“For a smart guy, you can be an absolute idiot.”
“What?” I growled.
“Earlier tonight, you told her that kissing her was a mistake.”
“I did not,” I answered quickly.
Her eyebrows rose. “Oh really? That’s not what Elena told me.”
I shook my head, racking my brain for my exact words. “I think I said . . . shit.” My eyes focused on hers. “I said, ‘I shouldn’t have done that.’ That’s not what I meant though.”
“That doesn’t matter, Ashton. You have to remember that for the last five years, she’s heard she’s unattractive, that no man besides him would ever want her. You pulling away and saying you shouldn’t have done that only confirmed to her that her husband spoke the truth.”
“Shit. Fuck!”
My head throbbed from the discussion. There were so many things I couldn’t do, or that I should be doing. It was like a minefield. One thing was for certain: that fucker was going to pay for all he’d done to Elena. “That wasn’t my goal.”
“I know.” She smiled. “You can help her more than you know. I understand your reasoning.”
Aunt Veronica didn’t understand as much as she thought. If she knew my tastes didn’t exactly run in the mainstream, she might understand my caution. Elena had been through so much already, Could I really subject her to the possibility of more damage? Could she handle the things I enjoyed?
“You need to show her she’s desirable. I don’t know about Elena’s husband, but David frequently withdrew affection. Take her places, put your hands on her. Don’t just tell her she’s beautiful—show her. You want to her to be strong enough to choose to be in your bed, then make her feel like she can stand on her own two feet. She sits around your house all day doing nothing, right?”
“She’s worked hard enough.”
“And when her three months with you are up, where is she going to go? What will she do?”
“I hadn’t thought about that.”
In truth, I didn’t want to. The time with Elena had been refreshing, not anything like I was used to. She was smart and witty. That wasn’t all, I was different around her. The man I always wanted to be. She might be sexy as hell, but she wasn’t an empty shell, like so many of the women I met over the years. Our time together already seemed so short. I didn’t want to wish it away.
Aunt Veronica watched me, and it would seem that without me even voicing my thoughts, she understood where my mind was going. “Elena will never give Dominic up if she feels she can’t stand on her own two feet. She said she met her husband in high school. Do you know what she was studying?”
“She said it was theater.”
Aunt Veronica’s eyes lit up. “Ah, so you do pay attention to people when you want to. You have to know someone in the theater district. That, or I’d be willing to bet someone owes your dad a favor.”
“I know exactly who to call.” Alan owed me a few favors. After everything I’d done for him over the years, an audition for Elena wouldn’t be a big deal.
She stood up, empty glass in hand, and made her way to the door, holding it open for me but saying in a low voice, “Make the call. I think after that you’ll find things fall into place.”
I leaned in to kiss her cheek and she wrapped her arms around my waist. For such a tiny woman, she had one hell of a body lock. “Oh, and the next time you kiss that poor girl, please don’t tell her it was a mistake.”
I smiled against her hair, knowing I’d at least done something right. “One step ahead of you.”
“Oh I know. Don’t think us women can’t tell the difference between blushes.” She winked. “Now get your ass in gear. It’s time to eat.”
“Thank you.”
She smiled and walked through the door, toward the dining room.
Fuck. What a night? I hung back, taking a moment to process everything I’d just heard and get my head around where I was going to go from here. I went to the side bar and poured a glass of Glen Livet, needing something to settle all of the shit firing around in my brain. The first drops always burned going down. The second sip settled me and helped me to start formulating a plan. Even if I never ended up fucking Elena, at least I could help her get away from that asshole.
“Ashton!”
The call came from the dining room. Knowing my mother, she already had the perfect wine for the meal sitting on the table. I jogged down the hall and found everyone already seated, wine glasses full, eyes on me. Composing my features, I took my seat next to Elena, who looked to be doing a lot better. She took her glass from in front of her and took a sip. I hoped my family hadn’t driven her to that, and resolved to find out what they’d discussed in my absence when we were on our way home.