Page 50 of Mr. Aster
I stared at him with what I knew was a blank expression, “That’s what I assume. Then again, she had just delivered me, so I hope that she wasn’t smoking anything while going into labor.”
“Well,” he smiled in a way that made my heart flutter, leaving me nervous that I’d just had that reaction to him, “I’ve heard some women?—”
“Let’s just leave the name where I want it,” I said, stopping him from taking this conversation any further than it should’ve gone in the first place.
“Where’s that?”
“With the unwritten rule that’s been upheld for my whole life, which is thatno onecalls me that name.”
“Fine,” he held both his hands up. I could tell the booze had him nice and loosened up, too. “We leave the name in Thailand with the monkey you were named after.”
“Cute,” I said, feeling a bit more sober. “It’s bad enough I have the name, and it’s even worse hearing you say it like that.”
“That you are the namesake of an orphaned monkey?”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Okay, let’s change the subject,” I said, taking control of the conversation. “Let’s talk about you. We’ve only discussed the most embarrassing details of me. It’s your turn.”
“Okay, my turn,” he said, and I could almost see the wheels spinning behind his eyes. “Well, I’m not much of an open person, so there’s that. And also,” he held up a finger to stop me from responding to his chicken shit way out of this, “I’m not going to give you all my little secretsbeforeour agreement is handled and that auction is over.”
“Fine. So, we talked about my name. Where’d you get your name?” I asked, trying to come up with something to ask but feeling foggy because of the tequila.
“Well, it’s not as entertaining as your origin story,” he said, “but I think it speaks for itself since I was named after my father, who was named afterhisfather, who was named afterhisfather. You know how it works.”
I rolled my eyes. “Of course, I know that,” I said. “God, what must you think of me? You show up here and are completely put off by how my parents and I are, and I seal the deal on all of it by telling you I’m named after a monkey.”
“Well, if it helps, monkeys are cute, and I find you adorable, even when you’re infuriated with me,” he grinned in a way that made me smile bashfully in response.
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” I answered. “And you mentioned your daughter earlier—wait,” I stopped. “Don’t answer that. I’m sorry I brought her up. I understand that’s verypersonal, and you don’t need to talk about things like that by the girl named after a monkey.”
Unexpectedly, he stood up and walked over to where I sat. I rose, too, not knowing what to think about the gesture.
“It’s perfectly fine to ask about her, but I’m not in a place where I feel comfortable talking about her at this time.” His eyes seemed to stare intently into my soul, “Perhaps if you and I could do without the drinks and become friends, I could be more open about those personal things. I think it’s best to leave it at silly nonsense such as whoor whatwe were named after for now.”
I sucked in a breath, feeling the power radiating from the man being projected onto me. Sebastian and I had never been close without me wanting to throat-punch him, but this time, I felt a delicious energy wash through me as I absorbed how beautiful the man was when he wasn’t acting like a dick.
I didn’t bother to shove any feelings away because he would wake up tomorrow morning, the friendly spell he was under would be gone, and he’d be right back to irritate me.
Instead of being captivated by him through this sensation I was experiencing, I chose to appreciate the moment. It was nice to put our weapons down and see this youthful and vibrant side of the man.
“I’m heading to bed,” I said, smiling and breaking the trance I’d temporarily fallen under. “Hopefully, your mood will be as nice tomorrow as it was tonight.”
“I hope so, too,” he answered.
I glanced back at the man I’d left standing by the pool and staring after me as I walked away. He also seemed concerned that the kinder, lighter side of him would disappear with the final glances we stole from each other.
It’s too bad, too, because from what I could sense, he seemed to have quite a charming side. Maybe it was for the best. Icouldn’t imagine what would happen to my sanity if I actuallyfellfor this man. God forbid. No way, I was smarter than that.
I had a good, very happy life, and the last thing I needed was for it to bedestroyed by a man who came from another world. His world was a place I didn’t belong. He knew it, and I knew it, and that made Sebastian Aster the most dangerous man on the planet to me if I was foolish enough to fall for his charms.
So, I took my wish back of wanting him happy and friendly tomorrow. I would rather him be such a bastard that his good looks were utterly unattractive to me…just like things had been since the day we met.
Status quo.
Chapter Twenty
Sebastian
Ihad avoided returning my father’s calls that came in the day after Darcy went out of her way to notify him about our relationship. Part of me was waiting for the call that the old man was in the hospital on life support after suffering a stroke or massive heart attack after Darcy’s call, but no more calls came after that day. That meant my father and mother did what they always did when they didn’t approve of our choices or behaviors—they avoided us and offered the silent treatment.
