“She said it was theater.”
Aunt Veronica’s eyes lit up. “Ah, so you do pay attention to people when you want to. You have to know someone in the theater district. That, or I’d be willing to bet someone owes your dad a favor.”
“I know exactly who to call.” Alan owed me a few favors. After everything I’d done for him over the years, an audition for Elena wouldn’t be a big deal.
She stood up, empty glass in hand, and made her way to the door, holding it open for me but saying in a low voice, “Make the call. I think after that you’ll find things fall into place.”
I leaned in to kiss her cheek and she wrapped her arms around my waist. For such a tiny woman, she had one hell of a body lock. “Oh, and the next time you kiss that poor girl, please don’t tell her it was a mistake.”
I smiled against her hair, knowing I’d at least done something right. “One step ahead of you.”
“Oh I know. Don’t think us women can’t tell the difference between blushes.” She winked. “Now get your ass in gear. It’s time to eat.”
“Thank you.”
She smiled and walked through the door, toward the dining room.
Fuck. What a night? I hung back, taking a moment to process everything I’d just heard and get my head around where I was going to go from here. I went to the side bar and poured a glass of Glen Livet, needing something to settle all of the shit firing around in my brain. The first drops always burned going down. The second sip settled me and helped me to start formulating a plan. Even if I never ended up fucking Elena, at least I could help her get away from that asshole.
“Ashton!”
The call came from the dining room. Knowing my mother, she already had the perfect wine for the meal sitting on the table. I jogged down the hall and found everyone already seated, wine glasses full, eyes on me. Composing my features, I took my seat next to Elena, who looked to be doing a lot better. She took her glass from in front of her and took a sip. I hoped my family hadn’t driven her to that, and resolved to find out what they’d discussed in my absence when we were on our way home.
Home. How quickly I’d become to refer to my house as hers too. It wasn’t the first time I’d reflected on the speed at which we’d settled into a routine, and I had to admit that it was nice to come home to someone at the end of a long day.
“Is everything okay?” she whispered.
Molten chocolate eyes stared up at me through long, black lashes and her nose crinkled at the top. Even concern was a sexy look on her. I took hold of her hand under the table, threading my fingers through hers and feeling the warmth spreading from where our bodies connected, up through my arm until it came to settle somewhere in my chest.
“Everything is fine. Let’s enjoy dinner.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Aunt Veronica watching. She didn’t look as content as I thought she should have been. Something else was on her mind. Whatever it might be, she kept it to herself and conversation around us began to pick up, most of it centering around Elena.
Mom led the charge; the woman could get a clam to open with a few simple questions. She skipped questions about Elena’s husband or the arrangement we were currently in, choosing to ask about her childhood, the things she liked, her favorite memories. I thought for a moment that Elena would be too shy to answer, but she was radiant as she regaled a story about her first audition. She didn’t talk much about her parents, but that didn’t surprise me. If Dominic was anything like David had been, he likely went out of his way to isolate her from her family. Much easier to bring her to heel without outside interference.
Eventually it was time to say good-night. Aunt Veronica gave Elena a huge hug and made her promise to call if she ever wanted to talk. Elena seemed pleased at this prospect and they traded numbers. Finally, after a few attempts, we were back in the car, on the way home.
“Did you enjoy dinner?” I went for small talk, which I normally sucked at but my options were limited. While I had a plan, I’d yet to implement it and after the kiss in the bedroom, I didn’t know what to say without giving her the wrong impression. It wasn’t easy to focus. Just the thought of her mouth against mine had me discreetly adjusting my pants, which is harder to do than one might think when you’re driving.
Elena said more on the drive home than I had ever heard from her in one go. “Your family is wonderful.” She paused, and there was a slight quiver to her voice as she murmured, “It makes me miss my mom and dad.”
Just as I suspected.
“When was the last time you saw them?” I kept my eyes on the road, afraid if I saw her crying I’d want to pull her into my arms and end up crashing the fucking car. She was silent for a beat, and I thought she might ignore the question until she spoke up.
“When Dominic and I told them we got married, they weren’t very happy about it. Dominic thought it might be better for us to find jobs across the country.”
“You didn’t talk to them after that?”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her fidget in the seat, her fingers moving to curl around her bag, fiddling with the clasp. “Dominic said if they still cared, they’d leave a message at the house. We could never afford to go back.”
I heard a sniffle and my hand left the wheel to reach over and take hers, nestled in her lap. “I’m sorry. Maybe you can try again?”
She laughed, but there was no humor to it. I felt a sharp pain in the left hand side of my chest. “Yeah, I’m sure that they would understand all of this.” I’d never heard Elena be sarcastic and the tone didn’t suit her.
“I didn’t mean for you tell them all of this. I bet they miss not hearing from you.”
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
The car went silent after that. I was aware that I’d promised to talk to her about the kiss but I let it go and continued driving. When we finally walked into the house, her eyes bounced around the room, looking everywhere but at me. Cupping her face, I lifted her eyes to mine and saw the whites were stretched wide, her irises almost invisible.
“Relax, Elena.” I kissed her on the forehead. “Today has been exhausting, and you have a big day tomorrow.”
“A big day?”
“You’ll see. Now why don’t you head up and get some sleep?”
She nodded, but before she could step out of my reach I dipped my head, placing my lips against hers, once again finding myself unable to resist her. When she didn’t pull away I became bolder, swiping my tongue across her lips, hoping she’d let me in. She didn’t disappoint. I took and she gave, the connection of our mouths sending desire burning through my veins. When the need to breathe overrode everything else I pulled away, panting, and if the rise and fall of her chest was anything to go by, she was as affected by the kiss as me.
Taking her hand in mine, I laced our fingers together, watching her closely as she began to close down before my eyes. “I can only guess why you look like you did something wrong. If you feel like this is cheating, it’s not. First, your husband gave you permission, and as wrong as that is, it’s still permission. Second, you deserve a million times better than him.” I bent down to whisper in her ear. “Third, never doubt that I’ve wanted you since the first moment I saw you.”
Her face softened, but didn’t relax. “Thank you for everything, Ashton.” She stepped away from me. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
She practically ran up the stairs and while it was disappointing to watch her leave, if she’d stayed then it would have pushed my control to its limits. I’d never force her to do anything she didn’t want to do. If she wanted to go there, we’d do it at her pace. Not that I wouldn’t try to persuade her; hope she could handle what I had in store for her. Bearing in mind what I knew of her husband, it wasn’t conceited of me to say I could show her pleasure she never imagined, and probably never felt before.
Taking my phone from my pocket, I walked to my room to call Alan and arrange her audition. After that, I needed a long cold shower. I was beginning to feel like a polar bear, but I had to utilize what I could to help to take the edge off, and I most definitely did not need a severe case of blue balls all night. And even though tonight had not ended in the way perhaps I’d hoped, it had been successful in a different way. If I’d figured out anything tonight it was that, however long it took, Elena would be worth the wait.