“Aston Prescott.”
I’d been so deep in thought, convincing myself Seth was the one, I hadn’t noticed Aston making his way toward me. Now he stood before me, giving me his campaign-worthy greeting, and my panties were exploding.
“Hi, Aston,” I said, trying to sound calm. All of a sudden, I was burning hot in my little black dress. I tried to touch my cheek without him noticing, to see if it was warm to the touch, and wondered if it was pink.
“Looking good, Bex,” he said, putting his arm around my back and drawing me close for a soft kiss on the same cheek I’d just checked. If it wasn’t red before, it absolutely was now.
“Thanks.” I maneuvered out of his light grasp for my own sanity. Being in Aston’s arms brought back too many memories, most of them good, but too hurtful to think about.
“Having fun?” he asked, never taking his eyes off me, even while signaling something to the bartender. A fresh Scotch, I presumed.
“Oh, you know how much I love this club.”
Milly just had to have the party at the club where she met Mike. Never mind it was the same place that marked both the beginning and end of my love life.
I have Seth nowrattled in my brain.
“I know, it’s bittersweet. We had a lot of good times here. But I’m running Federal now, and I think my dad may trust me soon to really take over.”
“So, you want me to wait? Wait for your dad to decide I’m good enough for you?”
Looking at him in his dark slacks, his white shirt open at the collar and its sleeves rolled up, I decided I could. Wait, that is.
“I know it’s a lot, but I want to be able to support us, you know? I need the business to do that.”
It was always the business. “You know, Aston, I’ve told you a million times—and not that it matters now—but that door is closed. Slammed shut. But I never cared about the business, or you supporting the two of us in the way you grew up. I cared about you. I’m sure anything you did would be successful, and if there were bumps, there’d be bumps. We’d survive.”
He gathered me close again, and I silently cursed Seth for not being here. To protect me. To protect himself from what I knew would happen with Aston. My heart and body were unable to resist him. A few more minutes in Aston’s arms, and I’d be his.
“I appreciate that,” he said, “more than you can know. But my dad ruined my mom’s life and their marriage over this business. It’s my cherry on top, and my mom wants—noneeds—me to have it. I have to do this for her.”
“I get it, you’re still a pawn in their game. Your dad pulls and your mom pushes you. You’re going to have to grow up sometime, and I can’t say I’ll be here when you do.” They were my words, but I was only brave enough to share them courtesy of the alcohol.
Aston’s eyes squeezed closed. He looked hurt, as though I’d physically struck him, and I couldn’t deny how that wrecked me. And that empathy for him would be my downfall.
“I’m sure it looks that way, Bex, but I have to see this through. Let’s not let it ruin this night for Mike and Milly ... or us.”
His lips brushed my cheek again, this time lingering, his warm breath cascading over my skin, his invisible grip holding tightly to my heart.
“Another?” he whispered into my ear.
I didn’t know if he meant a kiss or a drink. Either way, I nodded, wanting to whisperyes, both please, but I bit my tongue. We’d been down this road before, and it didn’t matter if we were older or wiser.
We ended up avoiding any further serious conversation, and danced and laughed the rest of the night.
All the way up until we landed between the sheets ... my legs twisted with Aston’s, his lips hard on mine, his tongue working its way inside my mouth. Our hearts beat a furious rhythm, in sync, like our hips as we moved together as one.
Later, when Aston snored softly into the pillow, I left. Ran with my tail tucked between my legs, back home to a hot shower and a sleepless night.
We hadn’t used protection. He must have assumed I was still on the pill, but I wasn’t. I’d had some weird hormonal surge recently, and my doctor had told me to take a break. Mostly, I was panicked over catching a disease. I was sure Aston had been sleeping around, and I didn’t need that kind of complication. I had a boyfriend.
After a few weeks of worrying, I went to the doctor for a round of STD tests and a checkup. I was ecstatic when the nurse called to say the results were clean, and I almost hung up as she was saying, “One more thing, though ...”
It had been the same day Seth had asked me to move in with him, and I thought,I have two things to celebrate. Until I heard, “Good news, you’re pregnant.”
That’s when I committed my biggest sin and told Seth we were having a baby.
Being a nice guy back then, Seth asked me to marry him, and I said yes. He hadn’t been ready for kids. Or taking on a woman in love with someone else.
