Dancing on Waves, page 16
My heart was pounding in my chest. I heard the sharp gasp from those eavesdropping around us. He had made his point. He had effectively humiliated me. I refused to cry. I refused to show anything. The old man was staring at me with satisfaction.
“Well, this has been fun, but I think I’ll take your advice, Mrs. Mitchell,” I said with my voice shaking. “I’ll be going. I hope you all have the evening you deserve.”
I pulled away from Ethan and cut through the crowd.
“Ava, wait!” I heard Ethan say.
I walked faster. I pushed people out of my way. The moment I made it to the doors, I threw them open and ran outside. I ran to the sidewalk and waved my arms like a crazy person in an attempt to hail a cab. I had nowhere to go but back to the hotel. A cab pulled to a stop. I hopped in and told him which hotel to take me to.
I leaned my head back against the headrest. I had imagined the night going so many different ways. I didn’t expect it to be pleasant, but I could have never prepared myself for that shitstorm. It had been worse than horrible. They were some of the cruelest people I had ever met. I couldn’t believe Ethan had come from them. How did he end up so normal?
Or was he? Maybe it was all a show. I had seen a glimpse of his old self earlier in the week. That man was still there. I was fooling myself into thinking he was anything other than the man he had proven himself to be time and again. There were two versions of Ethan. How did I get the version I fell in love with to stick around?
I got back to the hotel and made it to the room before the tears started to fall. I was sad and embarrassed, but I was also worried about Jenny. How was she going to go up against that family? They were ruthless. They would destroy her.
I went to the bathroom and grabbed the box of tissues. I wiped my eyes and kicked off my heels. If I never wore another formal gown again, it would be too soon. This night was going to be burned into my brain forever.
I washed my face. It took several washes before the makeup started to come off. I grabbed a towel and patted my face dry. I stared at myself in the mirror. Trash. The man had called me trash. I didn’t feel like trash. I took off the dress and carefully hung it up. I slipped into my sweats and made my way back to the living room. I knew Ethan would be back soon. I had no idea if he was pissed that I had run out or relieved.
I was digging through the fridge when something occurred to me. “Roxy?” I called out.
I walked to her bed to find it empty. “Roxy,” I called out and walked through the suite. I whistled to get her attention. I checked the balcony because it was the only place I hadn’t checked.
Panicked, I put on my tennis shoes and grabbed my coat. I rushed out of the room and downstairs to the front desk. “Excuse me,” I slapped my hand on the desk. “Excuse me!”
I got the attention of one of the front desk workers. “Can I help you?”
“My dog is missing,” I said. “We had the dogwalker take her out. She’s not in my room.”
The woman cringed. I immediately knew something was wrong. “What?” I asked. “What happened? Where’s my dog?”
My world was spinning. I could take a lot of shit, but I could not lose my dog.
“I’m so sorry,” she said. “The dogwalker left you a note.”
I snatched it from the lady’s hand. “You lost her!” I shrieked. “How in the hell do you lose my dog? Did you look for her?”
“She called for her, but the dog took off. We’ve put a call in to the local shelters.”
I was going to be sick. “You lost my dog,” I repeated. “Where? Where did she run off?”
“In the park,” she said.
I rushed out of the lobby. I was going to find my dog. I had to. My poor girl was lost and alone in an unfamiliar city. Tears were streaming down my face. I didn’t think the day could get much worse.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Ethan
I stared at my family. We had moved into one of the smaller rooms down the hall. It struck me as funny that they suddenly wanted privacy after that little display. My mother had the wisdom to look distraught. She was the only one that seemed to realize just what had gone down out there.
“I don’t know what is wrong with you, but you people disgust me,” I said. “You don’t get to treat people like garbage because they aren’t you. Ava did nothing wrong. She has been the best thing to happen to me in a long time. You wanted me here to make you all look good. There’s no stopping you people. You’re dead set on making fools of yourself.”
“Don’t talk to me that way,” my grandfather barked.
“Mom, you demanded I come tonight to smile and look pretty. You wanted me to stand beside you and pretend Collin is a changed man. Look at him. He hasn’t changed. I’m tired of bailing you and the rest of them out of one mess after another. I have always jumped to do your bidding, but I’m done. You don’t respect me. I’m done. Good luck cleaning up this mess.”
I walked out of the room and strolled through the crowd. I heard the whispers. I could not understand why they thought it was a good idea to do that in front of an audience. It was like they wanted more drama. I hailed a cab and was almost to the hotel when I got a call from Ava. I hoped like hell she wasn’t going to tell me she was on her way to the airport and leaving me.
“Hey, I’m on my way,” I said.
“I’m not at the hotel,” she sobbed.
“Where are you?” I asked with my heart in my throat.
“I’m at the park,” she said. “They lost her!”
“What?”
“They lost Roxy,” she said on a cry.
“Who lost her?” I asked. I was so confused. She wasn’t making any sense.
“The dogwalker. Roxy got off the leash or something. She ran off and got away from them. She’s gone.”
“Fuck,” I said and slapped the back of the headrest. “Where are you? I’m coming.”
She told me where she was in the park. I had the cab drop me off and raced down the sidewalk until I found her. “Anything?” I asked.
“No,” she sobbed. “She could be anywhere. It’s been two hours. Why didn’t they call us? They just let her go. She’s scared. Cold. I have to find her.”
“Okay,” I said. “I get it. We’ll find her.”
We walked along the path calling out her name. “Roxy!”
After an hour, I was ready to throw in the towel. It was cold and dark. It was late, and the park wasn’t known for being the safest place at midnight. “Babe let’s go back to the hotel,” I said. “Maybe she’s already found her way back.”
“No.” She shook her head. “No way. I’m not going back until I find her. She’s my world, Ethan. I can’t just abandon her.”
I knew Ava. There was no way she was going to leave the park without her dog. She would stay out all night and all day to find her. “Okay, we’ll keep looking,” I said.
“You can go back, but I’m not leaving without her.”
“And I’m not leaving without you,” I said. “You can’t be out here by yourself.”
“I swear I’m going to find that dogwalker and wring her neck,” she said. “You don’t just drop a leash! If you drop it, you go after the damn dog. They didn’t call me. She left a note like a damn coward. I could have started looking for when she disappeared. This is not okay.”
“I agree,” I said. “I’ll have a talk with the concierge.”
“They are in such deep shit with me it isn’t even funny,” she growled.
We kept walking through the park. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack. There was so much ground to cover. I had no idea how we were going to get through it all. Even if we did manage to walk from one end to the other, Roxy might be at the other end.
“We can call the shelters in the morning,” I said. “I’ll hire people to look for her.”
“I’m not going to stop looking,” she said.
“Ava, it’s freezing out here,” I said. “You’re wearing those thin little pants. We are not dressed for the weather.”
“Go back to the room and change,” she said. “I’m fine.”
“I’m not leaving you,” I said again. “We’ll walk back to the hotel while looking for her. I’ll check with the front desk and see if she’s come back yet. She’s a smart dog. She’s been out for walks enough times to make her way back.”
“She’s not used to the cold,” she said. “My poor girl must be freezing. We never go out at night. My baby is pampered.”
“You take very good care of your dog,” I agreed. “There’s no way Roxy isn’t going to come find you.”
“But what if she can’t find me?” she choked out the words.
“We’ll find her.”
I managed to steer her back towards the hotel. We were almost there when I caught a flash of white. I grabbed Roxy’s hand. “Wait.”
“What is it?”
“Roxy!” I called out. “Call her. I think I saw something.”
“Roxy!” She shouted and started running. “Come here, girl. Roxy!”
I heard a bark and nearly collapsed with relief. The dog ran toward us. I ran behind Ava, who had suddenly grown wings. She dropped to her knees in front of the dog. Roxy leapt into Ava’s lap and was covering her face with kisses when I caught up to them.
I didn’t understand a word Ava was saying to the dog, but it sounded pretty damn important. “Let’s get you both back to the room,” I said.
I helped Ava to her feet. Roxy trotted alongside us without needing a leash. When we got to the hotel, I asked what time the concierge would be in and demanded a phone call the moment he stepped through the doors. I was not happy my woman had been put through so much hell. Part of it was my fault, but the major issue had been losing the dog.
“Thank you,” Ava said and leaned her head against my shoulder on the way up to the room.
“I don’t think I did anything.”
I opened the door to the room. Roxy raced to the dog bed and flopped down. “She doesn’t seem the worse for wear,” I said.
“That lady is damn lucky she’s okay,” Ava said.
“I agree. I’m going to change out of this thing. I think I got a blister. These shoes were not meant for walking miles.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” I told her. “I’m just glad she’s back.”
I stripped to my underwear and went back to the living room. Ava was sitting on the floor next to Roxy. “Want a drink?” I asked her.
“Please,” she sighed.
“What happened?” I asked her.
“I got back here and went straight to the room to change. It didn’t even occur to me she wasn’t here until I was getting a drink. I realized it was way too quiet. She always greets me at the door.”
I poured us each a drink. I handed her one and drank from my own. I watched her lovingly pet the dog. Now that the first crisis was over, it was time to address the other one. I gave her some time with Roxy, knowing the dog gave her more comfort than I could.
“Ready for bed?” I asked.
She looked up at me from the floor. “I am so ready for bed.”
I helped her up, turning off the lights and leading her to the bedroom. We climbed into bed together. I held her in the darkness and tried to think of the right words to say. I felt like a heel for not stepping in sooner to defend her. They had mistreated her, and I had done nothing to stop them. I felt horrible.
“I’m sorry,” I said.
“For?”
“Should I list everything?” I asked.
“I wasn’t sure if you were sorry about the dog or the night,” she replied.
“Both.”
“I know,” she replied. “I know.”
It wasn’t enough. I didn’t know if it would ever be enough. My family had brought so much hell to her family. Her grandfather. Her sister. And now her. I wasn’t sure a simple sorry could make up for such crimes. Jenny was very likely going to end up in jail. I didn’t know who did what, but Collin would walk. That was my family’s fault. How could I ever make it right?
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Ava
He was sorry, but I felt just as sorry. I had embarrassed him and caused some major problems within his family. I should have stayed in Hawaii. I thought I was doing something good for not only Ethan, but Jenny. In my mind, I was supporting them. I had a feeling I was just making things worse for everyone. It certainly wasn’t doing me any good.
“Your grandfather,” I started.
He groaned. “I’m so fucking sorry. I don’t know what got into him. I honestly think he might be getting a little senile. He’s never had a lot of tact, but lately he’s beyond blunt.”
“Yeah, he could definitely use a lesson in manners,” I said. “I don’t think I’ve ever been called trash before. That was a new one.”
“I’m sorry,” he said again. “I never expected them to behave that badly. I didn’t expect them to roll out the red carpet for you, but their behavior was atrocious.”
“Did they tell you not to bring me?” I asked.
“They never said not to,” he replied.
“I got the impression they talked to you about me already.”
“They did,” he sighed. “They are worried about what it looks like to the press. My mother still believes Collin is an innocent little boy being led around by the nose by pretty girls. They refuse to believe he might actually be naughty. I think it’s easier for them to blame everyone else. They don’t want to acknowledge Collin has a real problem. They do, but they don’t.”
“They believe Jenny got him into trouble,” I said.
“Yes.”
“And they are worried I’m like my sister and will get you into trouble,” I surmised.
“Something like that.”
“You’re their golden boy,” I said. “You being with me is making you look bad. The press assumes I’m my sister. They are painting you with a broad brush. You’re not only wearing my stink, but Collin’s and Jenny’s as well. I think I understand why they are so worried about the two of us being together.”
“I don’t care what they are worried about,” he said.
“You have to,” I sighed. “You’re the one that’s going to save everyone.”
“No, I’m not,” he argued. “I have no interest in saving anyone that can’t respect me or the woman I choose to be with.”
“Your grandfather told you a story,” I said. “But he didn’t tell you all of it.”
“I want you to know I had no idea who you were when that deal hit my desk,” he said. “I swear, it’s something we do all the time. Companies that are struggling or people want to get out in a hurry come to us. I don’t know how my grandfather got the information about your family business. I should have known it was too easy.”
“Your grandfather was right,” I said. “My grandfather did embezzle from his own company. Things were bad. He made some stock buys in his own portfolio. He tried to cover it, and it snowballed. At least that’s what we think. We didn’t get a chance to ask him the details. He died shortly after the takeover. My mother said it was the stress that killed him. His debts wiped out anything that was left from the sale of the company. I don’t have to tell you the price you paid for the company was a fraction of the value.”
“I’m sorry,” he said again.
“It’s not your fault,” I admitted. “I was mad at your company for a long time. It seemed like you guys were preying on a man that was desperate. I suppose that’s your business. My grandfather didn’t have to sell. He chose to. I can’t blame you for that. But I will say the fallout afterward was devastating. My mother had been raised with money. When it became clear the money was gone and there would be no inheritance, it was extremely tough on her. She left my dad because she wanted to live that life once again. I think she regretted leaving the man she loved for wealth only to have it blow up in her face.”
“She didn’t have any money from the estate?” he asked.
“She had what a normal person would need, but that was not enough for her. She had to have it all.”
“Which is why she married your stepfather,” he said.
“Yes. My mother was beautiful, but she could be a little high maintenance. Most people knew she’d lost the bulk of her wealth. It killed her to know she wasn’t the hottest thing on the market. That’s when she turned her sights on me.”
“What?”
“I was just finishing up school,” I said. “My mom thought I was going to save her. She tried setting me up with all these rich guys.”
“That’s medieval,” he snorted.
“It is, but like I said, my mom was desperate,” I told him. “She really did not like the idea of being poor. Eventually, she hooked up with Clark. He was an asshole back then. I graduated college and went to Hawaii. When my dad got sick, I tried asking Jenny for money. Clark gave her a very healthy allowance, but she wouldn’t help. I even asked my mom. I knew she still loved him, but she wouldn’t help either. In my mind, I blamed you. Not you, but you know what I mean. If I’d had access to my grandfather’s money, things would have been good. But I didn’t, so that was that.”
“Damn,” he said. “I can’t believe I screwed up your life so much.”
“You didn’t screw it up,” I said. “I blamed you because I needed someone to be mad at. I know it was my grandfather. People should have been paying closer attention. But that’s in the past. I have never asked anyone for money after that. I don’t want money. I don’t need it. I am not using you.”
“Ava, I know,” he said and sat up. “I don’t think that. I would never think that. You are the least materialistic person I know. You can’t listen to them. My grandfather was running his mouth. He wouldn’t know a genuine person if they bit him in the nose.”
