Page 72 of Blue Gold

I guess I am my Father’s son after all.

“So, what do you say?” Claudia asked as she nudged my shoulder.

“About what?” I scowled at her, realizing I’d been completely lost in my thoughts.

She tsked. “You didn’t hear a word we just said, did you?”

Moving my eyes from her to Elliot, I noticed he was staring at me, too, and the intensity in his gaze made me hot all over, as it reminded me of the expression he’d had when I pumped his cock in my fist the other night. Heat rushed to my cheeks at the same time my dick took notice. With discomfort washing through me, I shifted in my seat.

“Sorry, I got lost in thoughts.” I moved a hand over my jaw. “What were you two speaking about?”

“Elliot just said how he’ll be in town for a few days before he leaves for Milan.”

A few days. He’ll be here for only a few more days?

“He also said he’s going to a photoshoot in Greece, Tokyo, and then a car show in Milan right after, and I told him it’s right up your alley with how much you adore Italian cars.”

Greece, Japan, Italy, what next? He’s only twenty-one and already desired all around the world. Apparently, nothing had changed since last summer, as I still wished him to be mine and mine alone. Although now, with his career skyrocketing, it was impossible. Even if that weren’t the case, I would have never sabotaged his success for my own pitiful whims. Still, I couldn’t lie about wanting a bit more of his attention. And surely, for more than just a few lousy days.

“That sounds absolutely incredible, and I’m sure it must be fun, traveling worldwide, doing what you like,” I finally spoke.

Elliot’s eyes dropped to his glass as he continued to circle the rim. “It can be fun but very lonely, too.”

My heart clenched at his confession, and I wanted to tell him how lonely I’d felt in his absence. But I had no right to do so because I was the one who chased him away in the first place.

“This industry sure can be lonely,” Claudia said while nodding. “And not to mention competitive. I mean, if I experience the competition, I can only imagine what you guys are going through.”

Is she referring to the models?

Elliot’s expression hardened before he looked up and forced a smile. “It is. De toute façon…” Anyway. “We talk too much about me. How, uh… is Maya?”

Pressing her palms together, Claudia sighed. “Oh, she’s lovely. Absolutely lovely.”

And just as she began telling Elliot about how our daughter was doing, the food began to arrive. Thankfully, Claudia didn’t stop talking for quite some time, which allowed me to enjoy the food without worrying that I needed to say something. Elliot seemed interested, too, listening carefully and asking questions every now and then. But from the look of his plate, which he hardly took a bite from, I assumed he was nervous. Was it me? Or was this whole conversation overbearing to him?

“What about you, Elliot? Do you want to have kids one day yourself?” Claudia’s sudden question snapped my attention, and I straightened in my chair, eager for his answer.

Elliot also seemed to be taken aback, as his brows rose for a second before his expression fell, and he stared ahead at his empty glass, his fingers playing with the stem.

“Oui, évidemment que j’adorerais en avoir. Euh, how you say, yes… I?” He looked up to meet my eyes, and I felt bewitched under his stare.

“You would love to,” I said, voice soft as I translated it for him.

Elliot’s eyes lit with something before he straightened up and cleared his throat. “I would love to have kids very much, but it is not easy for me… euh… many reason why not.”

I never knew he wanted to be a father, but then again, he was only twenty-one, practically a kid himself. And yet, now that he’d said that, picturing him as a dad was almost too easy to imagine.

“I wouldn’t worry about that, sweetheart. I’m sure that when the right woman comes along, everything will be perfect,” Claudia said, probably thinking she was comforting him.

“Oui. The right woman,” he chuckled, for obvious reasons. “Is that what Daniel think when you met many years ago?” His smirk grew into a smile as his eyes latched onto me. “Was it… How do you Americans call it… Love at first sight?”

My breath caught in my throat as I fisted my hand under the table at the nerve he had to start another round in this dangerous game of his.

“Oh, it happened so long ago, but yeah. You could say that it was,” Claudia said as she placed her hand on my shoulder. “We were… what, twenty-two? Twenty-three? Anyway—” She turned back to look at Elliot. “He asked me out for dinner, and the rest, well, the rest is history.”

“How lovely.” He swirled his wine in his glass, then took a long gulp. After he swallowed, he clicked his tongue. “I bet Daniel is very good husband. Mhmm?” He grinned. “And you, Claudia, very good wife, too.”

She waved her hand in dismissal. “Oh, please, now you’re just flattering me.”