Chapter 17
17
MAGNOLIA
H e wore green .
When I first saw him from the top of the stairs, I couldn’t help but notice the deep emerald tie he wore with his tuxedo that matched my dress almost perfectly. My eyes stayed glued to him as I descended the stairs and my heart fluttered when he came to me without hesitation. When he growled his name for me into my ear, the vibration of his voice shot straight down my spine and warmed my insides. Just being close to him did something to me and while he wasn’t ready to admit it, I knew he felt the same about me.
Walking around the party with him next to me felt so natural, almost as if we were always supposed to be together that way. Getting to listen to him speak about the work he did made my insides bubble with pride. There was still so much to him I didn’t know, but what was clear as day was how much his work meant to him. And more than that, how much the people who worked for him meant to him. He spoke about his team as if they were family, which was a stark contrast to how my own father spoke about the people who worked for him. In his eyes, people were disposable as soon as they no longer served a purpose or could help him get a little bit further in life. Kolbi, though, spoke of his employees with admiration and care.
“Magnolia,” my mother hissed at me, pulling me out of my thoughts and back into the present. She had been scolding me for not telling her that he would be here tonight and after years of verbal lashings, I’ve mastered the art of tuning her out when needed. She pulled me tightly by the wrist and I winced as she dug her perfectly manicured nails into the soft spot of skin.
“You’re hurting me,” I snarled back, trying to pull my arm free of her. I couldn’t believe how rude she’d been to Kolbi and while I wanted nothing more than to call her out on it, now wasn’t the time. She was dragging me through the formal living room towards the back corner where I saw two very familiar looking people standing. I swallowed hard when we finally reached them and painted on a polite smile.
“Hello Mr. and Mrs. Bates.” I gave them a small nod and they both looked down their noses at me as if I wasn’t worthy of sharing the same airspace as them. I don’t know why I was the one being treated this way, Daniel was the one who stepped out on me.
“Hello, Magnolia, you look lovely tonight.” While her words said one thing, the tone of Lilian Bates’s voice said another. Mr. Bates looked at me through squinted eyes and had his face pinched up as if he’d smelled something foul.
“Is Daniel here?” My mother’s high-pitched voice came out squirrely and I could tell she was trying to reconcile the relationship between our families.
“Yes, he just went that way.” Mr. Bates pointed with his index finger that had been wrapped around one of our crystal glasses and took a long pull from it as he bore his eyes into me. The only thing stopping me from giving him a piece of my mind was knowing what my mother would do to me if I spoke out of turn. There were more than a few times her threats to cut me off hit a little too close for comfort and I knew causing a scene at tonight’s function would be grounds for her to finally follow through on them. I looked across the room and noticed Daniel standing by the fireplace, holding a glass of whiskey, speaking to someone I didn’t recognize.
“Magnolia, go and say hello.” My mother pushed me in the direction Mr. Bates had pointed and my stomach sank knowing there was no way out of this interaction. With the three of them watching me with fixed, anticipatory gazes, I knew I would have to face Daniel for the first time since walking in on him mid-coitus. I pulled my shoulders back, cleared my throat, and gave my watch party another polite smile before heading toward my ex-boyfriend. When he noticed me approaching, his lips turned up into a smug smile that made my insides churn. As if he already knew that I was being sent to him by our parents like a good little girl. My fist clenched at my sides to stop myself from slapping the stupid smile off his face.
“Hello, Maggie.” His snide voice made my insides hot and I had to work to keep my face neutral.
“Hello, Daniel.” My voice came out flat and void of emotion which is exactly how I felt about the man standing in front of me.
“You look lovely tonight.” He flashed me a smile that showed off the veneers his daddy paid for and the urge to hit him almost became too much. He had no right to comment on how I looked after what he did to me.
“You look like you’ve put on weight,” I said pointedly. He licked his lips and chuckled, trying to act casual since there were people around.
“Now, Maggie.” I clenched my jaw at the name. “There’s no need for that. I know why you’re here, and the answer is yes, I’ll take you back.” He took a step closer to me and whispered in my ear, “But only if you’re a good girl and don’t get upset about a little indiscretion here or there. If only you were as hot inside the sack as you are out of it, but a man has needs you know. Looks alone can only get you so far.”
My cheeks burned and I felt my chest starting to rise and fall heavily. When he pulled away, he gave me a condescending look, knowing I couldn’t react how I wanted to in such a public place. Then, he placed his fingers on my chin like you would do to a child, holding my eyes on him forcefully, and spoke again. “Now, now Maggie, I can see that temper of yours behind your eyes. Be a good girl now and do as you’re told. I’m still waiting for that apology.”
I opened my mouth to spit words back at him when a strong hand found the small of my back and a smooth voice came up from behind me.
“Miss Sinclair, there’s something I need your assistance on, can you please come with me?” My head whipped behind me to find his warm eyes looking down at me and I felt my heart rate start to slow. The touch of his hand on my back fans the fire that was raging in my core. The soft look in his eyes gave me solace and I felt myself nod in reply.
“Excuse us,” he said to Daniel who looked dumbstruck before moving me away from him and out of the living room by the small of my back. Once we were out of eyesight from Daniel and our parents, I wrapped my arm around his again and pulled him closer to me while making a beeline for the door to the kitchen.
“Follow me.”
He did as I said and walked with me through the kitchen, out the back door, and into the gardens that were just off the main house. My methodically hemmed dress floated on the tops of my feet and my shoes clacked against old wooden floors as we hurried out of the house. It was a brisk evening and there was a breeze in the air that blew over my shoulders, causing goosebumps to spring up on my arms. Without saying anything, he removed his jacket and draped it over my shoulders. Feeling his warmth on my skin sent another shiver down my spine and I tried to hide the blush in my cheeks when the scent of him filled my nose as it wafted off his coat. I grabbed his hand again and pulled him out into the gardens towards a gazebo that was in the center of the finely manicured flower beds and shrubbery. We passed one of his men who gave him a questioning look, which he dismissed immediately.
“Circle the front of the house, please. I’ve got it back here.” His voice came out strong as he gave the command and I licked my lips. He can boss me around any time he wants. When we finally made it to the gazebo, I turned to look at him with his hand still in mine.
“Thank you for saving me.” I had to tilt my head up to look at him and my eyes flickered between his and his lips. He pulled his hand from mine and stuffed his hands in his pockets. He scanned the garden before looking back down at me.
“You looked trapped and for a second like you were about to throw a punch.” He gave me a half smile. “Who was that guy anyway?”
“ Daniel, ” I grimaced as I said his name because it tasted like poison on my lips. “He’s my ex, even though our parents seem to think we’re going to get back together and get married like they have planned for us.” He had been pacing the gazebo and stopped to study me with his eyebrows raised.
“That’s the guy who cheated on you?” His voice teemed with disbelief as he pointed a finger back towards the house.
“The very same,” I confirmed.
“Geez, talk about batting way out of his league,” he mumbled, shaking his head with his eyes on the ground. “Your parents want you to marry that guy?” I didn’t miss the disappointment in his voice.
“More my mother than my father, but he wants me married off to anyone from a prominent family. To him, it’s all about family lineage and good bloodlines.” I shook my head just thinking about how ridiculous it was. My parents were more concerned about preserving the family name than they were about me being happy.
Just like they’d always been.
“That’s pretty fucked up,” he gruffed from across the gazebo.
“Welcome to my life,” I sighed before taking a few steps closer to him. When I closed the space between us, I reached for his tie and straightened it for him again. I could feel his body tense up when I rested my hands on his chest like it had before and when I lifted my eyes to look at him, I found that he was already looking down at me. His nostrils flared as he breathed and he swallowed hard.
“I noticed you wore green tonight. Do that for anyone special?” I took a chance with my question and bit the corner of my lip as I kept my eyes on his. He moved a fraction of a step closer to me and dropped his head closer to mine. The sound of my heart beating in my chest filled my ears
“I noticed you wore your hair up tonight. Do that for anyone special?” His voice was low and gravelly and if I were to push up on my toes, our lips would meet for the first time. His eyes danced around my face and I wished so badly I could hear his thoughts.
“For someone who’s starting to feel special, yeah.” My lashes fluttered as I spoke and I tried to fight the smile I could feel growing on my face. At this angle, I could see all the laugh-lines on his face and picked up the scent of his Tom Ford cologne. Our bodies were half an inch apart as if we were being held apart by any last remaining shred of self-control we still had. He lowered his head closer to mine and tilted it just so.
“We can’t do this, flower.” His voice was desperate, hungry even, and the corner of his mouth twitched with anticipation.
“Why not?” I straightened my back, trying to give myself any additional height to try and close the almost foot and a half gap between us.
“Because…” He pushed out a breath and tried to step away, but I grabbed his arms and held him in place. “Because I want you…” His throat bobbed as he grazed my sides with his finger tips. Even with the multiple layers of tulle my dress was made from, I could still feel the want in his touch.
“You do?” My words came out just loud enough for him to hear. Joy and excitement at his confirmation of what I’d hoped to be true exploded inside my heart and I waited for him to speak again.
“Yes, I do. Even though I shouldn’t. Even though I can’t have you.” His breath danced across my lips as his head sank lower and I prayed more than I ever have before for him to just lean forward a few more inches. I pressed myself into him even more and he finally welcomed me in, wrapping his strong arms around my waist as if I was already his.
“Why can’t you have me?” My voice dripped with desire and I could feel myself losing any sense of self restraint. Being this close to him without doing what I’ve wanted to do for the last few weeks was like giving a starving person a cheeseburger but telling them they couldn’t have it.
“Because I’m not the kind of man who deserves you. I’m not the kind of man your family wants for you. I’m not the kind of m—” I couldn’t take it anymore and pressed up onto my toes to bring my lips to his.
If he wasn’t going to do it, I would.
I lifted my arms to wrap them around his neck and pulled him deeper into me. When our lips finally met, it was as if I’d unleashed a wild animal. With his strong arms still wrapped around my waist he lifted me with ease and I felt my feet leave the floor. The more I leaned into him, the more he welcomed me in. When I opened my mouth and he pushed his tongue inside, I couldn’t stop myself from digging my nails into the back of his neck. He carried me to the banister of the gazebo and set me down on the edge, pressing his torso in between my legs. Spreading my legs wide, he held me in place by cupping his hands under my ass and leaned into the kiss we were feverishly sharing. When his hips met my center, I could feel how hard he was through the layers of fabric that made up my skirt. A guttural moan escaped from the back of my throat as he swiped his tongue on the inside of my mouth. The sound seemed to startle him and he pulled away quickly, breathing heavily and looking at me with bewilderment.
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have—” He tried to pull away from me but I still had my arms around his neck and held him in place.
“But I wanted you to, I wanted to, and I know you wanted to too.” He set me down off the banister and started to fix his dress shirt and tie. He wouldn’t look me in the eye and suddenly all the energy that we had shared started to dissipate.
“We can’t do this. It’s not right and extremely unprofessional. I shouldn’t have told you how I felt, I apologize.” He was speaking quickly and was moving to leave the gazebo, his eyes fixed on the ground as if he was too ashamed to look at me. He only stopped when he realized I wasn’t following him.
I stayed standing where he’d left me, refusing to move. With my arms crossed in front of me, I gave him a hard expression, hurt by how he was acting.
“Let’s go, Magnolia. It’s cold and we need to get you back to the party.” His voice was gentle and he held out a hand for me to take. I looked at it with disdain before glaring back at him.
“No. I’m not going back in there just for you to pretend like that didn’t just happen.” I couldn’t believe he was acting like this. And why . His justification for not wanting to be with me was idiotic. I didn’t care what people thought about us and neither should he. He sucked his lips over his teeth and dropped his head before walking towards me again. Once he reached me, he placed one hand on my waist and another under my chin, tilting it up so I had to look at him.
“I wish I didn’t have to pretend I don’t want you as much as I do. I wish I didn’t have to act like you’re nothing but a client to me, because you’re not. I would like nothing more than to be able to throw you over my shoulder and march back into that house and have my way with you like I’ve been dreaming about since I first ran into you last month, but I can’t. Because you and I, we’re from different worlds, flower. Two totally different worlds where the people who live in them don’t commingle,” he paused and swiped his thumb across my cheek, setting it on fire. “I wish we could be more than this, but we can’t. I’m sorry.” He closed his eyes and kissed me softly on the cheek before wiping it away with his thumb. Then, he turned and walked away from me for good.
I watched him for a beat and felt tears prick my eyes before I blinked them away forcefully. When he didn’t turn around to look back at me, I had no choice but to follow him.