Cheers To Us Then, Eddie

Edward Todd was getting more and more confused. The DNA report that he got Dr. Anderson to put a rush on had been emailed over to him and the evidence was conclusive.

The amnesiac currently on Angel’s bed shared 50% of Aria’s DNA. Only he and her mother were capable of showing such a result on this kind of test. Yet he remained uneasy. The amnesia was bad enough but acting like a completely different person when confronted with the ocean was even worse.

With amnesia alone, she would come back to him eventually. All it would take was patience and constant reminders of the familiar. But if her personality had changed, he was dealing with a wild card.

A terrible part of him wondered if he could take advantage of her amnesia and personality changes to improve their relationship. He knew Angel didn’t love him. He had ruined her life, after all, even if it was an accident.

They met when he was twenty-six and disillusioned about the world. His parents had never cared about him beyond what he could do for them but he still hadn’t wanted them to die. They left him completely alone at the age of thirteen and he spent the next five years raised by his parents’ former housekeeper.

She didn’t care about him either. She was only in it for the money and he knew it. As soon as he turned eighteen, he fired her so she would stop trying to take advantage of his trust fund.

Edward used his natural talent to turn the six and a half million dollars he had been left into a real estate empire while he was still in college. Since he was the richest man in Monterey County, everyone wanted a piece of him. Especially women.

He was never interested. He had more than enough of being used in his lifetime already. The last thing he needed was more gold diggers.

Unfortunately, he still had to deal with them frequently in his business dealings. Networking required a lot of parties. One of those parties was where he met Angelina Dawson. She had recently been crowned Miss Teen Monterey and was in attendance in an effort to get sponsors before moving up to the adult league.

When Edward heard her name, he half expected her to approach him asking for a sponsorship. She was breathtakingly beautiful in her seafoam green dress but looked like she would rather be anywhere in the world but at that party.

He wasn’t sure how he knew that because she was smiling at everyone her escort introduced her to. But he could tell somehow. She didn’t want to be here any more than he did.

The night went on and he still wasn’t officially introduced to her. In fact, he tried to avoid her escort’s eye. He knew that look too. Someone wanted to land a big fish tonight but that wouldn’t be happening.

Eventually, Edward made his way to the terrace to get some fresh air. The party was at a venue overlooking a magnificent garden that was well-lit despite it being after dark.

When he arrived, he found Angelina already out there sitting on the balcony railing kicking her feet. Her high heels were on the terrace behind her. She had a wine glass in her hand and looked a bit tipsy.

Edward frowned at the sight of her. First of all, that seemed dangerous. Second, wasn’t she still a minor? She shouldn’t be drinking alcohol in the first place. He wondered briefly if her escort pushed it on her.

He really shouldn’t get involved since he had been avoiding her all night but… “You should get down from there before you get hurt.”

Angelina let out a bitter laugh. “As if anyone actually cares about me getting hurt. They only care about their property getting damaged. I’m an investment to them, not a person. Do you have any idea what that’s like?”

Actually, he knew exactly what that was like. He hadn’t realized that beauty queens experienced the same problem that rich young men did. She suddenly became more interesting.

“Join the club.”

She tilted her head and looked at him curiously. “So, you do know what that’s like. Who are you, anyway? I’ve never seen you at one of these things before.”

Edward didn’t want to introduce himself for fear he would see the greed in her eyes that he saw in everyone else’s. He decided to use his first name only. That should be safe. “I’m Edward.”

Angelina raised an eyebrow after knocking back more of her wine. “Edward? That’s a grandpa name! How old are you?”

He was slightly offended but somehow amused at the same time. No one had ever talked to him like this. He may as well answer her.

“Twenty-six.”

“Way older than me but still too young for a name like that. I’ll call you Eddie,” she decided before raising her now empty glass to the sky and leaning backward a bit. “Cheers to us then, Eddie. The pitiful doormats that get walked all over by people wanting to use us.”

Angelina nearly fell off the railing so he rushed forward to grab her. She leaned against his chest and craned her neck up to look at him with those beautiful, glazed over emerald eyes.

“You caught me. Nobody caught my mom though. Her funeral was this morning yet here I am, fulfilling her last wish with my pageant coach. I didn’t even cry. There was nothing to mourn.

“She was a horrible, selfish woman who only cared about using me to make herself look good. I’ve been in pageants for longer than I can remember. I don’t like it but it’s all I know. I can’t waste all the time and effort I’ve put into it now. I have to go all the way and get that scholarship.

“Miss Americana. My mom made it to the finals before losing decades ago and pushed all her crushed dreams on me. I’m only doing it so I can afford to go to medical school. But why am I telling you all of this? You don’t even know me,” she finished with a sigh.

Edward blinked down at her. Nobody had ever shared such personal information with him before.

“Why do you want to be a doctor?” was all he could ask.

He wasn’t good at comforting people. She had just confessed her mother died and she didn’t even care; what was he supposed to say to that?