Page 24 of Dr. Stone
Jim tilted his head toward the cabana. “You think she’s upset she’s with Titus? Because from where I’m sitting, he’s already got his arm around her and she’s laughing like she’s loving it. Keep fighting whatever the hell’s going on inside you, and you’re going to watch him walk off with her.”
Sebastian leaned in. “He’s not wrong. In all the years we’ve known him, we’ve seen Titus go after women before. You know damn well if you wait too long, she won’t be looking your way anymore.”
Jake smirked. “And we all know Titus plays to win.”
I let out a slow breath. “I don’t know what the fuck I’m fighting when it comes to that woman. Seeing her with Titus just makes it worse.”
Jake’s grin widened like this was the moment he’d been waiting for. “Now that you’re finally being honest with us—and yourself—I’ll tell you what you’re going to do. You’re going to follow your heart and get that lady into your arms and out of Titus’s.”
“Last time anyone followed their hearts?—”
“They ended up happily ever after, like all of us chumps,” Collin cut me off. “Well, all except Sebastian, who can’t seem to set a fucking wedding date. Regardless, it’s worth the hell you’ll walk through if you’re up for the challenge.”
Like I had a choice. Somehow, I’d ended up in this mess without even realizing it—wanting more from her while burying my feelings for over a month. Jake had probably dragged me up here just to see Andie with Titus, knowing I’d been an absolute dick to him and anyone else who asked about her. Sneaky bastard. It’s why we all loved him… and sometimes hated him.
Perfect. My dormant emotions decided to come out and play tonight—twenty-four hours before my parents’ fiftieth wedding anniversary, which would be a master class in why I’d spent my entire life shying away from commitment.
TWELVE
Jace
The sun was settingover Montecito, casting everything in a soft, golden light that made my parents’ estate look like a painting. White roses lined the terraced gardens, a string quartet played something elegant under a canopy of wisteria, and crystal glasses never sat empty for long. It was precisely the kind of celebration my parents would throw—quietly extravagant, flawlessly executed, and dripping in old money tradition. In other words, whispering their wealth, not boldly proclaiming it.
I stood near the edge of it all, a glass of whiskey in hand, taking in one hell of a scene. While I stood in conversation with Sebastian Aster, his fiancée, Darcy, and the Mitchell brothers and their wives, my gaze drifted across a sea of tailored suits and couture gowns.
It was a damn fine night to be single, especially while surrounded by stunning women gathered to honor my parents, Everett and Victoria Stone—the kind of power couple who sparkled in old-money circles. If only they knew the truth behindthose mansion doors. I smiled into my whiskey, certain most of these “happy” couples were just as miserable.
“Penny for your thoughts, Stone?” Jim questioned, the one man in the group who could always tell when one of us was drifting off into la-la land like I was.
“Meh,” I shrugged, uninterested in sharing how my parents were a fucking sham, yet we were all dressed to celebrate our envy over theirtrue love.I smiled at Jim, “Trust me, my thoughts aren’t worth the penny you’re offering me to share them.”
“From the looks of it,” Sebastian said, bringing my attention to him, “you are feeling how I felt at my parents’ fiftieth wedding celebration.”
I chuckled after Seb offered a knowing grin before taking another sip of his drink.
“That it’s all a façade, a beautiful illusion masking the truth about how those two have loved money more than each other for fifty years.”
He raised his glass. “Precisely. And if my late wife, God rest her soul, were still here,” his face grew somber as his eyes roamed the crowd of elegance, “this would’ve been my future, too.”
I watched Sebastian’s gaze soften as it settled back on the woman who’d stolen his heart over a year ago. It still threw me every time—seeing that kind of tenderness from the man I’d known all my life. The eldest Aster son, his father’s namesake, he’d been born to shoulder the weight of a family empire when his father could no longer.
Sebastian had always been a ruthless bastard, and then he married Melissa—a cold, calculating match in every way. Before she passed, they were set to become the next-generation power couple of our elitist world. After Melissa, he met Darcy, andeverything changed. She hadn’t erased his edge—he was still kind of a dick—but she’d sanded it down, made him… human.
“Do you ever—” I caught myself and shook my head. “Forget it. Another time.” I took a slow sip of whiskey, hiding the question I’d nearly let slip.
Why the hell would I ask if he’d ever second-guessed marrying someone who didn’t come from this world, especially with her standing right there?
Still, I couldn’t help wondering. Sebastian was so rooted in our upbringing that I’d never imagined he’d cross the invisible line we’d all been raised to obey.
We came from the same world, but we’d lived it differently—especially in how much control we gave our parents. My father had spent years grooming me to be the perfect heir, ready to take over the family business. That was never going to happen. I’d sell it off in a heartbeat before letting him write my story. My life was medicine. Without it, I’d be dead inside.
Sebastian’s voice broke into my thoughts, dry with humor. “Do I wonder what life would be like if I picked my next wife from that crowd of lovely young women?”
“Yeah, although I completely understand why you didn’t,” I offered Darcy a playful wink.
“Ha,” Darcy said, somewhat bashful with the attention on her. “I don’t think either of our hearts would’ve allowed things to be any other way.” She smiled vibrantly at me, “Trust me, we triedpretty hardto reject each other, but it only resulted in wasted time and misery.”
“Well, I stand corrected in my quiet assumptions about love, then,” I said. “I guess there is such a thing; however, in my case, I’m just unwilling to take the chance and end up with the wrong one.”
