Terms + Conditions (Strangers #3)

Chapter Seven

CHAPTER SEVEN

THEN

December 2015

“HAVE YOU SEEN ELIZABETH?” Nina asks, appearing from behind me. Why is she asking me? Shouldn’t she know where Elizabeth is?

“Not for a while.” I shake my head and answer without looking away from the dance floor. Guests float across the waxed and polished wooden floors to the tune of a Christmas song from the piano in the corner. There’s an oversized tree next to the piano fit with oversized ornaments and ribbons. There’s a stage in the middle of the room along the back wall where they will present the girls shortly and crown the next Miss Winchester. I motion toward the dance floor. “Shouldn’t you be out there with Lee?”

“I have better things to do,” Nina says with a tight smile.

Why she stays with that guy, I’ll never know. Lee Madigan is the son of another prominent family in town and a grade-A asshole. Nina could do so much better, but for some reason, she stays with him. It’s not like she needs his money, and he treats her more like a toy than a girlfriend. Maybe there’s something I’m missing. Don’t know what it could be, but maybe.

“What’s up, Nin?” Finn asks.

Nina seems to debate whether or not to say something. She looks around the room once more before turning back to us. “She and Will have kind of been at odds lately. I think her decision to go ahead and go to SCAD isn’t helping. I have a sneaky suspicion things might blow up sooner than later.”

Nina’s eyes bore into mine, and it feels like she knows . Like she knows everything about the deal we made. Except she can’t possibly know the truth. We aren’t supposed to tell anyone. But this is Nina, and if there is one thing I’ve learned, it’s that Nina Villa always finds the truth.

“Any luck?” Lee suddenly appears at her side. Where did he come from? I don’t remember seeing him before.

“So, you haven’t seen her?” Nina ignores him, asking us again.

“Nope.” Finn pops his lips to emphasize the word. “Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it, Dove. Elizabeth is a big girl. She can handle herself,” Lee says, earning an eye roll from his girlfriend.

Nina starts to take off in search of Elizabeth again, but the music dies, and Harvey takes the microphone to begin the Miss Winchester portion of the evening. Not before he thanks everyone for joining them this evening, of course. “We’ve done it again,” he states proudly, holding up a piece of paper that a woman passes him. “We’ve beat our previous record! This year, we raised over sixty-thousand dollars for the families in our area.”

The crowd roars with excitement before he quiets them down again. He thanks a few more people by name for their hard work to make this all happen and then hands the stage over to his wife.

A few paces behind Mrs. Cawthorn, Elizabeth steps on stage wearing the Miss Winchester crown and sash—she was crowned the winner last year. The smile on her ruby lips doesn’t quite reach her eyes as she stands poised and ready while each girl is announced alongside their suitor. I lose track of who is who and what each girl’s short biography reads. Why does all of this matter again? It’s not like this is going to actually matter when they go off into the real world, it only matters while they’re still safe inside their little Winchester bubble. This entire ordeal is simply to give these people a reason to get dolled up and throw a party.

When the final girl is announced, I count them—sixteen total—but I don’t recognize most of them.

“And the next Miss Winchester is…” Mrs. Cawthorn pulls a small card from the envelope in her hands. “Wren James!”

Wren James does her best pageant queen, faux surprise face. Her eyes shine under the lights as she approaches the stage to receive her crown. The crown Elizabeth wears is swapped for a much smaller one and placed on Wren’s head. I notice Elizabeth’s eyes sweeping over the ballroom, searching…but for what? I start to do the same, but I can’t quite figure out what she’s looking for.

Mrs. Cawthorrn motions toward the band to begin playing a tune, and each couple gets into formation to share their first official dance in society. Elizabeth steps off stage, her eyes still sweeping around the room. William . She’s looking for William because they’re supposed to dance alongside the girls.

“You’re fucking joking,” Nina whispers to herself, noticing the same thing.

As the dance begins, William still hasn’t shown his face and has left Elizabeth alone on the dance floor. I can only imagine the ass-chewing he’s going to get from his mom tonight for causing such a scene, but right now, I’m more worried about the girl he’s left stranded. I can’t stand the image in front of me. There’s a tug on my heart. An invisible string pulls me forward and I start to take a step but pause, sharing a look with Nina. She doesn’t hesitate to urge me forward.

Elizabeth looks shocked when I approach her. Without a word, I bow. When I stand, I lift my palm to face hers, as the other suitors had done moments ago. She doesn’t hesitate placing her hand next to mine, centimeters apart, and we join the others in the dance. Finally, I pull her close, one hand holds hers and the other rests on the small of her back. I’m transported back to that moment in the hallway. The way we had been so close, too close for people who weren’t in an intimate relationship. The smell of her perfume—a mixture of sweet florals and sandalwood—filled my space and it was intoxicating.

She clears her throat, bringing me back to the present moment. “What are you doing here?” she whispers, her brown eyes staring up at me under thick lashes.

“Saving your ass. Now, smile, and let’s get through the next three minutes.”

I can feel the weight of every eye in the room on us. I catch a glance of Nina, whose lips curl into a smirk like she knows something. Finn, too. My sister looks shocked from her spot next to our parents. Mom’s brow is raised in surprise, while Dad wears a proud smile. And in another turn, I catch sight of Brina, her expression unreadable. Turning back to the woman in my arms, I see she looks sad, but she does her best to hide it.

“It’s his loss, Sugar,” I whisper, and that earns a small smile—a real one. One that softly tugs the corners of her ruby-red lips upward.

As the song ends, we take a step back in line with the others. The men bow again while the young women curtsey. Elizabeth and I share a deep sigh; it looks like our arrangement is going public a lot earlier than anticipated.

“That’s not good,” Finn says as we walk onto the back deck, and I follow his gaze to see William and Elizabeth arguing. Shit, this is not good. Not the time or place for this. We pick up the pace down the steps, trying not to draw too much attention to ourselves from the few partygoers outside, but the lover’s quarrel seems to be getting more heated with each passing moment.

William says something, and Elizabeth gasps, taking a step back. He takes the opportunity to walk away, but when she recovers, she follows, hot on his heels.

Dammit, Elizabeth. Just let it go.

“You are nothing more than a manchild, William Cawthorn!” I can hear her as we get closer. “You think just because your daddy is—”

“Look who’s talking, Lizzie!”

“We are not the same.”

“You think just because your parents are dead, it gives you a pass to say and do whatever you want. To treat people however you want. But it doesn’t! You’re nothing more than a spoiled little bitch.”

“Hey, now!” The words tumble out of me before I can stop them. Bringing up her parents in the middle of an argument like this isn’t fair. “C’mon man, there’s no need for all that.”

“Oh, look who it is.” William scoffs. When he speaks again, his voice has raised at least two decibels. “Come to save the day again?”

“There’s no need to cause a scene, Will,” I urge him, trying to keep my voice down. “Why don’t you guys take it upstairs? Settle this like adults.”

“You’re one to talk, huh, Josh?”

“Will, stop it,” Elizabeth interjects, but it doesn’t do any good.

“Running off with my girl, telling her I’m gonna break up with her, telling her she doesn’t matter because all the girls are throwing themselves at me?” He steps closer to me and for some reason (Stupidity? Pride?) I don’t back down.

“William,” Elizabeth hisses.

“And for what? To cause problems? To start a fight? So you could make me look like the asshole, and you could swoop in and play hero?”

“Doing a pretty good job of that yourself,” Finn mumbles. William glares at him, but Finn simply shrugs in response. Finn is used to William; used to his tantrums. They’ve known each other for a long time. And even though he has always rubbed Finn the wrong way, sometimes you put up with people like William because they’re the only ones around.

“Stay the fuck out of this, Sheffield.” The fist at William’s side clenches. This is going to get a lot uglier if we don’t do something to defuse the situation.

“You’re the one who left your girl stranded in front of the entire guest list. So, if you’re looking for someone to blame for your problems, take a look in the mirror.”

William starts to lunge.

I step between, trying to keep them apart, and the blow lands on my cheek.

Fuck.

The thought enters my mind, but I don’t register it at first, the hit dazing me for a moment. I can hear distant yelling from Elizabeth, but I don’t know what she’s saying. When my senses finally return, I take a deep breath and glare at William. He’s in the process of rolling up his sleeves, readying himself for the fight sure to come. My gaze is ripped from his, and I’m met with concerned brown orbs. Elizabeth. She gingerly touches my cheek, examining it before offering me a tentative smile. She’s apologizing.

“Can’t take a hit, Joshy boy?” William taunts when the last of his shirt sleeve is tucked away in the fold at his elbow.

I scoff. “Will, unless you want to get laid out in the middle of your own party, I suggest you go back inside. I’ve given you your one hit, now it’s my turn.”

William starts to lunge at me again, but Finn steps between us, managing to avoid the right hook William throws.

“Stop it,” Finn hisses. “Do either one of you really want to cause a scene on a night like this?”

“Get the fuck out of my house!” William shouts. “I never want to see either of you again. If you ever so much as—”

“Oh, for once in your life, shut the fuck up, Will,” Elizabeth interrupts him.

Will’s burning gaze turns on her and my feet move on their own to put myself between the two of them. I watch the wheels of his mind turning, mulling over what she just said. I don’t know if I’ve ever heard Elizabeth talk to him that way.

Despite his unwavering gaze, she stands tall, until finally his eyes narrow. William opens his mouth, ready to spew whatever vile line he’s spent the last two minutes coming up with, but his gaze flickers to me and the words escape him. Looking between us, he tries to think of something else to say, but the best he can come up with is: “You deserve each other!” before he runs back to the house like a little kid who didn’t get the toy he wanted.

Has he always been so dramatic?

A few guests who had just stepped out onto the back porch watched him stomp inside before they turned in our direction. I turn toward Elizabeth, whose narrowed gaze has yet to leave the backdoor.

Damn, I really made a mess of things. I should’ve just kept my mouth shut.

As if she can hear my thoughts, Elizabeth looks at me, gaze still narrowed. I ready myself for her fury to unleash, but it never comes.

“It’s his loss, Sugar,” I say, repeating the same words I said to her on the dance floor.

The corners of her red lips lift briefly. With a deep breath, she mentally prepares herself for her next task: distracting party guests. She leaves us to join them on the balcony, greeting them with a polite smile and starting a conversation to clean up the mess we’ve made.