Crossing the Line (7 page)

“Absolutely, Dad.”

He holds his hand up, raising a greying
eyebrow. “Please do not interrupt. Tonight is about Isabel; your help and
opinions would be appreciated, but if you can’t take this seriously then please
do not say anything. Stick to one drink at a time, any more than that is not
ladylike. Oh and if your Mother asks you to do something, or to not do
something please obey her. Have you got all that?”

“Yes, Dad.”

“Good. Well, try to have a nice evening,
and, Amelie, you look beautiful,” he adds with a warm smile which almost knocks
me over.

“Thank you,” I reply, blinking in shock. I can
count on one hand the amount of times he’s said that to me.

I hang around with my parents and Isabel as
some of the first guests arrived. My smile is as fake as Isabel’s complexion.
“Hello, Amelie,” Dad’s accountant, David Johnson says, forcing a smile.

“Hello, Mr Johnson,” I reply politely,
earning a smile from my parents. He stands back a little, looking around like
he wants to make his escape. Oh I could have so much fun right now, if only I
wasn’t being watched like a hawk. “So how is Judy?” His wife broke her wrist a
few weeks ago, and I’m guessing she’s not here tonight because of the cast.

“She’s doing very well, thank you.”

“Sorry to interrupt but I need to speak to
David,” Dad says, smiling at me and gesturing for David to follow him. He
probably doesn’t have to speak to him at all. That was such a rescue mission.
Oh well, at least I don’t have to make small talk anymore.

I make my way to my usual spot by the bar.
The room looks gorgeous, decorated tastefully in black and silver. The
bartender looks over and smiles. This is where I can get a proper drink and not
just the champagne that will, no doubt, pass me on a tray every five minutes.

“What can I get you?” he says, giving me a
toothy smile.

“Cosmopolitan, please.” I look over and see
Mum ‘discretely’ point to a young man with dark, combed back hair reaching his
neckline and roll my eyes. He is most likely a lawyer. He looks like he should
be anyway. “Keep them coming,” I say as my cocktail is placed in front of me.

Half an hour later and I have only spoken
to a few people, so this evening isn’t that hideous. It also helps that the
good-looking bartender is plying me with drinks and making me laugh. The only
problem with a drink appearing as soon as you take your last sip is the need to
wee every five seconds.

If I’m lucky, I can make it to the toilet
and back by the time Mr Cocktail finishes my Mojito. Yes, I’ve moved on. Mixing
alcohol is the only way I’m getting through this one. I flush with
embarrassment every time Isabel is introduced to yet another eligible bachelor.

I turn to walk towards the bathroom and
slam into someone, spilling their drink. My eyes widen. Shit. I hear my Mum
gasp from somewhere in the room and know it’s only a matter of time before she
appears. Biting my lip, I slowly look up, and my eyes widen further as I see
Aden smirking down at me. He’s here.

“Aden, I’m so sorry,” Mum says
apologetically, scowling at me out of the corner of her eye.

“It’s fine, Elizabeth, no harm done,” he
replies smoothly.

“I’ll get someone to clean that up. I can
have your jacket cleaned up-”

Aden shakes his head. “Honestly, that won’t
be necessary. There’s only a drop.” I can see he’s trying not to laugh and
avoiding eye contact with me. I want to hit him.

Mum makes her exit to find someone to mop
up the three drops that had spilt on the floor. I wince as he finally looks at
me again. “I really am sorry,” I say, laughing quietly.

He laughs too and shrugs. “I expect nothing
less, Millie.” His voice is low and seductive. Just the way he says my name
makes my knees go weak. I lick my lips as my body heats up.

“How come you’re here?”

“Got bored and knew this would cheer me
up.” He means I would cheer him up by doing something stupid. I hate him. “Do
you want to get a drink?”

I want to be mad at him, but he’s saving me
from a slow and painful death, so I let it go. “Definitely. I just need the
bathroom first.” I nod to the bar. “Mine is the seat on the right.” He laughs,
nodding his head and making his way to the bar.

Once I’ve been to the toilet and reapplied
a layer of lip-gloss, I make my way back to find Aden and hopefully get drunk
with him. “What are you two so happy about?” I ask Mum and Harriet as I pass
them in the corridor outside the bathroom, smiling like idiots.

“We’ve found a lovely man for Isabel, and
they seem to be getting along well,” Mum says proudly, pointing to something in
the corner of the room. My heart stops. Isabel is sitting in my seat talking to
my Aden. Panic courses through my veins. No, this is not right. Aden is the man
they’ve ‘found’ for my sister.

What the hell am I going to do if he likes
her too? Does he even want someone like Isabel? Is that why he’s happy to keep
things between us casual? I think I’m going to be sick. Is Isabel going to be
the one digging her nails into his sexy muscular back now? Oh God, what if they
get married and have kids?

“Millie?” I shake my head and look up at
Aden. When did he get here? My eyes flick to where he was standing with Isabel.
She is there with Mum and Harriet now. Had I mentally checked out for a while
there? “Are you okay?”

No. “I’m fine. I think you’re the chosen
one,” I say, laughing awkwardly as I continue to panic.

He rolls his eyes. “Ah, one of those parties
then. Don’t you get one?”

“No way,” I reply, scrunching my nose up.
It doesn’t pass me that he hasn’t actually said anything about being ‘the one’
and it isn’t helping with the almost hyperventilating thing.

“So,” he whispers, stepping closer to me
with a wicked glint in his eye. “Wanna give me the tour?” I can’t help but smile.
Oh hell yes I do!

We slip away upstairs, almost running we’re
so eager. I lock my bedroom door behind us, and he grabs me, slamming his lips
down on mine as he pushes me back to my bed.

Chapter Six

Aden unzips my dress and yanks it down,
wasting no time in getting me down to my underwear. I gasp as my need for him
doubles. That is so hot. I wrap my legs around his waist as he lies down on top
of me and grip his hair. He kisses my neck, and I shudder at his hot breath
blowing over my skin. I want to shout at him, there really is no time for
foreplay, but I can’t speak.

Someone bangs on my door and we shoot up,
springing apart. Shit. I stare in horror. If they come in, they’ll get a right
eyeful. Aden is a picture of calm as if this is a daily occurrence while I’m
frozen in blind panic. He opens my walk-in wardrobe and softly closes the door
behind him.

“Amelie?” Mum calls through the door. Oh
that’s the worst person for it to be. I bend down and snatch my dress.

“I’ll be there in a minute,” I reply, trying
to find the bottom of the fucking dress.

“I’m coming in,” she says, opening the door
before I can tell her not to. I stand in front of her in my underwear. She
stares at me; wide eyed, as if I’m crazy.

“Hi, Mum,” I say, smiling and acting
casual.

She shakes her head once. “Amelie, what on
earth are you doing?”

“Err I…” She raises her eyebrows, waiting
for an answer. “I spilt my drink on my dress, so I came up here to change.” She
sighs and walks towards my wardrobe, towards Aden! “What are you doing?” I ask
quickly, sprinting in front of her, blocking her way.

“I’m helping you pick out another dress.
Goodness knows what you’ll pick if I leave you to it. Move out of the way,
please.” I close my eyes and pray Aden’s heard us and is hiding somewhere. After
a few seconds, when I hear no screaming, I open my eyes.

I walk in after her and watch as she turns
her nose up at most of my clothes. “We need to go shopping soon,” she mutters.

“Yes, Mum,” I reply, looking around for
Aden. He’s good at this; I can’t see him anywhere, and I’m practically an
expert at hiding. I’ve had years of practice.

“Here.” She hands me a floor length silver
dress. “Don’t be long, Amelie.” I sign in relief as soon as she’s out of sight
and I hear my door click shut.

“Aden?” I whisper, even though we’re alone
now.

I hear him chuckle as he walks out through
a row of coats. “That was a close one,” he says, grinning in amusement. I roll
my eyes and slip the dress over my head. Aden shakes his head.

“Wrong way!” I slap his hands away as he
tries to pull the dress back over my head. “Are you serious? We were almost
caught. I need to get back down there before my Mum has a heart attack.”

He grabs my hips and pulls me towards him,
my body presses against his, turning me on so bad that I just want to rip his
stupid clothes off. He kisses my neck again, gently biting on the skin and
making me moan. I close my eyes, tilting my head to give him better access.

Suddenly he steps back. “You’re right, we
should get back. Your mum might look for you again if we don’t get down there.”
Fucking little tease!
“Don’t be long,
Amelie,” he says, mimicking Mum as he walks out, laughing to himself.

I dress quickly and make my way downstairs.
I am going to ignore Aden completely, so I now have to get drunk. No way I can
get through tonight with no Aden or alcohol. Mum smiles at me approvingly when
she sees me walk back into the room. I guess I was quick enough and am
appropriately dressed.

I head straight for the bar and see Aden
right in front of me talking to Isabel. As much as I hate to admit it, I’m
jealous. She’s my sister and I love her, but I still want to throw my drink
over her, after I get one. The thought of them getting together, like my mother
clearly wants, makes me feel physically ill.

“Your usual?” the bartender says, picking
up the vodka to make me another Cosmo. Where did my mojito go? Someone must
have claimed it. I nod and smile at him, sitting down on one of the stools and
trying not to look at Aden and Isabel. I don’t want him to know that it bothers
me.

Thankfully I’m close enough to hear what
they’re saying so I tilt my head, take the low road, and listen to their
conversation. Isabel asks him a question about his company, sounding a lot more
interested than what she actually is – which is not at all.

“So you built that all up by yourself?” she
asks, widening her eyes as if she’s really impressed. She can probably see
pound signs flashing in front of her face. I want to chime in and tell her that
although he’s done amazingly well building it up from very little he’s still
having an investor to grow the company quicker. Yes, I want to take the lowest
road.

I grip my glass and take a huge swig,
draining the remainder of my drink and wincing. “Can I have another one?” I ask
the bartender. “Three shots of vodka this time too, please.” His eyebrows shoot
up, but he says nothing.

“I hope you’re taking it easy,” Dad
whispers in my ear, making me jump a little. Do they all just fucking appear?
“We don’t want a repeat of the Christmas party now, do we.”

“Of course,” I reply, smiling sweetly. He
nods and walks off. I wonder how often one of them is going to check up on me?

“So do you plan on having children in the
future?” she asks Aden. I almost choke and turn to face them. There is no way
I’m missing the expression on his face. His mouth falls open very slightly, but
it’s still enough to give me satisfaction, and he scratches the back of his
neck.

I feel a little thrill shoot through me at
watching him squirm until I realise how much I want to know. Does he want
children? I’ve never really wanted any, but then I’ve only been around Oliver’s
devil, draw over your clothes and pour juice in your shoes, children and
they’re walking contraception adverts.

God I can barely take care of myself so how
the hell would I look after a tiny person? Maybe when I get out of here I’ll
learn, but would that mean I’ll one day be capable of keeping a child alive?
You don’t get many chances at that. It’s not as if you can just pop to the pet
shop to replace it.

Aden gulps. “I haven’t thought about it
much, but I’d like to have children, one day.” I didn’t expect that at all. He
seems like the kind of guy that enjoys his freedom too much. What does that
mean for us? Whoa I’m getting ahead of myself. We’re not together.

Isabel smiles and flutters her eyelashes at
him. “I want children too. At least three.

Don’t
laugh. Do not laugh.
As hard as I try to keep a
straight face, my lips pull up at the sides. She sounds like she’s interviewing
him. I actually feel embarrassed for her. What’s wrong with dating and seeing
who is right for you? And why such a fucking rush?

Wait. My blood turns cold. Aden wants
children in the future. What if he wants three? I gulp. This would actually be
the worst thing in the world. I would have to move to America. I should have
just gone with Christie when she moved home after Uni. At least it’s an option
if Aden proposes to my sister.

I frown to myself and down my Cosmo the
second it’s placed on the bar. Stupid Isabel, Aden and their three children.
She’ll be a great mum and wife too. She’s more maternal than Mum is and I know
she’d do more with her children that what our parents did with us.

Is Aden really looking for someone like
her, though? He eventually wants children so am I just a bit of fun until he’s
ready to settle down with someone like Isabel? I groan in frustration.
Eventually, I won’t be what he wants.

Once Aden escapes I hold my breath, hoping
he’ll come back and speak to me, but he is immediately cornered by three men I
don’t know. He clearly does, though; they chat and laugh. I need him to
take me upstairs now and then tell me he doesn’t want to marry my sister.

I stumble off the stool, beyond pissed off
and frustrated. “Shit,” I mumble to myself as I grab the bar for support. The
world wobbles and that gives the room way to tilt and spin. Damn it, how much
have I drank? My head feels like it swimming. Drinking loads and then standing
up is a rookie mistake and not one I’ve made since I was sixteen.

“Millie, are you okay?” Aden whispers as he
grabs my arm. I look up at him, or all three of him, and smile.

I giggle and look at the middle Aden,
hoping that one was the real him. “I’m fine,” I say, waving my hand to prove
that I’m not drunk; because everyone knows an over the top hand gesture is the
picture of sober.

“You’re drunk,” he says, giving me a
lopsided smirk.

“And you’re so bloody sexy I’m thinking of
doing you right there on the floor.” I point to the ground.

He chuckles and starts to lead me
somewhere. He doesn’t like the floor just there? “Well that’s good to know, but
I don’t think it would be a good idea in front of that many people.” I’ve no
clue where he’s taking me, but I assume it’s to my room. I don’t care anyway,
as long as we can be alone.

“Are you taking me to bed?” I ask as he
opens my bedroom door.

“Yes but so you can sleep. You’re going to
have a killer hangover in the morning.” I turn around as he closes the door and
run my hand along the top of his trousers, biting my lip as my already hot from
the alcohol body bursts into flames. “You’re too drunk for that,” he whispers,
moaning breathlessly. I don’t think I could ever be too drunk to want him, and
it’s not like we haven’t done it before.

He grabs my hand and pulls it away from
him. What the hell is that? He’s never stopped me before. Rejection stings like
a bitch. “Fine, whatever, Aden,” I snap, shoving his hand away and turning so
he can’t see how hurt and embarrassed I am.

“You’re really mad at me now?” he says,
sounding dumfounded.

“No, I don’t care. Just go screw my sister.”
Oh fuck, that just slips out of my mouth and now I sound like a jealous
teenager. Even knowing that I still carry on, because I like to dig just that
little bit further. “I hope you’ll be very happy and have lots of perfect
children!” I am never drinking again. I want to drown myself in the day old
glass of water on my bedside table.

“Where the fuck did that come from?” he
shouts, making me flinch and grip my now pounding head. I so don’t need this
right now. He needs to leave.

I spin around. Not much point backing down
now. “Where do you think?” God he spent a big chunk of the party talking to
her, after almost having sex with me.

He scoffs and shakes his head. “We were
just talking. For fuck sake, Amelie!”

“Yeah okay,” I reply sarcastically, slurring
my words. “I don’t care anyway. You can do what you want so please can you just
leave.” My eyes feel heavy, and I just want to sleep.

“Oh you don’t care?”

I shake my head, keeping my eyes closed. It
sounds like he’s pacing around my room. I hear his footsteps get louder then
quieter. I don’t want to look because I’m pretty sure he’ll be looking at me
like I’m a bunny boiler. Seriously, the chick from Fatal Attraction has got
nothing on me right now.

“Really? Because you sound like a jealous
girlfriend.” A jealous girlfriend? I do sound like that, but the fact that he’s
called me out on it makes me want to punch something, him preferably. My eyes
fly open, and I glare.

Before I can shout I’m falling and then
Aden’s hovering over me on my bed. I barely even felt him lift me up and throw
us both down. He pins my hands above my head, trapping my legs to the bed with
his own. I am going to fucking punch him now, just as soon as I get my hands
back.

“Get off!” I shout, struggling to try and
get out of his hold.

“Not until you tell me what you’re talking
about. What’s all this about Isabel?” He asks calmly, pressing his forehead to
mine. He’s barely putting any weight on me at all, but it’s still enough to
make my body ache for him. I hate that he can make me go from angry to horny in
less than a second. I sort of want to be angry still, but I feel it slip away
as he looks into my eyes.

I gulp and realise why I’m so angry. I
don’t want to be someone to pass the time with. I don’t want to be a screw
until he finds the type of woman my parents want me to be. I want him to want
me.

I frown as the anger rears its ugly head
again, this time I’m angry with myself for letting him in. “You want me for an
easy lay when it suits you, but you’ll marry my sister.”

A short burst of laughter explodes from his
cheat before he stops and frowns, looking at me like I’m a sandwich short of a
picnic. “I… What? I didn’t get any of that, Millie?”

“I didn’t see you as the arranged marriage
type.”

He laughs again, his eyes glistening with
humour. “They’re hardly arranged.” It might as well be. Isabel and whoever she
picks have to get the approval of both families. Well not officially but I know
they’ll be looking to their parents for the go ahead. “Seriously, I don’t know
what you’re on. I’m not marrying your sister.”

“Not yet,” I mumble like a child. He’s the
chosen one and Mum always gets what she wants.

“Whatever, Amelie,” he snaps suddenly,
jumping off me and walking towards the door. I hear his frustrated sign, and
I’m about to shout something like screw you when he slams the door hard, making
me wince as my head throbs. I groan and bury my head in the pillow. I don’t
care anyway; I’m done with him.