AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“And you were definitely impossible to resist.”
He arched a brow, his smile perhaps only visibly mocking to Addie, who knew his sarcastic side so well now. “I’m so glad you think so.”
“I did try, you know,” Addie murmured, almost forgetting for a moment that they were surrounded by his family, who were watching the byplay with undisguised interest.
“I don’t remember that,” he said.
“You have a selective memory.”
“Perhaps,” he shrugged his shoulders and then, out of nowhere, pressed a kiss to her forehead. His smile was the last word in devotion. “In any event, it is all water under a very happy bridge now, no?”
Her throat was thick. She nodded jerkily, her own smile heavy on her face.
“And what business are you in, Ava?” Carlos asked.
Santiago spoke before Addie could. “She’s an actress.” Was Addie imagining the pride that tinged his words? The admiration?
She cringed inwardly. It was a lie. A lie she had told Guy when she’d been pretending to be who she really wanted. Turning down the scholarship position at the Bristol Old Vic had been the hardest thing she’d ever done. But what choice did she have? She couldn’t leave her mother on her own. Besides, with a credit rating as bad as hers, she’d never have been able to rent an apartment, much less open a small credit card to help with her expenses.
She’d made her peace with that decision over the years, but immersing herself in the role of Ava Peters, theatre actress, madly in love with Guillem Rodriguez was like dousing an open wound with a bucketful of salt.
She was aching all over. She so desperately wanted this – all of it – to be true.
“How glamorous!” Luciana clasped her hands together.
“She works in the theatre,” Santiago continued. “And likes modern playwrights.”
Addie cocked a brow at the older man, her lips tingling with a repressed smile.
“Have you seen her perform?” Luciana asked, reaching for a stuffed olive and holding it between her thumb and forefinger.
“Oh, yes,” Guy murmured softly. “Many times. She’s very skilled.”
“Thrilling,” Luciana declared, biting into the olive, her eyes meeting Carlos’s with a knowing smile.
“What was it that drew you to acting?” Carlos asked, apparently as fascinated by this news as his wife.
Addie felt the past chasm in her mind, pain lashing her. The dream she’d cherished from girlhood, that simply wasn’t to be. “I was always theatrical,” she said softly, remembering the plays she’d performed as a child, the way her father had drawn her into his love of drama and the stage.
“Do you study to become an actress?” Luciana asked, her head tilted slightly, in a manner that reminded Addie so strongly of Guy.
“Yes,” the word was slightly croaked, the lie hurting her to offer, for how close it had been to becoming the truth. She cleared throat.
“In America, I suppose?” Carlos asked now.
“Not for stage, necessarily,” Addie said with a small shake of her head. “I was fortunate enough to gain a position at the Bristol Old Vic.”
“I have not heard of it,” Luciana said with a lift of her slender shoulders.
“It’s a top drama school.” Addie smiled to cover the wistful tone in her voice. “This food is beautiful,” she changed the subject willingly, glad to avoid any further fibs to Guy’s family.
He’d said he wanted Santiago to be reassured, to stop worrying about Guy’s lack of commitment to a woman. To be content that marriage and an heir were in the foreseeable future. But Addie couldn’t detect anything but admiration and love between the grandfather and grandson. She found it hard to imagine Santiago ever pressuring Guy to do anything, least of all settle down.
Hell, she found it hard to imagine anyone pressuring Guy to do anything he didn’t want.
But particularly not this man, with whom he shared such a bond.
And as for his parents? They seemed completely lovely. Lovely. The same word she’d used the night before to describe Santiago. But it was true! At least in Santiago she could see a hint of the same ruthless determination that fired Guy’s blood through his veins, but Luciana and Carlos were soft, somehow. Gentle.
