Cinder by Ashes
Page 13
No one said anything until they were gone. Adrenaline rushed through me.
“I was so scared, but I wanted to be honest about everything and not hold back,” I said
Jesse looked concerned. “Why didn’t you tell me about the money before now?”
Jesse had been the anchor I’d needed to open up. I swallowed a sip of water then met his blue-eyed gaze. “I’ve not been open and trusting in a long time. I will tell you everything from now on.”
“It was probably my mother,” Coco said. Then she looked around the table. “Are you telling Em what the plan is for her next?”
No one said anything, but I saw Jesse’s dimples. The waiter left my chicken with mashed potatoes, as I’d wanted something simple, and Jesse’s lamb chops with green jelly. Once all the meals had been served, Jesse held up his phone and said, “I just texted Frank and asked him to follow up about the stolen money. Meanwhile, I think Stone should explain the rest.”
Stone picked up his cheeseburger and said, “I have a million-dollar contract with the WWE. Last year’s delay in the Olympics means I’ll need to make more TV appearances sooner than I planned, but my agent set me up.”
A laugh escaped my throat. He’d done well. I’d had no idea. I playfully poked his arm to see if I was imagining things, but he was here and real. I said, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
I met my brother’s gaze and awareness of being with my family again hit me.
He said, “We’re alike in not trusting people right away. I should have told you. And, I can cover your tuition, whatever you need, until Frank gets us our inheritance.”
Blood raced faster in my veins and I turned my face away. “Thank you, Stone. I have a scholarship, and I found off-campus housing, so it shouldn’t be too much. But what do you mean about our inheritance?”
My brother grew serious and his lips thinned. “I’m talking about Dad’s will. Lana didn’t keep you safe, or provide you with a real home till you left for college. She doesn’t deserve ….” He held up his hand as if to stop me. “Before you say you don’t want anything—”
My face heated. “You know me.”
He leaned closer, but in this moment, it was like we were alone. He said, “Half of the inheritance would be mine, so technically, I’m suing her for my money. You’ll get your half automatically.”
“I …” My pulse quickened. Part of me wanted to say forget it, but I exhaled and nodded. “Thank you.”
Stone nodded and went back to eating his dinner.
Jesse leaned closer. He smelled like the beach and evergreens. He said, “Now back to the question. Do you like the plans?”
Orlando. Bahamas. Miami. Paris. And the best part was, I’d be surrounded by friends. I grinned at him. “Are you joking? This is going to be the best vacation ever.”
I spoke the truth. Jesse, Stone, and now Jason and Coco. The next seven weeks were no longer something I’d have to endure; I’d get to spend them happily, with people I loved.
Chapter 18
Jesse
My parents hadn’t bothered to check on me much over the summer. Of course, I’m sure they knew where I’d stayed, as staff at our properties would have talked, but it didn’t matter.
Friends from Beverly Hills had stopped calling, too, which was perfect. This summer had been the best time of my life. Em made the world brighter, just from being near her.
I held open the car door for her as our next adventure awaited—this time without her brother, or our new friends. She stepped into the car and I said, “Em, our next trip to Paris will be longer.”
She shrugged and said, “My brother won. That was the most important thing. And, the summer was all a whirlwind.”
True. We’d never had so much fun in such a short time. I felt like I’d known Em forever.
As I started the car, she said, “If you want, we can go to Europe again next summer. Or we could support my brother in the Olympics in Japan.”
Long term with Em meant the color would continue in my life. I took off from her brother’s townhome and we headed toward the highway. “For now, I’m just happy we’re driving to Austen together.”
“Me, too.”
She rolled her window down and her hair flew in the breeze a little. I’d keep her safe from now on. We still had a week till orientation, but I said, “College, with you at my side, is the start of a whole new life.”
Her smile was like a thousand diamonds that shimmered in the dark. “It’s going to be great, because I love you.”
“I love you, too,” I said, and meant every word.
Em was the only girl I’d ever loved. Now that we were together, I wanted nothing but to keep her near me, forever, if she’d have me.
Thank you for reading this. Having your attention is an honor. If you wondered what was going on with Stone and his ex-girlfriend, Vanessa, you can find the slightly naughty story in Playing for Keeps (Fierce Fighter) .
Fierce Fighter Preview
Vanessa Maye
Avoid Stone for a few more hours, I told myself. You’ve avoided him this long in Napa. It’s easy enough to pretend you’re busy with this wedding. You’re a bridesmaid—they help the bride.
Pep talk done, I stepped back. No more staring at myself in the mirror of the women’s restroom in the hotel lobby. I wasn’t his anymore. We’d moved on. I squared my shoulders in my sleeveless full-length green bridesmaid dress. After leaving Pittsburgh six years ago, he’d never looked back.
Another guest, a woman I didn’t know, came into the bathroom, and I stilled as she headed past me. Then I breathed again as she passed and didn’t even blink at me or pay me any attention.
Stone was out there, and he had no idea I’d had his son, who was currently at home with my mom while I flew to Napa for this all-expenses-paid wedding.
The avoid-Stone-at-all-costs mission had been easy so far since the Steel family had used the wedding as a family reunion. So I’d disappeared after wedding duties to see the sights of Napa Valley, taste wine, and call home. I missed my boy.
The wedding ceremony had kept me busy, but all that remained was the reception. Hopefully, Stone would stay with his little sister and extended family on one end of the ballroom while I stayed on the other.
A toilet flushed in one of the stalls. Time to leave the sink and the white walls with bright mirrors and head inside. The hall was busy with people, but I stopped at the door of the ballroom with a view of one of the vineyards of Napa. The bride, Indigo Steel, was seriously living the dream with this wedding. Everything about this was picturesque. Pittsburgh never smelled this sweet, even in the spring.
I scanned the ballroom to find him. I was at the head table, with the wedding party, and Stone wasn’t anywhere in the room. Good.
I stepped forward to go to my seat, but a strong hand cupped my wrist. My heartbeat strummed, and I glanced up to see the one man I never wanted to see again and the only man who’d ever made me weak in the knees.
His lips curved higher on his square face. “You’ve been avoiding me.”
“True.” My heart raced a little more. He didn’t let me go, and I didn’t struggle. I didn’t know who I’d been kidding in the bathroom. If he wanted me, I was his.
“I thought we were cool,” he said. “You helped me track down Emily’s number.”
Cool wasn’t a word I would have used to describe us, but yes, I’d helped him get his sister’s phone number. It was a simple kindness. I tugged my hand away and crossed my arms under my chest, heaving it a little in his direction to see if he even noticed. “One phone call doesn’t make us friends, but I remembered how your stepmother took everything from you, including your cell phone. You were lucky the car was in your name after the funeral.”
“Lana is the devil.” He glanced down, and my nipples betrayed me under the sheer dress.
I dropped my hands so he wouldn’t see how hard he’d already made my nipples.
“And we were more than friends… once.”
I cl
osed my eyes. His nearness still made me ache for more, but he was right. We were the past, and I had our son as a living memory. Ignoring the heat in my veins, I said, “Life moves on, and clearly, you have been favored.”
He brushed my shoulder, just for a moment as he came closer, but my lips tingled for his kiss when he said, “I trained hard—all day, every day.”
“That’s clearly true.” I pressed my hand on his chest, and a shock rushed in me. This was a mistake.
He was all dense muscle, and my fingers ached to discover if he was still hard and passionate underneath that suit of his. I let out a sigh as I let him go. “My mother was convinced you were bad news and would never amount to anything.”
I played with my gold necklace as he rocked on his feet. “My stepmother probably still thinks that of me. She made Emily’s life hard in the past five years, but with you, I wasn’t always a bad boy.”
And still fucking charming with his hands in his pockets. No wonder he has that professional wrestling contract that requires personality for TV and sporting skill that now earns him millions. I ignored how my stomach twisted. “You proved everyone wrong.”
He motioned with his head, but his hard muscles and posture spoke without words. It was his inner strength of determination that had earned him everything. “Not yet. The Olympics are at least scheduled now.”
Right. This is about him, not my secret. I licked my lips like I wanted to tell him he was a father and to send us some cash, but I couldn’t. I’d never told him because I wanted him to succeed in his dreams. Ignoring the desire strumming in my veins, I asked, “Is that why you’re competing? I thought the goal was always the WWE.”
“It was. Money proves I’m not worthless, right?” He said it like he needed to prove that. He didn’t—at least not with me. I’d always believed in him, even when he was poor and homeless and on his way out of town, and that was how we’d created Rocky. “So I want my contract with the WWE extended,” he added, “with a pay raise, and a gold medal proves I’m worth more.”
I let out a laugh like it was an oxygen mask that released the tension in me. “What happened to the best wrestler in school wanting to be serious and study chemistry?”
People brushed past us, and he placed his hand on my back to guide me. “I was a boy who was in love with you… Did you end up going to Austen?”
Love? My gut twisted. I’d betrayed that and had no right to wish for any different. I stared ahead as he led me to the dance floor. I decided not to address feelings. It was better to avoid that. “No, life had other plans for me. Why?”
He wrapped his arms around me as the music started a slow song. My pulse zipped as we danced together, but he only answered, “My sister is going in the fall. I wanted to know what it was like.”
I swallowed and half wished we’d run off together years ago. Staying in our small part of Pittsburgh where we’d both grown up meant lonely nights where my mother reminded me that I’d followed in her footsteps and had a child alone, without any money in my pocket. I shrugged. “Guess you’ll have to ask someone else.”
The band sang a song about kissing as we swayed, and he said, “I’ve not danced since prom.”
For one second, I was tempted to kiss him. Damn. He smelled like the same cologne he’d worn that night, but this time, he was all muscles. I closed my eyes and followed him. Half wishing we could go back in time, I said, “That was a fun night.”
He squeezed me in a hug. “Every second of us was a fun night.”
“Yeah, it was.” I held him.
My heart thumped. I was with the only man I’d ever wanted. It was a tease of a different life, but I couldn’t get comfortable with him. If he ever found out about his son, he would hate me. Right now, he didn’t know how letting him go like I had sent shivers of regret through my body every night.
He whispered into my ear, “Maybe after, we can—”
“No.” Remembering the past was dangerous. In a few hours, we would leave and never see each other again. It was better not to tempt the man who made me forget I was a serious mom who never had fun anymore.
“Why?” he asked.
Good fucking question. It was better to not relive the heaven of being with him. “Because our lives are different now, and you’re training to be a champion, while I’m responsible and boring now.”
“You were never boring,” he said quickly.
The song was coming to a close. I needed to be clearer with him. I leaned back and realized my breasts, which ached for his touch, were now clearly visible to him. I moved, but the gleam in his gaze told me he’d looked. “We lead different lives now, Stone. Let’s leave the past in the past.”
“I want you,” he whispered into my ear.
The warm breath on my skin sent a sweet ache through me. I couldn’t destroy his future. I swallowed, ignoring the sense that if I didn’t have him to dream about at night, I couldn’t make it through my days anymore. I let out a sigh. “Part of me wants you too.”
His strong fingers curled around my head. My pulse quickened; I was sure he would kiss me in a moment. I needed this to end, so I shook my head, and a lie came out of my mouth. “I’m engaged, Stone. I can’t do this anymore.”
He let me go like I’d shocked him. I’d shocked myself, too, and I was trembling. Lying was never my thing, but I had to protect my heart. Stone had a bright future now, and I had to be there first and foremost for our son.
The song ended, and I pivoted and left. It was better to end it on a sweet lie, where I could dream things were different for us, and he would move on from me. Having him hate me would completely destroy me.
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USA Today Bestselling Author, Victoria Pinder grew up in Irish Catholic Boston then moved to Miami. Eventually, found that writing is her passion. She always wrote stories to entertain herself. Her parents are practical minded people demanding a job, but when she sat down to see what she enjoyed doing, writing became obvious.
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