"The view is beautiful, Leonie, just stunning. You'd love it, glass of vintage Veuve up there at sunset, what do you say?"

"I'd say that sounds lovely, Tony."

It was the early hours of the morning by that point but the party had by no means died down. The dance floor was still packed and music was still playing, though plenty of guests had taken up residency on the sofas in the bar area, rounding off their night with several glasses of whiskey over ice.

Estélla was pretty sure she'd said hello to every single person that had attended the event that night, finally feeling relaxed enough to spend some time with her parents and Tony. The four of them were sat by a fireplace that wasn't lit, a table in between two couches that waiters kept removing empty glasses from and bringing fresh drinks to replace them.

"Tell me, Tony," George said from the couch opposite, leaning forward with his glass clinking against the signet ring on his thumb, "Are you still into cars? I remember you used to spend hours fixing up my old Cadillac back in the day."

Tony smiled with a small nod, "Absolutely. To be honest, George, I think my vintage car collection might put yours to shame now, I'll have to show you when you come over to the Tower. Hey, I might even let you test drive one if you ask nicely."

A charming wink and a point from Tony made George grin widely, laughing deeply from within at the reminder of the charisma the only Stark child had always held. George saw a lot of Howard in Tony and the guilt of not being able to attend the funerals of him and Maria had consumed him for a long time, though thankfully it was quite clear Tony didn't hold that against the Goldwyn's.

"That's the least you can do after all those summer days I spent teaching you to drive around the Hamptons, remember that?" George raised a brow.

Tony sank back against the couch and pursed his lips, a defeated smile on his face, "You're right, you're right. Tell you what, I have the sweetest 68' Mustang I've just breathed new life into. How about-"

"Tony? I was hoping I'd bump into you tonight, how are you?"

Esté looked up from beside Tony, glancing past his shoulders to see a girl she'd shared a runway with a handful of times stood swaying in six-inch heels with a martini in her hand. The guest list that night was long and not particularly exclusive since Esté wanted to raise as much money for charity as she could, and so a significant number of people on the list were people she wouldn't actually consider friends, more so acquaintances.

"Hey," Tony cleared his throat and looked up at the girl, brows furrowed, "It's uh..."

She rolled her eyes and laughed, flicking her red hair behind one shoulder while leaning her hand on the arm of the couch.

"It's Jessica," she smiled at him, not caring to acknowledge Esté or her parents who were all sat staring, "You don't remember me, do you?"

Tony's face hollowed slightly and his jaw tightened, confusion written in his eyes as he desperately tried to wrack his brains to remember who the girl was.

"It's fine," she giggled and waved her hand, "We met at the Vanderbilt party in April last year. We drank a bottle of wine and then we hooked up in the-"

"Woah, alright," Tony jumped to his feet with an awkward laugh, placing a hand on the girl's back, "Let me stop you right there. Can I get you a drink? Some water, maybe?"

Tony flashed apologetically wide eyes at Esté and her parents before ushering the girl away from their table, heading in the direction of the bar.

Esté's face was frozen in a stiff smile as she turned to look back at her parents, immediately picking up her glass of whiskey from the table and taking a large gulp to wash down the lump in her throat.

It wasn't a feeling of upset that had drawn the uncomfortable notion up from her chest, more so discomfort. Esté knew from the offset that Tony had a certain reputation and she also knew that there were probably more girls she knew that he'd slept with than girls that he hadn't, whether he remembered or not. And while Estélla wasn't a particularly jealous person, seeing an interaction like the one that had just taken place right in front of her eyes had caused a stir inside of her.

Of course she didn't like the thought of Tony with another woman, but she was more than aware that he most definitely didn't like the thought of her with another man, either. And that night, Esté had unapologetically and innocently spent time with Brad as well as a couple of other old flings that the world wasn't aware of, not to mention being confronted by her ex-boyfriend.

With a level head, Estélla knew she was in no position to get upset, despite the devil on her shoulder willing her to kick the girl to the curb for even knowing Tony's name.

"Seems like Tony is a little bit of a playboy," Leonie said with a laugh, "How about you, sweetheart? Any news on your love life? I saw Giovanni was here, and Brad, too. What happened there?"

"Brad and I decided that we're better off as friends," Esté said, catching a glimpse of Brad over by the bar talking with Leo, "As for Gio, he's here for the publicity, not for me."

"I must say, it didn't look good on him when that rumour about your relationship backfired. Do I need to have a talk with him, honey? What happened?" George asked, sincerity in his blue eyes.

Esté smiled at her father's protective nature, though shook her head in response, "It's alright, Dad. Thank you, though. He's behaved himself so far which is all I care about, hopefully he leaves without a fuss. What happened was a lot darker than what everyone actually knows, but you raised me to be a nice person so I decided to keep the truth to myself."

"Well I'll make damn sure he does, don't you worry about that sweetheart," George said sternly, "But you're allowed to have emotions, Esté. It's OK to feel hurt and angry, jealous, even. You're just as worthy as anyone else to express that to the world, you don't have to hide it, everyone will still love you."

The family talked amongst themselves for a few minutes longer, Esté insisting that there was no more gossip on the topic of her and Brad's relationship despite her mother pressing her further. The intrigue made Estélla laugh and the warmth she felt as she looked across the table at her parents made her feel whole, making her aware of the small pocket of emptiness that had burrowed inside of her while they'd been apart.

"Sorry about that," Tony said as he walked back over to the table, standing to the side with his hands in his pockets and an embarrassed heat in his cheeks, "Estélla, could I talk to you for a minute?"

Esté sat up straight when Tony came back, inhaling sharply at the sound of his voice and finding comfort in her father's eyes, his words echoing around inside her head while his smile gave her strength and reassurance.

"It's fine," Esté smiled up at Tony, "Why don't you sit back down? We can talk later on if it's still important."

Tony just blinked, worry drowning in his dark eyes that washed away slightly with her response. He'd felt wrecked with guilt and embarrassment after the interruption of a forgotten one night stand, a fever that haunted him while he walked her away from his girlfriend and her parents, dreading the awkwardness of his return.

Tony was certain that he would've killed any man that had interrupted a conversation with Estélla to say the same thing to her that the girl had just said to him, jealousy rising into his mind all over again after a few stolen minutes alone with Esté earlier had cooled him completely.

But as a pleasant surprise, the gentle upturn of Esté's red lips put his heart rate at ease. He swallowed and nodded once, sitting back down beside her and stretching an arm across the back of the couch, a small distance away from her shoulder where he wished he could rest his hand instead.

"Esté was just telling us about her dating life," Leonie continued, smiling at Tony, "Though she insists there's not much to it."

Tony raised his brows, settling back into the conversation with a sigh as he got comfortable, taking a large swig of his scotch.

"Really?" He said, "Is that so?"

Esté was about to agree with her mother, only the sight of Jessica out of the corner of her eye made her change her mind. The girl was still staring over at Tony, and although Esté was sure Tony had, politely or otherwise, told her he wasn't interested, she still felt a furious rush of jealousy turn her mind red.

"Actually, I do have something to tell you both," Esté said, licking her lips with a shallow exhale.

"Mr Goldwyn, another glass of whiskey?"

A passing waiter had taken note of George's glass growing empty and stopped with a smile, silver tray in hand and bow tie sat perfectly at his neck.

Tony pounced on the second interruption and quickly turned to look at Esté, eyes wide as he searched her face with a hint of a smile.

"Are you about to say what I think you're about to say? Or am I going to hear something about Brad Pitt that I don't wanna hear?"

She just grinned, resting a hand on top of his thigh and giving it a light squeeze, "No, your first guess is right. If...if that's OK with you?"

Telling people about his relationship with Estélla was more than fine with Tony. In fact, keeping the love affair a secret had been eating him alive, desperate to be able to do something as simple as hold her hand in front of everybody instead of under the shadow of the table.

He couldn't quite believe the step forward that Esté was making, though as he looked into her sapphire eyes, he saw no shreds of a second guess or any flickers of doubt. All he saw was trust.

"Of course," he breathed with a smile, "You know it is, sweetheart."

Esté glanced down at Tony's lips, a burning of desire in her heart to kiss him that was nulled by the air of a secret not yet shared, though one with loosened chains and a lock with a golden key.

"So, what was it you wanted to tell us?" George said once the waiter had disappeared.

Esté's hand had left Tony's thigh when the conversation resumed and the action had gone unnoticed, curiosity still wide across her parent's faces as they sat waiting for their daughter's news.

"Well," she said quietly, a shaking smile on her lips as she looked at both of them, "Tony and I are actually, we're-"

"Darling, save the dramatics. We saw this coming years ago."

Esté's face dropped at her father's words, a light laughter escaping from her chest as smiles spread across all four of them seated by the fireplace. There was a knowing look in Leonie's eye as she caught her daughter's attention, one that made the supermodel blush and try to hide her delight.

She touched Tony's leg again then, relaxing as she felt his hand capture her own, squeezing it and threading his fingers through hers, his hand that was resting over the top of the couch, now across her shoulders.

"Wait, so you knew this whole time? Or what?"

Leonie laughed, "We had our suspicions after we saw the rumours, and then we saw you tonight and well...Tony's always looked at you a little differently than anybody else ever has."

Esté pulled her eyes up to meet Tony's, her heart beating faster as her smile grew to match his. He didn't say anything, instead choosing to raise a brow and shrug his shoulders, smirking as he stared at her like it was the first time he was seeing her all over again.

It was only a matter of seconds before another couple who were good friends of Leonie and George appeared, taking the seats of Tony and Esté once they quickly vacated after saying a brief hello.

Esté held onto Tony's hand as she pulled him through the crowded room, Tony happy to be led as he watched her dress trail behind her while his fingertips clutched onto hers. They reached the bar and Esté ordered two more drinks for them, their hands still together.

"Well," Tony sighed, "You've told your parents, but you are still holding my hand in front of everyone right now."

Esté tilted her head with playfully narrowed eyes, "So?"

Tony scoffed, resting his hands on her waist as he turned her body to lean back against the bar, "So, does this mean I'm about to become that PR nightmare your manager talked about for real?"

She just grinned, eyes sparkling in the low light, "Maybe."

"How come you changed your mind?" He asked, eyes tracing across the silhouette of her body in the tight dress he'd almost torn off her earlier.

Esté kissed her teeth, "I don't want any other girls coming up to you to remind you about nights that weren't as good as the one we'll have later."

Her teasing tone made Tony struggle to breathe and her eyes provided no aid, constantly feeling like his breath had been snatched from his lungs whenever she glanced in his direction, let alone when she looked up at him through dark lashes with cherry red lips the way she was right then.

He thought for a moment, pausing to admire her for a little while longer before biting down on his lip, aware of the slow burn of attention people around them were starting to pay.

"I don't remember a fuckin' thing before you, Stella," he breathed, shaking his head slowly, "Can I kiss you? Can I finally give my girl a kiss?"

Esté felt the stares too, but for the first time, she didn't care. Her answer had been on the tip of her tongue before her mind had the chance to comprehend the question, a soft gasp passing through her lips as she nodded.

"Please."