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“Alexander Laurence Medlock!” Marcella stood in the doorway, a glorious silhouette of horror illuminated by the hallway light behind her.
We both jumped.
“Darling,” Alexander began.
“Do notdarlingme.” She stalked deeper into the space until she stood next to me, but across from her husband. “Those are the spare dishes for the guests tomorrow.”
Alexander, unaffected by his wife’s outrage, gestured to me. “You would rather if Kami starved?”
The anger immediately vanished as Marcella’s head pivoted to me, her expression horrified. “Oh, Kami, I am so sorry. Did you even eat today? I had you running all over the place and got so caught up in everything I didn’t even … eat! There is so much food. I think I might have ordered too much anyway.” Ignoring or not hearing my assurance that I was fine now, she rushed to the fridge and began pulling out more plates.
“No! Honestly, I’m okay now.”
She waved my protest away by putting a container of dip in front of me. “This is all just extras anyway. The rest of the food is already at the hall. If you don’t eat this, it’ll go to waste.”
I opened my mouth to argue when the clump of approaching feet announced the arrival of everyone else. Kas, Sasha and Lavena stumbled into the room with a disheveled and exhausted Edmund at their heels. They all took one look at the cluttered assortment of food and lunged. If Alexander hadn’t grabbed my arm and maneuvered me to his end of the counter, I may not have survived the rush.
“I am so hungry,” Kas groaned, shoveling a whole floret of broccoli into the dip and stuffing it into her mouth.
“I have never been so happy to see food.” Lavena agreed, packing three sausage rolls into her mouth. “I’m pretty sure you’re supposed to feed your slaves, Mother.”
Marcella huffed, spearing bunched fists into her hips. “Everything was so chaotic. Why didn’t you guys stop and eat?”
Lavena raised her head, half an asparagus poking out from between her lips. “When did you let us? Kas stopped to sneeze, and you told her to sneeze later.”
Marcella grimaced. “I’m sorry, Kas.”
Kas, practically face down in a plate of dumplings, waved the apology away.
“At least we’re done now, right?” Sasha dunked a baby carrot into the dip and munched on it. “There’s really nothing left to do.”
While Marcella assured us that all the big jobs were done and we could finally rest, Lavena skirted the island and snatched the tray of chicken rolls out from under Edmund’s reaching fingers, ignored his sputter of protest and shoved the whole thing into my hands.
“Why are you standing there like a weirdo? Eat.”
We ate far more than we probably should have before taking the seemingly endless journey on the elevator to our floor. There were incoherent mumbles of goodnight as we each disappeared inside our apartments.
The sharp crack of something taking the toe of my sneaker and skidding across the floor had me fumbling for the light switch. The warm, yellow light flooded my hallway and the single, white box in the middle of it. Darius’s warning to keep my door locked prickled at the back of my brain even as I was reaching for the tiny card tucked beneath the crimson ribbon and turning it over.
“Thought of you. Wear me tomorrow.”—D.
CHAPTER 14
Darius
Iwasn’t opposed to parties. Growing up with my mother and sister, parties were a fact of life. Whether they were throwing one or attending one, my presence as heir to the Medlock empire was always mandatory. I learned early on to accept my fate graciously and never complain.
However, attending a party in my honor, surrounded by people I barely remembered or cared enough to see again already had me wishing the night to end. My only saving grace was the promise of seeing Kami. That knowledge alone had gotten me through a long night of tossing against sweat soaked sheets. It was the thing that kept me from marching downstairs and banging on her door. I needed sleep. I hadn’t had a decent full night since that last night at the cabin. I was exhausted and frustrated, and all I fucking wanted was to throw Kami over my shoulder and take her to bed. I just needed her arms around me, caging me safely against my dreams.
But I knew that wasn’t possible. Not until we’d talked. I had so much to tell her, so much she needed to process before we could figure out what to do next.
Unfortunately, party first. I would deal with the rest in the morning.
Expelling the tight knot of weight pressing down on my chest, I adjusted the Medlock, gold cuffs I’d borrowed from my father. My reflection did the same in the gilded frame. He seemed as ready to end the night as I was. The dark suit and crisp, white blouse folded with perfection across his frame, complimenting his broad shoulders and lean waist. Despite it being a new addition to my wardrobe, it resembled every other party suit I’d ever worn. The familiarity helped ease some of the tension as I turned away from the mirror to face the lavish bedroom in some manor Mom had rented for the night.
At a glance, I would have wagered they had a lot of newlyweds. Every inch of the place was white satin and lace with romantic and feminine undertones. Only the dark wood of the furniture had any real depth. It was where I’d been told to go and get ready. My suit was already on the bed when I arrived and I was left undisturbed, yet the place wasn’t so big I couldn’t hear the continuous jingle of guests arriving at the front door somewhere downstairs. I could hear the exclamations of excitement and the laughter. The band was already rolling through the first set, drowning out the sea of chatter.
Somewhere down there was Kami.
