Chapter 3
The unique brunette with a playful twinkle in her eyes had to be a better choice. I shoved my drink at William, who accepted it with a chuckle, and stormed toward the group of chatting young women. Marilyn Monroe saw me first. Her bright eyes widened before a coy smile took over.
But I wasn’t coming for her.
“Excuse me, ladies,” I drawled. “Might I borrow your friend?”
The lot of them gasped when I snatched the elbow of the leggy brunette and pulled her away.
“Oh,” she said, surprise coloring her breathy huff.
We didn’t go far, just another table over, which in this low rumble of voices was far enough to talk without being overheard.
“Sorry about my abruptness.” Mother had instilled manners in us kids. I couldn’t fault her entire child-rearing abilities, only her meddling adulthood ones.
“Uh, that’s fine.” The young woman blushed and lowered her eyes before glancing toward the group she’d left.
When she turned to me, her smile was restrained, as if she wanted to be louder, bolder, more something, but wouldn’t let herself do it.
It reminded me a bit of myself, always keeping that chain on the door.
“My name’s Luke.” I almost reached for her hand in greeting—women liked to be touched, I was told—but hers were clasped tightly in front of her, so I settled on a nod.
“A-Ashley,” she said. For some reason, she kept her voice soft. Not quite a whisper, but a little husky. Interesting.
“Did you find what you needed in the hallway?” I asked simply to initiate conversation. Explaining I’d used her to get away from my mother was not on the table, and she had seemed a bit lost out there.
“Yes, thank you.” Ashley lowered her chin. She hadn’t seemed this shy before, but that had only been seconds. Who could say?
“Are you affiliated with one of the charities here tonight?” I tried another angle, sort of hoping she’d lift her pretty eyes so I wasn’t speaking to the tiny horns sticking out from the top of her head.
“No. I’m a plus-one. I, uh, I’m here with someone.”
“Ah, a date?”
She snorted, then snapped her head up and blinked. “Um, no, m-my cousin.” Ashley glanced at the group I’d stolen her from. I didn’t know which was her cousin but figured it might be the curvy Marilyn, who was glaring at me.
“She’s a makeup artist. She was hired to do this.” Ashley waved at a passing waitress, then at herself, and shrugged. “And dressed me up, too, to show off her talents.”
Ashley was making eye contact now, at least, and the same thing I had thought before still stood.
She had very pretty eyes. Dark hazel with only a small hint of brown near the center.
Her makeup was rather heavy, but the colors were complementary to her complexion.
The skin of her exposed chest shimmered slightly, and her legs were thin. By her blush, she caught me looking.
“She’s quite talented, I’d say.”
Ashley chewed one corner of her lower lip with straight, white teeth. “I’ll pass it along.”
“Are you enjoying your—” we asked at the same time, then stopped at the same time and chuckled.
“You first,” I said.
“Are you having a nice evening?” she asked, then added, “I’ve not really done this sort of thing before.”
“Well then, why don’t I show you how it works?
” I held out my arm for her to take. Her shy nature seemed to fall away in layers with every second, which was intriguing, and what I’d expected of her silent bearing was most likely true.
She had many thoughts behind her eyes, and I made it a mission to get to them.
Ashley glanced at my arm, then slid a firm grip around my elbow and nodded.
She wasn’t as tall as me, but in her heels, we were nearly even.
How very opposite the young women Mother would wish to see me with.
Perhaps it was a bit of defiance, but I sent her a smirk as my inner brat gave Mother the finger.
“The trick is to appear so engaged, no one would be rude enough to interrupt,” I said as we slowly skirted the edge of the room. “See those men talking and gesturing with their glasses?” I nodded toward a group of seven or so, one being my father.
Ashley turned, then glanced at me with expectant eyes.
“Those men will boast about the donations they make tonight. They use the occasion to get away from their wives and talk business over a drink, trying to be the loudest and most influential.”
“Influential about what? What color suit they’ll wear next time?”
I snapped my gaze to them, then down at my own black suit. “It’s formal attire.”
“It’s a costume party.”
“Eh.” I winced. “To some, it might be. Or maybe they’re always in costume.”
Ashley hid a snort of laughter with her free hand. “Aren’t there other colors, though? And what does that mean, exactly? Formal. I have a cousin that’d swear jeans were formal as long as his boots were clean.”
I chuckled. It hadn’t taken long to get her loosened up. “Your dress is black,” I whispered near her ear and took in a lungful of spicy perfume. “Mmmm.” She smelled … nice. I cleared my throat, straightening and wondering where that thought came from. Perfume usually overwhelmed me, but hers was …
“I didn’t have a choice,” she mumbled, then hastily said, “It’s my aunt’s dress. I didn’t have anything for, uh, this occasion.”
“Then what color would you wear if you had the choice?” We never stopped meandering around the room, but watched the crowd less and less.
“Hmm. Maybe red. I’ve been told I look good in red.”
“Have you?”
She didn’t answer, only turned the tables. “What about you? Is black your go-to color?”
“It is, actually. I’ve been told it makes my eyes stand out.”
Ashley danced hers between my blue ones, then blushed and looked away. “I’d have to agree.”
The more she relaxed, the less I wanted her to lower her gaze in that shy way she did so well.
The longer I could stare into her pretty eyes, the more curiously captivating they were.
Green with flecks of gold and brown, and her tan skin reminded me of a woodland elf straight from the fantasy books I used to read.
Mysterious yet authentically natural, earthy.
I cleared my throat again, not entirely sure why I found her so interesting, and searched for a mundane topic. “Are you in school?” Hopefully, that wasn’t insulting, but under the pounds of makeup, she appeared very young.
“I’m at Cressmann U.” No other details. “You?”
I didn’t like her turning the conversation back to me, but I gave in anyway and smiled. “Thank you for the compliment, but I’ve been out of college for a while now.”
Her nose scrunched adorably. “Ugh, just how old are you?”
I’d be hurt if I weren’t so charmed by her playful honesty. “Thirty-four. And you?”
“Depends.”
Uh … “Depends?”
“Depends which ID I’m usin’.”
I threw my head back and laughed. “Is that so? And what does your ID say tonight?”
“Well, it says I’m twenty-one, but my goody-goody of a cousin got me a virgin drink earlier.”
I gasped, playing along, then said, “I see. Bit of a bad girl, are you?”
We both stopped and faced each other. The shock of my flirting tone had to be plastered all over my face, and she seemed equally unprepared for it.
“I apologize. I didn’t mean that to …”
“To what?” Ashley smirked. “Scandalize me? Is this the part where you promise to make an honest woman of me?”
I huffed and cursed the heat in my cheeks. “Sorry. I’ve a bit of my mother’s voice in my head, chastising my crude forwardness.”
“Then I’ll save you only this once and politely decline your proposal of marriage. I’m much too young to be chained to a man such as yourself.”
I chuckled at her teasing, then asked, “A man such as me? And who do you think I am?”
Ashley sniffed and lifted her chin as we started walking again. Even as absurd as being paraded around as an eligible bachelor sounded, we were playing right into it by publicly courting each other as they might have done two hundred years ago.
“You, sir, are far too handsome not to know it. I’d bet you’re hounded all day long, never able to get in an honest day of work for dodging eager mommas and their even more resourceful daughters. I won’t be grouped into that category.”
“So you’re declining me on principle? Hardly seems fair. What if we’re soulmates?”
“Do you believe in such a thing?”
I’d never given it much thought, but I kind of liked the idea. “Yes, maybe. Wouldn’t it be nice to have that decision made for you? To not have to worry if you’re making a mistake?”
“But how else are we to learn if we don’t make mistakes? To have it handed to you makes a person lazy. I don’t believe in soulmates. At least, not in the fated ones. I think you can find your soulmate, but only through hard work. When I find mine, I wanna be cherished, not taken for granted.”
I stopped again. “You’re much too mature for a sometimes-twenty-one-year-old.”
Ashley laughed. The sound was deeper instead of higher-pitched. I liked it. It had notes of genuine happiness and not faked as I’d heard far too many times. My inner ear tingled as the melody, dark and secretive, faded.
“You aren’t the first person to tell me that.”
A bit of jealousy burned in my gut for no good reason at all. I wasn’t attracted to her in a sexual sense, but I didn’t want to be one of many to her either. I wanted to leave a mark as she had on me.
“I’m the oldest of too many siblings and have far too many cousins to count. Sometimes I feel like the shepherd watchin’ over a wayward flock of cats. It’s made me a bit of a cynic at times, and at others, too much of a realist to believe in fairy tales any longer.”
“That’s sad. I think everyone should have fantasies.”
Ashley chuckled. “There you go, flirtin’ with me again.”
“Sorry—”
“Luke? Why don’t you introduce me to your friend?”
I cringed as Mother joined us. She was alone, at least, having dropped the woman she’d had in tow earlier.
“Mother.” I bowed my head in greeting. “This is Ashley …”
“Brandt,” Ashley supplied and nodded at my mother. “Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise, dear.” Mother tapped her chin. “Brandt. Why does that sound familiar?”
“I’ve no clue,” Ashley said. “I’m event crashin’, but this doesn’t look much like the bachelorette party I thought it was.”
Mother’s eyes went round, and I bit off a bark of laughter.
“Hmm,” Mother finally said, then to me added, “Darling, I have some people I want to introduce you to, if you could …” She didn’t finish, implying I needed to wrap things up with the woman who didn’t meet her standards.
“Of course,” I said automatically, but before I could think better of it, words were flowing out of my mouth. “Ashley, it was a pleasure to meet you. Hopefully, we can continue this discussion at a later time?”
Mother’s jaw dropped, and Ashley froze like a trapped animal.
“Oh, um. I …”
I pulled out my phone, not taking no for an answer. One way or another, Mother would ensure I dated women, and this time, I would choose the woman. Ashley seemed clever and was entertaining and pretty. It wouldn’t be a hardship for once.
“Can I get your contact details?”
Ashley licked her lips before biting one as she took my phone and entered her number. “Okay, sure.”
Mother harrumphed, waited until Ashley handed my phone to me, and then grabbed my arm. “Really, Luke,” she grumbled as she dragged me away.
Ashley stayed rooted in place. I glanced back more than once. Her head cocked to one side, deep in thought, perhaps, and then Marilyn Monroe rushed to her side.
The next hour or so was a parade of introductions. I remained detached and as far to the edge of polite as I could be.
Mother could roll her eyes all she wanted, but I’d done what she’d asked.
She wouldn’t demand I didn’t follow through with Ashley, but she sure let me know she wasn’t happy about it.
And as much as my upbringing would allow, I let her know I didn’t care.
Even went so far as to decide to ask Ashley to meet me after the event.
No time like the present to ensure I was unavailable for any and all of Mother’s plans for my near future.
When our paths had somewhat crossed in that hour, Ashley and I smiled at each other as if we shared a secret. I could honestly say I’d never had this type of immediate connection with a woman before. Where she was currently, I didn’t know, but with any luck, she hadn’t left the event.
She’d saved her name as Ash in my contacts. Here was hoping she had her phone in that tiny purse she carried and that she’d reply.
Hello, this is Luke. We met tonight.
Ash
Luke? No, not ringing any bells.
Smirking, I turned, putting my back to the crowd for a semblance of privacy.
We were nearly betrothed?
Ash
Oh, that Luke.
Jesus, woman. How many men did you seduce tonight?
Ash
Was that what I did? Wow, you were kind of easy. I won’t tell anyone.
Lol, you’re a bit crazy. Are you busy after this?
Ash
Depends.
I chuckled and typed a response, letting her know it wouldn’t necessitate any specific ID.
Ash
I have to make sure my cousin leaves safely, but after that …
No pressure. We were interrupted earlier, and I figured we could get a bite to eat or a coffee.
Ash
You had me at food. The stuff here was such a tease.
There’s a hamburger place not too far from here that stays open late.
Ash
Send the details, and I’ll meet you.
I returned to the event, skirted my mother at all costs, and searched for William. Perhaps Ashley would be a new friend to add to my limited circle. If she remained as outspoken and brave in the face of my mother, then maybe some of that would rub off on me too.