Daniel Johanssen is a slimeball.
So what is Adrianna Marquess, one of the few people I actually keep in contact with, doing with him? She greets me with a soft and seemingly sincere smile before giving me a kiss on the cheek.
“Your parents,” she murmurs as she pulls back. “I just heard about the rehearsal dinner last night. It’s sad about Norman, don’t get me wrong, but what in the hell were they thinking?”
“Roman’s the son my father never had and always wanted. He’ll do anything for him.”
Amazingly enough, I’m able to swallow that reality without gagging. Look at me, growing and maturing in only forty-eight hours.
“They’re cracked. Did you see Julianna shiver in the aisle? Thought she was going to pass out.”
“Be nice,” I chide while chuckling with her. I haven’t spoken to Adrianna in months, even though she’s called many times. She and Julianna are friends as well so I wasn’t sure if she was calling for honest intentions. Seeing her genuine smile sends a sliver of guilt through me.
“Hey, I’m sorry, about these last couple of months.”
“Try almost a year, but whatever, I get it.” She flips her hand in the air. I go to apologize again when she takes a sip of her champagne, but I stop as she says, “I was calling for advice though. Some guidance.”
“You want guidance from me?”
“Yeah. I mean, you’re the only one of us to escape. How’d you do it so easily?”
She makes it sound like we’re all in a prison and maybe it is. With history and expectations and duties all lined up for us before many of us reach primary school, the old brick walls and moss dripping trees can definitely feel like a cage.
“I went to college, Adrianna. Not the moon.”
“Yeah, but your parents let you. Mine didn’t. I was forced to go to the College of Charleston with everyone else like we’re in some sort of historical cult.”
I snort at her description. “Preservation of history is the only thing keeping it from disappearing.” It’s a phrase we heard all too often, particularly when in cotillion or the DAR.
“My parents and Daniel’s are discussing an engagement soon,” she says, lowering her voice.
My heart beats faster. For her. “You and Daniel are together?”
“Yeah.” Her look is as unhappy as mine when I’m served anything with meat. Grossed out and ready to vomit. “We’ve been dating for a year. I thought if I went along with it for a while they’d let me break up with him, but every time I try, they shove us back together.”
Daniel is an arrogant jerk, far worse than Roman because he doesn’t even try to sell the lie of goodness that doesn’t reside in his soul. He cheats on every woman he’s with, throws it in their face, and because his dad’s the mayor and his daddy’s dad was the mayor and his daddy’s dad’s dad was the mayor and so forth… he thinks it gives him a ticket to do whatever he pleases. None of it is kind or respectful. He’s the king of gaslighting and frequently crosses the line of emotional abuse.
“Adrianna—”
“I think Dad’s in some kind of trouble.” She says it quietly and quickly as if speaking her fears out loud will doom her forever.
This is silly. It’s the twenty-first century and we’re in a city of hundreds of thousands. There shouldn’t be a need, but we both know the truth. Old money talks and those with it rule.
“Marrying Daniel will keep him safe, I think.”
“Don’t do it.” My hand holding my wine glass trembles and I hold it out to the nearest waiter who whisks it away. “Seriously, Adrianna, just leave. Say no. They can’t force you to do anything.”
As I say it, her green eyes darken and widen. She licks her lips, glancing all over the reception hall as if there are hidden cameras and microphones.
Jesus. My father deals in shipping and hers in finance. It’s not like we’re in the mafia. We’re just rich.
Something dark flashes in her green eyes that makes my heart double-time its natural beat. There were whispers in high school of how Daniel had raped a couple underclassmen, all quietly swept under the rug. I grab her arm, ensuring I have her attention. “Adrianna, please tell me Daniel didn’t—”
“Once,” she whispers as her chin trembles. “Just once, but God, Jillian…” Her voice rattles again and I yank her into a hug, holding her tight. “If I have to marry him—”
“It’s okay and it’s not your fault, but please. Promise me, just leave. Stay with me if you need to or find someone else, but don’t do this to yourself. Don’t marry someone you don’t love. Look what almost happened to Julianna for crying out loud.”
At the reminder of her shivering in the exact spot of the aisle where Harriett’s ghost is said to have collapsed and died, Adrianna chuckles into my shoulder.
“That was funny.” She sniffs and pulls back, patting her undereye with her fingertips before she reaches for a new fresh glasses of champagne, and I take a glass of red wine, delivered by waiters who seem to appear out of thin air. “So, now that we have all of that out of the way, you have to tell me about this sexy new man who’s been hanging on you all day. Who is he?” She leans in and winks conspiratorially. “And is he rich and does he have a twin?”
“No twin,” I say.
But rich? Yeah. Klaus is rich in all the ways that matter and all the ways that don’t.
“He’s just a friend,” I admit. The lies are getting to me and she’s been so open and honest. It hurts to even attempt lying to her. “A really good friend. He’s just playing it up so no one would think I cared about Roman and Julianna.”
“Please. If that guy’s pretending to be anything more than friends with you, I’ll go ahead and marry Daniel.”
“Ugh. What a horrid thing to say. And you’re wrong.”
“He wasn’t able to take his eyes off you the entire ceremony and even now he’s looking at you like he wants to throw you over his shoulder and whisk you away. And I should know. I was two rows right behind you.”
I don’t want to pretend. I want to live it.
I want you.
Is it truly possible Klaus feels things as heavily and deeply as I do?
“You’re seeing things.”
“Only the truth. Look.” She nods in the direction of where the bar is located.
Without trying to look like I’m seeking him out, I shift my footing so he’s in my peripheral view. Lifting my head, I take a peek, but it’s not necessary.
I can feel the way he’s looking at me. Predatory. Needy. Full of hunger and want. As our eyes meet across the room, an electric spark hits my core and sizzles outward until I can’t fight the shiver.
“Oh yeah,” Adrianna murmurs. “That’s hot. So what are you going to do about it?”
I take a sip of wine. It does nothing to cool the sudden heat coursing through me.
“I don’t know. He’s one of my closest friends I’ve made in Charlotte. Without him… I don’t know if it’s worth the risk. For now, his friendship is what I need.”
“Yeah but if it comes with a hot dose of that man meat in bed with you, what’s the harm?”