Chapter 54
Chapter Fifty-Four
Darcy
T he liquor was flowing, my belly was full, and the night was still young and beautiful. What a nice breath of fresh air to feel normal again, taking a night off from feeling rejected, unsteady, and insecure.
“Darcy, is it?” My head snapped over to where Mr. Tall, Dark, and Golden Eyes stood, smirking at me with curiosity.
“It is,” I answered. Thankfully, I wasn’t too tipsy. I had a good buzz, though, like the rest of us mingling on the deck that overlooked the shores of Malibu.
“May I have a quick moment of your time? I’ve heard some things about you.”
“Titus, is it?” I said, and he nodded. I stood up from my deckchair, one of many placed in a circle around the firepit, and addressed the group I’d been sitting with. “I’ll be back in a sec, guys.”
“Take your time, sweetie,” Nat said.
“Well, Titus, no doubt you’ve heard I’m a gossip columnist who writes shit about all you billionaires. So, yes, my boss wants to know more about you and your brothers,” I said, clearing the air so he could get straight to the point.
“Is that so? Interesting,” he smiled, and Lord have mercy, his golden irises nearly glowed. “I had not heard that, no.”
I smiled, thankful I wasn’t a melting pile of goo standing before this man. That was a good and bad thing. The good part was that I felt like my old self again, holding her own and unafraid of a ridiculously handsome man, and the bad part was that the last man I was able to do this with was the cause of all my grief. Sebastian had captured my heart, which was obvious now because even these temptingly gorgeous men couldn’t get my eyes, mind, or heart off him.
“Your eyes are stunning,” I said, unable to stop the words.
He offered a bashful smirk that made me miss Sebastian. His skin was a sun-kissed, warm olive tone, and his dark hair was thick and wavy. Now that he and I were eye-to-eye, my eyes roamed over his face, examining his high cheekbones and strong jawline, which gave his face a striking, chiseled appearance.
But it was his eyes that truly captivated me. They were a deep golden color, shimmering with this bashful smile like molten amber. I tried to allow his smoldering stare to draw me in and away from Sebastian’s handsome features, but even this Adonis couldn’t do the trick. My heart had betrayed me and continued to sabotage me on all fronts. I was so fucked if I couldn’t get over Sebastian Aster.
“Well, I have Spanish roots to thank for these eyes. They seem to garner more attention than anything else about me,” he chuckled, his full lips highlighted by a carefully shaven mustache and beard. “My family is from Madrid. I assume you’ve heard of it?”
I knit my eyebrows together. “I mean, it’s the capital of Spain, so, yeah. I’m familiar,” I laughed. “Are there people in the world who don’t know where Madrid is?”
“You’d be surprised,” he grinned. “I meant no offense, of course.”
“No worries. I’ve never been to Spain, but your fortunate genes make sense now,” I said. “It’s not every day I compliment a man I do not know.”
“I’ve been told you are quite hard to impress,” he said with a very subtle Spanish accent.
“That’s true,” I laughed. “Can I ask who told you this?”
“I was recently in Ibiza with a close acquaintance of yours, Sebastian Aster,” he said. His golden eyes probed into me, practically searching my soul for a response.
“Were you?” I said, more curious about this little talk he wanted to have than I was mesmerized by his eyes.
“Indeed,” he nodded.
“How is he?” Might as well find out if the man is devasted or not.
“He’s the same arrogant bastard I’ve known since Oxford,” he cracked a small, menacing laugh.
“I wonder what you want to talk about,” I said, confused.
“Well, after hearing through the rumor mill that he was with Darcy Burke, a woman whose station was beneath his usual standard, I was intrigued. Then, when I was in Ibiza, the rumors shifted, and I can only assume they are true. You and he are no longer together?”
“No,” I said, feeling a knot twisting in my stomach. “I guess he’s acting single?”
“Well, you don’t seem to be acting like you’re in a relationship with him?”
“What is that supposed to mean? I’m not running around flirting with anyone, and I only complimented your eyes.”
“Suddenly defensive?” he smiled as warmly as his tone was.
God, this guy was a panty-melter.
“I’m just going through a lot right now. It should come as no surprise to people in your elite circles that Sebastian and I couldn’t work.”
“Well, the females who pine over him have a lot riding on your misfortune in love with Sebastian, so their opinions come from a different place than mine.” He looked at me sympathetically, “I formed baseless opinions of you before I met you in person tonight, and I must apologize for them. You seem incredibly lovely, and I understand why he fell for you. He may rival me in business, and I can honestly say there are times when I hate the man, but he and I can agree that you are a stunning, very attractive woman.”
“Thanks?” I said, totally perplexed by this conversation. God only knew the look I must’ve had on my face.
“I’d like to take you out sometime,” he said. “Perhaps I can help you move past that relationship and onto a better one.”
“Oh, God,” I said, refraining from rolling my eyes. “Okay, thanks for all the flattery, but I’m all used up by gorgeous, wealthy men who want to date me for my looks.”
“I like your style, Darcy,” he said with a cheeky grin. “Most women would jump at the chance to date me.”
“Well, I don’t like your style, Titus,” I answered bitchily. I didn’t like these advances, especially when I was not even close to being over Sebastian. “I’m not like other women who easily fall for men’s charms.”
“That’s what Seb said when he spoke about your relationship over drinks one night,” he said with a low laugh.
“Seb?” I responded, knowing that Sebastian only let people close to him call him that. “Are you two friends, and you’re pretending like he’s your enemy?”
“Of course, Seb is my friend,” he answered, amused. “We’re only enemies when business is at hand. Other than that, I love the arrogant dick. I just wanted to thank you for helping him move out of that dark space he was in.”
“No problem,” I answered.
“He’s in love with you, you know?”
My heart raced in response, and everything that had been dark in my world since Sebastian left grew a bit lighter.
“Well, he has a shitty way of communicating that to me,” I said.
“Don’t be hard on yourself for allowing him in,” he said. “Seb is known for being a rock that women shatter themselves against.”
There went all the hopes and dreams.
“Well, I’m glad to know the rock I shattered myself against loves me, at least,” I laughed. “And if you’re here to ask me to date you, I’m going to have to pass.”
“You should do it,” I heard John say, walking up from behind Titus.
“I should do it?” This was all bad. The friend and the brother of the man I loved were advising me to let Sebastian go and move on. If that didn’t tell me everything I needed to know…
“It would get his head out of the clouds and come after his woman,” Titus advised.
“Just don’t fall for this prick,” John teased, pointing his thumb at Titus. “He’s known for loving and leaving the ladies.”
Titus chuckled. “What can I say? I’m a lover, not a fighter,” he said, his accent thicker than before. “And I know how much the ladies love the love, even though they hate it when it leaves.”
“All of you wealthy, playboy bachelors are dirtbags, you know that?” I said, annoyed.
“There’s hope for us, though,” Titus said playfully. “If Johnny Boy here can be tamed, then we all can.”
“If word gets back to Seb that you went out with this chump,” John said, “you’ll have the Aster family jet landing at LAX at 0600 hours the next day.”
“If there’s one thing I don’t do, it’s play dirty games,” I said. “He either wants me in his life, or he doesn’t.”
“Oh, he wants you, beautiful,” Titus said. “You are all he could talk about when I was with him, and something about eating bugs?”
“Seb was talking about his woman all night and with you ?” John asked with surprise.
Titus laughed and took a sip of the beer he was holding. “I wanted to call him out for being so lovesick, but he seemed a bit fragile. Really, I’m just grateful he doesn’t look like death warmed over anymore. Melissa’s death fucked him in the head for too long.”
“Lovesick,” John said with a hint of humor and mystery. Then he looked at me. “Cheer up, buttercup. Let me tell you something about my brother you don’t know. He does not pine away for any woman—no way, no how, never in a million. The fact that he’s acting like a little bitch in front of Titus, of all people, tells me that he’s been working through some shit. Knowing him as I do, I’d say he’s trying to fix himself so he can be the man you fell in love with.”
“Look at you,” I smiled at John, “playing relationship expert for your brother.”
“And look at me, following John’s lead and asking you to go on one date with me,” Titus said.
“Wouldn’t that be cheating?” I answered.
“On whom?” John questioned. “Cheating on your ghost of a boyfriend who you’re not sure you’ll ever hear from again?”
“True,” I answered.
“Trust me on this. Seb is in his own shaken-up world. He knows what he wants since he was crying about it with Titus, and what he wants is you. Seems like my strong brother is a weakling when it comes to falling in love.”
“I never imagined the day I’d see Seb pining over a woman,” Titus said. “Let’s light a fire under his ass, you and me. Besides, I need a feel for what you West Coast girls are into.”
“I’m not the right girl to show you any of that,” I chuckled. “I just sort of fly by the seat of my pants and don’t follow the crowd.”
“So, you’re my dream girl, too?” Titus teased, his golden eyes so damn mesmerizing I couldn’t help but smile in return.
“I guess so,” I said dryly. “Okay, fine. We’ll get tacos from a food truck or something.”
“I was thinking more of an elegant dinner,” Titus responded, confused.
I looked at John and smiled. “His brother fell in love with a girl who fed him grasshoppers. Do you think I’m down for fancy restaurants? If we give him cause for concern so I can at least get a phone call from him, Sebastian must see you doing something he knows I would insist upon. Hopefully, that’ll be enough to make him jealous. If I go to the fancy restaurant on a date, he’ll know I’m not into you.”
“Wow, you’re going for the throat,” John said.
“I miss him,” I finally admitted, feeling a yearning to do anything to hear from him. “Maybe I should just text him?”
“A woman of your nature isn’t desperate enough to chase a man, is she?” Titus arched an eyebrow that was too sexy for my own good.
“I’ve never chased a man.”
“Well, good. Then don’t text him. You let us do the work, and we’ll get that old dog hunting again. Sometimes all it takes is igniting that testosterone, and boom, they remember what’s good for them.”
“I hope this doesn’t backfire on me,” I said.
“Don’t worry,” John said with sympathy in his voice. “I will ensure that doesn’t happen. All I know is that my brother found something in you that he’s terrified to lose. You both found something in each other, and it was unexpected. While you embraced it, Sebastian became a chicken shit and ran from it. Being the good brother that I am and knowing you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to him—his words, not mine—I want to help you both find your happiness again.”
“Okay,” I said, looking at Titus. “What a great friend you are to date me just to piss off your friend so he comes after me again.”
“What are friends for?” he chuckled. “Look at this: I’m only in Los Angeles for a month and already qualified to audition for a soap opera.”
“The drama runs thick out here, and the plot lines are strong,” I said.
“Hey, let’s go tell everyone the plan,” John said. “I’m sure they’ll enjoy plan B since plan A—inviting Seb here tonight—failed.”
“He was invited and didn’t come?” I asked, pissed.
“Nope,” John said. “That date with Titus doesn’t sound so bad after all, does it?”
Maybe it wasn’t the greatest idea, but to hell with it. After all, what did I have to lose?