Page 8 of Confused AF
“Okay, I’m trusting you. So, what’s the plan?” I asked, flopping down in the middle of the charcoal-gray sofa.
“First, you need to eat.”
“But I’m not hungry.”
He ignored me as he lowered himself gracefully into one of the armchairs. “Once our luggage is delivered, we should head to the convention center to check on your packages.”
That idea, I could get behind. Not only did I want to confirm that the boxes had actually arrived, but I needed to make sure nothing had been damaged during shipping.
“Agreed.”
“After that, we can go to the mall,” he continued. “You don’t need clothes for the entire week right now. Just find something to wear tomorrow, and a few basics like socks and underwear.”
Kicking my shoes off, I tucked my feet under me on the sofa and shook my head. “If my suitcase doesn’t make it here, I’m not going to have time to go back to the mall to buy more clothes.”
“Just focus on what you need for tomorrow,” he reiterated. “Let me worry about the rest.”
I scrunched my nose to show my displeasure at the idea, but I didn’t argue.
This trust thing was turning out to be a lot harder than I expected, and it had little to do with Vaden. I had worked tirelessly to make it to the Spellbound Expo, and I needed everything to go perfectly. With the week already off to a rocky start, I couldn’t afford for anything else to go sideways.
And the only way to make sure that it didn’t was by micromanaging every minute detail into submission.
While I had faith in Vaden’s capabilities, and I knew he could be a tremendous asset if I let him, I didn’t know if I had that ability. As much as I wanted to trust him, control had suddenly become a lifeline, one I couldn’t let go of without drowning.
My eyes popped open when the cushion beside me dipped. Before I could question him, he pushed a memo pad and a pen into my hands.
“Let’s make a list,” he said, his tone oddly reassuring in its assertiveness.
“A list?”
He tapped the blank sheet on top with his index finger. “Write down everything we need to accomplish today and tomorrow. Then we can decide what you’re comfortable delegating.”
“I…uh…” I bit down on my bottom lip and looked away, his offer making my eyes sting for some stupid reason. “Okay.”
“I may not understand exactly what it is you do, but I get that this convention is important to you.” He reached out, resting his hand lightly on my bent knee. “If you try to do it all on your own, though, you’re going to crash and burn by mid-week. Let me help you.”
As much as I hated to admit it, I knew he had a point. The idea of giving up control of anything still made me feel itchy, but doing it all myself defeated the entire purpose of his presence.
“Start small,” he suggested, his lips curving into an indulgent grin that made my stomach flutter. “How about I order room service for lunch? Do you think you could let me do that?”
I took a deep breath and mirrored his smile. “I’m really not hungry.”
“You need to eat, and besides, it’ll take a while to get here. If you still don’t want it once it arrives, we can save it for later.”
I considered his very reasonable offer for a few seconds, then nodded. “Yeah, okay. Just nothing with onions.”
“Allergic?”
“No, I just don’t like them.”
Chuckling, he patted my knee before pushing to his feet. “Start the list. I’ll order food.”
I still felt shaky, a little resistant, but more optimistic than I had been a few minutes ago. Giving up control wouldn’t be easy, but if I could let go, even a little, I might make it through the coming days without losing my mind entirely.
“Vaden?”
He stopped near the desk, his hand hovering over the room phone, and looked over his shoulder. “Yeah?”
