Certain she recognized him from his recent bout of publicity, I tried not to squirm. In my heart, I didn’t think Aston could do what they said he did. He might be power- or money-hungry, but drugs had never played a role with him. But there wasn’t time to dwell on that.
There we were—me in a red sundress, sleeveless, but not spaghetti straps. I needed a bra these days. Aston in jeans, white shirt, sport coat, and loafers. He looked like money, and smelled like it too.
“Rosalie,” Aston said, “can I give you my number? In case you need us.”
“She has mine—”
“Well, I’d feel better if she had both,” Aston said, interrupting me.
“Sure.” Rosalie gave in, which wasn’t a shocker. She whipped out her phone and was ready to input the number before I could protest again.
“’Bye,” she said a few seconds later, running up to the house with new digits in her phone and a big smile plastered on her face.
“Shall we?” Aston’s hand was on my lower back as he led the way to his car.
“We can just do something casual,” I said. “You don’t need to impress me.”
“No and yes,” he said while opening the car door.
“Aston ...” I paused as I slipped into the car, not knowing what to say to that.
He shut the passenger door and made his way around the front of the car. As he settled in the driver’s seat, he said, “Bexley, let’s have a good night. My life is a mess, and right now, reuniting with you and meeting my daughter are all that I have.”
“Don’t say that,” I said as he started the engine and shifted into gear.
“Why?”
“What about your kids? Please don’t say what you just said, because your kids matter.” When he side-eyed me, I explained. “Your other kids. The ones you’ve raised so far. You know what I mean.”
“Mara and Little A are always a bright spot for me. Except for having to share them with Cass.”
“I don’t want them to hear you say that we’re making you happy. They should hear that they’re making you happy. They’ll resent Piper, and I don’t need her to have that. She’s dealing with enough.”
“Stop it, Bex. Seriously. No one is going to resent anyone. I lovemy other kidsand they love me. They will love Piper and Tyler ... and you. And they’ll still see their mom because they need to do that too.”
“And Tyler and Piper will see Seth. That is, if this all works, and we somehow figure it all out,” I whispered as we sped down the road.
“You know that’s not an option, this not working out. You know me.”
“I used to,” I said, staring out the windshield.
“Come on, don’t do that.” He didn’t look at me, though. Flicking on his blinker, he exited the freeway and made a left at the intersection.
“It’s the truth. We knew each other once, and then you abandoned me.”
A moment later, Aston pulled into the parking lot for an exclusive steak place. I’d never been there, but I knew better than to argue in this moment.
We stopped when a valet attendant gestured us to, and Aston was out of the car in an instant, not allowing the stranger to open the door for me.
“I didn’t abandon you.” Aston had his hand on my lower back as he spoke into my ear, leading me into the restaurant. “Yeah, I made the wrong choice, but I thought I had time on my side. I’m here now. It’s a little too late, but I have to live with that.”
There was no time for me to reply because we were being ushered to a corner booth, the hostess all smiles for Aston and sneering for me.
“Janie will be right over to take your drink order, Mr. Prescott.”
We were left alone to slide into the booth next to each other, thigh to thigh, heat radiating between us and menus spread in front of us. But it was impossible for me not to stare around and take this place in.
“Come here a lot?” I asked, not turning to face Aston.
