Page 52 of Ruin
The realisation dawns on me then that I haven’t thought about my husband once all night. That I’ve been thinking of him less often with each passing day. It’s like I’ve entered a different world since coming to Brisbane, and the thought is freeing in a way I hadn’t thought possible. I want to cling to this feeling forever.
To never have to think about him again.
But that would be a fairytale. At the very least, I need to start working on a plan to divorce him, but I don’t know where to start.
So I push the thoughts away, deciding to remain in my bubble a little longer.
“So, what’s the plan then?”
He slides out of the booth and reaches his hand out to help me up. The pain in my feet has eased to a dull ache, but I’m hoping whatever he has planned includes more sitting.
“Now we go and get a drink.”
Instead of moving towards the bar, he heads for the door. I follow behind, allowing him to lead me outside as he continues holding my hand. There has been far more hand holding tonight than I’d been expecting, but I’m definitely not complaining. It feels different to when Joseph used to hold my hand, his grip like a vice, holding me captive at his side. With Sebastian, it just feels… nice.
“You know they have a bar inside, right?” I ask, wondering where he’s taking me.
He flashes me a smile over his shoulder but continues on down the street, and we walk into the foyer of the hotel next door.
“Good evening, Mr DeLuca.” The man on the concierge desk smiles at us as we pass, flicking a questioning gaze towards me.
“Hi Peter. How’s everything going?” Sebastian replies, while I try to work out how they know each other.
“All going well. Nothing new to report on. Our VIP guests checked in earlier today and all seems to be to their liking.”
It dawns on me then that this must be one of their hotels. I’d forgotten about all their other business ventures, my world view having narrowed to within the walls of Dark Desires only.
Sebastian gives the man a friendly nod. “Excellent. We’re just heading into the bar for a drink. Have a good night.” He guides me onwards, steering me towards the cocktail bar area off the main foyer.
Being a Sunday night, it’s not overly busy, but there’s still enough people here to give the place a nice ambience.
“So… This is one of your places, then?” I ask once we’re situated in one of the plush leather booths.
“Yes. Along with the bar we were just in.”
Suddenly, it all makes sense. “That’s why you didn’t need to show them a ticket, or anything?”
He shakes his head with a small smile. “Perks of being the boss.”
I gape at him for a moment. “How on earth did you swing getting Chasing Destiny to hold one of their intimate concerts there? They are supposed to be super exclusive.”
He smirks. “They sought us out.”
I don’t know how to reply to that, so I stare at him in stunned amazement as he waves one of the cocktail waitresses down.
“Whiskey please, Michelle.” He turns to me with a questioning look and I open my mouth to give my order, but I can’t think of what I want. He nods, and turns back to the waitress. “And an espresso martini for the lady.”
The woman nods with a smile and heads off towards the bar. She gives the order to the bartender, pointing to Sebastian, and the guy nods before turning to grab a small ladder. He uses it to reach for the top shelf, pulling down a bottle of whiskey, pouring Sebastian’s drink before getting to work on my martini.
“How did you remember what I used to drink?” I ask, in awe of the fact that he seems to remember everything about my former life, while it has all become a distant memory for me.
A sad smile tugs at his lips as he studies me for a moment before responding. “I remember everything, Lily.”
The look he gives me is confusing the crap out of me. Sadness mixed with awe. And something else I never thought I’d see on his face.
He seems so adamant that there can be nothing between us outside of whatever our arrangement is, and yet, this whole night has felt like a promise of something more. The hand holding. The way I caught him looking at me while I was dancing…
I don’t know what I want from him, though. Or maybe I do and am just too scared to admit it myself.
