Chapter 13

The next week went by smoothly. Adam called Eve every night while he was in LA. Sometimes leading to some pretty heavy sexual conversations. Something she really wasn't yet comfortable with but chalked it up to it being a typical guy move. She wasn't sure how she felt about him yet and didn't want to rush into anything. She knew she liked him, but had been hurt before. Not to mention, Greg's warnings keep ringing in her ears. All she could think was that maybe Adam was too good to be true.

The day of the fireworks, Eve was fixing some side dishes of food to go with the cookout on the yacht. Drew had asked her to help do the party planning. They had spent a few evenings together planning the yacht party, and to Eve's surprise, Drew was not as much of a jerk as she had previously thought. He was actually quite charming and funny when he was being his true self, and not working overtime to try to impress people.

Eve's doorbell rang as she was preparing some pasta salad. She wiped her hands clean and answered the door.

"Ms. Callaway. I have a package for you. Please sign here." The delivery guy handed her the package.

"That's odd. I didn't order anything. Uh… thanks?"

She took the box and headed to the couch, curious as to what was inside. Greg, who was rummaging through the refrigerator, came over, eating one of the hors devours she had made.

"Stop eating all the food. We are leaving in an hour. You're not going to starve to death, Stapleton."

"Then you shouldn't have asked me to come over and help. I require a snack for my efforts." Greg popped the crab puff in his mouth, teasing her.

"Efforts? You pretty much watched me cook and ate all morning." Eve laughed, opening her package.

"Whoa! Is that a new camera lens?" Greg's eyes widened. "How did you get that? I thought you couldn't afford to get a new one? Ohhh… that's right. You have a sugar daddy now."

Eve frowned at him. "He's not my sugar daddy. Are you sure you didn't buy this?"

Greg pulled out a couple of lenses rummaging through the contents. "An eight thousand dollar Canon lens? No way. I love you, bestie, but this is a pretty big gift. Look. There are a few more too."

Eve looked over the receipt in the box in stunned awe. "I can't accept this. It's too much. I have to call Adam and get to the bottom of this." She got up to head to her room, bringing the box and its contents with her.

After a few rings, Adam picked up. "Hey, babe. Ready for the party? I got home early and I'm helping Drew get the boat ready. We will pull the boat up at the dock near your condo to pick you up. You'll have to ride the dingy boat over to the yacht. The river looks calm today, and the weather is perfect."

"Adam Weston! Did you order me new camera lenses?" Eve was not happy seeing the box of high end camera lenses on her bed.

"Yes. I hope you like them. I know how much your photography means to you. I wanted to help you replace the one you lost." Adam didn't seem affected by the cost in the least.

"There must be twenty thousand dollars' worth of lenses here! This is insane! I can't accept this. Take them back."

"Eve, please? Calm down. Let me do this for you. It's a gift. Let me pamper you. I just got a big deal in LA that came through. I wanted to do something nice for you."

Adam was surprised she didn't just take the expensive gift. Most people around him took his money or lavish gifts without even a moment's hesitation.

"I am not okay with this. You are not my sugar daddy. Just because we are dating doesn't mean I need you throwing money at me. Hell, we are not even officially a couple yet. I respect you, Adam. I don't need you buying me expensive gifts to win me over. I just need to get to know you. The real you. This is too much." Eve ran her fingers over the lenses, almost wishing she were one of those girls. Deep down, she knew she could never use someone for something so lavish. Even if they were the ones she always wanted but never could afford.

"Consider it an investment. I'll tell you what. How about a trade? I need some photography done to market my business. How about I set up a few sports locations to shoot at and you can help me out? Maybe we can organize a few athlete action shots, photos of my business office, and headshots for me and Drew. You can do the work and give me full rights to the images. I know commercial work is expensive. It will be a trade for your time. I have to hire someone to do it, anyway. We can set it up this week. Deal?" Adam smiled, feeling how nice it felt for someone to not use him for his money.

"All right, but I'm working for it. No exceptions. I have a commercial photographer friend. I'll get him to give me an idea on rates so I can work off the cost. I'll text him later so I can have a good idea to equal everything." Eve stood firm. She didn't want to be kept-woman by anyone. She wasn't a gold digger and would not start now.

"Except for the replacement lens of the one that was broken. That is a gift and I am not taking no for an answer. I know how upset you were that it got damaged. I hated seeing the hurt in your eyes. Let me do this for you."

"Adam.. I don't know?"

"Please, Eve. It would make me happy to see you happy."

"All right. Thank you for the thoughtful gift. I love them all. They are perfect and just what I needed for my photo projects. I will bring my camera today so we can get some good images of the party too. And… Adam…"

"Yes, sweetie?"

"Thank you." Eve smiled, holding the larger lens to her heart.

"My pleasure. See you at 4:00pm sharp. Talk to you later, beautiful." Adam hung up his phone and went to help his brother get the boat ready. He was on cloud nine knowing he met someone who finally liked him for who he was, not what he had.

Drew looked over, shaking his head with a hit of annoyance. "Told you she would freak out. Eve's not like your other hoes, brother. She's not a gold digger."

"Shut up, Drew. Just remember what I told you about tonight. No talking about Martin Ashford or the business. Understood?"

Drew laughed as he swept the floor of the boat deck. "Calm down. I know the deal."

Adam grabbed him by the shirt collar with a growl under his breath. "I mean it, asshole. Don't fuck this up for me! I need her to get in good with daddy dearest," Adam said with a snarl.

Drew was shaking. Eyes wide, he swallowed hard, backing away. His brother could be an intimidating creature when he got angry. Almost like meeting the devil himself.

"I'm sorry. All right. I get it."

"Good. Now get back to work." Greg pushed him away to prepare the boat for the party. Nothing was going to get in his way, not even his imbecile brother.