But what Valerie gave me wasn't a thank-you. It was a slap across the face.
I never saw it coming. My head snapped sideways, my body spinning half a turn, and the gown slipped from my hands onto the ground.
Valerie burst into tears instantly, her voice trembling with wounded innocence. "I told you, if you didn't want to bring it, you could've just said so. Why did you have to throw the dress on the ground?"
I've never been good at reading between the lines. I had no idea what she was playing at.
But Adam seemed to understand perfectly. He strode out of the hotel in seconds.
Valerie turned on him immediately. "Adam, is this what you meant when you said she'd behave? That she wouldn't give me trouble?"
Adam glanced at the gown crumpled on the ground, and just like that, he'd made up his mind.
Another slap landed on my face. "I've spoiled you rotten, haven't I? Apologize to Valerie. Now."
I laughed. The kind of laugh that comes when fury burns past its own limit. "Adam, do you even hear yourself? Did you bother to ask where the handprint on my left cheek came from?"