Page 80 of Born to Make You Smile

“Here you are,” Gavin said merrily, placing a white envelope before me as I entered data on the computer in the treatment room. “Your yearly bonus.”

I looked up at him with a smile. “Thanks.”

When he left the room, I peeked inside.

Holy shit.It was a grand more than usual.

While I was a damn good assistant, I knew it wasn’t all due to my performance in the office. Was it my performance in the bedroom? Was it a nanny fee because I helped with his childrenon the weekends? Did Gavin let Pete’s words get to him, being sure totake care of me?

I hated this.

I hated this situation so damn much. I wanted to rip up the check and throw it into the trash.

“You’re so quiet, love,” Gavin said as we headed home.

I glanced over at him in the driver's seat. “I’m just tired.”

He felt miles away. It didn’t help that the space between us was more than usual in his Range Rover.

“This is about what happened on Sunday with Pete, isn’t it? What a wanker. He’s always been a good-for-nothing, even in school. He was a cheat and completely incompetent. You know what they say about endodontists: They really get on your nerves.”

I pressed my lips together into a flat smile. I couldn’t do much more than that. Like I’d lost all ability to find joy in life.

“God, if you aren’t laughing at my terrible jokes, I know it’s serious. What’s going on? Talk to me, love. Please. I hate seeing you like this.”

I inhaled a breath. “How long are we going to do this?”

“What do you mean?”

“Fuck around,” I stated curtly. “Until you get bored? Until you realize I’m not worth the trouble?”

“For crying out loud, Grace. Why would you say that? Is that what you honestly think?”

I sighed. “I get it. I’m not expecting you to come out and shout it to the world. But will you ever be ready? To tell the office, your family? Or is this a lost cause? Will we ever be more than this? I just need to know. I need to set the expectations now and prepare myself.”

He ran a hand through his hair as we waited at a light. “My family can be very hard to please. My sister, in particular. She’srather protective over me and Jared. She was very close to Judy, and in her eyes, it’s difficult for anyone to measure up.”

“Definitely not me.” I frowned.

“I won’t sugarcoat it. But no. She likely won’t be keen on our relationship. And it will be difficult on my family, especially right before the holidays. So right now, I can’t give you more than this. But eventually, when the time is right, we will come out. I promise you.”

“Okay.” I nodded, trying to be positive and understanding of his situation. “By the way, I think you made an error with my bonus. It’s way too high. I don’t deserve that much. Unless you’re paying me for more…”

“That amount is for everything you do. You do so much for me. And the girls.”

I shook my head. “You shouldn’t be paying me for spending time with your family. See. This is getting weird. Right?”

“Perhaps lines have been crossed. But my intention was to make sure you know how appreciated you are. Just take it, all right? Buy yourself something nice for the holidays.”

It occurred to me that I hadn’t bought the girls anything for Christmas yet. I could definitely use the bonus to get something nice for them. A way to give back and ease the guilt of all that extra money.

“Okay.” I smiled, more genuinely this time, showing my teeth.

“There it is.” He reached for my hand and squeezed it tight. The contact warmed me. “There’s my favorite smile in the whole world.”

When he dropped me off, I kissed him so hard he couldn’t help but follow me into my house where he took me into the shower and had his way with me until every single worry in my world disappeared.

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