A rush of warmth went through her. How sweet.
But Ace’s face turned deeply sad. “I was only eight when he died, and when my mother came in to tell me he was gone, I told her I would never use another name again. The Duke had named me Ace, and Ace I would be.”
Her heart ached for him and the pain she saw on his face. “You loved him.”
“Yeah.He was like another grandfather to me.” Ace returned to his meal.
Rhea sat quietly as she thought over all of the stories and things he’d told her tonight. “You must have had a fascinating life, knowing all those celebrities.”
He took it with an uncharacteristic dose of humility. “Yes and no. At the end of the day, fame is fleeting, and it really is true, we all get dressed the same way every day. The only difference between someone who works at McDonald’s and aHollywood diva is the size of the paycheck and ego. I’ve seen fame destroy far more lives than it’s built.”
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
Yes, there was a lot more to Ace than she would have given credit.
He met her gaze, and the intensity of those blue eyes made her shivery. “I have a lot more respect for someone like Joe, who had every mark against him and yet he fought his way out of poverty, turned his life around, and made something out of himself, than I do for all the rich kids who take their trust funds and party in the Caymans. Trust me, I’d much rather hang out with the Joes of the world.”
He took another bite of his steak.“So what about you? Where did you grow up?”
Rhea sighed wistfully as she remembered her small hometown. “Starkville,Mississippi. The biggest celebrity I ever met growing up was the man inTupelo who sold Elvis his first guitar.”
Ace smiled at that as if Mr. Hollywood really was impressed.
“I hope you gave that man a big thank-you.”
She didn’t respond.
“So what about your parents?” he asked. “You never really talk about them.”
Rhea’s heart wrenched as she thought about her mother and father. “No, I don’t.”
Uncomfortable with the turn in conversation, she cleared her throat. “So tell me about Bender.”
“Let’s go back to the parent thing. I’ve spilled my guts to you, the least you could do is tell me something about your parents.” Ace watched as her brown eyes actually teared up.“Rhea?”
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
“There’s nothing to tell.”
He didn’t need his instincts to tell him she was hiding something. It was painfully obvious.
Before he could ask her anything else, she excused herself and headed for the restroom. Ace got up to follow her.
“What are you doing?” she asked as he pulled her to a stop in the lobby. “You’re not planning on following me into the ladies’ room, are you?”
“No. I just want to know why the thought of your parents upsets you so much. Most people don’t get teary-eyed when they think of them.”
Rhea covered her lips with her hand as she struggled with the pain that still ached raw and deep inside her soul. She always got emotional when she thought of her parents. How could she not?
It was something she struggled with every day, and not even the passage of time could take away the sting of it. That was the bad thing about senseless violence. It left a haunting mark on the lives it scarred.
She didn’t want to talk about it and yet she found herself confiding in him for some reason she couldn’t even begin to understand. “Do you remember Pan Am flight 103?”
“The Lockerbie,Scotland ,bombing?”
“Yeah,” she said, forcing herself not to get emotional. But it was hard. “My parents were on that flight, coming home for Christmas from a business trip. My grandmother, brother, sister, and I were putting up the Christmas tree, listening to the news and talking about what we’d do when they got home, when we heard about it.”
She choked as she saw that day again clearly in her mind. “My grandmother had been about to put the glass angel on top of the tree when they announced it. It was a special edition Lenox ornament that she Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
had guarded all my life. She dropped it to the floor, where it shattered like our hearts. My sister started screaming and I just stood there in complete shock as I stared at the broken glass on the floor, unable to move or breathe. My grandmother was so upset by the news that she ended up having a stroke later that night.”
Ace could see the agony plainly on Rhea’s face and it made his own chest tight.