Chapter 45
Chapter Forty-Five
Sebastian
I arrived at the venue just as the damn thing was starting. I wished I could’ve been here to escort Darcy, but I’d already scheduled meetings with wine enthusiasts who’d flown in from Italy to promote our wine overseas. The deal had finally been landed, and after texting Jim and my father to notify them that our wines would be sold in a few five-star restaurants across Italy, I was ready for a stiff drink.
What I wanted more than anything was to get this night over with so Darcy and I could enjoy the penthouse suite I’d reserved for us. The last thing I expected was to walk into the ballroom where this event was being hosted and be met by a swarm of people who consumed so much of my time that I hadn’t even seen Darcy yet. The night was wearing on my nerves already, and we were only forty minutes into it.
“We are having the gentlemen sit over here,” the event planner said after I spotted Darcy in a lively conversation with the Mitchell wives across the room. She looked fucking stunning even from over here. Her black strapless gown made her tan skin and honey-colored hair nearly glow.
“Excuse me?” I said with humor. “My fiancée is across the room; wherever she is seated for dinner, I plan to be beside her.”
“Sorry, Mr. Aster, but there seems to be a mix-up,” the young woman stated with a humorous expression. “Your mother, Mrs. Aster, has made these specific arrangements, and I will not get fired for ruining her plans.”
I stared at the woman with shock and confusion, “Well, one thing is certain,” I answered her, “there is most definitely a mix-up. You’re trying to seat me with eligible bachelors, and as I just said, my fiancée, Miss Burke, is over there.”
“Darling,” my mother’s voice cut through this confusing conversation like a samurai sword as she approached. “You look well,” she said after looking me up and down and pretending to pick a piece of lint off my jacket.
“I am well. What are you doing here?” I questioned, knowing an event like this would typically make my mother’s skin crawl.
“Have you forgotten I am the one who has taken on all of the planning?”
“If I’d forgotten, the venue and every ounce of gold and black décor filling the room with the extravagances only you could and would pull off would have instantly reminded me.”
“Well, then, you know very well why I am here.”
“No, I don’t,” I responded, my frustration rising. “You have planned events just as extravagant as this and not been in attendance for no other reason than the event was beneath you, much like this one,” I said, sliding my hands into my trouser pockets and meeting my mother’s stern gaze with one of my own. “Why the hell are you here?”
Her smile was wicked, which made me even more pissed, “An event where my son is the grand prize could never be beneath me, don’t you agree?”
“Unless Mark is getting auctioned off as an eligible bachelor, I am not sure to whom you are referring.”
“I’m not speaking of Mark. Because you are merely dating Miss Burke, not married, you are eligible to raise money for the cause.”
I scoffed and rolled my eyes in response, “I’m not just dating Miss Burke. I’m engaged to her, and I’m quite certain every available woman in this room is acutely aware of that fact after seeing the ring on her finger. Nice try, Mother, but your childish games will not work on me.”
“Pity you think so,” she said without blinking. “The cover charge for this event was five hundred thousand per invitee, and the venue has been completely sold out. These women know exactly what they are paying for.”
I felt my anger pulsating throughout my entire being, “And what exactly are they paying for?”
“The opportunity to bid for an evening out with you while you are still available,” she smirked. “You know as well as I do that you are available, regardless of your dating status .”
“Have you lost your damn mind?” I snarled at her.
“No,” she returned unflinchingly. “It is you who has lost yours. I am merely working to help you get it back.”
“You will regret this repulsive idea,” I said. My mother had officially stooped to levels far lower than I expected in her attempt to prevent Darcy and me from becoming more than what we were.
“Save your threats for idle business deals for that silly winery your father should’ve never invested in.”
“You are a spoiled, condescending woman,” I snapped, “doing anything and everything to have your way with your family.” I stopped myself and smiled, knowing my angry reaction was precisely what she wanted. Her goal was to humiliate me and make Darcy jealous or upset, pitting us against one another as we broke under the pressure. It was a very childish motive, proving to me how threatened my mother felt by my relationship with Darcy.
“I hope you’re smiling like this when you see how much money you’ve raised tonight.”
“No,” I exhaled away my frustration over my mother’s embarrassing behavior. “I’m smiling because I know how much this will amuse Darcy. You see, it was my charming girlfriend’s idea to raise the money by me, being the prized hog to be auctioned off at this benefit, and it wasn’t to just solely raise money for the winery.”
“Oh?” my mother pressed. “This is interesting. I thought she came up with the idea to impress you with her savvy business ideas even though she’s only a silly gossip columnist, writing about wealthy people she will never know anything about?”
“Wrong again,” I said, stepping back from my mother. “You see, she loves shit like this, putting me in uncomfortable positions just to get a rise out of me. She enjoys pulling me out of my comfort zone and proving that life is about more than just the boring shit you and my father exposed me to.”
“Oh, I see. She has caused you to make the foolish mistake of wasting your time by dating someone you know you can never marry?”
“Something like that,” I said, my eyes narrowing at her. “Regardless, I know you aren’t done with your games yet.” I studied her stern expression, “After that comment, I expect you’ve set aside a certain amount of money for this charade as well. You and Dad see me as the most important investment in our family, one that cannot be lost in marriage to a woman you disapprove of. I can almost guarantee that whoever wins a date with me tonight will have been offered a generous sum to steal me away from Darcy.”
“I believe you will get along very well with?—”
“Ah, ah,” I said, interrupting my mother. “Don’t ruin the surprise, Mother. I would rather see who wins the date to find out who you and Father wish to see me paired with. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must tell Darcy about your plans. Her laugh is one of the things I love most about her, and your plan will put her in stitches. I wouldn’t miss that for anything.”
“As you wish,” my mother stepped to the side, still cocky and confident in her decision.
I crossed the room, pointedly ignoring all the people trying to stop me to have a word.
“Hey, handsome,” Darcy said, her smile as radiant and beautiful as she was. “I’ve missed you.”
“No more than I have you,” I kissed her lips, then gently pulled her to the side. “Listen, there’s been a small change in plans.”
“What’s going on?” she said.
“My mother is what’s going on,” I said with a roll of my eyes. “She’s taken it upon herself to change the criterion for who’s being auctioned off tonight.”
“What do you mean? Why are you acting like—” She paused, and I nodded when I saw she understood. “No way,” she said, covering the smile I expected her to have in response.
“Yes, way,” I said, not as humored by the situation as Darcy.
“After everything you did to get out of this, too,” Darcy responded, completely losing it in laughter and shaking her head. “Oh, God. I’m so sorry for laughing, but I can’t believe the irony. I know this isn’t funny to you, but I can’t help it.”
“You can’t help it?” I couldn’t resist laughing with her. Darcy’s amusement was delightful, and I wasn’t lying when I told my mother how much I loved to watch her laugh.
Her eyes were pooling with tears, “Shit, man. Everything you’ve done to avoid this damn auction block, and your mother found a way to put you up there anyway?”
“Now that you see what my mother is capable of, do you understand why I was El Diablo the asshole when we first met?”
“I absolutely do, but I don’t understand your mother’s lack of sanity,” Darcy answered, pulling herself back together. “What the hell is wrong with her?”
“She’s completely lost her goddamn mind,” I answered. “The cover for this fucking event was priced at five hundred grand because I would be auctioned off for a date.”
Darcy lost her shit again, and as frustrating as it was that the woman was showing no sympathy for my inconvenience, it was amusing at the same time.
“You’re not upset about this at all?” I questioned. I was surprised because my late wife would’ve burned the place to the ground if this had happened to her.
“No,” she said. “I feel sorry for you, but I don’t know what I feel worse about, you being auctioned off after busting your ass to avoid it or that your mother is batshit crazy.”
“Feel sorry for me on both accounts,” I said with a smile. “And you might want to feel sorry for yourself later tonight after I tear up your cute little ass in bed. You look ravishing.”
She arched a flirty eyebrow at me. “You mean this old thing?” she teased, posing sexily in her floor-length gown and giving a quick twirl. “Oh, and I’m going to hold you to that threat.”
“Oh, it’s not a threat. It’s a promise,” I informed her.
“We’ll have to wait and see, I guess,” she bantered. “I’m curious about how much money my man will pull in. This is the perfect time to find out what you’re worth, you know?”
“Now that you put it what way, I feel like a piece of meat,” I said.
I was suddenly and unexpectedly in Darcy’s embrace, and she brought her lips to my ear. “If you bring in more than a million,” she whispered, her warm breath igniting my dick with excitement, “I might let you get some backdoor action if you know what I mean.” She erupted into laughter, and it was clear she didn’t have a serious bone in her body tonight.
I stepped back and eyed her with a smile, “I’ll hold you to it since I’m already getting fucked in the ass by this stupid event.”
“The best part about this night is knowing I don’t have to pay five hundred thousand dollars to fuck you.”
“You’re enjoying this far too much,” I said.
“Baby, you’ve got to laugh about this, or your mother will get her way. Don’t let it piss you off,” Darcy said, brushing her hair over her shoulder. “Just have fun, and when we get to our room after this is all over, we’ll have even more fun.”
“You’re amazing, you know that?”
“I know,” she smiled. “Now, go bring in that cash like your mother expects.”
“You really do look gorgeous tonight,” I said, biting my lip as I contemplated taking her into the bathroom for a quickie.
“And you look very handsome. I’ll miss sitting by you at dinner, too,” she said with a cute pout. “Now, hurry up. I want this done because I feel like I haven’t seen you in a week. We have too much time lost to make up for, lover.”
“You’re not lying about that,” I smiled. “It’s still not too late to move to Mexico where no one can find us, you know?”
“And miss all the fun your family has to offer? Hell no,” she smiled. “I’ll see you later.”
With that, Darcy and I parted ways, and I prepared for the entire night to irritate the shit out of me. The best part was that Darcy was unfazed by my mother’s antics, which made me feel the same.
I was curious about who my parents had paid off to win a date with me tonight, though, and there was only one way to find out.