king grocery shopping a battle I’d rather not face with him.
He blames my stubborn English background for always complaining about how hot it is in LA, and although it’s winter, I crank up the air conditioning when he argues it is freezing cold.
Our ‘Netflix and Chill’ nights have become just Chill nights. Noah only agrees to watch my movies because he knows it always leads to sex in the first ten minutes when he gets bored. By the time we’re done, we’ve lost half the movie, and I have to rewind and start all over again, much to his displeasure.
Even though we officially live together, our schedules are chaotic. We both have demanding roles, with his requiring a bit more travel. In the past week alone, he’s flown to Phoenix and Seattle. Even at the office, our roles vary, so we barely see each other unless a meeting calls for the entire management team.
It works in our favor that each of us understands our work commitments. I never once complain about his attention to being elsewhere, knowing all too well the demands and responsibilities of both our roles.
My position has been a challenge for me and a vast difference from my role in France. The biggest hurdle, once again, is adjusting to American culture. Thankfully, Emile flew over a month ago and became my saving grace. Much like Lex and I, Emile has become part of the well-oiled machine we run. Despite her being French and new to the States, she knows how to perform as a personal assistant, which is all that matters.
And, of course, to add to the stress of work and doing our best to create a balance, we have the kids to think about.
Jessa is easy. You can play anything with her, and time will just pass. Nash, on the other hand, needs constant attention. In my wildest dreams, I never envisioned my life with children. It’s a lot to handle, but thankfully, Noah is an amazing father and takes the stress off me. He makes it look easy and never admonishes me for asking a thousand questions I have on how to take care of them.
When they stay with us, I’ll be completely exhausted by the end of the night, barely able to make it to bed with my eyes open. Not even Noah can tire me out with his insatiable sex drive, and that’s saying a lot.
Most of the house is now furnished, including the kids’ rooms. Jessa and I had a day out to pick all her things. She loves unicorns, so we make it a unicorn-themed room with a giant rainbow mural on her wall. As for Nash, since Noah loves basketball, we made it sports themed. I’ll admit, furnishing those two rooms were my favorite part of all of this.
We even set up our guest room for Michael on the rare occasion he stays, but over the last year, according to Noah, he’s spent a lot of time with his biological mother, who lives in San Diego.
Today marks our first official Christmas Eve.
I’ve rushed around town all day, trying to finish present shopping. The stores are chaotic, last-minute shoppers like me with zero courtesy for anyone else. I hate to admit it, but the feisty Brit in me came out on several occasions.
The house is decorated, the large tree is in the corner with all the presents neatly piled underneath, and garland is wrapped around our large staircase. Before the guests arrive, I take a moment to take it all in. Our home is beautiful, and I can’t be prouder.
Adriana is the first to arrive with Julian and the kids. She stays in the kitchen with me as we chat while preparing the food. I’ve never cooked to this level and enlisted everyone’s help because I feel out of my element.
When it comes to discussing my relationship with Noah, Adriana has been my go-to, given that Charlie doesn’t want to hear about her cousin ravaging me in bed.
“I just thought, you know, after a few months, he’d tire out, but here we are.”
“Uh-huh, tell me more?” Adriana grins with a glass of wine in her hand.
“He’s insatiable. I mean, I know we have busy schedules, and he’s had to travel, and so have I, but when we’re together…”
“Oh, really? Go on…” she urges, eyes wide with curiosity.
“I thought working together would be hard. That we couldn’t separate our personal life from work, but we actually don’t see each other too much. We’re either off-site or in meetings, but then we see each other in the elevator and…”
“And?”
“I have no words.”
“Of course, you have words!”
I chuckle softly beside her while chopping carrots. “Hey, you have yourself a gorgeous man. Surely, you don’t have to live vicariously through me?”
“Yes, I have a beautiful husband, but we also have the two biggest cockblockers known to man.”
“Charlie warned me about this.”
“Don’t even start with Charlie and my brother. Those two are like rabbits. But you guys have the best of both worlds, one week to yourselves and one week with the kids. Isn’t that perfect?”
“It suits everyone. Olivia took a job at Burbank Airport, so her hours are stable. Noah’s mom, Naomi, watches Nash two days a week, and the other three he’s in daycare. Depending on the days, Noah and I take turns picking him up.”
“And Jessa?”