Page 43 of Mr. Aster
I knew the questions were all coming, but right now, I was just smiling and acting overly interested in Sebastian—an act that should’ve won me an Academy Award.
Thank God this man looked fine as fuck in his bespoke suit, with his sharp-as-a-razor jawline, freshly shaven skin, and perfectly polished features from head to toe because it helped ease the headache of frustration threatening to ruin my night.Instead of being annoyed with his smooth, deep, commanding voice, I found it soothing. Seriously. I had no idea why, but perhaps I had a nervous breakdown in the car on the way over, or the insanely expensive wine that’d been paired with each course we were being served was going to my head.
“I am impressed with the efforts of the marketing team,” Jim said, relaxing back in his chair as his and Sebastian’s conversation began winding down to more casual talk.
“Truly,” Sebastian answered. “To have this particular team on board, going full force until things turn completely around, is the effort I wanted when I put them in place.”
“And you,” Jim brought his attention to me. “How did you manage to pull this one over on me?” He grinned, glanced at Avery’s excited smile, then eyed me, “No one lies to me and gets away with it.”
Avery laughed and nudged him in the ribs at his reference to the time he fired her for thinking she’d lied to him before they were married.
I chuckled, appreciating our relaxed dining vibe. Oddly enough, even with Sebastian here, we were forming some cool bond, like old friends who’d known each other since childhood.
“Very cute,” I answered him. “I’d hate to think what you’d do to me for lying to you after Avery told me you fired her over a lie when she wasyour girlfriend.”
“I’d love to say that was the biggest mistake I ever made,” his eyes roamed back to Avery lovingly, then to me and Sebastian. “Of course, if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have cleaned up my mess of a personal life, which resulted in me truly appreciating that this woman had been delivered to me by the angels.”
“Oh, please,” Avery rolled her eyes and sipped her wine. “Don’t listen to his bullshit; he just wants to get laid tonight. And speaking of angels bringing people into each other’s lives,” she eyed me, then brought her attention directly to Sebastian asif she might’ve been questioning whether to buyinto this whole relationship thing we were faking. “Is that how you feel about our sweet Darcy, Sebastian? I think she’s an angel and a half but doesSebastian Aster?” she said his name with the mystery it seemed the Aster family loved generating about themselves. “The man who seemed to have sworn off women for all eternity; have you suddenly found love?”
The way she questioned him was cute but protective, almost as if Avery wanted to ensure he had good intentions and wouldn’t hurt her friend.It even caused Sebastian to pause momentarily before resuming a look of adoration for me.
“This is true,” he answered. “And trust me, I’ll face the same questions when my parents arrive here on Monday.”
Avery nearly spit the wine she’d just sipped back into her glass, then looked at me. “Are you—” she paused because she knew what everyone knew about Margot Aster. The woman was lethal in protecting her family and status, and I was a major threat to their legacy ifSebastian—her firstborn son and principal heir to their centuries-old dynasty—was in a relationship with me. “Are you prepared for that?”
I chuckled and smiled sweetly at the man I couldn’t stand, “Oh, you know this handsome man of mine has prepared me for his family.” I squeezed his knee, trying to offer a soothing rub on his leg, and watched as his eyes widened with surprise.
I watched in amusement as a youthful and adorable expression crossed the man’s features, not because he was offended by my touch but because I’d squeezed him at a ticklish part of his knee. The formal smile he’d held all night slipped into a goofy grin as he began to wiggle involuntarily. It was a cute moment, probably one we both needed since this was the longest we’d gone without trying to bite each other’s heads off.
“Jesus Christ, you two are so damn cute,” Avery said while Sebastian pulled his eyes away from mine bashfully and shook his head as if to try to think straight again.
Shit, even I had to take a breath. I couldn’t believe how attractive he was when I saw aplayfulexpression on his face.
“I thought you two were pulling one over on us,” Jim added as Sebastian and I pulled ourselves together over the brief, candid moment neither of us saw coming. “I guess I was wrong. You two are really into each other.”
“I have no time for silly games,” Sebastian looked into my eyes, and I watched the fake side of him return. “We’re dating, but unlike you and Avery, there are times I think the devil sent her to me, not the angels.”
Jim and Avery laughed, and I stopped myself from snapping at him for his stupid remark. “You say that likeI’mthe one who deviously stole your heart,” I laughed, feigning that I adored him in some stupidly believable way.
“Well, didn’t you? It’s as though you gave me no other option. Truth be told,” he continued to stare fake-lovingly into my eyes, “I’m grateful for it.”
“Well, I guess the devil was looking out for you,” Jim said, shooting me a wink, “because you were supposed to be the grand prize at the bachelor auction.”
Jim and Sebastian laughed, making me marvel at how easily some men could forge friendships. The two men had been merely acquaintances before investing in the winery. Now, I watched as Sebastian turned into this lighthearted—dare I sayfun—kind of a guy as he and Jim began tojokewith each other as if they were long-standing friends. I wondered if it was all fake, but I knew Jim Mitchell was anything but fake. And since I’d gotten pretty good at seeing Sebastian be a phony while we were pretending to date, I could tell he wasn’t acting with Jim.It almost seemed like being around Jim was a breath of fresh air for Sebastian.
Jim was a firm businessman with a commanding presence but also a cool guy. It was as if that was bleeding over onto Sebastian, like the stiff bastard needed a positive light shining around him. It was strange to see because I hadn’t seen alighterside to Sebastian since he arrived at my home like an ominous thundercloud.
“Perhaps that’s why we’re in the relationship,” Sebastian teased Jim with the truth. “What the hell were you thinking to allow such an absurd idea, anyway?” he questioned Jim, his playful—yes,playful—eyes dancing in excitement when he looked at me. “Not to insult you, sweetheart, but your cute games can get a little too wild sometimes.”
“I’m not insulted at all,” I said, genuinely shocked yet weirdly happy about Sebastian’s current mood. “I just didn’t think you wanted anyone to find out about us, and I figured it was a perfect plan to keep our relationship hidden.”
As I felt my heart skip a bit, seeing this man lighter and happy for once and oddly finding him beyond attractive, I couldn’t help but wonder if I was watching a broken man who’d been in a very dark place suddenly seeing the light again. And though I knew that whatever it was that’d made him suddenly happy was something small, I could sense that his response was pretty big for him.
“And a perfect way to pimp out your guy,” Avery said with a laugh, then looked at me like I’d grown two heads. If I was honest with myself, I think I probably had, given the sudden change of heart I was feeling for Sebastian at the moment.Happy for him to be happy?“You and I met because of how the women in their circles can be; I’m shocked you’d throw yourhighlysought-after man up on the chopping block for one of them?”
“I wasn’t thinking,” I said, remembering when Avery and I had met at a gala. “Could you imagine someone like Haylee Foster bidding on him?”
I laughed, recalling the woman who tried to ruin Jim’s reputation after he acquired her small publishing press. She’d created a fake scandal after she developedintenseand psychotic feelings for him, which resulted in a restraining order after she showed up drunk at the gala. She confessed everything on a microphone to everyone in the room, saying she was madly in love with Jim and accusing Avery of stealing her soulmate from her before she’d had a chance to meet him. It was the most bizarre scene I’d ever witnessed, and it was how Avery and I met, so it was always funny to rehash.
