Page 10 of One Wild Ride

She hesitated before taking a breath. “Okay, Alex. Someone like you doesn’t get flustered around someone like me. I want the truth as to why you brought me in here.”

“I’m serious, Aria. Why wouldn’t someone like me be nervous around you?”

She rolled her eyes as she leaned back against the wall the stool was up against. “You’re rich, Alex. From what I’ve learned in life, rich people get whatever they want. And even if you didn’t have money, I’m sure there aren’t many women who have told you no.”

Stupid me. I forgot how Aria thought of me.

“You know, my mom and you have a lot in common.” The corner of my mouth hitched as I shook my head. “You both think I don’t have anything to offer the world besides my money and my smile. Thank you, Aria. I thought it was just my mom who was a terrible person for telling me those things all my life, but now I realize that maybe she was right.”

I turned back to the door and began to shove my body against it, intending to break it down. It’s not so much that I wanted out, but I had to hit something hard and the door was right there.

“Alex. Alex!”

I hesitated but refused to turn toward her. Even when she placed her hand on my arm, I wouldn’t let her soft, warm touch sway me.

“I’m sorry, Alex. That’s not what I meant.”

I finally turned to find deep mocha eyes and a soft smile turned up toward me.

“Sorry?”

The only time my mother ever apologized was to get something from me. I realized Aria wasn’t my mom, but the way she had been treating me since I met her had me wondering if I had some weird mother complex.

I felt nauseous.

“Yes, Alex. I am sorry I said that back at your place about people only liking you for your looks or money. It was mean, and I was hurt. But, that’s no excuse. Maybe I’m not as confident in my art as I would like to be. When you bought my work, I felt validated that someone other than my friends liked my paintings.”

“Your artwork is amazing, Aria. It’s what first drew me to you.”

She wrinkled her nose, and it was the most adorable thing I had ever seen.

“Really? Thank you.” She took a breath and smiled at me. “And, I have to say, your place is to die for. I’m not just talking about how big it is or those hi-tech security gadgets, I mean your taste in art. I’m jealous.”

“How about we start over?” I held out my hand to her. “Hi. I’m Alex Hawthorne. I’m a rich recluse who only buys artwork by the most talented artists the world has ever seen.”

She smiled and took my hand to shake. “Hi, I’m Aria Dixon. I’m a not-so-struggling artist who just had a famous art collector buy all of her work.”

I laughed and held her hand for a moment too long. I could tell because of the way she was staring at my hand and quickly pulled her arm away.

“Is that the second or third time we tried to start over?” Aria asked as she wrinkled her nose again and glanced at a broom in the corner.

“If we don’t count the first time in the basement garage—”

“Technically, you never told me who you were in the basement. Bradley told us his name, but you never said anything.”

I shoved my hands into my pockets also glancing at the broom in the corner. “Yeah, about that. Bradley, who happens to be the head of my security, wanted to make sure I was safe. We didn’t mean to scare you. I didn’t think it was a good idea to take you to that dark room but he insisted for safety.”

Aria waved her hands. “Don’t worry about it. I thought it was kind of fun. We were on an adventure and besides, I’ve dealt with worse. Morgana was the one who peed herself. But I made it up to her and bought her some cake so she was happy in the end.”

I made two mental notes at that moment: 1. What had Aria dealt with that being trapped by two men in a dark basement wasn’t the worst thing? And 2. I’ll have to send Aria’s roommate a cake from my personal baker.

“I never thought you were a prostitute.”

As long as we were clearing the air I felt like that really needed to be cleaned up.

“Then why were you offering to pay me to have sex with you?” Aria pointed toward the door.

“That’s not what I meant when I said I wanted to hire you. I wanted you to paint a mural in my bedroom. You’re so talented and I wanted something unique just for me.”

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