“I forgot how much these parties suck.”
“I’ll take the Daddy title seriously and wash your mouth out when we get back to the hotel if you say that to Senator Fiori.”
I rolled my eyes at Alex but he just glared back over his rye. The ballroom was stunning; crystal chandeliers decorated the ceiling, to the right side of the room were dozens of perfectly arranged circular tables with elegant white lilies, Alex and I were at the bar on the other side of the room facing the dance floor and band, along with the massive double doors that led out onto the lawn with the gardens. The singer with the band was hypnotizing but in that way where instead of being enthralled she was putting me to sleep.
“Go easy,” Alex cautioned as the bartender gave me another glass of chianti. “I know you’re a light weight.”
“All you do is criticize me,” I said, poking his chest and stepping forward defiantly. “Say something nice for once.”
A smirk tugged at his lips and he grabbed me around the waist, anchoring me to him. “I say plenty of nice things to you, glykia mou,” he murmured against the shell of my ear.
“Zander, they told me you were hiding over here with some pretty young thing.”
Gross. I pulled away from Alex just enough to see an older man sauntering over with a woman hanging off his arm. Giovanni Fiori was a revolting man; average height, a little extra pudge but that wasn’t unusual for a man of his age, classic balding in a U-shape, and a permanent leer. All of that wouldn’t be terrible until you combined it with his sleazy I’m-god-on-earth-and-you-better-believe-it attitude or his constant parade of mistresses. Not even the dinner jacket and tails could save him tonight, though the beautiful dark-skinned woman with raven hair and a silver dress did a lot to class him up and make them look approachable.
“Giovanni,” Alex greeted, shaking his hand. “And this must be Clara, it’s lovely to finally meet you.”
“Merci,” she said with her thick accent. “He tells me that you’ll be working with us to find a house in Greece?”
“Don’t bother the man about that right now, we’ll have plenty of time later,” Giovanni told her irritably. “Now, I do believe we’ve met, haven’t we?”
I nodded and forced myself to smile at him. “Chloe Jamieson, and yes we have.”
He smirked and his eyes slowly moved from me to Alex. “And she is your…?”
“Girlfriend,” Alex answered, tightening his grip on my waist.
“It took three years to move you from personal assistant to girlfriend? At that rate you’ll be the fiancée by the end of the decade,” Giovanni said, barking out a loud nasty laugh.
Clara frowned and I saw her shake her head almost imperceptibly at the bartender when he approached, he turned heel and went back down the way.
“Yes, thank you for that, Gianni.” Alex replied dryly. “Chloe and I were about to dance, we’ll come find you two later for dinner.”
“Of course,” she murmured, ushering the drunkard off towards another group to harass.
I watched them go and shook my head; that girl had to be getting something good to put up with that obnoxious attitude. Alex led me through the crowd to the dancefloor, close to the stage in a small open spot between the other dancers.
“Do you remember what I taught you?” he asked, guiding one of my hands onto his shoulder and the other he held.
“Not to look at my feet?” That was hard not to do, especially now when I was terrified that he would step on the hem of my dress.
“And to trust me,” he scolded, nudging my chin. “I’m not going to trip you.”
He spun us around and the air was knocked out of me as I watched the room twirl. “But you might step on my toes.”
Alex chuckled. “I’ve been ballroom dancing for as long as you’ve been alive and I haven’t crushed any toes yet.”
“Yet.”
He rolled his eyes and continued guiding me around the dancefloor. I felt weightless as I was gliding along with him, and even though I’d only danced like this a handful of times I didn’t falter with his help. I glanced at the couples around us, taking in the sight of the evening gowns and specialty tuxes. Until Alex had brought me to one of these parties a few years ago, I didn’t even know white-tie events actually existed, let alone that people actually completely followed dress code with the gloves and other accessories. As beautiful as the whole room and all the people in it were, I couldn’t get one thing out of my head.
“Girlfriend,” I said quietly, letting myself look to him for reassurance.
We slowed and he smiled. “Mm, is that alright with you?” he asked, watching me closely.
“Girlfriend,” I said again, this time unable to hold back the excitement as I said it and reached up to guide his lips to mine. “I think that’s more than alright with me…”
He stopped barely inches from my mouth, brushing his thumb over my lower lip. “Two years without you,” he murmured. “You were right there and I couldn’t do a thing about it.”
I didn’t say anything, I couldn’t because I would definitely cry and that would ruin my makeup and my night. Alex didn’t mind since he continued on, “I was angry at you for so long for choosing him but I knew it wasn’t your fault. Then it was just this sadness because you were so much different than when I’d met you…”
“What kind of different?” I asked.
“Older; your temper wasn’t as volatile and you didn’t say so many brash things. I missed it, I missed watching you grow up out of this demanding princess into a self-assured woman that knew what she wanted out of life.”
I looked away to stop myself from crying, taking several deep breaths and forcing myself to stay calm. “Peter told me that he thought I just wanted him for stability when we were on the porch,” I told him, trying to hide my thick voice and watery eyes. “I don’t think you missed me growing up into someone self-assured so much as someone materialistic and vain.”
Alex’s mouth opened but he quickly shut it again. With a quick glance around he dragged us out into the courtyard away from the watchful eyes inside. “Chloe, baby girl, don’t cry,” he pleaded, urging me to look at him once we were a little way into the hedge maze. “Glykia mou, Peter wants a justification for what he did to you; a reason why he can say doing that with Lena was okay. It wasn’t, it never will be. Even if all you cared about was what he could provide financially, that didn’t give him the right to hurt you.”
It was surprisingly cool outside for August, a chill swept through the night air and made me shiver. “I just feel like I don’t deserve to be here,” I said, finally giving in and just letting myself cry. “Like I’m proving him right by being with you.”
“Do you like being taken care of?” he demanded.
I nodded and turned away, feeling ashamed, he grabbed my chin and forced me to look back at him. “Do you like the gifts I give you?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because it makes me feel special…”
He released his grip on my chin and cradled my head as he stepped closer, refusing to let me look anywhere else. “And what do you like about me specifically?”
“You’re honest and real with me, you’ve never lied even about small things, you don’t treat me like anything is over my head, and you always do what you say you will. You’re a good man.”
“Do you know what you didn’t say just now?”
“No?”
“That you like my money, or how I look, or what I can give you. You like me, god only knows why, but you actually have things that you like about me. Chloe, I can’t tell you that this feeling will ever go away because quite frankly, it probably won’t especially if you want the title of girlfriend or fiancée or wife eventually because people will always say things.”
Wife. Mrs. Hatzistefanis. Not a great name, but it was his and I was in love with the idea of sharing it with him.
“Can you promise that I’ll be the wife one day?” I teased, blotting under my eyes again.
Alex grinned. “You say the word, I’ll make it happen.”
I laughed and laid my head on his chest, listening to the sound of his heart. When you weren’t overwhelmed you could actually take in just how beautiful it was in the garden; rose hedges made up the maze, several ancient trees flanked the manor house with the leaves and branches weeping onto the roof and holding up strings of twinkling lights for the evening. The fountain in the centre of the yard was the most eye-catching though; the ornately crafted stone had water raining down and candles floating near the edges, giving a warm glow under the darkened sky.
“We should go back in soon,” Alex said quietly. “Dinner should be starting anytime now, and even if Giovanni’s drunk, we did come here for him.”
“Ugh, way to ruin the moment,” I said with a groan.
Alex grinned and tightened his hold on me, refusing to let me pull away. Something changed on his face when I struggled against his grip, trying not to laugh too loudly when he found the ticklish spot on my side. He watched me with a far off look as I squirmed and giggled .
“I’m so happy that you came with me,” he said quietly.
I reached for him and he didn’t hold back when he kissed me; Alex moaned and clutched the back of my neck so I couldn’t move away from him. As if I would; there was no place I’d rather have been in that moment. There was a point in our relationship when it was only heavy-petting and making out, and he was good at getting me worked up to the point of no return like this – especially when one of his hands was discreetly trapped between us, massaging my breast and toying with my nipple until it was hard against his palm.
“How did I know I would find you two here?”
Alex and I jumped apart from each other like we had been shocked with a live wire. I scrambled to fix my dress and he cleared his throat while a distinct blush bloomed around his collar. Giovanni stood a few feet away with a cigarette in one hand and what appeared to be a cocktail in the other. He smirked at me and held the glass up like a toast.
“Chloe, my dear, can you go keep my Clara company while I borrow Zander for a moment?”
I don’t even know her. “Uh, sure, why not.” I glanced back at Alex, feeling the ache in my chest return when he squeezed my hand in return.
I tried to pretend I wasn’t spying on them when I headed back inside, but the way they stood close to each other and whispered made it too tempting to just go about my own business. I couldn’t hang around the gardens though, it would be too noticeable, and I couldn’t watch them from inside the doorway without looking like a total creep. With a resigned sigh I continued on in and found most people were finding their seats and preparing for dinner. These things could take hours, I needed to find the bathroom first, then I could go searching for Clara.
I ducked around the pillars and avoided people in a desperate attempt to make it to a washroom before they either filled up or before Alex made it back to our table. The archway leading to the back powder-room wasn’t lined up or barricaded by people but when I stepped inside there were women everywhere. I glanced around at them all, watching as some reapplied makeup, chatted amongst themselves and other just sat in silence on their phones. I recognized a lot of them from the sugaring circuit; women that had stayed in the business long after I left, others I knew were regularly yacht girls, normal girlfriends and mistresses, or other sex workers.
It was weird seeing this from the other side, not being the “assistant” this time or an employee but one of the girlfriends instead. I didn’t bother any of them, I figured they really weren’t intrigued by my reappearance after so long, instead, I just dipped down the corridor to the stalls.
“Chloe?”
I froze then spun around, praying it was who I thought. “Jaz?”
“Hi!” she screamed, running to hug me. “I missed you! It’s been so long, how’s Greece?”
She looked amazing; she had gotten extremely fit while I was gone and I could feel the corded muscle in her arms when she hugged me like it was the end of the world. Her red hair was shorter now too; cut into a wavy bob right at the chin, her hair was almost as red as her figure-hugging gown.
“It’s been something else,” I answered with a shrug and a smile. “How did you end up at this thing?”
“British politician, I’ve been exclusive with him for about six months now. I thought you left Alex and the business? Don’t tell me you had to come back.”
I shook my head. “No, it’s a bit of a long story, I’m actually with Alex now – like as his date.”
Her dark eyes widened. “Really?”
“Yeah, it’s pretty recent.” Like five minutes ago official and maybe two weeks into screwing around recent. “It was also sort of unexpected, but again – long story.”
She cocked a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. “We have to talk soon, are you in Rome for a while?”
“I think so? We’re supposed to be heading to Barcelona but we haven’t booked that flight so I guess we’re here for a few more days.”
“Perfect, I’ll message you later and maybe we can meet for coffee and catch up.”
“Sounds good,” I told her happily.
She hugged me again before we parted ways and I couldn’t help but feel like I was home again. I’d lost touch with Jazmin after moving to Greece and leaving the scene, we lost what little we had in common and with the distance between us I didn’t have anything else to hold onto.
I finished in the bathroom and made my way back to the table, spotting Alex and Giovanni coming in just as I found our spots. Clara was already seated and looked troubled as she glanced around.
I took my seat a few spots over and leaned across the table. “Hey, are you alright?” I asked tentatively.
She jumped when I touched her gloved arm. “Oh, yes, just thinking,” she said, offering me a faint smile.
“What are you ladies talking about?” Giovanni asked, pulling out his chair beside her. “Nothing sinister, I hope.”
I looked away and rolled my eyes while taking a sip of my wine. Alex shot me a sharp look and I smirked at him as he took the spot beside me. “Just girl stuff,” I assured Giovanni, throwing in a fake giggle that made him wink. Gag me.
Clara glanced at me with what I could only assume was relief but quickly redirected her attention back to her boyfriend. Alex’s hand went to my thigh and I leaned into him, waiting while everyone found their way to their respected spots so that Giovanni could make his usual long winded speech. A few minutes later, he was quieting down the murmuring crowd by tapping his wine glass with a knife. Here we go, I thought, forcing myself to plaster on a smile and listen as he rambled. At least dinner would be good, even if his speeches could go on for an hour.
***
“Okay, but can you believe that he said that?” I demanded. “For real, in front of everyone he thinks he can call his girlfriend a gold-digger? Wow.”
Alex laughed and shut the hotel door behind us. The first thing I did once we were inside was pull my gloves off, just letting my hands breathe and let the feeling return to my fingers.
“Let me get that,” he said huskily, grabbing at the neck ties on my dress.
I held still and let him undo the fastening, I made to pull away but he steadied me and started on pulling out the pins holding my hair up.
“There you go, Rapunzel,” he teased, ruffling my waves.
I laughed and touched my hair, feeling the caked on hairspray under my fingers. “You know who I saw tonight?”
Alex undid his jacket and flopped on the couch. “Who?”
“Jazmin, it’s been forever.”
He whistled and leaned back in seat. “I haven’t seen her in years…”
I kicked off my shoes and dropped my dress to the floor, sighing in relief as it went because despite the looseness of it, now I could actually relax. Alex held open his arms, calling me to him in the dark of the living room. I flung myself across the room, barreling into his arms and perching myself on his lap. I needed this affection and attention, for all the time I’d spent with Peter he had never touched me like this; like there was nowhere else he wanted to be.
“Mm,” I hummed, nuzzling under his chin. “I missed this.”
“I missed this too,” he replied, rubbing my back. “You fit perfectly right here.”
I nodded and started playing with his hair, twisting it around my fingers lazily. “I know, we’re made for each other,” I agreed.
Alex’s chest rumbled while he laughed silently. “You think so?”
“Yup, that’s why I found you again.”
There was quiet, content silence between us but I could feel the shift in Alex – like he wanted to say something else but wasn’t sure yet. Suddenly he broke the silence and I damn near fell off his lap and the couch entirely.
“You should marry me then if we’re meant to be together.”
I pulled away to see him, not sure if I wanted him to be joking or not. “Alex!”
“What?”
“You can’t be serious.”
He scoffed. “Why not? We’re already taking a vacation anyway, why don’t we just go to Vegas now?”
“Now? We haven’t even said we loved each other, and you wanted to get married right this second?”
Alex stared at me like he was genuinely confused by what I was saying but I had no idea what could be so outlandish when he was the one proposing that we elope. “Chloe, I’ve been in love with you for years; was that not obvious?”
I stopped breathing, my mouth hanging open but unable to do anything. Did he really just say that? After I tried to get him to say it for fucking months before we ended our arrangement? “No! No, it wasn’t!”
He blinked twice and frowned while rubbing the back of his neck. “I love you, I guess I didn’t make that clear, but I do.”
Ohmigod… “I love you too,” I said, my voice cracking at being able to finally say it.
He slowly snaked his arms around my waist and brought me closer, kissing his way from my cheek back to my ear. “Then what do you say, gylkia mou?”