Page 20 of Acquiring Ainsley
“You think so?”
I turned and put a tentative hand on her shoulder. “Iknowso.” I tightened my grip. “This development with your dad’s company doesn’t have to be the worst thing that ever happened to you, Ainsley.”
“I’d hardly call it the ‘worst thing’.” She lowered her voice. “His death was.”
A pang of guilt and regret coursed through me. How long had our parents spent competing, trying to outdo the other with acquisitions and influence. Too long. Now, both were dead—her father and mine. We could have put all of it aside a long time ago. In fact, we should have.
But the past couldn’t be repeated. It couldn’t be changed. We only had the present.
“I don’t doubt it was hard when he died,” I told Ainsley, struggling to find something comforting to say that would also come across as sincere. “He was a good man. A great man.” I swallowed. “But what I mean is, this doesn’t have to be a bad chapter in your life, either.”
She stared back at me but didn’t reply.
“You and Ashton will get through this. It’s a—A glitch.”
“Easy for you to say. You’re not the one who might lose everything.” She tore her gaze away from me and looked out the window of the car, staring at the filled parking lot. “I keep thinking about what Dad would say if he knew what kind of a mess we are in. He’d be horrified, embarrassed, and—”
“Stop,” I said. “Don’t beat yourself up by thinking about what a dead person would say or think. You can’t please a ghost.” She turned her attention back to me. I went on. “And he’s not here. He’s not going through this moment. You can’t spend your life trying to chase what you think he would want you to say or do. You have to make your own decisions, okay? You have to think for yourself.”
“You’re right.” She nodded. “Fair enough.”
“Good,” I said, encouraged by that answer. “Now, why don’t you let me walk you to your place so that I can make sure you get home safely.”
“How chivalrous of you.”
I gave her a mock bow. “That’s me. A knight in shining armor.”
She giggled. “Hardly.”
“I’ve been known to have good manners from time to time.” I got out of the car, shut the door, and walked over to the passenger side, which I opened for her. “Shall we?”
She didn’t reply, but when she got out of the car, her hand found mine. A jolt of electricity coursed through me as our fingers linked. Fact—I liked this. A lot.
I escorted Ainsley across the pavestone entryway, past the doorman, through the lobby, and into the elevator. She pushed the button for floor number three, and when the heavy doors closed us together in the small space, I felt something catch inside my throat. Something had shifted about Ainsley in the last few years. She wasn’t just the snobby, elitist daughter of a man my family used to consider a major rival. She was a woman now, and more of one than she probably understood.
The elevator dinged, and we stepped into a long corridor. We walked down it, then stopped in front of a large door with the chrome numbers three, four, and six nailed to the outside wall.
“This is me,” she said. “This is home.” She opened her purse and fished out her keys. “Thank you for driving me.”
“You’re welcome.”
Once again, our gazes locked, and neither of us tried to break away. Instead, what felt like an eternity passed between us.
“Make sure you drink some water,” I finally suggested. “And take some aspirin before you go to bed. You’re going to need it tomorrow.”
She smiled. “Thanks. I will.”
“My offer still stands, by the way.”
“What offer?”
“The one I made to you and Ashton in New York.”
Her shoulders slumped. “Oh, that offer.”
“Yes, that one.” I propped my hand on the doorframe. “I’m in Palm Beach for a few days. I’d like to see you for brunch tomorrow. We have a lot to discuss.”
“I already said—”
