Page 122 of Sparks Fly
“I know.” My hand skates across the table as I take hers into mine. “But I wanted to.”
Her lips part for a moment, her glistening blue eyes settle on me and my heart flutters in my chest. I have falling so quickly for Anaïs, and I know we’re going to get comments and Royce will no doubt be devastated, but you can’t help who you fall for.
Once dinner has been cleared away,we move away from the wine, and both have a glass of scotch over ice. Her fingers drum on the side of the crystal glass.
“I feel like we need to get to know each other a bit more.” My voice is smooth as my thumb brushes across the back of her hand.
“I agree.” She licks her lips. “So, tell me Mr Lexington, what was your childhood like?”
I smirk and cross my leg over the other.
“Ohhh, straight for the throat.” I chuckle and she giggles along with me. Inhaling heavily, I focus on the white tablecloth, swirling the bottom of my scotch in the glass.
“Privileged.” I narrow my gaze on her; my tone is curt.
“In what way?” She tilts her head to look at me, the crystal glass resting on her bottom lip.
“Never went without, but my dad was extremely strict. He told me constantly I wouldn’t make it, told me that I wouldn’t amount to much.”
Her lips twitch.“Well, he was wrong.” She winks and I chuckle softly
“He was and he wasn’t. I tried a lot of things, but I always stuck to karting. Knew I wanted to get into racing of any kind, and he managed to get me into a karting team when I was young. They signed me up and the rest is history. If it wasn’t for him, I would never have got here. He knew that. That’s why he did it. So, he still had that power over me.” I pause for a moment and take a mouthful of the amber liquid.
“Did he get to see you take over Saint Onyx?” she asks and I shake my head, placing my glass on the table.
“No, unfortunately not. He died a couple of years after Royce was born. It was sudden.” I roll my lips.
She gives me a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” I smile at her.
“And your mother?” she asks, shuffling in her seat and tucking her hair behind her ear before her fingers are curled back around the glass.
“Was the best mum I could have asked for. She passed five years ago,” I ignore the lump in my throat, and I feel her hand squeeze mine. “In short, without them, I wouldn’t have the empire I am still building.” I clear my throat and reach for my glass again, taking a mouthful and coating my tongue. “I owe it all to them both.”
She nods softly, raising her glass into the middle of the table and I meet it with mine.
“Enough about me.” I smirk, nestling back into my chair. “What about your childhood?”
“Tragic.”
My gaze fixates on her as I try and catch her expression. She’s not looking at me, her eyes are on the table, her fingers tapping softly.
“Sorry.” My voice floats across the table and I watch as she smiles.
“My parents didn’t have a lot. They worked numerous jobs, and I kind of brought myself up. I resented them for a while until I understood it a little more. I never went without and whatever they had, they gave to me, so to speak.” Her bottom lip trembles but she catches herself. “It was just us three, the three amigos. When they weren’t breaking their backs to make the bills, they made me feel like the richest girl in the world.” She nods, a small sniffle coming from her as she tilts her face up to look at me.
“I lost them close to each other when I was in my teens. My mum went first, then my dad followed a couple of weeks after. Died of a broken heart… or too much alcohol, but I like to think the first.” A sad smile presses against her lips and my heart aches; my chest is tight at what her life must have been.
“I dropped out of college, moved away from my hometown, and faked it till I made it.” She laughs softly, shaking her head.
“I am so sorry, Ace.” My words are wrapped in sincerity because I truly mean it. I know it’s the right thing to say when somebody tells you something sad or tragic, and it comes out so robotic at times, but not this. I meant it with every fibre of my soul.
“It’s fine, these things happen, one of those things… people die.” She blinks and I catch a tear that runs down her cheek, but she swipes it away before I even have a chance to.
“It’s not fine, Anaïs, not even one bit,” I whisper, scooping her hand in mine and holding it tightly.
Silence echoes around the room and I wait for her to continue.
