“Hi Miles, please call me Audra. I’m so sorry for the extra work tonight.”
I was feeling pretty embarrassed. Miles was, by all accounts,Donovan’s substitute father, and I felt the shame of my overreaction. I wondered how much he knew. He closed the door and came around to get behind the wheel, and I scooted close to the partition to talk to him.
“Don’t mention it, Miss Audra,” and with that he turned to look at me before he pulled into the street, “are you okay?”
“I…” I considered my words carefully. “Tonight did not turn out how I expected it to.”
“Things with Carol and Dennis Wright rarely do,” he said as he started the seventeen-block drive.
I was silent the first few blocks as I zoned out, watching the buildings that towered around us. New York was alive in a way that Savannah Springs never was, even at the height of tourist season. It had a pulse to it, unlike anything I’d ever seen before. As my eyes scanned around, I caught Miles looking at me again, and I saw the concern in his eyes. I decided to pry a little. I wanted validation that Donovan’s parents’ behavior was uncalled for, and it wasn’t just me. I bet Miles knew more about them than anyone else.
“His father didn’t look at me, his mother didn’t give me a chance, and the woman they brought was a bitch,” I blurted out. I didn’t have the patience to craft a more couth response.
“You don’t even know the half of it,” he stated, which certainly piqued my curiosity.
“What happened, Miles? What am I walking into here?”Because I can’t be broken again, I thought.
“Ah, that’s not my story to tell, my dear. What I do know is that Donovan is a good man who was dealt a tough hand. He escaped this madness, but I know that pieces still haunt him. I also know that I’ve never seen him look as genuinely happy as he has these last two days when I’ve seen him with you, andthat’s the honest to God truth. I know he was frantic when he left the restaurant, and I know he feels sick about everything that happened,” he glanced at me.
“I’m scared,” the open admission shocked me. “I have baggage too, and I am having a hard time going into this trusting the situation. Him and I are from very different worlds.”
“Sometimes, that’s the best kind of pair,” he countered. “It’s hard to let someone in when you’ve been hurt, no matter what world you think you’re from,” he offered, and I nodded my head. “But the reward from helping heal each other is worth the risk, if you ask me. If I may, Miss Audra, give Donovan a chance to explain himself. I think after you two talk, you’ll understand each other more. As Donovan explained earlier, you haven’t been together too long.”
I barked out a laugh. “No, not quite. We haven’t even had the official ‘what are we’ talk yet. For all I know, we might not even be dating.”
Miles chuckled, too. “I didn’t realize it was quite so early on in this relationship, but how wonderful is that? It’s obvious how naturally comfortable you are with each other. That’s the kind of relationship that defines soulmates, right there. I know that because I’ve been married to mine for four decades. Just talk.”
It was then that I realized we were on Donovan’s block. “Wow, we’re here already,” I breathed, as I saw his building come into view. “Miles, thank you for coming to pick me up and for our chat. Donovan is lucky to have you.”
“I’m the lucky one, my dear. And I’ll come get you anytime, Miss Audra. I expect to be seeing you again, even if I’m the one coming to your little town.”
“I can’t wait for you to visit.” Reaching over the seat, I putmy hand on his shoulder. He covered mine with his, and his warmth seeped into me.What an amazing man, I thought.
“I’ll see you in the morning, darling.”
When I stepped out of the car, the door to the building was open for me before I could grab the handle. Donovan stood there, and it looked like he was in physical pain.
“Audra. I am so, so sorry. Thank you for coming.”
But I wasn’t ready to have the conversation in the lobby of his building.“Let’s go upstairs,” I suggested.
“Of course,” he replied and put his hand on my back to lead me toward the elevator. Even though the situation between us had yet to be resolved, his touch still made me tingle.
You could have cut the tension with a knife, and it felt like it took three times as long on the ride up. Silence never felt so awkward, but I couldn’t start talking there. Because if one tear fell, they were all going to fall.
When we walked in, I sat down at the table where he had already set out snacks and water. God, he really was the most thoughtful man I’d ever met. Then he sat next to me at the head of the table and stayed silent, unsaid words screaming between us.
I decided to start. “I overreacted, Donovan. Grossly overreacted.” He tried to interrupt me, but I held up my hand. “Please let me explain. I’ve been trying to find the right time to say this, but I didn’t exactly want to or know how to, if I’m being honest, but we have to have this conversation.”
He put his hand on my leg while I tried to find the words I’d gone over in my head while sitting at the hotel bar. I’m not sure if he’d ever comprehend how much comfort I found in his touch.
“Theo broke up with me years ago because I wasn’twealthy. I’ve never been poor, I just wasn’t ultra-wealthy like him … like you.” I looked him in the eyes, and he squirmed at my words. “We had talked often about futures and marriage and babies, the whole nine yards, but when push came to shove, I found out his parents didn’t approve of me because I wasnotthe right pedigree.”I brought my hands up to air quote my most hated phrase.“Even though they had been wonderful to me throughout our entire relationship … when he was going to buy a ring, they said that if he married me, he wouldn’t get access to his trust fund nor be named next in line at the family company. Both of us came to find out that the expectation after graduation was to marry someone who would be beneficial for the family. Up to the point he was ring shopping, they didn’t think we would be in it for the long haul. He chose the trust and told me that we could still be together, but I would be his mistress. That his marriage was reserved for business, but I could be the pleasure, and he promised he would take care of me forever. His freaking father told him to do that. I’m embarrassed to say I stayed with him for six additional months, hoping he’d come to his senses and choose me. When I realized that wasn’t going to happen, I stopped it all. He’s mostly kept his distance since. I know he was always a little pretentious, and some of my friends didn’t love him, but he was good to me, and I saw a future with him. Things have taken a horrible turn as of late, and it’s safe to say I regret ever meeting him, but that’s a story for another day.”
I wiped the tear that leaked out of my eye. It wasn’t loud or dramatic, but fell on its own accord because these things were so hard to say.
“I have been so hesitant with you because I know you come from that world. I didn’t quite realize how ultra-wealthy youwere until these last couple of days, but that makes things more confusing. Falling for you has been so damn easy, Donovan, and I’m so scared I’ll be in the same spot down the line. That I’ll give you my heart and then we’ll reach the point where I’m not good enough … and it will break me. But how am I supposed to ask you about your marriage intentions within the first months of knowing you? It would all be for nothing because you’d run for the hills, and I wouldn’t blame you.” Bringing my eyes to his, I continued.
“I genuinely can’t fathom why you are interested in me. You’ve done so much in your life, experienced so much, have so much access. What could I possibly bring to the table, Van? I don’t have a trust fund or a last name that will open doors. At my regular, I’m an ICU nurse who plays in a dart league in a small town, and at this exact moment, has a life that is an utter disaster. I mean, this”—I gestured around—“is unfathomable to me. Your life that is filled with jets and drivers and paparazzi and magazine covers and million-dollar apartments you hold onto just because you can, is surreal, and not one I fit into by any stretch of the imagination. And I bet I don’t even know the half of it. Hell, after insinuations at dinner, I’m not even sure you’re not a father. By all accounts, you could have anyone or anything you wanted. Whatever you’ve made me out to be in your mind, I assure you I’m not. Part of me wishes you would have just given up on me when I tried to push you away, and part of me is selfishly grateful that you didn’t.” I looked down and could feel my lip start to tremble. In these last three weeks, I’d cried more than I had in a lifetime. And that was saying something.
