Chapter Nineteen - Kayla
Kayla
Taking a deep breath, I look at myself in the mirror, taking in my flush cheeks and glowing face.
Tonight is the night. The final big event of Asher”s and my charade. Nervousness has been making me restless the whole day.
I”m not even nervous about this stupid charity dinner. I”ve been to more than enough events where I have had to kiss asses and smile through misogyny and holier-than-thou attitudes of industry big-shots and I will survive another one.
No. It”s Asher.
He”s the one making me nervous. The one who makes me want to hide under a blanket and not get out for the next few days, because I’m just so uncertain about what the hell is going on between us.
This whole relationship was supposed to be a sham. A game with the media, only a way to protect my friend.
But it has become so much more than that, in such little time, and now I don’t know where we stand.
I never counted on him making my heart flutter. The only thing I counted on was him getting on my nerves, poking where he knows I’ll be the most annoyed.
Never would I have dreamed that Asher, the guy who talked shit about me to the media, would turn out to be someone who would turn up with pizza and ice-cream in front of my door when I’m on my period. I’d never have imagined that he’d be this sweet and thoughtful.
I”m not sure what to make of it. My heart is screaming at me to talk to him, my brain is around 80% sure that we”re on the same page, but my gut is not so sure.
Maybe he just sees me as a friend? Maybe all he wants is to be friends with benefits? Or he thinks that’s all I want?
There”s a reason I”ve built up my walls and don”t let people close. How could I have known that Asher would force his way in with a fucking sledgehammer and break them down one by one?
But what if he”s not different after all?
What if he”ll disappear on me just like that? I’ve been discarded often enough, could I really bear to go through that again?
Maybe my brain is wrong and he”s seeing all of this as a game after all. There’s no track record to go off, nobody has ever gotten this close, and he’s an actor after all. What if he faked everything?
I sigh and turn in front of the mirror, letting my eyes wander over the sparkly black dress I”ve been wanting to wear ever since I packed it for the trip to Philly.
It”s a tight, floor-length gown with a high slit at the side and spaghetti straps keeping my deep cleavage and backline in place. I”m wearing my hair in an updo. I even went to a hairdresser down the street to have it done properly.
I look amazing, I have to say. But I feel like the ugly duckling waiting outside the lake for others to notice and include me.
My doorbell buzzes, and I sigh at my reflection before turning away from the mirror and hurrying to my front door. A look out of the door spy tells me it”s Millie.
”Wooow, you look beautiful!” she exclaims with wide eyes when I open the door for her.
She”s wearing a cottage-core style dress, pastels, and an airy fabric that flows down her body like a waterfall, her curls defined and falling over her shoulders. Looks like we’ve nailed the opposites dynamic without even coordinating.
”As do you,” I tell her and step aside to let her in. We have a bit more time until the guys are going to come and collect us. ”I love that color on you.”
”Thank you!” She does a little twirl, letting her skirt fly up high, pushing it down her front like Marilyn Monroe. ”I just thought I”d pop by and catch up with you before we leave, you were gone so quickly after the match. How are things?” Then her voice turns quieter. “Now that Luca and I have been outed, how long will you and Asher stick it out?”
I shrug. ”Things are . . . good?” I say and scrunch my eyebrows together, a bit clueless how to best answer her question.
”Ahhww, you”re blushing,” she coos and comes closer, poking my warm cheeks. ”Tell me!”
”Tell you what?” I push her finger away from me and she giggles.
”Why you”re blushing.” Her grin stretches even wider. ”Did you fall for him for real?” When I don”t answer, she giggles and does a little happy dance. ”I knew it! You two are too stinking cute together to be only fake dating. It’s just like that book you lent me on our flight to Sweden!”
”Well, we might have done some . . . not-so-fake things,” I confide in her and hide my warm cheeks behind my hands.
”Honestly, you two make a cute couple,” Millie says with a shrug after squealing her delight. ”You have power-couple vibes.”
”I have no idea what that means,” I admit, startled when my door buzzes yet again. ”Listen, Millie. Not a word. Please.”
She makes a zipping motion in front of her lips, then trails after me to the elevator to meet the guys downstairs.
”Holy shit,” I whisper when the car turns into a brick driveway. The location for the dinner is a bit outside of the city, a fancy villa that looks way out of place in this monotonous suburb.
There”s a long driveway to the house, lined with trees and all kinds of flowers, even marble statues, with limousines and taxis waiting in line to drop off their passengers right by the front door.
Now I know why the guys booked a limousine instead of having Asher drive as usual. His car is certainly big enough for four people, but it would look so out of place and I don’t know if there is even space to park.
”Is this your house?” Millie asks Asher curiously. Luca apparently filled her in on who exactly Asher”s parents are and how loaded and influential his dad is.
Asher chuckles. ”Nah, my parents” house is on the other side of town. No idea who”s blowing their money on this fancy thing.”
”It”s pretty though,” I say, smushing my forehead against the window to get a better look. It’s basically a fancy, Mediterranean villa, with orange tiles on the roof and fountains at the front.
People are already strolling around, champagne flutes in their hands as they catch up.
Finally, our car comes to a stop at the front door and we all get out. Luca immediately throws a protective arm over Millie while Asher offers me his hand, then changes his mind and snakes his arm around my hip, pulling me against his side.
”Did I tell you that you look amazing yet?” he asks, pressing his lips against my temple. The both of us flash a quick smile when a man in a suit with a camera appears in front of us and takes a picture.
”You can tell me again,” I wink and relax a bit against him. Those were literally the first words out of his mouth when he saw me in the dress.
”You look amazing,” he chuckles, and I lift my chin to grin up at him.
It’s not lost on me how easily his arm around me became like second nature. I don’t freeze and my muscles don’t tense, even if he catches me by surprise. No, my body automatically melts against him.
We walk inside the house, where I immediately recognize Jade and Ellis as they are talking to some important-looking people who seem familiar. I”ve probably seen them at one of these fancy charity dinners before, but I can’t remember their name for the life of me.
”There are the stars of the evening!” Jade says with a wide smile on her face.
Asher leans down, his arm not leaving my hip, and greets his mother with a kiss to her cheek. I greet her with a short, one-armed hug and his dad with a firm handshake.
Luca was stopped by another important-looking person and is introducing Millie to him by the looks of it. Meanwhile, I turn to admire the flowers that are placed all around the room.
”Do you like them?” Jade asks and taps Asher”s arm so he’d let me go, linking her arm with mine instead and leading me away from Asher and his dad.
Millie and Luca seem to be doing the rounds and doing a bit of networking and introducing themselves. I guess I”m doing the same in a way only in a more . . . private context.
”Yes. They are beautiful.” I reach my hand out to touch one of them. They”re beautiful, orange lilies, looking just like the ones Asher brought me the first time he was at my place, surrounded by an array of white, yellow and red flowers I couldn”t name.
”You know, it”s always funny.” She grins at me and steers me into another room. ”Did you know that there is an old flower language that attributes meanings to certain flowers and colors?”
”No, I didn”t know that,” I tell her with a chuckle. ”Sorry.”
”That”s fine, love, only very few people do.” She pats my hand as we start to stroll down the hallway, looking at all the different flower arrangements. ”But I do. And orange lilies stand for hate and passion. Such beautiful flowers with such a contradicting meaning.”
I burst out in laughter, quickly masking it with a cough. So that’s why Asher chose those flowers for my first bouquet from him? I’m not sure whether to be peeved or impressed.
”Just out of curiosity—” I raise my eyebrow at her curiously. ”What do purple lilies stand for?”
”Rain lilies?” She chuckles and tilts her head. ”New beginnings. They just sprung into my eye when Asher came to get you flowers, when you were sick, right?” I grin at her sheepishly and she smiles right back at me. ”There was just no way I’d make you one of those bland ‘get better soon’ bouquets you can get at every supermarket. Flowers should get you into a good mood, not remind you that you aren’t feeling well.” We continue to the next arrangement that doesn’t really look any different to me. “And with your history, I found their meaning very fitting, I must say.”
I chuckle right along with her. Turns out, Jade is very easy to talk to and such a wonderful woman, making me feel super comfortable with the conversation. No invasive or embarrassing questions.
Then again, she”s the woman who raised Asher, so I guess there wasn”t really a possibility of her being a bitch with the way he turned out. Although I had my doubts in the beginning.
”And your friend is the one who Luca buys all my sunflowers for?” she asks me softly when we pass by the two of them. They are deep in a hushed conversation, ignoring everyone around them.
I nod and she tilts her head, looking at the two. ”They suit her. She lights up the room.”
”I think so too,” I admit and feel a smile tugging at my lips. ”Sunshine is also his nickname for her.”
”Oh, isn”t that adorable?” She chuckles. ”Who knew those two boys had a romantic bone in them?” I look at her, surprised. ”What? I may have birthed Asher, that doesn”t mean he isn”t a bit . . . unenlightened when it comes to certain things.”
That”s it. I”ve decided I like her.
”Now let”s find something to eat,” she says, full of conviction. ”I need some alcohol and don”t want to get sloppy drunk.”
She steers us outside where a beautiful buffet has been set up. ”I hope you”re hungry, dear, because all of this looks really delicious.”
”I am,” I admit and let my eyes wander over all of the trays. She isn”t kidding. I don”t know what half of this stuff is, but I know I will be trying out as much as I can.
Now, where is Millie when I need her? Usually she”s the one I”d be going half with on all of these so we can taste as much as possible. But she”s still in the other room, still glued to Luca’s side. No wonder with him going to Toronto soon and all, but I can”t believe they”ve all just abandoned me with Asher”s mom.
With a sigh, I grab a plate and get in line behind her. I”m an adult; I”ll manage a dinner without my friends to cling to.