AllFreeNovel
Share Us
His smile was sincere. “Of course I do. Who wouldn’t?” He lifted a finger and ran it along her lips. It was like a slug crawling against her mouth. She instinctively pulled away in revulsion, on the pretence of sipping her champagne. She drained the entire flute in one movement. “Aurora, it isn’t just that you’re stunning, though you are. In the future, poets will recite verses dedicated to your beauty and grace. And the best thing is, you don’t seem to give a shit. You would rather hang out in a tracksuit, watching football with me, than dressing up in a cocktail dress and going to a fancy party. You are smart, and you are interesting and you have pretty much been all I could think about since the first night I met you.”
Two spectacular declarations of love in one evening. It might have been Beatrice’s wedding night but it was Aurora who felt totally overwhelmed by adoration. She lifted her hands to Alec’s chest. “But I told you… I mean… I was honest with you. That first day… I told you that I was in love with someone else.”
“No. You didn’t.” His smile would have been disarming if she were in any place to be disarmed. “You told me that you had been in love with someone once.”
She frowned. It was six months in the past. The details weren’t clear. “I… I meant that I still love him. That I did then. That I do now. That I always will.”
He handed his champagne flute to her and took her empty one. “Haven’t you had fun with me?”
“Of course I have.” She put an arm on his shoulder solicitously. “I consider you a valuable friend.”
“So what?” He asked quietly. “You’re going to get back with a guy you already know it won’t work with. Again?”
“I don’t know,” she said with a shake of her head. “I know that I can’t let him go though.”
“I don’t believe this,” he snapped, his lips white around the edges from tension. “Why would someone like you turn yourself into a victim?”
She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, to hide her surprise. “A victim? I don’t see it that way.”
“Then you’re as blind as you are stunning.”
“With all due respect, you’ve got no idea.”
He pressed his lips together. “What is he doing for you? Is he going to give up racing? How is he going to meet your needs?”
His question was reasonable, but Aurora shook her head. “I don’t think we should talk about this now. It’s Beatrice’s wedding. She’ll be missing me.”
“She can miss you a moment more.” He spoke to her more firmly than she’d known possible.
“What’s going on, Alec? I’ve never seen you l
ike this before.”
“And I’ve never seen you make such a God-awful mistake before.”
“That’s really none of your business.” His voice was deep, his tone unmistakably menacing. Aurora watched in silence as Leonardo cut across the garden with a confident, predatorial gait. “Aurora has told you her feelings and wishes. Respect them.”
“Or what?” Alec took a step towards Leonardo, his intention clear. He lifted a hand, preparing to swing a fist at the taller man’s face, and Aurora cried out, moving between them. If Leonardo’s reflexes were not so quick, the fist would have connected with her chest. But he held out a hand and easily grabbed Alec’s punch in his palm.
“I understand you’re upset, but that’s the only free pass I’ll give you. Try to hit me again, and you’ll regret it.”
Aurora felt herself begin to shake as the reality of her predicament seeped through her mind. “Both of you stop it. Please.”
“You have told him. It is over.”
“It’s not over,” she said in exasperation to Leo. “It’s not over because there’s nothing to be over. We are friends. That’s all. Alec, I’m sorry that I didn’t speak to you sooner. I guess I knew you had feelings for me that were different to mine for you, but I didn’t want to lose your friendship. That was selfish and wrong and I’m really sorry.”
Alec shook his head. “You’re crazy.” He threw his hands in the air. “Whatever. Do me a favour though, Aurora. Forget my number. Don’t call me. You were right just now. Whatever it is we are is over.”
She watched him go with true emotion. Alec was gone, but Leonardo was there to receive the full brunt of her frustration. “Why did you come here? Didn’t you think I could handle things on my own?”
He narrowed his eyes. “I saw you coming this way and when you didn’t reappear, I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“That I was okay? Why did you think I wouldn’t be? What did you think was going on? God, did you think we were making out or something? That I wanted to try Alec out before deciding for sure which of you I wanted?” She pushed at his chest, and he took it without complaint. “I wanted to make this work. I wanted to keep on a good footing with Alec. I like him. Don’t you understand that?”
“If he is truly a friend, then he will not stay mad with you.”
“It’s not black and white like that,” she muttered, crossing her arms across her chest. “His ego’s wounded. His feelings are hurt.”
