07

She had settled into one of the rooms the mother had pointed out according to the boss's instructions—that is, Ashton's. She sat on the edge of the bed, testing what was going to be her new comforter for the nights ahead. In truth, the atmosphere seemed most comfortable, and there was no cause for surprise: everything here breathed luxury. In addition to the immense, cozy bed equipped with built-in nightstands, a huge flat-screen TV faced her, allowing her to watch her favorite shows. To that were added a fireplace and central heating.

She couldn't complain, and besides, she wouldn't have done so even if the conditions had been different. The mere fact of having a roof to shelter her head and rest already constituted an immense relief. She began unpacking some things from her suitcase into the wardrobe, interrupted right in the middle by her phone ringing. She left the task suspended and sat back down on the bed to answer: it was Alicia.

Her friend's tone betrayed great surprise, even though she had already warned her partly via text—a message Alicia had never actually replied to.

She sighed.

"I mean, you knew you could count on us, but everything that's happening to you leaves me speechless. I can't understand how she could drop that on you out of the blue, that she's not your real mother, that she lied to you all this time. I can't even conceive of the idea, nor imagine what you must be feeling right this second. So please know you have my full support; whatever happens, I'll be there. My father too. Have you arrived at the house yet?"

"Yes, I left you a message to explain that I was at your place and I've already spoken with your father. He said I could stay here for as long as it takes, so I'm starting to breathe a little. Honestly, I had nowhere else to go and I feel very bad, but I know things will work out, each in their own time. Right now, I'm going through a rough patch, but even the worst problems end up finding their place. I have faith that everything will get better, and thank you infinitely for always being there for me, my friend."

The painful knot in her throat that sometimes prevented her from speaking normally threatened to choke her again. This pressure had become customary, but she managed to hold back her tears so as not to worry Alicia.

"There's no need to thank me, you well know that friends are made for that and I'll always lend you a hand. Well, since my father said yes—which I suspected because he's a good man—I'm both thrilled for you and saddened by what you're enduring. But let's look at the bright side, at least I see one: you're going to be right near me!" Alicia suddenly cried out, forcing the young woman to pull the device slightly away from her ear on pain of going deaf.

Her friend always managed to wring a smile out of her, and this day was no exception. Alicia's words brought balm to her heart. It was true that she was going to be close to her, but on the other hand, it gave her a pang: that proximity wouldn't just be with her friend, but also with Mr. Greenspan, who had lost none of his allure since that famous day.

Good grief! Even if her friend couldn't see her and was quite incapable of reading her thoughts, she felt immense shame at the idea of imagining such things. She knew full well that it wasn't proper to be so attracted to him, and she sensed that this familiarity would only complicate matters in the worst possible way. Her friend was totally unaware of what was brewing inside Hope's head; she would have a heart attack if she ever found out one day, but Hope would make sure not to shout it from the rooftops. There was no way for her to guess anything at all, unless Alicia was endowed with some magical power of telepathy. That was the only way she could unravel these secret feelings dedicated to Mr. Ashton.

Otherwise, impossible; she wouldn't even have had the courage to admit it to herself. It was too embarrassing.

And who wouldn't be?

The mere presence of this specimen of a man put her in a complete state. While she was chatting with Alicia, that slightly ribald sensation wouldn't leave her, stirring up a veritable upheaval inside her. Good Lord! A scorching heat—that was what inhabited her.

"Yes, it's true we'll be together, but I don't want to... I don't want to be a burden. I'm just going to try and come sleep, I don't want to bother anyone or play third wheel in your family," she dared to say in all frankness. One of her greatest fears was precisely that: being one too many, crashing a household without ever managing to become part of it. Because the harsh reality was that she wasn't part of it and never would be, regardless of the affection his people bore her.

The only thing occupying his mind was how his daughter would react; he knew full well that Alicia would never tolerate her father having a love affair with her friend; that would provoke a monumental scandal and a terrible shock. But thinking like that was anticipating events that hadn't happened yet, even though he persisted, himself, in replaying that evening when he had caught a glimpse of the young woman for the last time, wearing that sublime dress that made her look older and much more mature than she really was. With all that hair falling over her shoulders, that superb cleavage on her chest, and her eyes riveted on him—that night too, he hadn't managed to detach his gaze from her, and neither had she—they had exchanged nothing more than banal polite formulas for all that.

He knew full well she was interested in him. And even though she had never verbalized it to him, he managed to read it in her gaze. This element, combined with his sickly shyness, comforted him in the idea that he had a chance to finally have her as he had desired for so long. Something dictated to him that they would suit each other perfectly, and if he decided to take the plunge, he would put his cards on the table. He didn't want a commitment, not with a backdrop this blurry. He only knew that he wanted to kiss her, caress her, and possess her in that very particular way.

He was pining to be the master of her body.