I shrugged off my jacket, tossing over one of the chairs. “Helping you while Aunt Veronica talks to Elena.” I lifted the lid on one of the pans, only to have my hand swatted away.
“What the hell?”
“Don’t use that language on me.” She waved the spoon and I ducked. “No touching. I’m almost done. Go hang out with your brother and father.”
“But I can’t go out there while they’re talking. Besides, I like helping.”
“I know, but tonight let me do this. Make sure you’re there for that poor girl. Veronica won’t go easy on her.”
I sighed. “She needs to hear it, Mom.”
She put her hand on my arm. “And she’ll need someone’s shoulder to cry on when she understands how wrong it all is.”
I rubbed at my hand and rested my hip against the cupboard, watching her work her magic. The woman really was a genius in the kitchen. The smells coming from whatever it was she was cooking made my mouth water but I kept my distance. I didn’t need another knock. We chatted back and forth for a while before I fell silent. My mom stopped what she was doing and stared at me, waiting for me to offload.
“You think Aunt Veronica can work miracles?
My mom was honest to a fault. “No. You’re probably going to have to help, but Veronica will make her see the truth. Overcoming it will take time.” She pointed to the door with the spoon. “Now go.”
Laughing, I placed a kiss on her cheek, moving quickly before she swatted me away, grabbing my coat and throwing it over my shoulder. For a brief second I thought about heading to the living room, then I realized I needed to let Aunt Veronica do what she could. Not wanting to interrupt the conversation, I turned away from the living room and walked toward my father’s office.
Miller’s voice drifted down the hall. When I opened the door, they were all sitting around, drinking. Dad passed a glass to me the minute the door closed behind me.
“Figure you could use it.”
Taking a seat on the couch next to Miller, I took a sip of the whiskey, letting it burn its way down. “Why do you say that?”
He scoffed. “After what Ronnie’s going to say and do, you’re going to have a crying woman on your hands.”
My eyes darted to the door and back. The urge to go out there and listen was almost overpowering, but I fought it back and changed the subject. “Dad, why in the hell did you want me to take Elena to the game with me last Thursday?”
He took a seat at his desk and leaned over the top. “For the same reason you want to run out of here and check on Elena.”
“I don’t want—”
“For fuck’s sake, Ashton, do not blow smoke up my ass. I could tell when you showed up that first day to tell me about her. You want her.”
“Hell, I want her. She’s fucking gorgeous.” The vein at my temple throbbed at Miller’s words, images of him taking advantage of Elena running through my head.
Oh hell no!
Dad pointed his finger at Miller. “You, knock it off. I know you wouldn’t do anything, but right now your brother’s thinking about beating your ass into the ground.”
Miller held his hands up in surrender. “Dude, can you blame me for noticing her. Holy hell, I’ve never seen her equal.”
I had enough of Miller’s mouth and threw a punch to his arm, making him spill his drink on his pants.
“Watch it, asshole.”
Dad shook his head. “I warned you, Miller. Now go dry yourself off in the bathroom.”
Grumbling, he stood and left the room. With his smart mouth gone, the tension finally flowed from my shoulders. “That still doesn’t answer my question. If you want me with her, then why send her with me to see what it is we do? I think she got enough of that when she ended up here with me, and Derrick Reynolds showing up the same night didn’t help.” I leaned forward, rolling the glass back and forth in my palms.
Dad leaned back in his chair. “No, she saw a small glimpse. If you want her to stay, she needs to know it all. I firmly believe your mother and I have been together for so long because she knew from day one what I did. I’ve never had to hide anything from her.”
“Trust me. She saw enough.”
“Did she see a payment that went smoothly?”
Knowing he had me, I chose to ignore his question. I groaned. “Why does everyone assume I want this woman? She’s got enough baggage to fill an airplane.”
“But you want her anyway,” Samuel piped up. He’d been so quiet I’d almost forgotten he was there. “Just like I wanted Veronica.”
“Yeah, but Aunt Veronica had been away from David for years before you met her.”
He downed the rest of his drink and shook his head. “Didn’t mean my experience was any different. I had to work harder to earn her trust. I had to prove I wanted her just the way she is. Only then did I get my shot.”
My eyes wandered to the door again.
“Go check on her.” Dad pointed toward it. “We’ll talk more later.”
I was on my feet before he’d even finished his sentence. When I got to the end of the hall, I listened. I didn’t know what I was hoping to hear but the room was silent. I rounded the corner and saw the tears streaking down Elena’s face and my fists went tight at my sides, an unknown feeling overwhelming me to the point where I could hear the blood rushing in my ears. I stalked across the room, my eyes locked on Aunt Veronica. “What did you say to her?”
“Nothing she didn’t need to hear.”
Taking Elena’s hand I pulled her up from the couch, and without giving her the option to refuse, I led her down the hall to my old room. The décor wasn’t that different to when I’d lived there, Mom leaving it as it was in case I ever had reason to stay in the city. Gently, I sat her down on the bed, taking the seat next to her. I cupped her face in my hands, using the pads of my thumbs to wipe away the wet from under her eyes.
“Talk to me.”
She sniffed. “Everything I’ve ever known has been one giant, messed up lie.”
“A lie?”
“Yeah, he never loved me, just wanted to use me.”
Halle-fucking-lujah.
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.”
“I know, but you already hated Dominic. It’s just worse now, because maybe Veronica’s right—maybe I do deserve better.”
“Hell fucking yes you do.”
I wasn’t sure if it was the right move, but it was the move that felt most right in that moment. Lifting her face, I captured her lips with mine and put everything I needed her to feel into the kiss. Her lips were salty from the tears, but unbelievably soft. Our kiss from earlier had been running through my mind and I’d managed to convince myself that I imagined just how great her lips felt against mine.
I was wrong.
She melted into the kiss and I lost all control, tilting her head with my hands, my tongue diving into her mouth, devouring her. A low moan tore through her throat and the sound was so unexpected that it shot heat straight through me and my dick hardened in seconds, my body screaming for hers. My hands began moving of their own volition, searching, seeking more. They ran up her thighs, feeling the muscles shudder beneath my touch, and just as my fingers hit the silky fabric of her dress, moving it up and out of the way, I caught myself.
This isn’t right. It’s too fast. Too soon.
Pulling my hand away, my head fell forward, my forehead leaning against hers, both of us breathing heavily.
“You’re absolutely fucking gorgeous. You deserve the world on a silver platter. And as much I want nothing more than to show you how good it can be, we can’t do this right now.”
She leaned back, looking around, scanning the room, returning from wherever she’d gone in her head. I knew how she felt because when I kissed her, everything else ceased to exist.
“Oh my God,” she whispered, her hand shooting up to cover her mouth and the panicked look that had so often marred her features when she first came to me returned to her eyes. I couldn’t have her going backward. Not when we’d made so much progress. Taking her hand away from her lips I stood up, taking her with me, pulling her body close so that it was flush with mine. I could feel the heat radiating from her. But my family was out there, likely worried about how Elena was doing. They’d give us privacy, yes, but before anything further happened between Elena and me, we needed to have a conversation. And that couldn’t happen with anyone else around.