Finding Obscurity (6 page)

Chapter
Eight

Traffic was
light on Sundays to which I was grateful, and the mall would be closing early,
so I hoped I would be able to park closer to the circle. I lucked out with a
spot close to the mall, which was only about a block and a half away. I grabbed
my beaded clutch purse, got out of the car, and locked the doors. I was
thankful to have grabbed a white leather jacket before leaving the house,
because the air was chilly tonight.

I headed
down the sidewalk to Monument Circle. The limestone monument jutted into the
sky, with a woman holding a sword and torch on the very top. It was to honor
veterans and was flanked by fountains that led into pools. The limestone
figures at the base had been hand-carved, which was amazing. I had been here
once when I first moved to town, and had climbed the stairs to the observatory
at the top.

I crossed
the street and walked up to the limestone steps. Ashton was leaning against the
wall near the fountains and smiled when he spotted me. He was dressed in a
black suit with a blood-red tie. His hair was gel-styled and his sapphire eyes
sparkled. I lifted the hem of my dress as I climbed the stairs to greet him,
trying not to think about what they did with a red tie in the latest book I had
read. The last thing I needed was nasty thoughts running through my mind all
night long.

Ashton
smelled really good and lifted my hand to kiss my palm. “Liliana, you look
ravishing.”

“Thanks. You,
too.” I couldn’t help but smile at the compliment.

“Shall we
go?” He looped his arm through mine, steering me towards a waiting stretched
black limousine.

The driver
opened the door and stood silently as Ashton helped me into the backseat, then
he followed, letting the door shut. The interior of the limousine was all
leather and slick lines. The light was dim and I glanced around, never having
been in one before. There was a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket and two
crystal flutes waiting on us.

“Would you
like a glass?” Ashton asked, opening the bottle with a loud pop.

I nodded
and he handed me a glass. Taking a sip, I let the sweet bubbly liquid slide
down my throat. “This is pretty good. I’ve never been inside a limo before. It
seems awful extreme for a date, though.”

He
chuckled, taking a sip from his glass. “Nothing is too extreme for you,
Liliana. Besides, we cannot arrive at an art exhibit without being in style. I
will be honest, art isn’t my forte, but I’m sure the company will be much better
this time.”

“You’re
bringing me to a stuffy art gallery for a date?” I shifted uncomfortably.

“We will
leave anytime you wish to. I was expected to make an appearance, and having the
most beautiful woman in the world on my arm is a plus. It won’t be as bad as
you think it will be. You might find you will enjoy yourself.”
 
He ran his knuckles against my cheek.

“Uh huh.
Will there at least be food there? I am a little put out that we aren’t having
dinner. I just picture stuck-up people in formal dresses with their noses in
the air.”

Ashton
gave a bark of laughter. “There are some of those people there, yes. But there
are normal people there, too.”

I lifted
my eyebrow. “You mean normal like the wait staff? I will give it a chance, but
the moment I am snubbed, I’m outta there. With or without you.”

“I would
never put you in an uncomfortable situation. I promise that everyone will be on
their best behavior.”

I stared
out the window watching the buildings pass by, the lights of the city
reflecting on the glass. I needed to try and give this the benefit of the
doubt. Feeling nervous tended to make me a little bitchy and I took another sip
of champagne. I was running on an empty stomach and that didn’t help my
attitude, either. Maybe I was talking out of hunger, so I took a deep breath to
rethink the situation. I needed to calm down before my little electric talent
showed up for the party. I didn’t think it was a party trick that anyone would
appreciate.

We pulled
up to a large wrought iron gate and the driver let us know we had arrived by
lowering the divider that allowed us to see the windshield. The gate swung open
and we drove up to a huge limestone mansion. The driver pulled up to the
entrance and parked before opening our door. Ashton exited first and helped me
out by grabbing my hand gently. Men dressed in red jackets with nametags
proclaiming they were valet were running back and forth, letting people out of
their expensive cars and driving off around the circular driveway. The mansion
was at least three stories tall and covered a city block. It was
inconspicuously hidden behind a huge lawn of trees, now bare from the winter. I
would have never expected this to be an art gallery of any sort.

Ashton,
still holding my hand, leaned over like he was reading my mind. “It’s a private
showing. This house is owned by one of my biggest VIP members at the club, and
is a good friend.”

That
explained why he had to show his face. The doorman opened the double doors and
greeted Ashton by name before allowing us in. To say the first room was opulent
was an understatement, as two huge crystal chandeliers suspended from a ceiling
that had, what looked to be, hand-carved molding. The walls were painted in a
dusty blue, and a line of tall glass windows were on the right. An elevated
stage had a small orchestra playing classical music. The floor was polished
white marble that gleamed. It reminded me of the room that Blake had created in
his dream. I shuddered.

People
mingled throughout, dressed to the nines, carrying crystal flutes of champagne
and wine. Ashton removed my jacket, handing it to the coat-check before
grabbing a ticket to claim it later. Tall glass cases lined along the back wall
containing various items with metal plaques labeling what each case held. Tall paintings
with plaques below were all along the left wall.

We walked
into the crowd of people. A waitress walked by with a silver platter holding
glasses of wine or champagne and I snatched a glass of red wine. I felt so
sophisticated grabbing the glass from the tray like I was meant to be here. I
took a sip before looking back at Ashton. “Somebody actually lives here?”

He nodded.
“Jeffrey and Carlotta Brown, along with their family. The home has stayed in
the family for generations. They have houses in Spain and Ireland, too. Oil
money from long ago.”

“Oil
money. Hmm. Fancy.”

Ashton
chuckled. “I guess. They’re actually nice people, even though they may be rich.
Give it a chance, Liliana.”

He winked
before beaming at me. My heart did a little pitter-pat in my chest. I knew I
shouldn’t feel anything, but against my better judgment, I got butterflies in
my belly around him. It was too confusing, so I turned away to watch the people
mingling around. There were couples slow dancing in the center of the room, ignoring
everyone else. The dancing couples made me think of Blake, and I instantly felt
guilty for thinking of another man while on a date. As if reading my mind,
Ashton pulled my hand up and kissed my palm. I never would have thought being
kissed on the palm of my hand would be sensual.

A gorgeous
couple walked up, breaking the moment. The woman was tall and lithe with
chestnut-colored hair dressed in a bright blue ball gown. The man on her arm
was dressed in a black tux with a bright blue handkerchief in the breast
pocket. He was at least six-foot-five with salt and pepper colored hair. He
didn’t seem old enough to have gray hair and I frowned when I saw his face was
free of wrinkles.

“Ashton,
glad you could join us.” The man gave a short nod before shaking Ashton’s hand.
“Who would this lovely lady be?”

“Jeffery,
this is Liliana Canton.” He pointed at the beautiful couple. “This would be
Jeffery and Carlotta Brown. They are hosting this lovely event.”

“She is
striking.” He grabbed for my hand and drew it to his mouth in a slight bow.
“Pleased to meet you.”

There was
no feeling from him at all, and it made me uncomfortable. No hum of power or
anything. Just like Ashton and his bodyguard. I realized I was staring at his
hand holding mine and had yet to answer him. “Thanks.”

Jeffery
turned to my date with a raised eyebrow after dropping my hand. “Interesting. I
didn’t picture you to be with one like her. She is beautiful, but be careful
lest she break your heart.”

One
like her?
What did that mean? I looked up at Ashton in bewilderment but he
was staring straight at Jeffery with a weird look.

“Jeffery,
you are incorrigible!” Carlotta lightly smacked her husband’s arm before
turning to me. “Please ignore him. He doesn’t know his manners sometimes. Would
you like to grab something to eat?”

“Yes.” I
nodded as Carlotta led me away from Ashton towards a buffet-style table.

I grabbed
a glass plate and loaded it with assorted cheeses, crackers, fruit, and some
sort of dip. I noticed they had caviar as well, but I wasn’t going there. I
exchanged my empty glass for pink champagne. Carlotta led me over to a small
table and motioned for me to sit down. I looked back and noticed her husband
and Ashton were in quite an interesting conversation with hands gesturing all
over the place. I began to load a cracker with cheese and shoved the whole
thing in my mouth.

She
laughed quietly at me. “He should have taken you to dinner before bringing you
here. Then again, he isn’t really rehearsed on a proper date. You’re the first
woman I have seen him actually take a liking to, let alone bring to an
important event such as this.”

I almost
choked on my cracker and took a sip of champagne. “What?”

“It’s
true.” She waved her hand at me. “Oh, I’m sure he’s no virgin. It just took us
all by surprise that he actually had a wonderful woman on his arm for once. He
has plenty of women after him, but has turned every single one of them down.
Until now. There have been whispers a plenty tonight.”

I thought
about that while I chewed on a piece of pineapple before grabbing another
cracker. I thought he would have been the type to go through women like a dog
goes through a bone. No pun intended. “Is there something wrong with him?” I
bit into another cracker and leaned towards her. If there was something wrong,
I could just push him far away from me and never worry about those butterflies
again.

“Oh no,
dear. He just prefers solitude, I think. Ashton, even with his dance club, is a
recluse. We’re sure that most of it is because of his brother’s disappearance.”

So he and
I had that in common. It tugged on my heartstrings a little bit. “He blames
that on a friend of mine. Do you think there’s more behind it? I just don’t
think my friend would do something like that.”

“Ah. You
mean Blake Moore. I don’t think he was the one to do it, but I do think he was
involved in some way or another, whether he knew it or not. It was a long time
ago and Ashton needs to move past it. Living in the past doesn’t get you
anywhere. You can keep trying to run from it but your feet will stay rooted to
the ground unless you move forward.”

This woman
in front of me was smarter than she looked. Maybe she had been haunted by
something herself. I was haunted by the loss of my sister, and Ashton by his
brother’s. It made sense that I should move forward, but that day changed
everything I knew. Maybe in a way I was moving forward by allowing people in my
life.

I smiled
at her. “What you said hit home more than you could ever know. I’ve been living
in the past for a very long time.”

Carlotta
smiled back at me and leaned across the table to squeeze my hand. “Just take
that first step forward. It may be a baby step, but it is a step nonetheless.”

“Thank
you.” I squeezed her hand back, noticing there was no “magic” feeling from her
as well. “By the way, what did your husband mean by ‘one like me’?”

She shook
her head at me. “That is something you’ll have to talk to Ashton about, my
dear. It is not my place to say.”

“Speak of
the devil,” I muttered as Ashton walked up to our table with Jeffery in tow.

He sat
beside me and patted my thigh. “What have you ladies been gossiping about?”

“If you’re
gossiping, I sure hope it’s about our sexual prowess.” Jeffery kissed his
wife’s cheek and gave me a wink. “Would you like to dance, my love?” She agreed
with a smile full of love and was led onto the floor, leaving me alone with
Ashton’s hand on my thigh.

 
I looked anywhere but at him and watched the
classical band on the stage, because the warmth of his hand on my thigh was
driving me crazy. There was a dark-skinned woman setting up a microphone while
taking drink of wine, while another man tuned his guitar. The next song played
and she began to sing. She had one hell of a voice, and the acoustic guitar
blended perfectly with the classical music playing a current love song.

“Liliana,”
my name brought my gaze right into those aquamarine eyes, “would you like to
dance?”

Against my
better judgment, I nodded and he gently took my hand, leading me onto the dance
floor. Wrapping my hands around his neck, he pulled me closer so our bodies
touched with his hands around my back. We began to sway slowly to the music,
staring into each other’s eyes. His hand was making slow circles against my
bare skin, causing goose bumps pop up on my skin. I knew more about him now,
and how he was struggling just as much as I was with the whole situation.
Neither of us had let people get close to us in the past, and our lives were
slowly changing.
Baby steps,
I
reminded myself.

I let Ashton
lead me around the dance floor, and as soon as his arms went around me, I never
noticed anyone around from that point on. It was just the two of us; everyone
else disappeared. His eyes strayed to my lips and my heart caught in my throat.
Ashton slowly lowered his head to my mine, hesitantly letting our lips meet,
and passion hit me when his tongue mingled with mine. I edged closer, running
my fingers through his hair as Ashton pressed closer to me, holding my face
gently with his hands. My chest hurt a little with the feeling of an emotion I
promised I would never feel again. It was the vision I saw when we first met.
Like an ugly stepsister, fate had changed the scene and showed me that nothing
I could do would change what was to come. Honestly, I didn’t really care at
this moment as Ashton’s teeth nipped at my bottom lip before letting his tongue
flirt with mine again.