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“Wow. Did that really just happen?”
“Oh, it happens every year,” I tell her. “I told you. The Northups are not a nice family.”
She shrugs. “They seem like a normal family to me.”
“Normal?” I snort.
“Yeah, with a black sheep and with their own squabbles. What? Don’t tell me you and your family don’t fight.”
“We don’t shout at each other,” I answer.
“What, then? You throw stuff at each other?”
“No. We just stop talking to each other and try to make more money than each other.”
“Wow,” Ellis says sarcastically. “And whoever makes more money wins the fight?”
“Usually.”
She shakes her head. “By the way, did you see Samuel Northup? He looked really bad.”
“Yup. Looked like COPD.”
“Should we go check on him?” Ellis asks.
I glance at her. “And why would we do that?”
“Um, because we’re doctors?”
“I’m sure he has his own doctors who he’s paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to keep him alive as long as they can. He doesn’t need us.”
“Right,” Ellis agrees.
And yet, she still looks like she wants to go see him. I guess it’s really hard for her to leave someone who’s suffering alone.
“Samuel will be fine,” I try to assure her. “Gabe’s stint was just a little too much for him, but he’ll bounce back.”
Ellis doesn’t look convinced.
“At the very least, I know he’s going to fight with everything he’s got to last until Christmas,” I say. “He loves Christmas too much.”
“He does?” Ellis asks me. Hope flickers in her eyes.
I nod. “Why do you think he throws these parties?”
“To flaunt their riches. That’s what you said.”
“Well, that, too. And I’m not wrong. I mean, look at the crystals inside that giant snow globe. And did you see that golden reindeer in our room?”
“Yup. And the ornaments on the tree that look like Faberge eggs. Oh, and that box of chocolate nutcrackers by Jacques Torres. I wanted to try one but they looked so perfect it seemed such a waste to eat them.”
I chuckle. “So that’s why you decided to simply drool over them.”
“I was not drooling over them,” Ellis argues. “Was I?”
I just grin.
“Rainier!” I suddenly hear Suzannah exclaim from a few feet away.
She leaves behind her crowd of worshippers and walks over to me.
“Suzannah,” I greet her with a smile.
She puts her hands on my shoulders and presses one cheek against mine, then the other.
“I didn’t know you were the one coming this year,” she says.
“I didn’t know it, either,” I tell her. “My brother just couldn’t make it at the last minute.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re the one who came.” She touches my cheek. “I haven’t seen you in forever. I’ve missed you.”
I brush her hand off and clear my throat. Then I grab Ellis’s hand.
“Suzannah, I want you to meet Ellis, my fiancee.”
I show her the ring on Ellis’s hand.
She wraps her hand around her throat. “Oh.”
“Hi.” Ellis offers her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Suzannah. I’m a fan.”
Suzannah, however, doesn’t shake her hand. She just looks at her in confusion, then at me.
“But I thought you were going to marry me,” she says. “I thought we were going to get married.”
My eyebrows crease. “I never said that.”
“But your father said a partnership between the Knights and the Northups would be good.”
“He was talking about a business partnership,” I point out. “Which has been good.”
“And what about that time in – ?”
“Suzannah,” I cut her off. “There was never any chance of us getting engaged.”
Her jaw drops in disbelief. Her eyes look about to cry. In the next moment, she stomps off, sobbing a tad too loudly for it to be real.
There goes her tantrum.
Ellis stands in front of me. “How could you do that to her? How could you be so harsh?”
“Harsh?” I lift my eyebrows. “I was just telling her the truth. It’s not my fault if she can’t handle it.”
“The truth?”
“Yes.” I grab her left hand and lift it so she can see her ring. “You’re my fiancee, Ellis. Remember?”
She pulls her hand away. “I probably wouldn’t have agreed to it if I knew you and Suzannah Northup had something going on.”
“Well, we don’t,” I make it clear to her. “She’s just had this thing for me for a long time. Completely one-sided.”
“Still.” Ellis glances at the door. “Suzannah must be heartbroken.”
“Or it’s just bad acting.”
Ellis frowns. “I’ll go talk to her.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” I grab her arm. “Suzannah is just going to shred you to pieces with her claws.”
“I’m used to other girls being mean to me,” she says. “I’ll be fine.”
She shrugs off my hold and walks towards the door. I let out a sigh. Fine. If she can’t go through a day without trying to help someone who’s hurting, I should just let her.
I grab my empty glass and head to the bar. As for me, I’m going to get another drink before going back to the room.
