Page 73 of For Your Eyes Only

“I know.” I climb onto the bar to sit in front of him, facing him as I lift my glass of wine. “Tell me about the first time you had sex.”

“Is that something you shouldn’t know?”

“I don’t know, but you were my first. It’s only fair.”

He chuckles, taking a sip of wine. “Is that so?”

“I think it is.” I tilt my head to the side, smiling with all my fresh, new love for him fizzing in my veins.

“One of my mother’s friends was bored—or maybe she thought I was developing nicely. I never knew. She cornered me in the guest bathroom and…” His eyes flicker to mine. “She made a pass.”

I almost do a spit-take. “She felt you up?”

His eyebrow arches. “It was more of a grab, followed by an assessment of my size.”

“How old were you?”

“Fifteen.”

“You were Mrs. Robinson-ed?”

“Pretty sure Dustin Hoffman was a college graduate in that film. I was in high school.”

Crinkling my nose, I pick up a slice of cheese and bite half, giving him the other half. He pulls it into his mouth, and I lean forward to kiss him. “I’m sorry that happened to you. Were you scared?”

“No, Gia. I was not scared.” He chuckles seductively. “I was a horny fifteen-year-old. I was very interested in sex. Probably too interested. I went pretty quick, but she didn’t complain. I think she got off on the thrill of seducing me. It didn’t get cringy until later.”

“Pregnancy scare?”

“Jesus, no.” He slides his hand up the outside of my calf, and a little thrill moves through my stomach. I love his affectionate touches. “We hooked up a few more times after that. She’d corner me in a coat closet at a party or in the wine cellar. It was always fast and dirty, but I thought she actually had feelings for me.”

Pain twists in my chest, and I lean forward to thread my fingers in the side of his soft hair. “You got attached?”

His lips tighten, and he thinks a moment. “I definitely liked the fact that I was having sex pretty regularly, but I wasn’t attached. I only thought we had a connection, something more meaningful.”

“What happened?”

“We were at the Belmont Gala—it’s this massive event every year all our families attend. I asked her to dance, and she glared at me like she didn’t know who I was. Then she simply walked away.”

Setting my glass aside, I slide down onto his lap. Initially he hesitates, but I wrap my arms around his neck. I press my body to his and hold him, closing my eyes and imagining my love flowing in to heal that old wound.

“I’m sorry she did that to you. You must’ve been so embarrassed.”

He sets his glass on the bar and wraps me in his arms, sliding his hand up my back and into my hair. “I learned a valuable lesson, which led me to make a very important decision.”

“What’s that?”

“I decided I’d never let them make me feel worthless again. It was the start of my journey to independence.”

Lifting my head, I give him a smile. “So it turned out to be a good thing?”

With a wince, he takes another sip of wine. “Maybe.”

“But you have so much money now.” I push out of his arms, returning to my seat on the bar in front of him. “Surely you can tell that old cow to suck it if you want.”

“I could definitely do that.” His voice is quiet. “I could do a lot of things. I made a lot of choices to get to where I am, and I never cared about the consequences. Until now.”

Stillness falls between us. A deep stillness that drives me to tell him the critical point in my life, the point where everything changed.