Page 64 of Mr. Aster
“Yes, darling, everyone knows what a gold-digger you are,” he chuckled.
Fortunately, I knew Spence and Nat will enough to know that Spencer’s statement wasn’t true; however, in their circles, it wasknownthat Nat had married Spencer for his money. After all, he came from old money like my family, and she was just a real estate agent from California. It didn’t matter that she dealt in luxury properties for the rich and famous and that she was a self-made multi-millionaire because of it. To them, she was the help.
Spencer had notoriously turned down many invitations to important galas and events—ones that some people waited alifetime to receive and ones that no one dared to refuse—strictly because the committee members didn’t pay his wife the respect she deserved. It was tantamount to social suicide for the average upstart, but when you had old money like Spencer Monroe, people turned a blind eye to keep the status quo.
Spencer and Natalia made a statement by being the black sheep of upper-class society, and I admired them for it.
“You know that’s the only reason I married you,” she answered him, then looked at Darcy. “Seriously, honey, don’t pay any attention to it. In fact, given your line of work, I would think you knew better?”
“Yeah, you’d think,” Darcy said while I ordered a round of margaritas for the table. “It just caught me off guard. I just worry naturally because even when I publish my articles, I try to be kind about the people I’m writing about.”
“Let me give you some advice,” Natalia said, taking a sip of the margarita she’d been drinking when we arrived. “You will be eaten like a guppy fish if you want to play kind in this evil and opinionated world, especially if you’re dating this one,” she said, pointing at me. “So, do not think that because you do nice things for people, they will do nice things in return. Karma loves to take a bite out of everyone’s ass, but sometimes that process is too slow. Sometimes, you must stay ahead of what karma takes too long to set straight.”
“That’s one way of looking at it,” Darcy smiled.
It was nice to see Darcy loosen up, but everyone around Natalia Monroe was always loose. The woman had a charisma that instantly drew people in, and I was glad she was here.
I felt extremely protective of Darcy, and I was beginning to realize that protectiveness had started even before the social media videos. It started with me planning this trip to keep Darcy away from my parents. I thought it would end there and this would just be a fun getaway, but it only seemed to build. I didn’twant to see her get hurt at all, and the more I thought about the comments she’d mentioned, the angrier I became that they were made.
She was a good person; her family was kind and warm…and I had to wonder what was getting into me these days because this was the first time I’d genuinely felt this way. All I knew was that I liked this version of myself and didn’t want to lose these feelings.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Darcy
“So, when are you going to come clean and tell me the truth about you and Sebastian?” Natalia questioned.
The men had stayed back at the bar to talk business since Spencer was Jim Mitchell’s VP, and there was no better place to catch up on business than while you’re on vacation in Mexico.
“Hm?” I answered, enjoying my slight buzz from all the margaritas at dinner.
“You know what I’m talking about,” Nat shifted in the beach lounge chair she’d taken next to me as we watched the full moon lending its light to create a gorgeous sparkle on the ocean.
“Well, truth is, I never imagined I’d date the guy, much less be engaged to him. So, there’s that,” I answered her.
“Well, I agree there,” she returned with a laugh. “I never imagined it, either. In fact, I never imagined him wanting anything to do with anybody out here on the West Coast, especially a womanbeneath his status,” she teased.
I couldn’t fault Natalia for asking the questions I knew everyone was wondering. I’d been expecting the barrage of inquiries since I agreed to the trip. Hell, the fact that Avery and I hadn’t even had a minute to discuss this outside of Sebastian’s presence was probably why Nat was asking.
“Did Avery send you with a list of questions?” I thought I’d just come out and ask. “She and I didn’t have time to talk about it before I went viral on a plane to Mexico.”
She chuckled, “No, I haven’t talked to her too much since the yacht. That little cookie is one busy mama. Parenting is no joke, let me tell you. Between parenting and constantly being on the go with work, I told my husband that if he rejected Sebastian’s invitation for a free trip to Mexico, I would reject him for the freebies he gets every night from the marital bed if you know what I mean?”
I grinned, seeing her daring expression as she hinted about their sex life.
“I had no idea that Sebastian paid for everyone’s trip.”
“No?” she questioned, but I could tell she was fishing for information.
“Nope,” I said, acting like there was nothing wrong about not knowing that Sebastian would be so obvious and desperate to fly everyone down here just to avoid being auctioned off. God, that man had more money than brains.
“Well, that’s definitely why I could believe you both were engaged if it were true.”
“What?” I questioned her with a laugh. “Why wouldn’t you believe it were true?”
“Because, honey, I know the look of a man who hasn’t been laid andneedsto be laid. And I can tell you that Sebastian Aster hasn’t been laid in two yearsminimum.”
“Two years?” I laughed. “Well, his wife has only been gone for a year, not two.”
