Page 48 of Acquiring Ainsley
I’d been to parties before—plenty of them. But it had been a long time since anyone wanted to throw a party for someone that I cared about, to say nothing about throwing one for me.
So, this was different.
Thirty minutes into the party, and the pavilion room was full. The bars on either end of the room had long lines, and staffers circled with trays of miniature quiches, bacon-wrapped dates, shrimp, and oysters. A photographer from thePalm Beach Daily News, one fromPalm Beach Illustrated, and another fromPalm Beach Socialcirculated the room, getting photos of the various couples in the room; a long line of party guests also waited to take their photo in front of Henry Flagler’s famed railroad car from the 1890s. In the corner of the room, a four-piece cover band from Miami performed a set of 1980s hits.
And in the center of it all stood my fiancée, holding court. She currently entertained Mitzy Reese, and I watched her throw back her head to laugh at one of the jokes Mitzy told. Ainsley wore a shocking red dress and black strappy heels—I’d never seen anything this gorgeous. And damn it, I was the luckiest bastard in the world because I was going to marry her.
First, though, I was going to take her home that night and make love to her at least twice. I knew that much. Women in dresses like that, with bodies like hers, deserved to be pleasured endlessly.
I was just the man to do it.
“She looks great, doesn’t she?” Ashton said as he snatched a glass of champagne from a server passing by us with a tray full of them. “My sister always delivers.”
“She does.” I tossed him a reassuring smile. “And I’m glad she convinced you to give this all a second chance. I want to be with her. This is genuine.”
He eyed me. “I still have my reservations.”
“I know.” I gulped back some of the guilt that always seemed to circle me whenever the topic of Olivia came up in conversation. “And from what you read, you have every reason to be suspicious. I would be, too.” I glance in Ainsley’s direction and saw her engrossed in conversation with Mitzy Reese. Her curls bobbed back and forth. “I’m not going to hurt your sister. I promise.”
When my gaze met Ashton’s again, I couldn’t read his stony expression.
“We might have been rivals,” I added, “but when I really stop and think about it, when I really consider how this all played out, this whole chain of events makes sense. It’s poetry. It’s what our fathers would have wanted. Mine died ten years ago. Yours followed eight years later. And now, the city will be ours. Together. We don’t have to fight over it. We can dominate it.”
“Just as long as you don’t dominate her.”
I laughed. “I never could. You know your sister.”
“I do.” Ashton sighed. “And given the fact that you gave me a copy of the file on Olivia, then I’m willing to do this—if it makes her happy. Besides, it doesn’t seem like the merger is going to take much longer. Soon, you’ll have control.” He rubbed his forehead. “Of all this. Just what you wanted. Your official entry into high society.”
Another server moved past us with a selection of miniature shrimp on skewers. I took one off the tray and bit into it. It tasted juicy, plump, and expensive. “Thank you. It’s all going so well.”
And it was. Too well.
I should have known better than to think that it would stay that way.
Ashton had just stepped away from me on the way to the bar when it happened. Over the rim of my glass, I saw the one thing that would change the night forever—Oliva van Hewitt swept into the party.
Seeing her there was like seeing the iceberg ahead of theTitanicand being helpless to do anything about it.
She had on a black dress and a long, green necklace. I almost choked on my drink when I saw her, and panic pulsed through me. Keeping my attention fixed on her, I dropped my glass off on a nearby table, then walked toward my ex-girlfriend.
“What are you doing here?”
“It’s the season,” she said, her mouth smeared with red lipstick. “Everyonecomes down to Palm Beach during season.” She shivered. “No one wants to stay in New York if they can avoid it. You know that better than anyone, sweetie.”
I closed my eyes and willed my patience to arrive. When I opened them, it felt like the rest of the party had faded into the background. I only saw Olivia. The past. The pain. All the things I had wanted to leave behind.
And now it all stared me in the face.
I grabbed Olivia by the elbow and pulled her to the side of the party. No matter what, she wasn’t about to get farther into the event. Not if I could help it. “Why did you come? You weren’t invited. You know that.”
“If you didn’t want me here, then why did you make your engagement so public?” She braced herself against the wall. Her gaze locked with mine. “This whole time, these last few weeks. I know why you were doing it—to tell me something. You wanted me to understand, didn’t you? Well, I get it now. I heard what you were trying to say and I—”
“Stop. Just stop. I don’t give a damn what you think I was trying to say. I don’t care at all if you think I still love you. I don’t.” I looked over my shoulder at Ainsley, still in conversation in the center of the room. “One more time.I don’t love you.I’m falling in love withher. Simple as that.”
“But I—”
“You need to leave right now.” I set my jaw as the anger inside me built. “I’ll give you thirty seconds to get out of here before I call the police.”
