Page 44 of Mr. Aster
“Do you know that she fled the country to evade taxes?” Avery said. “The feds caught up with her, though. Can you imagine? What a life.”
“I think I recall hearing something about this,” Sebastian said, looking at Jim with concern. “So, there was nothing between you and the woman?”
Jim’s expression darkened, and then he looked at me and smiled, “God, no, but if it weren’t for my wife and your little devil, it could’ve been much worse.”
Sebastian looked at me in question, “What did you do?”
His mask and fakeness had dropped, and he was asking me a question with sincerity.
“She saved his ass,” Avery said. “Well, Jim wasn’t losing a dime over the woman, but after Darcy sat down with him and hung out with us, she wrote the most beautiful and glowing article about who Jim really is. She’s the only one Jim has allowed to write anything personal about him,” she smiled at me, “and you didwell on that. I still am shocked that you’re not out on your own and writing for a more reputable company insteadof working for Juniper,” Avery said, rolling her eyes. “You know I can’t stand your slimy boss.”
Sebastian reached down and gently grabbed my leg, but his touch caused me to jump instead of being cute and gazing into each other’s eyes like we did moments ago.
“Look at that,” Sebastian said with a flirty grin, another expression I’d never seen. “I’m not the only one who doesn’t want that creep getting any money for my life story.”
“Wait,” Jim said, looking at Sebastian, “you’re having her write about your personal life?” he chuckled and sat back, his left hand casually propped up on the back of Avery’s chair. “This isfucking new.”
“Well, it’s not because I want her to,” he said, looking at me. “Don’t take that as an insult, sweetheart,” then he looked at Jim, “but I had to pick the lesser of two evils when I found out my lady had decided to auction me off for money for the winery. I opted for the interview instead of a high-risk date, and after hearing about what happened between you and that woman, I think you can easily understand why I’m not going on a date to the highest bidder.”
“The more money they have to spend on nonsense, the crazier they are,” Jim chuckled.
“And I’d rather deal with Juniper and my beautiful girl than take a risk on an auction date.”
“I can’t believe your father went for this,” Jim laughed. “I knew you’d try to find a way out of it, but I’m more shocked that your father wanted to do this than I am to learn you’re dating Darcy.” He looked at me, “No offense, of course.”
“None taken. Trust me, I never thought it would happen, either. I imagined him standing up there and being auctioned off, breaking records for the highest sum of money any woman dared to spend on a man.”
“The fact that this vixen,” Sebastian looked at me in fake adoration, “even had a vision about me being auctioned off for a date is more than likely why I had to come clean and let everyone know she and I were dating.”
He challenged me with an arch of his eyebrow, and because of the friendly dining atmosphere and getting tiny glimpses of a different side of Sebastian, I may have found him attractive for a quarter of a second.
“Well, it’s kind of a bummer,” Avery said. “I was hoping to meet both of you in the same room after Darcy spoke like you were the worst man she’d ever known,” Avery laughed, referencing my drunken rants about the arrogant Sebastian Aster. “You were pretty brutal.”
Sebastian looked at me with humor and curiosity in his eyes, “Oh, so you went out of your way to make me appear the worst asshole on the planet, did you?”
I shrugged while Jim eyed us in question. “What else was I supposed to do? I was surrounded by everyone asking what I thought about you. I wasn’t going to give us away and risk your dad losing his shit on you for dating me. So, that’s where the whole idea to put your handsome ass up on that auction block came from. Two birds, one stone. You make the business all the money you were spending, and no one thinks we’re in love.”
“It’s why I fell in love with you,” he smirked. “Always so damn spontaneous and creative.”
“I know,” I smiled in return.
“Seriously, though,” Jim interrupted Sebastian and me as we sat in a silent yet playful stare-off. “What made your dad go for the idea of you getting auctioned off like that? He is certainly not a man who puts his kids in a circus for money.”
I watched Sebastian, wanting the answer myself, and his face grew somber. “I think he was just worried about me,” he said sincerely. “Since Melissa died and left me a widower with ababy daughter, who Istillhave no clue how to raise or be there for, I’ve admittedly been pretty checked out on everyone and everything.”
I sat in shock as Sebastian vocalized his darkness in a way that sounded more like a confession than an excuse.
“I know we’ve already expressed our deepest condolences for your late wife, but truly, I can’t imagine what you went through when you lost her,” Jim said with a tone that resonated with Sebastian, keeping the man’s reaction tame instead of turning dark as it had every time I’d talked to him about it. “I find it very understandable that you would find yourself in a very dark place after such a profound loss. We only met on a handful of occasions, but she was a lovely woman.”
“I appreciate that,” Sebastian answered.
For a man whodidn’t needanyone’ssympathiesfor his wife’s passing and his sad situation, he was open to Jim’s. I wondered if that’s what the poor, grumpy, and miserable man needed all along, someone who didn’t set him off when they mentioned his wife. It was apparent Sebastian was stuck in the anger stage of grieving, and whether anyone had offered him help with his grief, he hadn’t gotten it yet. Or maybe up until now, he didn’t want it.
Jim was a good man, and I could see that he and Sebastian, being close in age and like-minded businessmen, were forming an unexpected bond. It was neat to see, and I found myself sitting there, happy that we’d come to dinner with Jim and Avery. For the first time since I’d met Sebastian Aster, I watched him show some politeness and decency.
It was a good look on him, but who knew how long it would last.
Chapter Eighteen
