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Eve stood, spinning in a circle so that her black lace dress twirled around her knees. “We would never think of packing for you. Our tastes are too different.” She eyed Lottie’s ripped jeans and scarlet Carmilla University hoodie.
“Packing it is then.” Lottie turned to leave but stopped turning back to her friends. “I know I’ve been…difficult.”
“An asshole.” Mae said at the same time.
“I’ve been an asshole and I’m sorry. I really do appreciate all of you.”
“See you in a month!” Willa waved fingers at her.
Lottie felt lighter than she had all week.Was she willing to change who she inherently was for this woman? What did she really even know about Nova? Would going sober be enough for her? Would Nova be able to look beyond Lottie’s past?There were too many unanswered questions. She left Pumpkin’s, walking back across campus to her one-bedroom apartment. At minimum, she was excited about the prospect of spending the next few weeks relaxing at Crimson Moon Hideaway. She had been to events at the resort and had meals there with her friends. Selena had worked there since they first opened the doors and had nothing but amazing things to say about the place and the owners.
At noon the next day, Lottie rolled her suitcase to the door and scheduled her Uber. It was only a forty-five-minute drive to the resort. She had considered trying to find Nova earlier that morning to let her know she was going to get sober, but she changed her mind. She wanted to prove she could do it first. There was rarely anything Lottie couldn’t do if she set her mind to it. Checking her email again she found all of the links for the class work and sent a Thank You email to Ms. Ethel for understanding.
Just as she dumped the last of the O positive, she had stored in the fridge her phone dinged letting her know the Uber had arrived. She took a deep breath looking around at her place. She had taken care of everything. Janie was going to pop in to feed her Oleander plant and Selena could bring her anything she’d forgotten. “Let’s do this,” she said as she locked the door behind her.
Chapter Four
Crimson Moon Hideaway was set back into a lush forest. The enormous log cabin resort felt both extravagant and comforting at the same time. Water flowed down stones at the front entrance, lights turning the water a mesmerizing green color. Before Nova had stepped out of the car a bellhop appeared taking her suitcase from her and guiding her inside to the check- in desk. She couldn’t decide if the lobby was more enchanting than the front entrance. A giant fireplace stood in the center of the grand lobby with a roaring fire inside. There were plush sitting chairs on each side.What a lovely place to snuggle up with a book, Nova thought.
“Nova!” Cain waved her over to the check-in desk. “This is Nova Bryant. She and I are booked into the Icarus suite.
“Yes, here you are.” The woman behind the desk smiled at both of them, handing over key cards.
“We’d like to take a minute to get settled but then we’d like to get set up. Do you know if the conference room is open yet?”
“It is,” the woman advised. “Mr. Bryant was already here.”
“Of course, he was,” Nova seethed.
“Nova.”
“Can’t he let us manage anything on our own?”
Cain frowned at her. “Now’s not the time for this discussion.”
She pressed her lips together whirling away from him. Walking towards the fireplace she recognized Selena standing on the other side of the lobby. Should she say hi or would Selena be Team Lottie? She only had a few seconds to contemplate before Cain was next to her again.
“You ready?” he asked.
Nova shrugged. “Whatever.”
Cain shook his head but didn’t respond. She followed him over to the elevator looking out the floor to ceiling windows at the pool area.
“Nova?”
She hadn’t noticed the open elevator doors. Pulling her suitcase behind her she shuffled into the elevator, staying on the opposite side from Cain. As the door closed Cain went to her, embracing her in a bear hug and showering her with kisses down her neck.
“You’re not really mad at me, are you?” He moved to the other side of her neck.
“You know I’m not, but my father can be so infuriating!”
Cain’s hand rubbed slowly down her back as she continued to complain. “He can’t tell us he’s handing the retreat over to use and then micromanage everything we do. What is his problem?”
Cain finally stopped trying to distract her. His tactics obviously weren’t working this time. Leaning against the elevator wall, he sighed and let her rant. He had heard it all before. Nova wasn’t wrong but neither of them were in a position to contend with Beau Bryant. He had single handedly created the Lucid coven, growing it to over three million followers around the world. Now that he was going to try navigating politics in Washington DC, Cain knew it was more important than ever for the family to keep up the appearance that Beau was the leader. A man who ran things. Especially a multi-million-dollar non-profit organization. The elevator doors opened, and the concierge welcomed them to the sixth floor, showing them to their suite.
“What room are my parents in?” Nova asked.
“In the Mermaid’s Lagoon Presidential suite.”
