Ashton Scott

I trail my fingers along her collarbone and thread them through her hair behind her ear. She thinks she’s the one who got lucky, when I know I was the lucky one. “Don’t let the chocolate sway you. I’m still the asshole I was last week. But you make me want to be a better man.”

And I will be.

For her, I’ll move mountains to be the man she needs me to be.

64

Ashton

“I saw Lorelei’s Instagram last night. You finally got your head on straight,” Alessandra says to me over the phone two weeks after Lorelei arrived in the States.

I stretch my legs out in front of me as I watch Lorelei and Jack in the pool. The last two weeks have been hard for him, but having Lorelei here has helped. Much more than I imagined it would.

Lorelei has made it her mission to give my friend the female attention he desperately needed. Not the kind he gets from starlets looking to move up the ladder or from fans who push themselves on him or from women chasing a man with cash to fund their lifestyles. No, Lorelei has spent time simply sitting and talking with him, walking on the beach with him, and watching his favourite TV shows with him. He’s slowly started coming out of his

room more often, and I credit that to her. She’s been the female friend he craved but never seemed able to find. And I’ve taken a step back and given them that time together, because I could see they both needed it.

The time I’ve looked forward to with Lorelei has been at night. We’ve spent hours getting to know each other’s deepest desires, fears, dreams, goals, hurts, and joys in life. In fourteen nights, we’ve slowly peeled back each other’s layers. We’ve laid ourselves wide open, ready to live our lives together.

“You spoke to me yesterday, Aly. What’s changed since then?” I don’t bother with Instagram, so I have no clue what she’s referring to.

“She posted a selfie of the two of you out at dinner. There, I’ve just messaged it to you. Take a look. You’ll see what I mean.”

I check my messages and find the photo. “What am I looking for?” It’s a photo of Lorelei and me smiling at the camera. I’m not sure what Alessandra’s seeing that I’m not.

She sighs. “God, you men are so slow sometimes. Look at how happy you both look. That smile in Lorelei’s eyes tells me you’ve manned up. And honestly, Ashton, I’ve never seen you look happier.” Her voice softens as she adds, “I’m really happy for you both.”

I look closer at the photo, noting the things she mentioned. I do look happy. What I can see in myself more than that, though, is peace. Contentment. And Lorelei is breathtakingly beautiful in her happiness.

“How are you and Malcolm?”

“Hmm, where shall I start? We’re okay, but he’s still as infuriating as he’s ever been about some things. I mean, yesterday he had the hide to tell me my driving is getting worse. Can you believe that? I never tell him what I think of his damn driving. Oh, and he also said something about the diet I’m on. He regretted that a lot last night, let me tell you.”

I reach for my drink. “What did he say?” I can’t imagine Malcolm ever saying anything mean.

“Oh, something about the carbs being far too low in his opinion. The man has no idea what it takes to shift just a few kilos.”

“Aly, he loves you. He doesn’t want you to starve. There’s no way he meant that in a bad way. You need to stop reading so much into the stuff he says. We’re men. We don’t have a hidden agenda. If we say the carbs are too low, we mean the carbs are too low. We don’t mean you’re bad at choosing a diet or anything else you might conclude after thinking about that one statement for hours.” I take a sip of water. “Are you two still seeing the therapist?”

“Yes, and she says the same thing as you about men and what they say. I find her as infuriating as Malcolm sometimes.”

I chuckle. My sister is in one of her neurotic phases at the moment, but I had a conversation with Malcolm two days ago in which he shared with me that things are slowly improving between them, so I’m relieved about that. “Lorelei will be home tomorrow. Promise me you’ll keep an eye out for her while I’m still here. I don’t want Dad or Cassia getting near her again.”

“Cassia’s keeping a low profile, but trust me, if that bitch goes near Lorelei, she’ll have me to deal with. And as for Dad, have you spoken to Mum today at all?”

“No.”

“I think she’s left him. She rang me from the Sofitel and told me she’s staying in the penthouse and charging everything she can to Dad. I really feel like she might be having a mental breakdown, you know? Like, not in a bad way, but in a ‘fuck him and his whores’ kinda way. I’m all for it.” She takes a breath. “Anyway, I’ll pick Lorelei up from the airport and look out for her. How long do you think it’ll be until you come home?”

I process everything she’s telling me, making a note to check in with Mum. I’m more than happy at the idea of her leaving Dad. “Probably a week or so. Even if I just come home to take care of some stuff and then fly back to stay with Jack again. Maybe I’ll convince him to come for a quick trip with me.”

Lorelei leaves the pool and comes toward me. Her skimpy white bikini that barely covers anything is plastered to her skin with water. I struggle to take my eyes off her breasts, and my dick grows hard as I watch her. Truth be told, she could wear a sack and I’d grow hard.

“I have to go,” I say. “I’ll get Lorelei to let you know her flight time.”

“See you when you get home,” she says and disconnects the call.

Lorelei slides onto my lap on the sunlounger as I place my phone down. She lies on top of me, soaking me, and presses her lips to mine. After she’s done kissing me, she says, “Who were you talking to?”