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I don’t have all the details. Elias has a role in the proceedings, but that’s as much as I know. He never specified what. I don’t think it’s an actual performance since Caelan adamantly refused to go on stage. Or“Refused to be gawped at by a bunch of prissy-ass Hollywood shitheads”was his way of phrasing that.
He was still coming to spend the weekend, and Elias had invited me to join them. The gala will only take up Saturday evening, so I’ll be free to spend the rest of the time with them.
Of course, I’d jumped at the opportunity.
Perhaps I should’ve thought it through a little more because my nerves aren’t abating at all. My stop comes up on the bus, and I find my way to the hotel. Then it hits me that I didn’t investigate what would be involved.
I amsofar out of my depth.
Maybe it’s a smaller event, as far LA galas go, but it’s still being held in the Millennium Biltmore Hotel. They gave me the name, but I didn’t bother to look the place up. So I’m entirely unprepared to step into a vast, opulent corridor of marble and gilt-patterned ceilings, with chandeliers and carved columns like something out of an old English manor.
I severely regret wearing jeans.
Clutching my ticket for the gala and a copy of the room booking paperwork hard enough to crumple the edges, I talk my way through the typical hotel sign-in script in a distracted haze. Elias, it seems, has already taken the room but left instructions for the second room key to be provided for me.
I quickly type, firing off a message from my phone.
Me:I’ve just arrived. Shall I just head up?
There’s no immediate response, but I don’t want to loiter too long in the lobby, either. I thank the receptionist and pick up my bags, idling slowly along the corridor in the general direction of the room. The hotelisimpressive. Beautiful. Elegant. Rich, but not tastelessly so.
It’s gorgeous really.
I still feel underdressed, but it’s not that bad. There are other people meandering through who look like simple tourists too. And Caelan is never one to bother with fancier things. I’m certain he’ll be in his ripped jeans, same as always, and probably grimacing in disgust at the whole affair. Elias must be in his element, though.
Speaking of, Elias is here. I can feel his presence in the way the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, the shiver running down my spine, the faint brush of his shadows like a cold fog reaching out and curling through my fingers.
He’s doing it on purpose, letting me sense him from a distance so as not to startle me. I turn to find him behind me, waiting in the overhang of an archway on the other side of the corridor. His lips curl up into a small smile as our eyes meet.
This is exactly the moment I’ve been worrying about. What do I even say to them, finally seeing them in person again after all these months?
“Hi,” seems redundant and childish. But it’s all I have, and I find myself blurting it helplessly as I walk across to join him.
“Hello,” Elias greets in return, the tone of it low and smooth. Almost a purr, and damn, I’d forgotten how much his voice could affect me, hearing it in person like that. His smile turns to more of a smirk. “Did you miss me?”
I grin in return, laughing. “Yeah. Yeah, I did.”
Admitting it this way, in response to his facetious inquiry, is far less daunting than accepting it for real. Elias doesn’t need to know exactly how much I missed him and Caelan.
BecauseGod, I missed them. And that’s a whole other complicated mess because this really isn’t something I should get feelings involved in. I was already more attached to them than was wise after our first night together, and the time spent apart, playing a long-distance game, has only made it worse instead of getting any better.
It worries me sometimes. The moments I remember what they are, that maybe like Grace said, it’s not exactlysafeto let my guard down and allow them to steal my heart.
But all my worries melt away as Elias wraps one arm around my waist, his other hand gently tilting my head back so he can press our lips together. Just briefly, a greeting kiss and nothing more, but there’s enough heat behind it to assure me that Elias hasn’t forgotten about what went down during our last encounter.
I’m grinning again by the time we part. Probably a stupid, infatuated smile, but I don’t mind. Elias picks up the larger of my luggage while I sling my shoulder bag on and fall into stride beside him as he leads us back to the room we’ll be sharing.
“So, what’s the plan?” I ask. Tomorrow is the gala, which will take up most of the evening. But there’s still tonight and then during the day before the start of the event.
Elias gives a hum of consideration. “Have you eaten yet?”
It’s bordering on dinnertime, inching firmly into the evening, but the journey consumed all my time for the afternoon. I shake my head in response to the question. That probably means another restaurant date is on the cards.
“Good,” he says. “I have a meeting with some of the organizers to discuss my role in this little farce, but that will not be until later.”
I nod. However, I can’t help but be curious. “Whatisyour role? If you’re allowed to say.”
Elias huffs and gives his neck a small crack, pressing the button to call the elevator. “Hosting a minor segment. An appearance on stage, announcing a few names, some ‘special effects.’ Nothing more.”
