by Linde, K. A.
Ugh! I don’t want to leave. Can’t you just let me wallow?
Over Sam? Still?
Yes. He has a girlfriend. I met her. Am I not allowed to have an ounce of your melodrama?
No. I’ll be there in twenty.
I snorted. Oh, Katherine.
Then another message came in almost immediately.
And brush your hair. We’re not animals.
I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped me. At least she was making me laugh instead of letting me be miserable. It would be easy to do after the past week of hell. I grumbled the whole time, but I did eventually get up, change, and fix my hair.
When Katherine texted me to say she was here, I headed downstairs. I rolled my eyes when I saw the vehicle outside of my building. A limousine. Christ, she was as bad as my mother.
“Miss St. Vincent,” the driver said, opening the door for me.
“Thank you.”
I slid into the backseat next to Katherine, who was dressed in stylish denim with a fitted white cotton tee and nude high heels. Her dark hair was parted down the middle, glossy and straight. She looked every bit like a model who was about to head to a photo shoot—put together and effortlessly stunning.
“The limo, Ren?” I asked, switching to the nickname Penn had given her at prep school.
She shrugged one shoulder as we pulled away. “It’s the Percy limo. Why not use all the benefits of this marriage?”
“I suppose.”
Though…my own mother had offered me the family limo, and I’d declined. But Katherine and I were far from the same people. She could live her life however she wanted. No matter how many times I tried to save her from herself, she was going to do whatever she wanted.
“It’s nice to see you out of business suits,” Katherine said.
I’d opted for an athleisure look with Lululemon leggings, a tank, and Nikes. My hair was in a sleek ponytail, as managed as I could get the curls in twenty minutes. It wasn’t as fancy as Katherine, but I never was.
“Where are we going anyway?”
“Bergdorf, of course.”
I shook my head. “I should have guessed.”
“Probably.”
“You know my mother bought half of Barneys and left it in my apartment last week. I really don’t need anything.”
Katherine arched an eyebrow. “Define need.”
Which was how we ended up in the dressing room of Bergdorf Goodman with a personal shopper or two bringing us a dozen or more outfits to try on. None of which seemed practical for my job. But it was fun to actually have a day to relax and hang out with my friend.
“So, melodrama,” Katherine said. She turned in place in a pink sundress that looked like something she’d wear to a polo match. “What’s going on? You met Sam’s girlfriend? How?”
I explained the awkward situation that I’d found myself in the night before. Hearing it from my own lips made it sound extra ridiculous. “Anyway, it was really awkward.”
“It sounds like you should have taken charge,” Katherine said with her hands on her hips. “Why are you letting anyone push you around? Don’t you know who you are?”
“Being a St. Vincent doesn’t actually matter for everything.”
“Doesn’t it?” she asked. “I swear, you used to know that.”
“I don’t want that life.”
“God, sometimes, you sound just like Penn,” Katherine moaned. “Why don’t you want that life? What is so wrong with being the sole heir to a billion-dollar enterprise? How is your life hard when both of your parents are dying for you to take over and make them even more money? Do you know how many people would kill for that? What kind of power that commands?”
“Nothing is wrong with it. But my entire life was spent doing exactly what my parents wanted. There was never a question of what I wanted.”
“I don’t understand you. You used to want this.”
“No, I didn’t,” I told her vehemently. “That’s the thing. I never wanted it. I just did it because that was what was expected from me. From all of us. And even if I was interested in running a business instead of a campaign, I don’t want to become the person I had to be to survive living a hundred percent in the Upper East Side. You know my parents don’t sleep in the same room. They haven’t since I was a kid. All that matters is money. And I didn’t like who I was when that was my life, so I gave it up. I know I’ll always be a St. Vincent. I can’t escape my name. I just want people to accept both sides of me.”
“You’re insane,” I said as I changed into my next outfit.
“But effective. Now, can we move past Sam?” Katherine asked.
I stepped back out of the dressing room in cigarette pants and a skintight blue bodysuit. I put my hands on my hips.
“I’ll admit, he’s good-looking. But he’s not worth your time. He’s just so out of your league.”
“Apparently, I’m out of every guy’s league.”
Katherine shrugged. “Can’t deny facts.”
I rolled my eyes. “Not helping.”
“You just need someone more like us. Someone who will understand you.”
“What? Like Thomas?” I ground out.
Katherine wrinkled her nose. “Definitely no. That was a mistake. I still think that asshole should go down for what he did to you. We can make him suffer.”
I adamantly shook my head. “I’m not that person anymore.”
“Fine,” she grumbled, changing out of her polo outfit. “But not every guy on the Upper East Side is Thomas.”
“Have you met the guys on the Upper East Side? They’re all kind of pretentious douche bags.”
“They’re not all that bad.”
“Really?” I asked with raised eyebrows when she appeared again in a canary-yellow cocktail dress. “What? Like Camden?”
Katherine froze mid-spin in front of the mirror. “No…Camden Percy is the king of assholes.”
“I know that. But are you going to tell me what’s really going on with you two?”
“What?” She tried to sound cool. “It’s just an arranged marriage. A trade of money and sex. It’s not that uncommon with old money, Lark. You know that.”
“And nothing more?” I prodded.
Katherine stood perfectly still. And it was a tell on her part. I knew there was something else. I just wanted her to tell me. If I had to sit here and listen to her judge my love life, I was going to make her divulge her own.
“Come on. What happened on your honeymoon?”
Katherine dipped her chin. “Nothing of importance. We were in the Maldives for three weeks. Beach, sun, sand, salt.”
“Katherine,” I groaned.
She whispered something that I couldn’t even hear and then turned away from me.
“Wait…what was that?”
“You heard me.”
“No…no, I didn’t,” I said, stepping close to my friend.
She looked up at me with wide eyes. And for the first time, I realized she was…afraid.
“I think…I like him.”
“Camden?” I asked. “Camden Percy?”
She blanched and looked away from me. “I think I’m…I’m falling in love with him.”
“Whoa,” I breathed. “But…you hate him. We all hate him. We’ve always hated him.”
“I know,” she whispered. Then she sighed heavily. “Fuck, do I know it.”
“Then what’s changed?”
She shrugged, nonchalant. “Nothing. Everything. I don’t want to talk about it. God, this is painful. I hate him. And I’m falling in love with him. And I don’t even know what is going on.”
“Okay,” I said, realizing when not to push her.
This was a huge revelation for her.
Katherine had only ever loved one person as far as I knew. And we both knew that she wasn’t going to end up with Penn Kensington. For her to have real feelings about anyone else…let alone her husband…had to be the hardest look she’d ever given at her life.
>
“Let’s forget it,” she said. Her Upper East Side mask slid back in place. “Let’s talk about nabbing you a gorgeous, extremely wealthy businessman at Natalie’s atrocious Happily Ever After party on Saturday.”
“Ugh,” I groaned. “Do I still have to attend?”
“I got you a dress, so you’re fucking going.”
I chuckled as I stormed into the dressing room to try on another outfit. “This is going to be such a disaster.”
“It is not,” Katherine said.
I came back out to find her staring darkly into the trifold mirror. She looked like a woman possessed.
“It’s going to be fine,” she insisted when she caught me looking. “You’re going to get a hot, new guy. I’m going to hold on to my throne. And Natalie will be put back into her place. All will be right in the world again.”
She sounded like she was convincing herself.
I wanted to believe that it was all going to be fine too.
Not just for me…but also for Katherine and Natalie and my whole crew. But only Saturday would tell.
10
Lark
It was not fine.
Not dealing with Sam the next week at work.
Not at Natalie’s party.
Not for Katherine’s throne.
Or my crew.
I stood there in the crowded ballroom as everyone I cared about yelled at each other. Tears rimmed Katherine’s eyes. Natalie looked like she was ready to spit actual venom. Penn could barely keep it all together. Camden had already raced out of the room, furious with Katherine.
I didn’t know how it had all gone so wrong.
One minute, I’d been trying to take Katherine’s advice and meet a new guy—unsuccessfully, I might add—and the next, Katherine was almost crying. I hadn’t seen her cry since high school.
“Oh god,” I whispered as they continued to go at each other’s throats.
Then I saw it. The moment that Katherine admitted defeat, turned on her heel, and left. I glanced between her retreating form and Penn. He gave me a sad look. One that said I should help Katherine. That he couldn’t do it right now.
Fuck.
I whipped around and raced after her. I didn’t care that people were watching. Just that Katherine was hurting. I reached her right before the exit.
“Wait, Katherine. Don’t leave,” I said, grabbing her elbow and hauling her to a stop.
“No, let me go,” she said through her own tears.
“Talk to me. What happened with Camden?”
She sniffled and looked away. “He saw me with Penn.”
“Were you with Penn?” I asked. It was a valid question. Being in a relationship hadn’t stopped either of them before.
“No!” she gasped. “No, I was actually telling him exactly what I’d told you…about Camden. And Camden drew his own conclusions. He said he was going to go see Fiona.”
I winced. “He wouldn’t!”
But of course, he would. Camden had had an on-again/off-again thing with Fiona Berkshire for as long as Katherine had been interested in Penn. It was half the reason I suspected he’d wanted something arranged. Fiona wasn’t quite marriage material, but he didn’t want anyone to interfere in his dalliances.
Katherine just shook her head, her tears damming up. “I don’t even know what he’ll do. We agreed. We agreed not to be with anyone else after the honeymoon.” She choked on her words. I could see it cost her to admit that. “And I haven’t. I…I didn’t think he had either. But now, I don’t know. I don’t know, Lark. I just want to go home.”
“Okay,” I muttered. “Okay, we can figure out what to do about Camden in the morning.”
“You should stay,” she said. “You were talking to that guy. Just because half of our plan is ruined doesn’t mean it all has to be.”
“Are you sure you want to be alone?”
“I’ve never wanted to be more alone,” she said and then walked off into the night.
I cursed colorfully and then turned back to the party. I had no interest in talking to anyone now. Except maybe Penn and Natalie and Camden and knocking some sense into them. Katherine might appear indestructible, but she wasn’t.
And neither was I.
The realization hit me hard. I didn’t know if I could last another six months with Sam in the office. I didn’t know what I was going to do.
It was impossible not to have feelings for him. Even if it was just anger about what had happened, the choice he had made, and the way it had all ended. But I knew that anger was so mixed up with other emotions. Ones that I couldn’t act on. And yet, I had to be around him.
It was like a festering wound. When I was away from him, sometimes, I could forget that I was rotting from the inside. But every time he was near, the wound would throb with a white-hot, pain-filled reminder.
I was done with this party. I couldn’t think clearly. And I was done lamenting the gaping hole in my chest.
Just as I turned to follow Katherine out, the lights switched off. I stalled as everyone in the room screamed. I blinked a few times as my eyes adjusted to the light. A few people turned their phone flashlights on, illuminating the space like a horror film. But the floodlights appeared overhead a few seconds later.
The screams died down, and everyone just looked around the room in confusion. But instead of standing around like an idiot, I immediately went into action. This wasn’t my event. I shouldn’t care less what happened with it. But it wasn’t in me.
So, I hustled past the stunned group toward the stage where I could see a crowd forming. I pushed up to the front and then stopped, my jaw dropping when I saw what everyone was staring at.
Court Kensington was in handcuffs.
His girlfriend, Jane, was also handcuffed, standing next to him, staring blankly.
Penn and Natalie were speaking to the arresting officers, but it didn’t look like they were getting anywhere. In fact, it seemed to only get worse. Because Court couldn’t let anything stand. He had to run his big mouth.
I ran a hand back through my perfectly sculpted hair. Fuck. This was bad. This was really, really bad.
Not just for Court and Jane.
No, it was bad for the campaign.
It was bad for Leslie.
What the fuck was the mayor of New York City going to do when she discovered her son had been arrested? What would the press say when they found out? Leslie was tough on crime. This was going to be a huge setback. And I didn’t even know how to process this.
But I did know one thing…someone needed to call the mayor.
And with Penn talking to the police and dealing with his brother, I knew that…it was going to have to be me.
I groaned as I pulled out my phone. This was not going to be pleasant.
I swallowed hard and then pressed the number for the mayor. She answered on the third ring.
“Lark, it’s one in the morning. This had better be an emergency,” Leslie said into the phone.
“It is,” I said with a sigh and a trace of fear. “Court was just arrested with Jane at the big Happily Ever After charity function.”
“Arrested?” she demanded. “Whatever for?”
“It’s unclear. The officers don’t seem to be explaining what happened. Jane is remaining silent, but Court is…”
“Not,” Leslie guessed. She sighed, but she sounded rattled. “Tell him to keep his mouth shut, and I’ll be there soon to deal with this.”
“I’ll let him know. I think Penn is going to the police station with him. I’ll go with him and let you know which one.”
“Thank you, Lark. Once again, you’re a lifesaver in helping me deal with my son.” She was silent for a second. “Well, we will fix it.”
“Yes, we will.”
“Lark,” she said softer than before, “does he seem okay?”
I looked between her two sons. And no…neither of them seemed okay.
“I don’t know,” I admitted.
She sighed. “
That’s what I was afraid of. Go help my son. I’ll figure this out.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I hung up the phone and stepped forward, passing the predetermined demarcation. The police were telling everyone to leave the building, that the party was over, and Trinity was closed. That couldn’t be a good sign for whatever was going on with Court and Jane.
Penn stepped away from Natalie and toward Court.
“Penn,” I called.
“I thought you’d left already,” he said when I approached him. He looked physically shaken. Like his world had just imploded.
“I was going to, but I had a change of heart. What’s going on with Court? Do you know why he’s being arrested?”
Penn shook his head. “Court is denying anything happened. The officers are being tight-lipped. I guess we’ll find out at the police station. It’s bullshit. I need to call my mother.”
“I already did,” I told him. “She’s coming to fix it.”
“She’s coming?” he asked with raised eyebrows. “Herself?”
“Yes. She said that she’d be there. She seemed…shaken.”
“It’s an act,” he said without skipping a beat. “She’s only thinking of the campaign.”
“I don’t think so. She didn’t mention the campaign on the phone.”
But I could see that Penn was second-guessing his assumption. I was the asshole who had thought of the campaign first.
“My car is out front,” he said. “We should probably follow them.”
I nodded. “All right. Are you okay?”
“No. No, I’m not.” His eyes were sad and distant. “You?”
And I realized…I wasn’t. I wasn’t okay with any of this. My best friends weren’t speaking. Everyone was arguing. Court had just been arrested. Leslie was even upset. Leslie, who was impenetrable.
I wanted to put it all back together. Just like with my now-nonexistent relationship with Sam. If I’d tried to put it back together then…maybe we wouldn’t be here. Or maybe we would.