Page 38 of Acquiring Ainsley
“Yes. I decided after my dad died that I needed to do something more meaningful with my life than just have a faltering handbag and accessories line. I’m not… I’m not good at business, but I think that I’m good at this—at giving money away. And we’ve been able to help about 300 kids since it opened.”
“And you haven’t told anyone about this?”
“No.” The left side of her mouth turned upward. “It just feels better to keep it quiet. Only a few people are aware of this. I feel like if a lot of people knew about it, I worry they would assume things about me that aren’t true.”
I studied her for a moment. It couldn’t be possible for her to look any more beautiful, and yet she did, and I wanted her to know that. I had a thousand compliments I yearned to give her, but instead, I said, “Impressive.”
Her hand lay across the armrest, and I took her fingers and entwined them with mine again. I’d held her hand for most of the day, and the longer I did, the more natural it felt. Once more, she didn’t pull away.
“I thought I knew you,” I murmured. “And I thought that day in New York that I had you all figured out.” I paused. “But I didn’t.”
She moved closer to me. “Does that bother you? That you don’t have me all figured out?”
“No. I like it.” With my free hand, I brushed some wayward strands of blonde hair away from her face. “Keep surprising me, Ainsley.”
“I plan on it.”
She’d barely spoken her reply when I pulled her into a kiss. It was tentative, wavering, and unsure, the kind of kiss I gave a woman when I didn’t know where things were going, and so different than the ones I’d given her that night at the Whitney Museum. This time, I knew she wanted it, and she didn’t stop me, but it still felt so strange to be here months later, breaking this invisible boundary. Ainsley might be my fiancée, but I didn’t know her. Not like this.
“Please,” she said against my mouth. “Do it again.”
My lips met hers once more; they were soft, plump, and smooth underneath my drier, harsher ones, and the fervency of our kisses increased. The moment deepened and elongated.
“There,” I said after the natural break in our connection. “Now you know how I really feel.” I rested my forehead against hers. “I’ve wanted to do that for a while.”
“Since when?”
“At least that day at Taboo. You looked so gorgeous, even though you had a massive hangover. There was something about you, too, something I couldn’t really place that told me that you weren’t at all what I thought you were.”
“You mean that I wasn’t a money-grubbing, empty-headed socialite?”
I laughed. “Your words, not mine.”
She moved away, then regarded me. “You have to understand, when I’m in that world… around those people… I must wear a kind of armor. I must act the way they want. I have to do what’s expected.”
“But this,” I replied, glancing back at the recreation center, “is where you’re the happiest, aren’t you?”
She nodded.
“I’m glad you showed it to me,” I said. “I’m glad I got to see the real Ainsley Ross. You’re making all of this so much more interesting.”
We headed back to Palm Beach and settled in for the drive together down the smooth, open road that slingshot us back to the city. I held her hand the entire way, but we didn’t speak again until we arrived in the familiar front parking lot of her condo complex.
With her attention on the console clock, she said, “I guess you have to get going. It’s almost five.”
“They’re waiting for me.” I tightened my grip on her fingers, so she’d move her gaze over to mine. “But I can also tell them to hold off, if—”
“Do you want to come up?” Her voice sounded throaty and rich. “Maybe get some water, or a snack?”
“Yes, a snack would be perfect.”
Once upstairs, she unlocked the door to her unit right before I caught her mouth with mine, crushing her against me. I walked her backwards to the wall in the far foyer, and the door slammed behind us, shutting out the world and allowing what had been building between us for weeks to escape into the warmth of her condominium.
I wrapped myself all around her, and she molded herself to me as the passion of the moment took over both of us. I kissed her lips, her jawline, and her tender neck as we moved in time with each other. After a few minutes, she undid the small buttons of her black dress and I pushed it off her shoulders, revealing her lacy black bra and matching underwear.
I stepped away from her and took in the fine curves of her body. “You’re gorgeous. Do you realize that?”
She answered by yanking me toward her, then covering my lips with hers. As we kissed again, her nimble fingers found the hem of my polo shirt, and she lifted it over my head. By the time her hands touched my chest, I was hard and ready for her; I needed her so badly in that moment that I would have done anything to get her.
