Page 230 of Double Daddies
Lesson In Confidence
Kay Elle Parker
Chapter One
Avery
Hugging her brand-new, super cute Squishmallow close to her chest, Avery Morello slipped her key into the apartment door and snuck inside like a thief. A silly thief, considering it was her own home she was sneaking into, but six months of lecturing from her rigidly serious boyfriend, Adam, made her feel like one.
He hated her obsession with all things soft and squishy.
He didn’t understand her habit of relaxing with coloring books and Play-Doh.
He regularly objected to the shows she watched.
She was beginning to think he just didn’t likeher,Avery thought as she closed the door. Since he’d moved in at the end of May, she’d spent the last two months feeling claustrophobic in her own home and, worse, her own damn skin.
Bit by bit, piece by piece, who she was at her heart was slowly being boxed up and put into storage, much like her beloved Squishmallow collection. She hadn’t realized at first how easily Adam planted suggestions in her head, or how he coerced her into obeying his demands if she didn’t jump straight to it.
By the time she noticed it, her Mallows were stowed away in her spare room along with everything else that made her happy and relaxed.
It was pretty demoralizing to understand how much of her personality Adam was siphoning away, day by day. Demoralizing and infuriating, because she never thought she would become the kind of woman who allowed a man to steal her identity this way.
Toeing off her sneakers—another Adam rule; no footwear in the house—she clutched her new Venus tighter as if he was waiting around the corner, ready to spew hurtful words about how immature and childish she was for craving a stuffed animal.
That was ridiculous, of course. At two o’clock on a Friday afternoon, he’d be sitting in his air-conditioned office, phone to his ear, looking like Businessman of the Year despite the godawful heat, just to impress any potential clients who might cross his threshold.
Avery snorted. In her opinion, any client who did business with a man too far up his own ass to loosen his tie or unbutton a couple shirt buttons in the middle of a heatwave deserved whatever they got.
She was supposed to be working the 7 am to 3 pm shift at Wakey Bakey, her friend’s bakery store, but she’d volunteered to cover the four-to-ten shift instead after the usual late-night server called in sick.
Hence the impromptu shopping trip to buy the Mallow she’d been waiting for all damn month. The squishy sheep was the final Mallow she needed to complete the Wildlife Squad part of her collection.
Every payday, she treated herself to one Squishmallow. It was an official section in her self-imposed budget, because if all her paycheck disappeared on bills and taxes, what was the pointof living? It wasn’t as if Adam contributed significantly to, well, anything.
That was another thorn sticking repeatedly into her foot, one she didn’t know how to broach. He could lay on the charm when he wanted, which meant he was an expert at distorting a discussion he’d rather avoid.
Lifting Venus to eye level, Avery frowned. “Don’t judge me.”
The dark eyes implied she was being judged, heavily.
Well, maybe she deserved to be, she thought in disgust. Scratch that, shediddeserve it. In the grand scheme of things, she was a terrible example of womanhood, surrendering her personal and feminine morals by allowing Adam to squash every facet of her character, vilify her personality, and generally run rampant through her life.
For the sake of what?
Extra dishes in the sink? Stolen bedcovers? The façade of a relationship?
Padding down the hallway toward the bedrooms, Avery huffed under her breath. Was she finally admitting to herself that the niggling issues were more than that? Something was brewing, that much she knew—when it felt like she was smothering in Adam’s presence on a soul deep level, it wasn’t just a small issue, it was a big problem.
Adam didn’t respect her, that much was obvious.
Thoughts dark with misgivings, she hurried straight to the guest bedroom to hide her smuggled new addition to her collection, then paused. Frowning, she backtracked several steps until her feet planted at her bedroom door.
Head cocked, she studied the wood curiously. She was adamant she’d left it open that morning; she usually did. Morning was not her friend, scrambling her brains so she often forgot to open the curtains or shut doors. Once, she’d even walked out with a bowl of cereal in her hand instead of her purse.
Adam was a stickler for keeping doors shut. It was another bone of contention between them. She preferred them open, letting light and air circulate, but as always, he’d subtly poked at her until her habits reflected his preferences.
But she had been the last one in the apartment that morning, and she remembered rushing from the room, trying to pull on her sneakers without crashing into the wall. Shutting the damn door so she didn’t piss off her boyfriend hadn’t even crossed her mind.
