Chapter 26 Eva #2
Aston grazes his hand against my thigh and brushes it against my clit, causing me to gasp. With a devilish smirk playing on his lips, I expect him to slide himself in me until his phone vibrates on the coffee table beside us.
It’s like the tenth call he’s had since he got here two hours ago, and like all those other calls, he chooses to ignore it.
“Fuck my life,” he complains, resting his forehead against mine. “I can’t even fuck my girl in peace.”
A warmth radiates throughout my body from him calling me his girl. I’m not that type—you know, the one who gets all fuzzy over cutesy nicknames and stuff—so why has the simplest of endearments left a drumming sensation in my chest?
Almost like I belong to him.
“You know, all those years ago when you kissed me, I hated you for being a dick afterward,” I admit, running my fingers down his cheek. “And do you want to know what’s really funny?”
“What?” he murmurs, watching me intently.
“I spent years trying to buy that piece of land. Something always drew me to it, even before we kissed. Being there always brought me so much joy. Then you went ahead and ruined it.” I laugh softly.
“I’m sorry,” he says faintly.
“It’s all in the past,” I remind him. “It’ll be mine one day, when business picks up and whoever owns it agrees to sell it to me.”
Aston cocks his head with a grin. “You love it that much?”
“Maddy and Billie think I’m crazy, but I don’t need them if Houdini will hang out with me. I’d love to restore the home, rebuild the porch, sit outside with a good book, and take it all in.”
“A good book… like smut?” he teases. “I could get on board with this project, but your frog friend sounds a bit possessive.”
I smack his arm. “How do you know about smut?”
Aston shrugs with a smirk, only for his phone to ring again.
“I should probably go.” He sighs dejectedly, then continues, “We have to be at dinner in two hours.”
As he stands up, I grab his arm to pull him back to me. “But why do you have to go now?”
His mouth curves in amusement. “Because I can’t turn up in sweats with your pussy smell all over me.”
My nose scrunches at his crass remark. “That sounds gross.”
“Trust me, sweetheart, it’s the exact opposite of gross. The last thing I want is some other man smelling you on me.”
“Well, if you put it like that,” I deadpan.
“I am putting it like that.” His eyes search mine with desperation. “No one, and I mean no one, gets to touch you but me.”
This is the biggest red flag to exist.
Aston Beaumont thinks he owns me.
And while a part of me is terrified of what that might entail for us, I bury the feeling and ignore it for now. After all, he did call me his girl.
The sentiment brings a grin to my face.
After Aston leaves my apartment, I also have to prepare for tonight. I choose to wear a long, high-neck dress that reaches the floor. There is a split down the side, which comes mid-thigh. I style my hair in a bun and away from my face.
Once I am dressed and have done my makeup, I drive to Pecan Peaks, a town over, for the dinner.
The only people attending tonight are Maddy and Myles’s family and the wedding party.
Since there are only twelve of us, I’ve reserved one round table in a quieter part of the restaurant.
The dinner is nothing fancy, with large platters of Italian food served instead of multiple courses, keeping the night intimate for the almost-married couple.
Aston arrives with Maddy, but since they are preoccupied talking to Roland Whitney, I don’t get a chance to say hello to either of them. When Maddy finally steps away from the conversation, she barely acknowledges me. Her body language is off. She appears weighed down, as if carrying some burden.
As for Aston, he looks my way a few times but also appears to be in some sort of mood. I don’t know what’s happened in the last two hours, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they got into another fight before coming here.
I sit beside Ramona and across from Aston. Next to Aston is Patricia, who doesn’t seem like herself either. What the hell is wrong with this family tonight?
On her other side, Mr. Beaumont makes sure everyone can hear him.
His voice triggers me, but I pretend to be nice for the sake of my best friend.
With Myles two seats away from me, I lean over to ask, “How are you feeling after last night? Ready to walk down the aisle?”
He reaches out to kiss Maddy’s hand, but something is amiss. She glances down at her plate of creamy pasta alla boscaiola with a blank expression.
“I’m ready.” He smiles, then chuckles lightheartedly. “Last night was interesting. I know a few of my boys went home broke after Harvey cleaned them up in poker.”
“Of course he did,” I mutter under my breath. My head tilts to observe Mr. Beaumont. His need to win doesn’t surprise me one bit. Everything is a power trip to that bastard.
More bottles of wine are brought to the table to prepare for a few speeches. While most of the speeches are reserved for the wedding day itself, it’s common for family members to say a few words at a rehearsal dinner.
I glance across to Aston again, but he ignores me as if I’ve done something wrong. There’s no way to get him outside to talk without raising suspicion, so I text him quickly, with frustration building inside of me.
Me
Why are you acting like a dick?
He drops his attention to the screen but then places his phone back into his pocket.
Did he just completely dismiss my text message?
A tightness inside my chest makes it difficult to focus on whatever Ramona is talking to me about. Her voice is drowned out as my veins begin to pulse with this anger swelling inside of me.
Mr. Beaumont rises from his chair, capturing everyone’s attention. My throat feels like it’s closing up as I attempt to listen to this asshole’s impending speech.
“It is my greatest pleasure to welcome you tonight to our final dinner before my daughter, Madelina, officially becomes the new Mrs. Whitney,” Mr. Beaumont begins, raising his glass as everyone gushes over the sentiment.
“I believe love is a sacred thing, and the moment you find it, you hold on to it and spend a lifetime creating memories, hopefully with my soon-to-be grandchildren.”
The guests seem to laugh at his dig, and Maddy contrives a smile to please everyone.
As for me, I struggle to listen to a man who makes everyone believe family is always first, when he single-handedly puts business first. Not to mention I’m worthless, according to him.
“I will save the speech for tomorrow when my darling daughter makes me the proudest father and marries her future husband.”
Myles cheers, then raises his glass to say, “Okay, we get it. You want grandkids, too. You do know you have a son as well, right? No pressure, Aston.”
Mr. Beaumont brings his glass to his lips to have a drink, thrusting his chest out with an expression radiating superiority.
“My son will be busy in Dubai starting two weeks from today. The Beaumont Group has acquired a rather lucrative chain of hotels, and Aston will be the new CEO of the Emirates portfolio. Perhaps he can find a wife there if he must. After all, he will be living there indefinitely.”
A brutal coldness hits my very core, making my entire body freeze. I stare blankly at Mr. Beaumont, trying to register what he’s just said. He glances at me while adopting a pondering pose, only to then focus back on everyone else at the table.
My chest suddenly demands my attention. My once-beating heart feels like it has stopped, forcing me to gulp for air.
An uncontrollable shudder takes over until I direct my gaze to Aston. His normally vibrant green stare would usually fill me with warmth, but as I look at him for comfort or a reason for all this madness, all I see are dull eyes staring back at me.
He lied to me.
All this time, he lied to me.
I push my chair out mid-speech, ignoring the weakness in my legs.
Maddy diverts her attention to me but doesn’t say a word as I turn my back to leave the table.
My feet move as quickly as they can given the tight dress around my legs.
I push the main door open, smacked in the face by the cold air against my heated skin.
The sound of the door opening again forces me to turn around.
Aston has followed me but is smart enough to keep his distance.
“I hope you followed me because you have a damn good reason why I had to sit there and hear from your father that you’re moving to another country forever !” I thunder, unable to hide my emotions.
He takes a step closer, clenching his jaw. “Everleigh, it’s not what you think.”
“It’s not what I think ?” I take a step back, refusing to get close to him. “Don’t do this again!”
“Do what again?”
“Make me feel like I’m nothing, that my feelings mean nothing.” My voice trembles from the nausea hardening my stomach. “God, Aston. Here I was, falling in love with you, thinking you have changed. You had all the time in the world to tell me you’re moving, but no, you lied.”
“I have changed!” He runs his hands through his curly hair, trying to control his anger. “You have no idea how much I sacrifice to protect others. This isn’t about you, okay? This is about my father dictating everyone’s life.”
I stare at the man who made me believe I’d fallen in love with him.
A man who broke my heart all those years ago, only to break it again.
“For as long as you allow this man to control your life, then as far as I’m concerned, you haven’t changed, Aston.” My eyes widen as I swallow hard. “I’m not going to stand around, allowing my heart to break even more. After all, I’m just a small-town café owner unworthy of your family.”
“Everleigh, don’t do this…”
I bow my head, unable to look at him. “Tomorrow, we make sure Maddy has the best day of her life. After that, whatever the hell we were doing is done.”
My feet move toward my car, parked a few feet away. I beg myself not to cry, not even a single tear. However, the moment I sit inside alone and realize Aston never followed me, a lonesome tear falls down my cheek and rests on my lips.
I press my head against the steering wheel, fighting the urge to sob. My chest hitches, but I know I have to get myself together to drive out of here.
Not one person has come outside to check on me.
Not fucking one!
I quickly send Maddy a text saying I am not feeling well, but as I hit send, my phone begins to ring, and Billie’s name flashes on the screen.
“Billie, I can’t really talk right now,” I rush in a shaky voice.
“My…”
“Billie, you’re cutting out,” I almost yell. “What are you saying?”
“My mom’s gone…”