The Innocent's One-Night Surrender

Surely not? Surely her mother wouldn’t have sold her off like a cow at auction? - it's a shame we still indulge in the "sale" of women and sentient animalsLaurel doubted that. She doubted her one clumsy attempt at a kiss—he’d pushed her firmly away before she’d so much as made contact—had stayed in Cristiano’s memory for more than a millisecond. He’d been that unimpressed. - so she's 14 and he's 23.... why would a child go after a grown man?Elizabeth had smiled and had told her she’d be along in a few minutes and they’d all have champagne to celebrate. And Laurel had believed her. Of course she had believed her. - what a horrible mother 😖👎He gestured to one of the chairs, made of gleaming black wood. - no doubt endangered forest destroyed to provide such wood for the wealthy 1% 👎👎👎During a lull in the conversation, Laurel caught him looking at her and she smiled uncertainly. ‘Why are you scowling at me?’‘Am I?’ He reached for her hand, twining her fingers with his and tugging her gently towards him. He craved the contact even now, felt his heartbeat start to slow as her hip brushed against his leg. ‘I suppose it’s because I’m thinking how I’d rather be alone with you upstairs than in this stuffy room listening to people witter on.’Laurel smiled slightly but he saw a flash of something close to hurt in her clear, aquamarine eyes. ‘I rather enjoy the wittering, actually.’Of course she did. And Cristiano felt a pang of shame for dismissing what he knew was an incredibly important topic. Too much of tonight was putting him off balance, out of sorts. And the only way he knew to rectify it was to put things back the way he was used to having them. Laurel in his bed. End of story. - he sounds like an asshole with limited facilities concerning EQHe didn’t come out of the study when he heard her suitcase bumping down the stairs. Didn’t trust himself to say goodbye in the cool, civil way he wanted to. He was being a coward, and he knew it, but the other option—of breaking down or begging her to stay—felt impossible. - Definitely a coward...I'm sorry Hewitt didn't complete Lorenzo's story