Page 84 of Love and Other Champagne Problems

He seemed amused with me, but when he withdrew his hand, it was thankfully empty. “You don’t care for those trivial things.” Aaron swirled the whisky in his glass, but didn’t look at the amber liquid as he did so, trusting he wouldn’t let even a drop spill out. “Besides, it isn’t your heart I’m after, remember?”

I watched the bartender wipe down the bar and wondered if he was eavesdropping. He didn’t quite appear to be, but I was sure he must’ve mastered the art of secretively listening in by now. Trick of the trade. “I haven’t made my decision yet.”

Aaron let out a breath, one that was probably intended to be a chuckle, but the impatience bled through the sound. He laid his hand on the back of my bar stool’s seat, leaning in. “I’m needed home right after thewedding on Saturday. I was hoping I could bring you with me.”

“My, youdomove fast.”

“Do you want me to woo you?” he asked, entering my personal space. In an instant, the scent of his cologne filled my nose, along with the smell of the whiskey on his breath. “Do you want to be wooed, Margot Massey? I can do that.”

His face was a foot from mine, and instead of pulling away, I met the stare and looked deep into his dark eyes. They were so vastly different from Sumner’s, nearly black compared to Sumner’s brilliant blue. Pretty, but like the way the scales on a snake could be pretty. The alcohol seemed to have made him bolder, given him the confidence he’d lacked sober.

His hand was still on the back of my seat, and he still leaned close enough that the whisky on his breath began to turn my stomach. “I know that it’s him. Your babysitter. You like him—that’s why you’re resisting me.”

I stared into his gaze, unflinching. “And if that was the case?”

He rested his elbow on the countertop and then resting his chin on his fist, peering at me with a light expression. “If it’s a lover you want, you can take one. I won’t mind.”

“You make it sound like we’re in a historical movie. I cantake a lover. Who even says that?” I took a sip from my soda, wrinkling my nose. “I’m glad I have your permission, of course, to take another man to bed.”

“I’m nothing if not generous.”

Despite everything, I smirked around my straw. It wasa dark sort of amusement as I pictured the life Aaron painted for me. He gave me permission to kiss Sumner in the closets of fundraisers all I wanted, so long as Aaron was the one to take me home.

The eloquently crafted life of the rich. History seemed doomed to repeat itself after all.

Aaron seemed to be lost in thought. “What do you like about him?”

“What I like about him isn’t anything you can be.”

“You say that as if you know me.”

“These past few days, I’ve learned plenty about you.”

Truth be told, while Aaron didn’t distinctly rub me the wrong way, there was something that held me back now. Perhaps because of all the negative quirks he’d accumulated since I first heard his name. Perhaps because he was unfortunately tied to my parents. Perhaps it was the alcohol bolstering him now. Perhaps it was just because he wasn’t Sumner. Whatever the reason, though, I’d crossed him out in my mind, leaving him on the side ofdo not touch.

“What do you even know about him, hmm?” Aaron asked me, his own impatience beginning to betray his voice. The muscles in his arm grew tense as he gripped my chair harder. “What was his childhood like? What are his parents like? His sister?”

I blinked. “How do you know if he has a sister?”

“The question is, doyouknow if he has a sister? Or a brother? Or is he an only child? It seems to me you hardly know him at all, but it makes sense, doesn’t it? If you’ve only known him for a month?” Aaron seemed encouraged by my silence. “He was hired to be closeto you, darling. It wasn’treal. What you feel for him isn’t real.”

“And you?” I demanded, irritation biting down in me. “My parents might’ve hired Sumner, but how is why you’re here any different?”

“Because you and I are the same, Margot.” His own voice grew with passion. “You’re a selfish person, Margot. No, no, I don’t mean that as an insult. You’re very focused on whatyoulike. I can see that about you just from what I’ve observed so far. But selfishness in a relationship… it’s the worst kind. Some people just aren’t meant for the love in movies, you know?”

I just stared at him, thinking of how much better it would’ve been if I’d ordered an alcoholic drink before he spoke. I was sober, but a witty comeback to his bluntness eluded me, and so did the ability to laugh off what he said. “You’re saying I don’t deserve love?”

“Not that you don’t deserve it, but I’m saying you’re better off letting it go.” Aaron gave me a sympathetic expression. “What happens when Sumner doesn’t make you feel good anymore? What happens when your disdain and unhappiness ebbs away at his charm? When it drains him? Will you grow to resent him? Will he grow to resentyou?”

You’re so draining.Words that had somewhat fallen into the never-ending roar of my mind came back in full force now, a repeating loop.This is why no one likes to talk to you, dear.

My lips parted, but there wasn’t any other thought in my head.You’re so draining.

“People like us… we are not meant to be the main leads in rom-coms, Margot.” Aaron shook his head. “Not everyone is meant for love. You have to see that. You might not be meant for love, but that doesn’t mean you have to be alone. We can be?—”

Suddenly, Aaron jerked away from me, and it took me several moments to see that a hand had him by the shoulder, fisting in the loose material of his shirt. I traced the arm up to find Sumner there, his face shadowed in the low light of the bar. When he spoke, Sumner’s voice was low; lower than I’d ever heard it. He stared straight into Aaron’s eyes, into his soul. “You don’t talk to her like that.”

“I was wondering when you’d pop up,” Aaron said in a grand manner, not at all bothered by the hand at his collar. “Took you longer than I expected, I’ll admit.”

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