Page 47 of Mr. Aster
“Another reminder of why there is no significant other in your life,” I chuckled, turning onto the winery’s driveway.
“Very funny, wise guy,” she answered as I parked the car and reached for her hand before she got out.
“I meant what I said. I had a good time tonight. I haven’t felt so light in a very long time,” I said earnestly, hoping she could sense that I’d enjoyed her company.
“Me too,” she kindly remarked. “Maybe this whole fake relationship thing might prove that you and I could be friends one day.”
“Why don’t you join me for a drink by the pool?” I honestly didn’t want this feeling to end.
She frowned. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she answered.
“Nothing more than a drink. Trust me, I do not plan to take advantage of this situation. Jim already vocalized his concern about you getting hurt by me.”
“What?” she said, rightfully confused. “What made him say that?”
I smiled, “He’s protective of you and untrusting of me and my family, of course.”
“Well, the Asters are known for being assholes,” she smiled.
“This is true,” I confirmed. “However, I know I can’t hurt you because neither of us have feelings for each other that way.”
“We are from two separate worlds,” she confirmed that truth.
“Absolutely, and so long as we are both aware of that, I see nothing wrong with you and me continuing to have a decent evening as friends.”
She pursed her lips in concentration, “Friends?”
“Just friends.”
“That’s what makes it dangerous,” she arched an eyebrow at me. “We start as friends, then God only knows where it goes. I’ll join youonlyas your partner in crime because that’s theonlyreason we went out to dinner tonight and managed to somehow speak nicely to each other this entire ride home.”
I softly laughed in response, “Well, having drinks at the pool can help with more ideas for our role-playing.”
“Look at you. You really want company tonight.”
“I actually do,” I admitted. “I know I don’t talk about my late wife a lot, and I tend to shut down when memories or reminders of losing her come to me. However, I didn’t realize how lonely my life had become before tonight. Tonight brought out the side of me that feels alive again, and I guess I’m not quite ready to go back into the dark hole where I’ve been living.”
“All right. I’ll join you,” she smiled at me. “The last thing I want is for you to beg to sleep in bed with me because you notice all the demons that follow you around everywhere are coming out at night when you’re alone in your dark room.”
“Well, now that you brought it up, I might need to share your room like your father suggested.”
“Fucking hell. I forgot about that. Listen, maybe you can talk your parents into staying at a nice hotel?”
“I’ll think about it…over drinks tonight.”
She was right about one thing: I didn’t want to be alone with my demons or my thoughts. I loved this bright, much lighter feeling I was experiencing. It was like a breath of fresh air. And, since things between Darcy and me would amount to nothing more than a good friendship between two people from two very different classes in society, what was the harm?
Chapter Nineteen
Darcy
Itook Sebastian up on his offer, mainly because we were getting along. If I were ever going to write an article about him, I would have to ease into wanting to be around him.
If I hated the guy and his presence, my article would suck no matter what inside info he gave me out of thisdealwe found ourselves stuck in. Since I didn’t want to lose out on the exposé of the century, I’d eventually need to spend time with him anyway. So, it might as well be after a lovely evening while he was still in an agreeable mood. A few glasses of tequila wouldn’t hurt, either.
“So, tell me why you got into writing,” he said after we found a comfortable area by the pool and took a few sips of hisfancy tequila in silence.
I smiled at him, still enjoying the warmer side of the cold man I’d come to know, “Simple, I love writing, and I love studying people.”
