“I thought we didn’t talk about sex stuff.” I had no problem showing him. It didn’t embarrass me or anything. He was the one who’d set up boundaries of what we could and couldn’t talk about.
Without answering my very valid point, he took the bag again, spilling out the contents on the cushion between us.
He picked up the package with the bondage straps in it first, tearing into the wrapping without asking, and carefully examined the picture on the box: a woman restrained happily on her bed.
“You want this?” There was a thickness to his question that made my spine go straight.
“I might. I told you I wanted to try it. Claire—do you know her?”
He tipped his chin. “Yeah, I know Claire.”
I wasn’t surprised. Adam knew everyone. He was as much of a social butterfly as I was.
“She told me all about them. It’s something I want to try, so I bought them.”
My phone vibrated on the coffee table before I could gauge Adam’s reaction. My dad was calling, and since his calls were normally brief and to the point, I picked up.
“Hello,” I answered.
“Adelaide,” he gruffed. “Are you dating Adam Wainwright?”
“No, I’m not.”
He rumbled through the phone. “Then why are there pictures of the two of you running together in my inbox?”
“Why are there pictures of me in your inbox?”
“You know I have contacts in the media.”
I did know that. If pictures were going to be printed of either of us, Dad had a source who normally dropped him a warning and a chance to pay him off to keep the pictures from seeing the light of day.
I sucked in a breath. “Adam’s my neighbor, Dad. We’re friendly.”
Adam mouthed, “Friendly,” back at me. Yes, I was downplaying our relationship to my dad. Yes, it was an asshole thing to do. No, I wasn’t going to stop.
“You’re not dating him.” Not a question.
“No. We’re not dating. Friendly. Sometimes we run together. You should be happy about that. I know you hate when I run by myself in the park.”
I could practically hear him bristling. This had been a bone of contention between us for years. He couldn’t exactly argue with me.
“He’s not someone you should be spending time with, Adelaide.”
My sigh was heavy. Arguing with my dad was senseless. When he decided something, he didn’t change his mind. It seemed he’d decided against Adam, which probably had more to do with his last wife being a big fan of Adam’s band and less with Adam’s character.
I turned to the window so I didn’t have to see Adam’s reaction to what I said next. “I disagree, Dad. Anyway, we’re just running buddies. It’s not that big of a deal.”
Adam launched a bottle of lube that landed right in front of me. Yeah, he didn’t like that.
“I don’t think I have to tell you what men like Wainwright want. I know you’re not that naive. A relationship with him will only drag you down. I won’t stand by and watch that happen.”
The hair on the back of my neck stood on end. My father didn’t toss words out for shits and giggles. If he said something, he meant it. Since he adored me most of the time, I already knew I wouldn’t be the one bearing the brunt of his displeasure should it come to that.
“I’m wary of a friendship between the two of you,” he added.
“You don’t need to be wary.”
“I am. If he’s such a good friend to you, he wouldn’t allow you to be photographed.”