to meet you…”
“I’m just the maid, Ava.”
Aww, the woman Ashton was fond of. I smiled at her, lightly shaking her hand, then releasing it. “Ashton has told me so much about you. You’re definitely more to him than just a maid.”
A small smile ghosted her lips, then vanished. “He’s a special young man.”
“I couldn’t agree more.”
She gave me a curt nod. “Master Ashton is still getting dressed. His mother would like to meet you in the meanwhile.”
“Sure, it would be great to meet Ashton’s mother.”
She raised her eyebrows but didn’t comment as she headed for the door. “Please come with me.”
I followed her briskly into an airy room artfully decorated with paintings and pottery. As I entered, a huge portrait of the Keyes family on the opposite wall grabbed my attention.
I recognized Ashton’s father and brother from the one at the restaurant. A smiling woman had her hand on the shoulder of a younger-looking Ashton. The picture was perfect, including Ashton minus two bottom teeth.
He was adorable.
“Those were good times.”
I swiveled around. I’d become so engrossed in the picture that I hadn’t noticed Ava coming back with a woman who had to be Ashton’s mother.
“Ava, thank you,” she said to the maid. “Could you stall Ashton for me for a few minutes?”
“Yes, Mrs. Keyes.”
I liked her frankness. She didn’t care about me knowing her true purpose for insisting we be introduced. While I hoped for the best from our interaction, I knew from the hard, cold stare she gave me that it would be anything but pleasant.
This woman, delicate and beautiful, was similar to ones I’d dated in New York before I met Mario. She oozed confidence and an aloofness that would’ve once intrigued me enough to want to get to know the secrets she hid.
These two women had a hand in the young man I now dated. One he spoke highly of, while the other frustrated him to no end.
“You seem quite taken with my maid,” Mrs. Keyes said, pulling my attention away from the other woman, who scampered away, her low heels clunking on the floor. “Is there a reason?”
“Ash has told me much about her. About you as well.”
She waved one slender hand in my direction. “Oh, I’m quite sure he’s painted me as the ogre.”
“Not quite.” But close enough. Like her, I didn’t plan to make nice just to appease her. This woman was stifling Ashton, and if she didn’t ease up, we’d both lose him.
“You should be the last to judge,” she lashed out at me. “You’re old enough to be his father. My son is nothing but a boy. A damaged boy, who’s lost his father and is confused. What kind of man would seduce an impressionable young boy when he’s vulnerable?”
Well, she certainly got all that out quickly. Managed to effectively turn the tables on me too.
“I know you’re only concerned about your son,” I said, frowning when she walked away from me, picked up a glass decanter from a table, and poured herself a drink. “But Ashton has nothing to fear from me.”
“What do you have to offer my son?” She gulped the drink, the movement of her arm causing droplets to plop out onto the floor.
“My love.”
Her laugh was brittle and bitter. “Your love? Your love? Love alone can’t sustain a relationship. You’re flat broke. Running a coffee shop that if you’re not careful, you won’t be able to maintain. My son deserves more than your so-called love.”
“I’m sorry, but do you think it’s wise to keep liquor in the house, considering your son is an alcoholic?” I couldn’t keep my mouth shut. Ashton’s sobriety was my number one priority, and if he had access to liquor whenever he was home, that was a cause for concern.
“Are you lecturing me about how to handle my son?”
“I’m mentioning the basic rule when dealing with an alcoholic. You don’t become their source for alcohol, and it seems there’s quite enough here to keep him from sobriety.”
“It’s always locked away when he’s home.”
“Doesn’t seem locked away now. And alcoholics always find a way.”
She placed the glass onto the table and glared at me. “Mr. Davidson, I lost a son and a husband. I will not lose my other son to you.”
“I think losing Ashton to me is the last thing you should be worried about. If you’re not willing to help me keep him sober by changing your attitude toward him and keeping liquor out of his reach, you might just end up losing