Ashton Scott
“He’ll be here around six thirty,” she says as she narrows her eyes at me. “You haven’t told me about your past boyfriends yet. You need to spill.”
“What do you want to know?”
Her eyes sparkle with mischief as she drinks more wine. “Everything! But I especially want to know if you always go for men like my brother.”
I laugh. “God, no. I’ve never dated a man like Ashton.”
“Okay, but you’ve dated, so tell me—who was your great love? The one who got away who you never thought would.”
This isn’t something I want to discuss, so I shrug and say, “None yet. I haven’t met my great love.” It’s not really a lie. I’m not sure I have met him yet.
Her forehead crinkles. “Really?”
“Really. I’ve met my fair share of assholes and guys who think they can get away with treating me like crap. And sure, there’s been some guys who I thought could become more, but none of those relationships eventuated into something amazing. So, I’m still looking.”
She lifts her glass to her mouth. “Don’t you think some days that life would be so much easier without men in it?”
Laughing, I nod. “Yeah, but then they take their dicks out and show us how good life is with them in it, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.”
She collapses in a fit of laughter and soon we’re both laughing so hard we start crying. I’m not sure why, but I’m guessing it’s the wine mostly. It’s at that point there’s a knock on my front door.
I answer it to find Malcolm standing on the other side. He gives me a smile and I’m instantly reminded of how much I liked him this afternoon when we met at soccer. Although he and Alessandra spent a lot of that time arguing, I’d been impressed with the way he didn’t lose his cool with her. He fought fairly, and when he knew they wouldn’t be able to resolve their differences, he’d made the suggestion that she go home. And he hadn’t made it with a nasty, belittling tone; he’d remained calm and treated her with respect.
“Lorelei,” he greets me.
I return his smile. “Hey, Malcolm. Come in.”
“I’ve got the kids in the car, so I won’t come in, but thank you.”
“Oh, of course,” I say, turning to call out for Alessandra. She’s right behind me, though, so I snap my mouth closed and step aside so she can exit. As she does, I don’t miss the way Malcolm watches her with devotion. Anyone can see how much the man adores his wife. I can’t understand why Alessandra even doubts it.
“You ready to leave?” he asks.
She nods before glancing at me. “Thank you for putting up with me this afternoon. We should do this again soon. There’s a new day spa opening next week and they sent me two invites. If you’re free, I’d love you to come.”
“I would love that.” And I truly mean it. I’ve loved spending time with Alessandra, and on top of that, relaxing at a day spa is one of my favourite things to do.
“Good. I’ll call you tomorrow to organise it.”
We all say our goodbyes, and I watch as Malcolm places his hand protectively on the small of her back to guide her to the lift. I truly hope they can sort out their problems, because I can tell they both love each other so much. From everything Alessandra told me that afternoon, I know she’ll be crushed if
they can’t work through it.
Closing my apartment door behind me, I lean against it briefly. Partly to steady myself, because the wine I drank made me a little tipsy after drinking on an empty stomach. And partly because my heart hurts thinking about love and all the problems it can cause.
Pushing off the door, I leave those thoughts behind and head into the kitchen to grab a drink of water. Ashton will be here any minute to take me to dinner, so I need to hurry and find something to wear. I’d planned on taking my time getting ready for him, but now I’ll be lucky if I have ten minutes to spare.
A knock on the front door makes me curse. There goes my ten minutes.
I yank the door open and blurt out, “I know I’m not looking sexy yet, but if you give me—” I stop talking when I realise the man standing in front of me is not Ashton.
“Lorelei,” he says, and my heart starts beating rapidly at the voice I haven’t heard for five months.
The voice that used to wrap me in love.
The voice I thought I’d grow old with.
I sway a little and reach out to grip the door. My thoughts are a mess of confusion. Is it possible I’m imagining this? I haven’t seen him in months, but I was just thinking about him during my conversation with Alessandra. Maybe I imagined him into existence.