by Rena Manse
“Oh, what a beautiful ring. May I see it, Ashley?” Val ran a nail over the stones. “I’m surprised I haven’t noticed this all day.” She couldn’t have since Ashley had taken it off until it became inevitable that Aaron would be around to notice. “How exquisite. Aaron, you’ve gone with titanium.”
Sensing more to the conversation, Ashley scratched at the band with her thumb, and stiffened when Val, who had vast knowledge of fine jewelry, turned her hand over to give the band and diamonds closer inspection.
“I can see where it connects to the wedding band.”
Ashley couldn’t wait to get her hand back to find this connection for herself. A locking set? Not just a ring for show, and apparently not a valuable piece from Val. Aaron purchased wedding bands.
The older woman nodded, let go of her hand, and turned to Aaron. “And you still captured the Gilyard signature. You generous soul.”
Generous soul, huh?
“You may think we’re high on our pride in this family, Ashley, but every Gilyard has had their wedding jewelry custom made. I’ve never seen one quite like yours. See the curve of a ‘G’ in the stone bed?” She pointed with the perfect manicured nail of her pinky at the carving previously overlooked as decoration. “Aaron, you must have had Hailey’s best cutters working overtime to bring you that one. Very charming.”
Ashley studied the hidden details of her ring, then of the man.
“Valerie. You’ve taken care of the engagement party?” he asked, tidying up his mouth and hands with a warm, moist cloth.
Not so fast. No free hall passes tonight. If he wanted a glowing bride he’d have one. “You’ve surprised me, Aaron. I didn’t know it belonged to a sweetheart set.” She stretched out and caressed his hand. “Remember to give me your ring size so I can buy a band for you.”
She wouldn’t even use his credit card he hadn’t asked for yet. With her mother’s job safe, she’d use her savings. His had to be special, even if he returned it the minute she left town. Ashley slapped his knuckles. “You didn’t get one for yourself without me, did you?”
His lack of an answer said it all.
“Fabulous!” Val clapped her hands. “We’ll take care of that.”
Aaron looked intrigued. His fingers joined hers at play before he slipped a glance at Val then back again. “The engagement party,” he reminded.
“Oh, yes. All done.” Val counted off on her fingers. “I’ve hired extra staff…”
Blood echoed in Ashley’s ears. Every internal organ pumped in synchronization with her heart under Aaron’s dancing stare. With a thumb caressing the back of her hand, his fingers tickling her palm, the hand-tango made her wish this wasn’t all make-believe.
Showing a smile set to seduce, Aaron got up from his seat and crouched beside her chair. His eyes smiled, never leaving her face. “I’m sure you’re doing a fabulous job, Val. I’m looking forward to it. You’ll have to excuse me, ladies. Business calls.”
“And we’ll take care that once we’re married, won’t we, Aaron?” Whatever the inner flirt had the nerve to dream up, died when he stayed wordless at her side. She couldn’t tell if he wanted to laugh or strangle her.
Fingers still tangled, he rose and kissed her hand before aiming for her barbeque-soiled mouth. His lips had just tickled hers when she woke up and remembered Val. Her withdrawal in the presence of an observer registered behind his eyes.
“Barbeque mouth,” she whispered, freeing her hand to make a circular gesture around her lips.
Maybe he didn’t want to be outdone. Aaron lowered to nip her neck. “All the better to taste you with, my dear.”
She didn’t doubt the wolf. But he didn’t linger to prove his point. Didn’t have to in order to leave his scent, his scorch, his emotional bite all over.
“I want to see you in my office in an hour,” he whispered in her ear.
Was that tantamount to being called to the principal’s office? After kissing Val, he left. Ashley gawked at the vacant doorway, then the engagement ring again. When she returned home, she’d take it and sleep with it under her pillow.
Aware of the gaping silence, she grinned at Val. “Royal blue and gold. Those are my wedding colors.”
Did someone knock on the office door? Rousing from sleep too deep for a powernap, Aaron rubbed his eyes and forehead. “Come in.” He lifted his head from the couch, unsure if his sleep-voice had called loud enough for anyone to hear if they really had been there.
The door clicked open. Nothing, as if the person paused after seeing his empty desk. Then Ashley’s inquisitive face poked around the heavy frame. Oh, right. He’d asked her to meet him here after dinner. He sat up from his slouch and twisted his fingers in his eyes.
“Sorry.” He waved her in. “’T’s okay, come on in. I’m just a little beat.”
“Did you get any sleep last night?” She dropped to the extreme opposite side of the couch. What? Like he’d bite or something?
Or something. Her gaze darted away when he grinned.
Too bad her shyness wouldn’t last. He should have warned her that he’d scheduled an informal marriage counseling session with their pastor tonight. Pastor Connor said it wasn’t something normally done over the phone, but he wanted to get a feel for them, and Aaron had opened his mouth and volunteered the one day he needed sleep the most.
“Ah, you’re not going to hate me, are you?” Aaron prepped himself when he saw her face change from question to confusion, to fear, to frustration. He’d never get used to studying her. “Pastor Connor called this afternoon to confirm a counseling session, and I told him we’re okay with tonight.”
Her gaze dropped to check her watch. “It’s after eight.”
“He’s calling at eight-thirty.”
He had to give her credit. The rage was kept in check. “Nice. Well, here’s counsel lesson one-oh-one: always check with your partner first.”
“Is that right up there with not wearing my ring or pulling back in front of Val?” Did she think he wouldn’t notice? He held up a tired hand. “Look, I don’t want to talk about it. I just need us on the same page before he calls. Can we do that? He only wants to give an overview of the type of topics we’ll be covering, and get to know us a little better before a formal session.”
Rage slid to resignation, and she nodded.
“Okay then.” After going through their likes and dislikes, Aaron checked his nearby notepad. “What, um, what drew you to me?” The room had never been so quiet. He looked at her as she rubbed her nose and then her neck. That hard to answer?
“Your eyes.”
Eyes? He would have laughed if she didn’t look so serious. How could anyone narrow down attraction to one single feature? Furthermore, to something he couldn’t control or change? And what was it about them? He swept said eyes over her entire package, reminding himself that what he saw amounted to a mere shell which housed the electric attitude and caring heart he himself admired.
“You?” she asked.
Hmm. Go for the physical or the intellectual? “Your maddening stubbornness,” he said.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
He hoped he hadn’t started another argument. “Your stick-to-itiveness. Even if what you believe isn’t popular, you dig your heels in and don’t give up. Don’t worry, it’s a compliment.” The phone rang, but he took a moment to nod assurance at her frowning face.
He flipped over the receiver sitting on the side table to his left. He wasn’t sure if the landline cord reached the middle of the couch, but kept it on the table so that even on speaker, Ashley had to scoot close to his side.
This counseling thing wasn’t what he’d expected. He relaxed enough to resume his slouch, and was surprised when, forty-five minutes later, the pastor bid them good night.
“That was pretty fun.” Ashley copied his pose to rest her head against the back of the seat.
He slid even further so they were eye to eye, and matched her cheerful smile. “Did you think you
’d have to lie?”
She gave him a what-do-you-think eye. “It crossed my mind. Have you no fear about talking to a man of God about something like this? What are your plans with God anyway?”
If she expected a quick answer he didn’t give one. Right now he had one plan: stick to business. The woman had no idea of the fear in which he lived, the disappointment with himself that he couldn’t hack living the Christian life. Whoever said Christianity served as a crutch for weaklings, obviously didn’t know what it took to live a single-minded life.
Should he fear talking to a pastor about his fake marriage? Aaron nearly guffawed. He had more fear of facing himself in the mirror every day.
“I tell the truth as much as he needs to know it,” he said.
“And God?”
Why did she want to know? “He monitors my conscience.” And either tapped him on the shoulder with conviction, or cleared his conscience. More clearing than conviction these past two months. But Ashley seemed satisfied with his answer.
She hummed out a sigh. “Well, I was prepared to plead the fifth and be a stubborn bride until this thing is over.”
Guilt made him lower his gaze, but when he did, it zeroed in on her hand. He enclosed her fingers with his, staring at the ring he’d given. He’d had the bands styled the day he’d thought of the idea, but after the pool this morning, knew exactly what he wanted to make it special. His diamond among diamonds.
Hailey’s had produced the final result under duress. Aaron couldn’t express enough to the boutique owner what a deplorable reputation they’d receive if his vision of the engagement band wasn’t beyond perfect. Threatening prominent jewelers at three in the morning wasn’t his strong suit, but he got his ring. Made it distinctively Ashley’s.
He ran his thumb over the stones, wishing she hadn’t taken it off today. He didn’t want her removing their promise, like she was ashamed of it. Don’t take it off. Ever? Aaron closed his eyes and breathed deep, the past two nights of missed sleep catching up with him.
“When this thing is over, as you so eloquently put it,” he mumbled, “what will you do? You never have to work again, you know? Anything you want, even after, just ask.”
He thought he heard her say “too much.” She believed he offered too much? Or that he was too much? He heard her voice, but not clear words, as the sound turned into a perfect-pitch melody taking him to the other side.
And now his pillow jerked and moved. Janet, maybe Richard, tried to yank his pillow out from under him. He reached for it…came into contact with warm flesh, a soft shoulder, a scent that shouldn’t be in his bed sheets.
No way. Aaron pulled back his arm, woke up fully, and opened his eyes to find his face in Ashley’s neck. Even as a nurse used to moving bodies, his weight pinning her shoulder and arm between them would be too much for her to budge. By now she must know he was awake. But he didn’t want to move, sunk in the center of contentment and peace.
Heat that he tried to ignore broiled under his ribcage and spread like a wildfire throughout his chest. He fought to remain calm, would have, too; but the heat didn’t come from him alone.
It’s only because of proximity, he told himself. He closed his eyes to block out the furnace and tried to think of anyone, anything, besides her. Just return to the content place. Not this.
Her breathing rasped unevenly against him. He heard her racing heart tattoo like a frightened bird. And the next thing he knew, his hand began a crawl across her tummy. He moved to angle his head so his lips could meet her skin.
“Aaron, I think I better—”
“Yeah. Yeah.” He quickly sat up and took a second to calm himself to face her.
She was quick, half way to the door before he knew she was moving.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
When Aaron scanned the crowd he didn’t know what to think of the ‘small’ gathering Val put together. Everyone from neighbors to business associates roamed the decorated social room, including Jade.
She’d become increasingly territorial. He’d peeled her off after the second time and had a tight head to head that she stay away from Ashley before he escorted her to security. He’d returned to see Ashley’s disapproving glare. Miss something, did he? Like how she allowed Jonathan to keep touching her? Only Essie’s presence in the threesome kept Aaron from bulldozing his shoulder into the other man.
Val hobbled from guest to guest, smiling ear to ear. Grandmother did love her parties. He liked her to keep her mind active, but worried how she’d gone overboard dishing out tonight’s invitations. What part of low-key was Val not understanding? She seemed consumed with anything concerning him. She shouldn’t have a care in the world except for what made her happy.
“You are what makes me happy,” she told him before the party when he’d mentioned it earlier. Her hand squeezed his forearm. “You’ve found the love of your life, and yet look so sad. Let her in, Aaron, so she can heal you with God’s love.”
He had no answer to letting Ashley in. She shouldn’t be in this mess.
Aaron checked around for Richard tasked with keeping a distant eye on Val. The older man was diligent, and told him her wheelchair stood at the ready in a restricted hallway should she get tired. So far, with Granddad’s shortened cane, she carried on full steam.
Wandering through the guests, Aaron spent obligatory time with friends. It wasn’t long before he caught another dark glare from Ashley when a group of older wives lingered passed their due date. This time it amused him.
He circled, returning watch as she chatted from group to group. He was pleased that her eyes found him every few minutes, but mystified as to what really went on in that mind of hers.
When she let up in her surveillance, he strolled his gaze down the blue and gold dress. She looked bold in those colors. The one-shoulder apparel wasn’t even a hugger. The baggy, silk distraction cut off at her knees, and had made him look twice when she’d exited her bedroom earlier to accompany him downstairs. The broad gold trim glimmered when she moved, almost as bright as her smile.
He sipped sparkling water, and leaned against a pillar forming the opening of an alcove. Maybe later he’d get back to entertaining guests, but right now his Ashley-surveillance proved a much better pastime.
She turned a closed shoulder to him, but talked and laughed her way right into a hug with Jonathan. Aaron watched the man nuzzle himself in her neck. He straightened. Essie stood right there so it couldn’t be all bad. The embrace ended and Esther claimed his arm. They carried on in energetic conversation.
Tight little group. Suspicion not sated, Aaron kept an eye on the former boyfriend.
He crept to another alcove as Jonathan moved away, and the ladies continued conversation with animated facial expressions. The scene left her and Essie smiling, radiating magnets, open for two good-looking, young ne’er-do-wells to approach. Aaron should have had Val stencil on the invitations not to expect the average Hampton party. Why did she think this was a good idea?
A man leaning over to whisper into a woman’s ear wasn’t asking for the time, nor hard of hearing. Aaron gripped his glass. Ashley’s eyes sparkled at the surfer-looking Matthew Parsons. Aaron squinted. Did she just blush? If so, not with anger or embarrassment.
Ashley’s gaze caught his briefly and he steeled his stare. She enjoyed this. Relished in the attention. Squaring his shoulders and tightening his jaw, he turned to check for his grandmother. No way would he let this woman drive him crazy.
Too late. His stomach knotted and he winced. After a minute, he looked back to find her glaring at something off to his right. He sensed, rather than saw, movement beside him. Melina Castillos stood by as if waiting to be noticed for some time.
“Hi,” she said.
“Hi.” He turned back to counter Ashley’s stare.
“You’re not with Jade this evening?”
The ceiling looked particularly dust free tonight.
“A-a-ron.”
“I’m not alone, Melina.�
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“You look it to me.”
Usually her smile sealed the deal for a date. Tonight, it was…oh, tonight it was still seductive. He let his line of vision run down the simple long, black gown. She’d never needed flash or heavy accessories. “Yeah. I’m not alone,” he repeated more to help his resolve.
Leaning close, Melina’s finger tickled the back of his hand, and he found himself staring at perturbed blue and gold-shaded eyes forty feet away. “Anymore? The change looks good on you, amante. You look happy.”
He didn’t know when she walked away. Ashley stared hard enough for a guilty pulse to race through his veins. Melina had been the fourth to approach with interest of more than conversation. If he didn’t have a woman glued to his side it seemed to signify open season for the rest of them. One reason why Ashley didn’t want any part of him. So now she made him feel guilty for being approached? Give a hint to Matthew Parsons, thank you.
Aaron turned his back, laying his hand on the column beside him. He stared at the six-foot elaborate vase in the alcove and crossed his other forearm on his panging stomach. Did guilt cause ulcers? Maybe Ashley had every right to prefer other men, but he needed to regain his cool before he punched pretty-boy Parsons in the face and turned this shindig into a wake.
“Aaron?” Grandmother touched his arm, grinning. “It’s time. Go and get your beautiful lady.”
She turned to make her way near the rear doors and Aaron started towards Ashley. On the way, he placed his water on a used tray as streams of waiters served champagne to bemused guests. Rather than slapping Parsons five ways to Sunday, he curbed his enthusiasm and knocked the man’s shoulder out of his way with the back of his hand.
An old pro like Matt didn’t seem deterred though. “You’ve gotten selfish, Aaron. Kept Ashley practically all to yourself since she’s been here.”
“Good thing I did.” He firmly grasped her hand and slipped the other into his pocket. “With men like you around, no telling what would become of her.”