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“What else haven’t you told me? Some more sick harassment stories?”
I pressed my cheek to his chest. “No. My childhood.”
“I thought it was good.”
“My parents were always traveling. Not as much as they do now, but they still did it. I was in school so I couldn’t go, besides the fact they went to some bad places. Places where people were desperate for medical care. It was not for a child. They left me with my mother’s parents. I didn’t know them very well, and they weren’t like your grandparents were. Hugs and kisses were few, but they placed tremendous importance on my studies.”
“You were a kid. Kids need comfort.”
“They did as they did with my mother. I learned to play the piano and took art classes. Any grade below an A was grounds for punishment.”
“Punishment?” Austin questioned.
“I couldn’t enjoy my measly hour of play after school. I had few friends anyway. They thought I was weird. I was a gawky little kid.”
Austin kissed the top of my head. “I’m sorry.”
“In high school, I started to change. By tenth grade, the boys were buzzing around me like flies. I dated a few, even slept with one, but I was cold, and we broke up.”
“You’re not that way with me.”
“I love you. I didn’t love him. I just wanted to try sex.”
“What about Ivan?”
“I loved him, but I don’t think he felt the same. He wanted a young pretty face on his arm. I was twenty-four and honored to have a man of his stature wanting me for his own. He disappointed me, too, just like my parents. I was relieved when he broke it off.”
“You could have been the one to break it off.”
“I know, but I was involved with moving up the ranks at Mountain Top. After he broke it off with me, I put my head down, dove into work, and got several promotions. Then Spotlight came calling to clean up their dysfunctional management.”
“Don’t let your past define you. I know you to be loving and kind, sweet, and caring. That’s the woman I want in my life.”
“Are you angry at me?”
“I am because you doubt yourself, but I still want to marry you.”
“And I want to marry you. Can you come back to bed?”
“What’s wrong with here?”
“Nothing. I want to be wherever you are.”
He turned and hovered above me before he latched onto my mouth. Austin made love to me, and when he was finished, he carried me back to the master bedroom and held me for the rest of the night.
Chapter 11
It got out around the production community that JJ Wentworth attacked me. With his money and a high-powered attorney, he was able to work his way out of a sexual assault charge down to simple assault. He received a suspended sentence and a fine and was told to stay away from me. Jameson relieved him of his vice presidency at Sunny Sky to save the company’s reputation.
Austin and I shopped for engagement rings throughout the summer. I didn’t want anything flashy or even large. I didn’t want an engagement ring at all. We argued several times, and finally, he went out shopping on his own. He knew what I was interested in and preferred to choose something without my input.
The attack by JJ took something out of me. I wasn’t as hard or as brash, but I still knew how to run a company. Austin was right. I didn’t need to let my past define me. It had been months since I saw my parents and they were finally coming home from Africa. I planned to take them out to lunch and introduce them to Austin whom my mother called my mystery man.
“What should I wear?” Austin asked.
“Slacks and a dress shirt.”
“No tie?”
