had offered to pay for a meal somewhere for us all. I just wanted to shower off the makeup and change into some sloppy clothes. I wanted to curl up on the sofa and watch Hallmark movies. Christmas would be upon us in another month, and I wanted to plan for it.
Grandma had loved Christmas; it was her favourite time of the year. We’d attend Midnight Mass, put a goose on to cook overnight, and wake up early to open gifts. We only had one gift each, she wasn’t big on the commercial side of the festivities, but it was always something thoughtful.
“What are you thinking?” Sebastian asked as we drove home.
“Christmas. What do you want to do?”
“Stay in bed all day and unwrap you,” he whispered.
I saw Tony chuckle. “Cheesy, mate. Super cheesy.”
“I might like the idea, if you please,” I replied.
My relationship with Tony was growing. I was stillwary of him, still a little anxious if I was on my own with him, but I understood how important he was to Sebastian.
“What did you do before me?” I asked.
“Ate, drank, watched a movie, the usual,” Sebastian replied.
“Moaned like a bitch, got drunk, went to bed, more like,” Tony added.
I laughed. “How about this year, I cook for us all.”
