by JA Low
“We need to celebrate. Let’s grab a bottle of champagne,” Rainn suggests, as she calls over one of the staff and orders a bottle for the table.
“Does this mean you have to move to Paris?” Audrey asks.
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you girls about. Yvette offered me an internship if I got the green light from my family for the summer. I kind of want to take it.”
“You need to take this. This is huge,” Audrey states.
“We will pop over and visit you,” Rainn adds.
“You girls sure?”
“Yes!” Rainn and Audrey say together.
“Here’s to Nell being a boss bitch in Paris.” Audrey raises her glass in a toast.
Onwards and upwards!
I think I may have drunk too much champagne because I think I see Miles Hartford standing across the room at the bar with Stirling.
“Miles?” I call out.
“Ladies, it’s so nice to see you all again.” Miles smiles widely.
“It’s been too long.”
“Stirling?” Audrey gasps, not noticing him standing there next to his brother.
“You ladies look like you’re celebrating something?” Miles flashes his megawatt smile at us all. Damn, he’s pretty.
“Nell’s been given an opportunity to move to Paris for the summer, so we’re celebrating,” Rainn tells them.
“Wow, congratulations, Nell. That sounds fantastic,” Miles says, giving me a flirtatious wink, which makes my stomach flutter.
“Why don’t you join us?” I ask, more the merrier. I’m in the mood to celebrate.
“That sounds great. I think we need to order another bottle of champagne to celebrate your success, don’t you think?” Miles asks me as he slides in beside me. I think I might have drunk a little too much because I think Miles is being overtly flirtatious with me.
“I’m going to have to get going, guys. I have to get ready for a date,” Rainn tells us. Boo. I’m in the mood to party, but at least Audrey is still here, and I’m supposed to be meeting up with Portia later and she’s always up for partying.
“So, Paris for the summer, hey?” Miles asks, laying his arm across the chair behind me, leaning in closer to me.
“I know, I’m so excited,” I tell him.
“Remi is going to be in France for the summer too. What a coincidence?” Miles tells me. I did not know he was going to be there, nor do I care.
“That’s nice.”
“I thought you were friends?” Miles questions me.
“Nope. Not anymore,” I inform him. He seems surprised.
“Did you have a falling out?” he asks, curious. Yeah, over you, I want to say, but I don’t.
“Ugh. Stanford is such a jerk. He found out I’m here. Thanks, social media. He wants me to meet him downstairs to help pick out a tuxedo for the foundation’s ball,” Audrey interrupts. My eyes widen in surprise. Audrey’s other brother, Stanford, is a dick of massive proportions. Why on earth is she going to meet him? “Stirling, do you mind coming with me? I don’t want to be caught in the middle of Sandy and Rhys’s fights. You’ll make a good buffer.”
“Of course. I can handle Sandy,” Stirling says confidently, placing his champagne glass down on the table.
“Thank you so much. I owe you,” Audrey says to him. What the hell is going on? “Guys, stay, please. There’s still some champagne left in the bottle.” Audrey turns to Miles and me.
“I’ll grab the bill. You guys go deal with Sandy. I’m sure Nell and I can finish what’s left,” Miles explains. I nod because who’s going to say no to free champagne.
We finish another bottle of champagne between us, and we are both feeling the effects.
“Hey, I’ve got to meet some friends at a bar downtown. Want to come?” I ask Miles because he’s been good company. Flirty, but never overstepping the boundaries which I am kind of glad for. As much as I have wanted to have a moment like this with Miles for so long, the butterflies I initially had seem to have scattered and drifted away and all I can picture when I look at him is someone else. Fuck.
We hop in a taxi and head on downtown. Miles seems to get closer and closer to me in the taxi while we chat and I’m thankful when we arrive out the front of the bar. Miles hands the taxi driver the fare plus tip, grabs my hand, and helps me from the car. I thought he would have let go once I was out, but he doesn’t, not even when he cuts in line at the bar. The security guard gives him a nod and lets us in, much to the annoyance of the people waiting outside. It’s packed in the bar and it’s standing room only. Miles orders us cocktails and we find a dark corner to drink them in. Both of us are looking a little worse for wear after an afternoon of champagne, but we’re still standing.
“Thanks for asking me to hang out,” Miles says, placing a hand beside my face on the wall behind me.
“Thanks for wanting to celebrate with me,” I tell him, taking a sip of my cocktail and I try not to focus on his piercing green eyes. Especially not when they dip toward my mouth. Where the hell is my sister, she’s supposed to have been meeting us here?
“You’re really beautiful, Nell,” Miles confesses. Oh no. I should want this confession, but I don’t think I do. The hand beside my head moves down and cups my face. “My brother will probably kill me for this, but I don’t care,” he states before pressing his lips against mine. Oh shit. He’s caught me off guard, and my mouth opens in surprise, and he thinks that’s an invitation to sweep his tongue against mine. No. No. No. Pushing him away, we are both a little dazed by the kiss. Thank goodness my phone is ringing as I hold it up because I don’t know how to get myself out of this mess.
“Where the hell are you, Portia?” I scream down the phone in a panic. No. No. No. I can’t believe I let him kiss me. No. As tears well in my eyes. I’m so fucking stupid.
“Chill. I’m outside. I forgot my ID. Can you lend me yours?” she asks. The older she has become, the more we look like twins.
“Fine. I’ll be out in a sec,” I tell her, hanging up the phone. “Hey, Miles.” I tap him on the shoulder as the music is loud. I lean into his ear, and he wraps his arms around me, pulling me closer. Oh no, sorry, dude, you have the wrong girl, and I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong idea, but it is not happening. “I just have to grab my sister and her friends. I’ll be back in five. You good?” I ask him. He nods, but it’s floppy because he’s so drunk.
“I’ll be waiting here for you,” he says, giving me a wink. Righto then. I turn on my heel and head back outside to find my sister. Are you fricken serious? We are wearing the same dress. I’m in black and she is in red. Get your own style, girl. But I have too much of a headache to fight with her over us twinning.
“Here.” I hand her my ID. “Where are your friends?” I ask, noticing she’s alone.
“They’re stuck in traffic.”
“Right, well, Miles Hartford is inside. He was helping me celebrate my move to Paris,” I explain to her. Her brows shoot up high. “He’s drunk. Nothing happened.” Lie. But as far as I’m concerned, it wasn’t a proper kiss. It was sloppy and kind of missed the mark. Probably not his finest hour so it doesn’t count. “Make sure you keep an eye on him,” I tell her.
“Sure thing. Why aren’t you staying?” she asks.
“Champagne headache,” I tell her. I give her a kiss on the cheek and leave her at the bar. I hail a cab and jump in. As soon as my head hits the seat, my entire world spins. Please don’t throw up. I chant the entire way home.
35
Remi
I promised I’d catch up with Miles before I left for France for the summer. This was his last weekend off before I left, so the only time we could catch up. I walk into his apartment expecting to see him dressed and ready to go, but he’s not there.
“Miles!” I call out. He better not have been called into work and forgotten to text me to tell me. Wouldn’t be the first time. “Miles, where the fuck are you?” I curse through the empty apartment. I head on over to his bedroo
m. The bastard rarely sleeps in, but maybe he’s indulging today. It is his weekend off, which is few. When I turn the corner there, he is snoring away, naked. I take a couple of moments to take in the room because it’s a mess. What the hell happened in here? His room stinks like a brewery, and I chuckle to myself because Miles never goes out and gets trashed. Guess he overindulged last night. Good on him.
“Oi, get up dickhead.” I shove him hard, startling him awake. He flips over, and I shield my eyes. I do not need to see another man’s morning wood. “Fucking hell, man, put some clothes on!” I yell at my brother.
He pulls the sheet over himself, but he looks a little confused as he searches around the room as if looking for something or someone. Shit, now the messy sheets make sense.
“Looks like you had a good night last night,” I tease.
Miles’s face turns pale. “Um, yeah, something like that. I might have a shower.” He gets up and slams the bathroom door shut. His hangover must be a bitch. My stomach rumbles so I head into his kitchen to see if I can grab something to eat while he sobers up. Miles always has good shit in his fridge, and it doesn’t disappoint when I spot a brownie. I grab the chocolatey treat and take a bite, damn it’s good. I savor every bite of that perfection until I hear Miles call out my name. Busted. Shit, I drop the plate and it smashes on the floor.
“Shit, sorry, man.” I’m looking at the white ceramic mess on the floor.
“Don’t worry about it,” Miles tells me.
Huh. Did I hear that correctly? Miles is the biggest clean freak known to man. He hates people touching his stuff, let alone breaking it. He must be really hungover to not spin out over the broken plate. “Let me clean up and we can go,” I say, opening cupboards trying to find a dustpan. Then I notice an ID on the floor in the kitchen. I pick it up and my stomach sinks. Why the fuck does he have Nell’s ID in his kitchen? I stand up and slam the ID on the counter.
Miles frowns at me for a moment, then looks down at the ID. I can see he reads the name because the color drains from his face.
“Look, I can explain, Remi,” he says, holding up his hands.
“You can explain?” I repeat his words. My vision is seeing red because he better not be telling me that the reason his bed looks like a tornado has been through it is because he brought Nell home and fucked her. He better not be saying that. No. Fuck no.
“We were both extremely drunk,” he explains as if that’s an excuse.
“When you say we. You mean, you and Nell?” I question through clenched teeth.
“Remi, please. It just happened.”
I see red. “It just happened. It just fucking happened!” I scream at him as I slam my fist through his wall, shocking us both.
“Remi, stop, you’re going to break your hand!” Miles screams at me.
“You motherfucking bastard,” I say, grabbing him by the collar and pinning him against the wall. “You could have any woman in New York and yet you fucked the woman that I love!” I scream in his face. Miles pales as my words hit him.
“I had no idea you were in love with her.” He pushes me away from him. “Fuck, Rem. I thought you were just friends. That’s all you’ve ever told me you were. I did not know you were in fucking love with her. Shit. Fuck!” Miles screams at me. “Fuck, I’m an asshole. I did not know. She said nothing.” Miles paces.
“I never want to speak to you again,” I tell him.
“Remi, come on. I’m your brother,” he pleads.
“Exactly.” I turn around and point at his face. “My fucking brother.”
“Remi.” Miles screams out after me, but I don’t care as I slam the door behind me.
I can’t wait to get the fuck out of this town.
I should really thank Miles and Nell for sleeping together because I could channel that anger into one of my best summer seasons yet. I’m having the time of my life in France. The parties, the women, the sunshine, I’m living the dream. I heard through the grapevine that Nell had moved to Paris for the summer to work for a designer. Good for her. Not like I care or anything. Thankfully, she hasn’t come down to the South of France to any events because I’m not sure what I would do if I saw her again. After I left Miles’s apartment, I blocked them both. Stirling is a little confused why Miles and I aren’t speaking, and I appreciate Miles not telling him because Stirling is just going to be a mediator and I don’t want that. Miles is my brother, and I will eventually talk to him again because I must, we’re blood, but he can damn well wait till I’m ready to.
I’m currently in Paris for an exhibition game for polo week, and I’m hoping like hell that Nell is way too busy to come to the event because I don’t want to see her again. Ever.
“You, okay?” Callum, one of my teammates, asks me.
“Yeah, all good. Rolly made me try escargot last night and I don’t think it agrees with me.”
“You know never to listen to Rolly.” Callum shakes his head at me.
I wish it was the escargots repeating on me, but I know exactly the reason, stupidly. I checked my socials and saw a photo Nell posted of her in the crowd at the event with friends. Fuck.
“Come on, Hartford, let’s go!” Coach screams into the change rooms, hurrying us up. We head on over to the stables and get on our horses, and as we ride out into the area to introduce ourselves to the crowd, I can’t help but try to find a particular blonde in a sea of them. Even when we sit through the national anthems, I still can’t see her. Not even when I get onto the field, totally distracted trying to see where she is, but nothing. Not until I’m about to take a shot on goal that I see her in the crowd cheering me on, a big smile on her face as she screams my name, and my world stops. And the next thing I know, my horse bucks me off and I fall to the ground in a crumpled heap. The crowd turns eerily silent as I lay there motionless because I’ve had the wind knocked out of me. Shit, this is going to hurt in the morning. My team rushes onto the field, someone’s grabbed my horse that is bucking wildly. I turn my head to the side, and I spot Nell in the crowd, her hands are crossed over her mouth, and she has tears in her eyes. I can see the concern etched on her face all the way from here. It’s like a sucker punch to the stomach. Why is she acting like she cares? When I know she doesn’t.
“You, okay, man?” Callum asks.
I push myself up into a sitting position and suck in a couple of deep breaths. “I think so.”
“You’re off, Remi. Go see the doc!” Coach yells at me. Callum helps me hobble from the field. Once the crowd sees I’m walking off, they give me a round of applause. I give them an appreciative wave and head on over to the medical tent, where they check me over.
“Oh my god, Remi. Are you okay?” Nell rushes over to me.
Everyone stops and stares at her, wondering who this girl is.
“I don’t know this person,” I tell security, who puts a hand out to stop her. Nell frowns when she sees the man stop her, and she searches for me to tell him to let her through. I don’t.
“I’m a family friend of Remi’s. Please let me through,” she pleads with the security guard, all the while staring at me, wondering what the hell is going on. Security just shakes their head. “I’m Nacho Garcia’s daughter.” And this gets everyone’s attention. The security guard turns to me. Everyone knows Nacho. I shake my head. Nell’s jaw falls open at my dismissal and tears well in her eyes. I feel like an ass for making her cry, but she slept with my brother and that is something I can’t get over.
“Remi?” she says my name softly. I pick up my phone and start playing on it, effectively dismissing her.
“Dude, that was Nacho Garcia’s daughter you just sent away. Isn’t he your boss?” Callum asks.
“Yeah. But it’s complicated,” I tell him.
“Right, well, I guess asking for her number then is off the cards?” he jokes.
“Have at it. There’s nothing between us anymore.”
36
Nell
I’ve never seen Remi be so cruel to an
yone in my life. He ripped out my heart and smashed it to pieces with one look. It was incredibly embarrassing. He effectively pretended not to know me. What the hell?
I don’t know what I ever did to him to deserve that kind of treatment, but I get the message loud and clear from Remi. Don’t worry, I will never bother you ever again.
We miss you, Nell!” Rainn and Audrey shout down the phone.
“I miss you too.”
“I can’t believe you’re staying on,” Audrey pouts.
“I’m learning so much, guys.” And I am in love with Paris. “How are things going back home?”
“Nothing much has changed. I still live at home. We have the ball in the next couple of days, so I’ve been working hard on that.”
“Can’t believe I’m missing it. This is the first ball I think I’ve missed since we were ten.”
“Least Rainn came home after the summer,” Audrey states, giving me some wicked side-eye. Point taken, Aud.
“I feel invigorated,” Rainn muses.
“And tanned. You are so tanned,” Audrey grumbles.
“So, how are things going with Stirling?” I ask.
“We’re still friends. Nothing more.” Like hell they are just friends. She knows Remi, and I used that excuse so many times and we kept sleeping with each other. “No. I haven’t strayed from that path, not since Rhys has come home.”
“Rhys is such a cock block.” I chuckle.
“It’s for the best. Stirling is ten years older than me. He has his shit together, and me? I still live at home. I live off a trust fund. I work in the family business. He deserves someone more,” Audrey declares sadly.