I smiled and gave Ash a little bow. "Good evening, Mister Winters," I said.
He didn't break eye contact with me as he slowly held out his hand. I placed my hand in his with a little smile.
"Abigail, baby, I thought I was ready for this moment. I imagined you in a dress. I imagined you walking into this room. I tried to prepare myself, I really did."
"But what?" I asked, smiling at him.
He tugged gently on my hand as he stepped closer to me. Our bodies brushed and our faces were only inches apart as he stared down at me protectively. My eyes met his. I had stared into those honey-brown eyes countless times during the last month, but never were we in a situation quite like this. The whole moment was breathtaking.
"I was not prepared for this," he continued, speaking quietly. "I knew you would be beautiful, but I didn't know how it would make me feel—what it would make me want to do."
I grinned. "What does it make you want to do?" I whispered, feeling like I might swoon.
He glanced at the exit. "I want to pick you up and march you out of here," he said. "So I can have you all to myself."
"I think a few people might be disappointed if we did that," I said.
Everyone in the room wanted Ash's attention. I had no idea how popular he was. They all seemed to want to meet him. They were being fairly discreet, but I could hear them talking about him and feel them closing in on us.
"You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, Abigail."
I could barely stand up. I took a deep breath. "Ash, you're making me blush," I whispered. "But thank you. At least I don't smell like fish."
He scanned my face. "I'm crazy about you," he said as if admitting it kind of surprised him.
"That's good," I said with a lighthearted smile. "Because the feeling's mutual."
"Thank you for being here," he said quietly.
"I wouldn’t miss it for the world."
People were getting closer, trying to get noticed in our periphery, trying to cut in. Ash just stared at me—ignoring them. Finally, after several seconds, he let out a resigned sigh.
"I'm going to have to talk to these people," he whispered.
"I know," I said, whispering back.
"Stay next to me," he said.
I nodded.
"Dinner is in a half hour, then I play, then we can leave."
"I'm not in a hurry," I said.
"I am," he replied.
I smiled and then Ash lowered his mouth to kiss me on the cheek. He did it slowly, breathing in my smell while he was near my face. The feeling of his cheek softly brushing mine caused chills to run up my spine, and I smiled as I took an unsteady breath.
And just like that, Ash turned and focused his attention on the gentleman who had gotten bold enough to tap him on the shoulder.
He was famous. (At least in this world.) Everyone came up to him, introducing themselves and telling him what huge fans they were of his music. They said things like, "It's an honor to meet you," and "Thank you for coming to Miami."
Ash made sure I was at his side the whole time. We weren't all over each other or anything, but he kept me close and introduced me to anyone who he spoke with for more than a few seconds. He was confident and kind, and I caught myself feeling starstruck just like everyone else.
I definitely saw a different side of Ash that night. He was the same in all the ways that really counted, but it takes different skills to handle adoring fans than it does to just hang out one-on-one with your girlfriend or with Sidney's class. I got to see Ash in action as a respected socialite, fearless yet proper, refined and well-spoken, and it was wonderful.
After a little while, a woman named Katherine came up to talk to Ash. She introduced herself to me as the coordinator of the benefit. She said they were about to announce that dinner would be served in ten minutes, and asked Ash if he would make his way to the photo backdrop near the entrance so she could get a picture of him with the other members of the quartet. Ash asked if he should go find them, and she informed him that they were already waiting on him.
He smiled and reached for my hand. He held onto me as we walked out of the auction room and through the ballroom. I realized that I hadn't even looked at a single item that was up for auction. I had no idea what they were selling. The thought made me glance back, toward the room. It was then that I happened to notice Claudia, along with a few others sitting at our table. I deduced that they were the spouses or significant others of the other band members.
"I can just wait at the table," I said, not wanting to be in the way once we got over there.
Ash glanced at me with a questioning look as if wondering why I would offer such a thing.
It made me smile. "Manny's wife is over there," I said. "I could just wait with her."
"How do you know Manny?"
"We met when I first got here," I said.
"Did you meet Becky and Andre?"
I shook my head. "Just Manny. He said he plays bass."
Ash nodded, but he didn't let go of my hand. He continued walking, leading me toward the front.
There were still quite a lot of people in the photo room when we got there, but Katherine, who had walked ahead of us, saw Ash and motioned him over to the backdrop where the three other band members were standing.
"I'll wait right here," I said, stopping in a comfortable little nook that was out of the way.
"You sure?" Ash asked.
I nodded. "I'm comfortable here."
"I'd like to take a picture with you," he said. "When I'm done with the quartet."
"We can," I said, "I'll meet you over there."
"Okay," he agreed, letting me go.
Ash was barely three steps away when I saw a flash of movement on my right. She had come out of nowhere. Marilyn Monroe. Maybe she was a younger Susan Sarandon. Either way, she was really blonde, really gorgeous, and really bare-chested. I couldn't help but glance at her dress and the plunging neckline. She had on a delicate, teardrop diamond necklace that hung in just the right spot to draw your eye to her exposed chest. I obviously had no interest in looking at a woman's chest, and even I glanced at it. She looked like she had taken centuries to get ready—not a single hair was out of place and her lipstick was the exact same color as her dress. I didn't feel like myself wearing red lipstick and had gone for a sheer gloss that evening. I stared at her lips, thinking she really pulled it off. Who was this woman, anyway? She smelled like expensive perfume and looked like an ad for a dress designer.
I smiled at her.
"Hello," she said, holding out her hand for me to shake.
"Hello, I returned.
"Fiona Wilkinson," she said.
"Abigail Spencer."
"Oh, Ash has told me about you," she said, nodding.
Instantly, I was taken aback.
She called him Ash.
Everyone, except for Manny and Claudia, had been addressing him as Ashley that evening, and here was this vixen calling him Ash. I shot her a curious glance that might have been laced with a little annoyance. She was smiling and being passive about it, but I could tell already that she was trying to get under my skin. I sincerely almost said something to the effect of, "He hasn't told me anything about you," but I reconsidered it at the last possible second and decided to keep quiet. I considered a few other options, like small talk about the event or the fact that we both wore red, but ultimately, I didn't want to talk to her. "It was nice meeting you," I said, hoping she would walk away.
"I know Ash from New York," she said. "I've seen him play more than fifty times."
"Oh," I said, nodding and widening my eyes a little.
"We've known each other a long time," she said. "We sort of had a thing."
"Huh," I said, making a noise that told her I thought what she was saying was interesting without saying any actual words.
"He's gone through a lot of women like you, you know."
I swallowed hard.
Did she actually just say that?
I could feel blood rise to my face, but I just stared straight ahead. I could see Ash from where I was standing, but he was preoccupied with posing for the picture. I didn't say a thing in response to her comment. I was afraid my voice would come out shaky or I would say something silly or mean, so I remained quiet.
"I bet you've only been seeing him for a little while," she said. "You girls never last more than a few months. He'll have a little fun with you, and then he'll leave. He's already married. To the cello."
"Okay, thanks," I said, still not looking at her.
"Thanks for what?" she asked. "Telling you the truth? You're welcome. He's obsessed with his instrument," she said. "You'll see. He loves no woman like he loves his career. He doesn't have time for both. Believe me, sweetie, you're temporary. He might date you for a few months, but I assure you, it will end just like all the others. I've seen at least ten just like you. Cute little innocent women not suspecting of heartbreak."
My blood was officially boiling. I was beginning to sweat and feel nauseous. Her sugary-sweet voice made my ears ring, and the words it delivered were like venom. I did not look at her. I felt like I might burst out in tears.
"Okay," I said. "Thanks for the heads up."
My voice was unsteady. I didn't care. I had to say something to get her to leave me alone. Thankfully, the musicians finished their photograph, giving me an excuse to walk away. I did so without saying another word to Fiona. How could someone so beautiful spew such hurtful words out of her mouth? Maybe she wasn't meaning to be hurtful. Maybe she was telling the truth. Maybe it was an honest-to-goodness fair warning. Either way, I was heartbroken and sick to my stomach over it.
The group had just moved to the side of the backdrop, and Katherine was waiting there to talk to them. Ash smiled broadly when he saw me approaching, and I smiled back, trying to seem unaffected by the conversation I just had.
Katherine was saying something about dinner and the plan for the quartet to begin playing just before dessert service, but it was difficult for me to focus on any of it. Thoughts of the last few minutes swirled around in my head, making me feel dizzy. Before I knew it, everyone was moving like they were about to walk away. Ash reached out and took me by the waist.
"Abigail and I were thinking of having our picture taken," he said to Katherine.
She doubled back, giving us a confused expression. "Did you not do it already?"
Ash shook his head.
"Michael!" she called, hollering at one of the photographer's assistants. "These two haven't been photographed yet. Go ahead and work them in right now."
Michael nodded, looking eager and willing to do whatever Katherine requested.
"We'll be at the table," Manny said.
This caused me to glance at him. He was standing in a group with the two others in the quartet, a man and a lady. The lady smiled and waved at me when she saw me look that way.
"I'm Becky," she said, speaking loudly over the commotion. She glanced at Michael who came up next to us, ready to usher us to the backdrop "We'll have the chance to catch up at the table," she added with a wave.
I nodded, and before I knew it, we were whisked away to have our picture taken. I felt like it was prom all over again. They put us in two different positions, and we smiled as lights flashed. Ash took me by the hand. I tried to enjoy how it felt, but I was afraid to let myself—afraid to get too attached for fear that I would just lose him. I thought about the last month—the way we had been taking things so slowly as we got to know each other. I had to wonder if he was intentionally keeping his distance. Technically, nothing had changed between Ash and me, but my heart still felt broken.
I glanced around as we left the photo room, headed for the ballroom, but Marilyn Monroe was nowhere to be found. "I saw you talking to Fiona," Ash said, reading my mind.
I looked at him and gave him a smile that was laced with regret.
"What'd she say?" he asked.
"Nothing really," I said, lying. "Just that she's seen you play a bunch of times." He let out a humorless laugh but otherwise didn’t remark as we headed across the ballroom toward our table. Several people stopped Ash to shake his hand, but the interactions were so brief that no official introductions were made. I was so torn up about what the blonde had said that I couldn't think straight until I got it off my chest.
"She said she's seen you go through a bunch of girls like me," I said.
Ash stopped, right there in the middle of the aisle, and turned to focus intently on me. "What did you say?" he asked.
"Fiona," I said, half-regretting bringing it up.
Ash was so intense as he stared at me that I was actually a little afraid of what he might do once I repeated what she said.
"She said she's seen you go through a bunch of girls just like me and that it wouldn’t last more than a few months. She said you were married to…" I hesitated. I couldn’t get the last part of the sentence out. I felt terrible for bringing it up in the first place.
"Married to who?" he asked, looking increasingly agitated.
I shook my head. "Not to someone, just your instrument. Your cello. It's stupid. I'm sorry for bringing it up. I know you need to focus on playing."