to the dressing mirror and begin to put them on. He walks up behind me and, with his hands on my hips, starts to kiss my neck from behind. I watch us in the mirror and I know that this is my Cinderella moment—dressed to the nines with a beautiful prince worshipping me. I’m going to keep this moment in my memory bank forever.
This is how I want to remember us… just like this.
Knock, knock.
Cameron smiles, and with one last peck on the side of my face, he goes to answer the door.
It’s Max. “Time to roll.”
“You ready, Bloss?” Cam asks.
I nod, smile, and walk out into the corridor to see guards on every door and exit of the floor. My eyes flash to Cameron in question. “The children will be here alone with the nannies tonight. Security around them is high,” he murmurs as he takes my hand.
“Oh.” I frown. God, having money is not worth this.
Natasha comes out of the room with Joshua trailing behind her. She’s wearing a navy lace evening gown and she looks amazing.
She smiles broadly as she approaches me. “Ashley, you look fucking awesome.”
I burst out laughing. How is she so normal? Here we are, flanked by security guards and she is just dropping F-bombs in front of everyone.
“You look amazing too,” I whisper as she takes both of my hands in hers to inspect me.
Joshua approaches us, smiles and nods. “Joshua. Look how beautiful Ashley is,” Tash coos.
“Gorgeous.” He smiles as he gives me the once over.
“And all mine,” Cameron interjects with a cheeky smile.
I laugh and Natasha links my arm with hers. We walk down the corridor with the boys behind us, talking.
“How do you deal with all this security?” I whisper.
She shrugs. “It is annoying, but you kind of get used to it.”
“It’s really necessary?”
“Unfortunately, yes. Joshua has some crazies out there and we’ve had incidents in the past. He’s obsessed with the children’s safety.”
I frown in question.
She shakes her head. “God, that’s a whole other Stanton story. I’ll tell you one day.”
We get into the elevator and Cameron takes my hand in his. Joshua is in conversation with the security guard who is staying at the hotel. We walk out into the foyer of the hotel and three photographers appear from nowhere. Suddenly the cameras start flashing and we are shown to a waiting black fancy rented car.
Natasha and Joshua are ushered in first and then I climb into the car as the security push back the photographers. Cameron dives in and slams the door shut.
“Fuckers.” He growls.
“What the hell was that?” I frown.
Joshua rolls his eyes and Natasha smiles. “Photographers.”
“What on earth for? That’s just bizarre. And they were so pushy.”
Joshua and Cameron start to chuckle, while Natasha smiles sympathetically. “Do you have any idea how refreshing you are, Ashley?” She takes my hand in hers.
I smirk as I realize there’s a bigger picture going on here that I don’t know about. “No, not really.” I definitely need to Google these two when I get home.
What is their story?
As the car speeds into the night, I put my hand up to check I haven’t lost my beautiful earrings and Cameron smiles as he gently kisses my face.
Cameron
We walk into the ballroom and the atmosphere is electric. Tash knows her stuff and these balls are an amazing achievement. Tash and Ashley have clicked and are getting along famously. Even Murph loves her.
“What do you want to drink?” Joshua asks us.
“I’ll have a Margarita,” Tash replies.
“Me, too.” Ash smiles. “My favorite drink. Great picking.”
“Scotch for me,” I murmur.
Natasha smiles and her and Ash begin to chatter. I’m distracted. I need to find my mother before she gets to Ashley.
“Back in a minute,” I whisper in Ash’s ear.
“Okay.” She smiles and gives me a squeeze of my hand.
I follow Joshua to the bar. “Have you seen mother?”
He glances around. “No.” His eyes hold mine in a silent acknowledgment. “Good idea,” he says.
My father comes into view as he walks through the crowd toward us. I laugh and shake his hand and pull him into an embrace. I love my father. He’s travelled from Australia to be here tonight. He never misses a function. His flight only landed a few hours ago.
“Hey, Dad.” I smile.
“How’s my son?” He grins.
“Good. Great, actually.”
Joshua turns when he sees our father and grabs him in a headlock. The two of them laugh together.
“Dad, I have someone I want you to meet.” I smile.
His eyebrows rise in surprise.