Page 182

“Rafe would hate it if I did,” she says. Her fingers play with the bow tie at my neck, straightening it.

“He’s allowed to hate it. He’s not important here. You are.” I kiss her forehead. “But you don’t have to meet Wilde if you don’t want to. We’ll handle it for you.”

CHAPTER54

NORA

The Calloway Spring Ball has left Fairhaven transformed. There are hundreds of people here, mingling through the large rooms on the first floor and outside on the terrace overlooking the gardens and ocean.

It feels like the house has come alive.

Like the old and the modern blend, parties held here decade after decade, generation after generation.

My very first night at Fairhaven had been a fundraising party. I was frustrated then, scared and angry. I remember what that felt like, but it’s like a faded memory, chipped and torn.

Now this place feels like home.

I join Amber and Cordelia on the terrace. It’s a rare moment to catch West’s mother alone, it seems, for she is always being pulled in different directions by guests.

“The Winthrops are here?” Amber asks. “I thought they were on the no-no list.”

Cordelia lifts one shoulder in a shrug. “They were. But a decade is time enough to reflect on what they did.”

“Which was what, exactly?” Amber says.

“I can’t remember,” Cordelia says. She puts a hand on my shoulder, and the smile she gives me is a true one. “I really am so grateful that West has found you.”

She asked me just half an hour ago if we were serious. And now I know why. She wants to see her son married so this,all of this, this magical place that’s been in the same family for over a century, doesn’t fall into ruin.

Faking it never bothered me before. It was full of lessons and exercises, and that made me feel safe. Safe to explore and to push boundaries with him, because there were no consequences. It was all a game.

But all games eventually come to an end.

“Me too.” I’m giving her hope, but it’s false hope.

“Have you seen your brother yet?” she asks. “I haven’t seen Raphaël in over a year. It would be lovely to say hello.”

“He had business in town earlier, but he’s coming tonight.”

“Is everything… set?” Amber asks carefully. They both know about the stalker, and it seems they’ve been informed about tonight too. There are guards everywhere. I’ve already seen Amos. He’s a few feet away, doing his best to blend in with the red brick wall. Madison is stationed right alongside the edge of the terrace.

“He’s on the guest list, but no one knows if he’ll show,” I say with a shrug.

“The asshole,” Amber says.

“Amber,” Cordelia chides, like her daughter isn’t twenty-seven.

“You were thinking it.”

There’s a brief pause. “Yes, I was. I know Wilde and his brand well. They’ve been a success story. A local one. But I’m never buying another pair of Mather & Wilde loafers.”

“I’ll burn mine,” Amber says, “in solidarity.”

“Well, that’s just wasteful,” Cordelia says, and looks back out at the crowd.

I smile at both of them. My own mother was far more dramatic when I told her that we had confirmation about who had hired an entire team to scare me.You’re going to kill me, you kids. One of these days, she said, like it was either Rafe’s fault or mine that the whole thing had happened.

Cordelia is pulled away, a queen surveying her kingdom. As soon as she’s out of earshot, Amber looks at me over the rim of her champagne glass. Her strawberry blonde hair is piled high tonight. “How are things with you and my brother?”