Page 94 of Mr. Aster
Although I was very sad that he was stuck in his grief, I could tell that, underneath all that cold rigidness, he was a caring man. Amazingly, there was a heart and soul behind the soulless man I came to meet when he arrived at the vineyard.
“I don’t want to end things,” he said. “I want to see where this can go.”
“Before or after your parents murder you?”
“My parents have no say in who I date. I know it seems that way, but they don’t. I am very aware that my parents depend on me more than I depend on them.”
“And if you’re wrong?”
“I’m never wrong.” His serious expression faded into humor, “Well, perhaps I was wrong in my judgment of my wife’s final phone call, but other than that, I am always right. And even if I am wrong, you’ve brought me back to life, and that means more to me than all the money my family name could ever yield.”
“You’re being dead serious?” I questioned, recalling the conversation with Nat and her insistence that I be open if he broached this topic.
“I would never joke about this. As I told you, I willnothurt you,” he said with a smile.
“And so?” I didn’t even know where to take this anymore.
“And so, when this is all over, what do you think about seeing where things can gotruthfullybetween us? No lies, no fake dating, just you and me.”
“And your daughter?” I had to bring her into this because I needed to see if his endorphins were on some insane high, and he wasn’t thinking. I would be a fool to mindlessly fall for this without talking about the most important factor.
“If you want to meet Charlotte, I will arrange for her to be flown to the estate. She is still young, only two years old. She’s not impressed with much at this age, so I assure you, she will only hurt your feelings if you expect her to be overly affectionate.”
“Well, I’d say she gets that from you, but I’ve come to find that’s not true.”
He chuckled, then reached for my hand, “She has her mother’s personality, so she’s not easily impressed. I love her with all my heart, but I’ve been so detached from my family since she was born. I’ve always put work first, and when her mother died, I became a shell of myself. As a result of my inaction, she isn’t very close to me, and I’d like that to change.”
“Well, that should change quickly,” I said. “Your little girl should have a dad who’s one hundred percent present in her life.”
“I understand that, but that comes with time,” he said. “I can have her flown out to?—”
“Why don’t we take baby steps? I still need to meet your parents, and I’m not sure that will go over well.”
“Are you afraid they won’t approve?” he laughed.
“No, I’m afraid thatIwon’t approve, and you won’t be worth the trouble,” I said with a laugh and standing up. “Let’s get back to the villa. Your handsome ass wore me out last night, and I’ve hardly slept, so we’re having conversations we shouldn’t be having because of sleep deprivation.”
He rose and enveloped me in his arms, pulling me tightly to his chest. He kissed the top of my forehead, and then I felt him resting his chin on my head.
“I don’t plan on sleeping when we get back to that villa,” he said with a bit of an edge to his voice that instantly made my sexual appetite buzz in response.
“No?”
“I plan on taking you further over the edge. Last night was me just getting back into the groove of things,” he said, pulling back and smiling down into my eyes.
“Well, let’s see what you’ve got then, cowboy.”
I’d officially taken a leap of faith with this man, and I didn’t know if that was good or bad. I was in a free fall off the side of a cliff, dropping down and feeling my stomach in my throat, hoping that when I landed, I wouldn’t shatter into a million pieces.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Sebastian
The trip to Mexico was more than I’d anticipated. And because it all seemed to be on track with me not having to go up on the auction block, with the bonus of enjoying Darcy in my life, I honestly couldn’t be happier. I felt more alive than I had felt in a very long time.
Casting away all pretenses, I don’t think I’deverfelt this way, even when Melissa was still alive. It was easy to see now why Mark walked out on his wedding day and why my youngest brother, John, walked away from our entire family structure and heritage after graduating high school to pursue his own life.
What a liberating feeling to be organically happy.
