16. Chapter 16
Chapter 16
Nova
" T o Nova, for putting together a kick-ass proposal for her first one hundred million dollar plus project." Luna held up her glass of bubbly.
Aurora and Stella joined her. I laughed and clinked my glass with theirs. We were at the Fitzroy, one of my favorite bars in Savannah. It was in a historic, beautifully restored building, and had maintained that old Savannah feel with exposed brick walls, polished hardwood floors, and high ceilings with ornate moldings.
We were on the rooftop because there was nothing as beautiful as a Savannah spring evening. We'd started our celebration with a bottle of champagne and a variety of Southern appetizers that the bar was known for.
"Now, tell us everything about this Anson situation," Luna urged.
"There is no situation . I knew him when I lived in Sentinel. We dated for a hot minute when I was in high school, and he was at Yale. It didn't end well. He, apparently , still hates my guts…but I can handle him." I took a sip of the crisp sparkling wine, my heart aching as it always did when I remembered those days with Anson—the happiest I'd ever been.
Aurora put her hand on mine. "Does it still hurt?"
"I get nostalgic. Because he was a light during some very dark days." I smiled wistfully. "I met him the summer before I started my senior year in high school. We spent a lot of time together. After he went back to Yale, we kept in touch over the phone. We texted. We talked. He came back in June after I graduated high school to surprise me on my eighteenth birthday. We spent the night together at the Larue mansion."
"The mansion?" Stella cocked an eyebrow.
"That's what everyone in Sentinel called it. Looked like a palace to me 'cause I lived in a tiny studio with roaches."
Aurora pursed her lips. "Sucks to be poor, doesn't it?"
"Sucks balls," I agreed.
Aurora had grown up like me—wondering where the next meal would come from. Stella and Luna came from old Savannah money. But despite our circumstances, all four of us didn't have much in the name of a close family. Stella only recently started to build a relationship with her half-brother. Her father and stepmother were a lost cause. Luna was tight with her brother Lev, but not their parents.
"Please tell me he didn't fuck you and bail?" Luna gritted.
"Not quite."
Stella slid an arm around me, and kissed my cheek.
"It was a long time ago. We've both grown up since," I told them. "What I feel, like I said, is garden-variety nostalgia."
"You sure?" Stella emptied the bottle of champagne by refilling our glasses. "Honestly, seeing y'all today, I wouldn't think you knew each other outside of work. I'd say he's a difficult client, but we've had worse."
"Haven't we all." Aurora raised her glass. "Remember Mr. Delacroix from Augusta?"
Everyone groaned. He'd been an especially unpleasant man, who paid us very well to restore his childhood home in gothic style.
Luna looked at me pointedly. "You reacted to Larue when you saw him that first time, but I must admit, not since. You're either really over him, or you're handling it like a pro."
"It shocked me to see him. But now that I've gotten used to the idea, it doesn't bother me much. He's just an ex now." I lied like a pro to my friends.
"Speaking of exes," Stella groaned.
"What?" I asked.
"Y'all's exes are friends?" Aurora grimaced.
I scanned the rooftop and saw Anson walk toward us with Dominic Calder, Luna's purported ex, though we had no details on that history.
" Ye gods , since he moved back from New York, I see him everywhere," Luna muttered.
She was a few years older than me and was still single. She didn't date much either, which surprised me until I met Dom. He'd grown up with Luna and Lev—and every time he and Luna were together, they generated enough sparks to light up Savannah. It was obvious that they had some unresolved issues to get through.
"Stella Bella." Dom leaned and brushed his lips against Stella's cheek. "Ladies."
"You show up like a bad penny everywhere I go, Dominic Calder," Luna said sarcastically.
"Moonbeam." Dom affectionately kissed Luna's forehead. She hissed.
Dom laughed softly. "Y'all know Anson. He tells me that Nova, here, did a kick-ass job today with a proposal for him."
After some small talk, the two men settled around the table with us. Dom sat next to Luna as he always did, to her chagrin, and I dare say, secret pleasure.
Anson maneuvered his way to sit next to me. Luna looked at me, silently asking me if I was okay, and I shrugged, indicating I was.
Bullshit!
I could smell him, and it made me feel like young Nova again, the one who believed in fairytales.
"Stella, Larue Homes has done some work with your husband's company." Anson raised his bottle of beer.
"Noah mentioned you," Stella said. "Now, you'll have a chance to work with Carter Construction again, because Savannah Lace partners with them."
"Do you like working with your husband?" he asked.
Stella laughed.
"We don't allow them to work together." Aurora grinned. "We keep them far apart. They're either fighting or…."
"Fuckin'," Luna filled in.
Aurora flushed. Stella didn't. Since she met Noah, she'd changed, become tougher, more confident, and a whole lot more fun.
"Luna," I protested and looked at Anson. "Client here."
"He ain't a client right now, honey. He's Dom's friend," Luna remarked.
"True." Anson raised both his hands in a peace offering. "Please continue talking about all the fucking that's goin' on in Savannah."
Everyone laughed. I wanted to fucking disappear.
Anson ordered a round of drinks for the table. Once they arrived, the volume of conversation rose.
He leaned close to me and whispered, "You have mad skills, Sugar. You've managed to fool all these people."
I smiled at him. "Not foolin' anyone, Anson. They see me."
"I saw you as well," he replied, heat flashing in his eyes.
"Through the Larue rich-white-spoiled-boy lens," I retorted. "The Anson I knew would never have put me through what you did."
"Put you through?"
I kept my voice low so only he could hear me. "Yes. When you asked Pete to make sure that I paid for what I did, you meant to destroy my humanity. I'm here to tell you that you didn't succeed."
I wanted to be calm and controlled, show Anson that I was totally over him. But it was all lies. I wasn't over him. I still loved him. I still hated him. It was all murky—but one thing was clear, he still affected me . The only thing to do was to get the hell away from him.
"Ladies, I have to go to bed before I turn into a pumpkin," I announced.
"No kidding. I should head on home, too." Stella yawned. "And today being a school day and all."
"Come on, it's only eight-thirty," Luna complained.
Aurora's phone beeped, and she smiled. "Gabriel is coming over with Noah. Stella, Nova, y'all might want to hang around."
"Your husbands need to learn not to crash our girls' nights," Luna muttered.
"It's sweet." I leaned against the table. "They miss their wives."
Luna made a face. "Or they're possessive assholes who want to control their wives."
"Stay a minute and say hello to my controlling man," Aurora said to me.
But it wasn't just Gabe and Noah who joined us. Beau, who was friends with Gabe, was with them as well. I used to be uneasy around Beau because I knew he was my half-brother, and he didn't, but not anymore. Now, he was a friend, and he treated me like one as well.
Gabe and I had gotten to know each other well since Aurora and he first started to date. It took some time for me to warm up to Noah, especially after the stunt he pulled with Stella—but we were now friends and not just merely friendly.
"You did well today, I hear." Noah gave me a quick hug.
"Does your wife tell you everything?" I scolded.
"My wife tells me nothing." Noah raised both his hands, palms out. "I heard about it from Nina. Proud of you, Nova."
I flushed.
While Noah and Gabriel shook hands and did that manly man-hug thing with Anson, Beau came up to me.
"Nova, sweetheart." He held me close. "How are you, doll?"
"Good."
"Trev tells me you're helping to keep Katya sane while Mama drives her mad with wedding planning."
"Your mama is one determined lady," I remarked.
He put his arm around me as he spoke. "No kiddin'. And Trev tells me you're dating that douchebag, Michael Ross. Didn't we talk about how you need to run your dates by me to vet?"
"Mike Ross is not a douchebag," Stella chimed. "Mike's a good guy."
"You have no idea what Mike's into." Beau raised an eyebrow and winked at me. "You know what I'm talkin' about?"
I rolled my eyes. "I'm not dating him. I've been out with him once for a coffee. And I have no idea what he's into."
"He has a membership at a sex club," Dom filled in.
"We have a sex club in Savannah? Hell, that doesn't make him a douchebag," I said as saucily as I could, "it makes him interestin'."
Beau laughed out loud. "You're a treasure, Nova, an absolute treasure. So, what are you drinkin', doll."
"Nothing." I pulled away from Beau. "I need to get some shut-eye. Tomorrow is going to be another long day."
"But thank God it's Friday." Aurora raised her glass, and everyone cheered.
I left some cash under my glass to pay for my drinks. "Fuck no." Beau grabbed the dollars, and pressed them into my hand. "You don't pay when I'm around."
"Beau," I protested.
"Or when I'm around," Dom added.
"Or me." Gabe raised his hand.
"You're fine to pay when it's just me." Noah winked at me. And when Stella elbowed him, he fake grunted. "But my wife may hurt me, so…I'm afraid we can't accept your money."
"Especially since we're here to celebrate you," Luna pointed out.
"Fine." I gave up.
"But if you want to make a peach cobbler and bring it over to Trev's, I wouldn't have a problem with it." Beau kissed my cheek.
"I have first dibs on Nova's baked goods," Luna declared. "And if I die, rights go to Stella."
"What happens when Stella dies?" Noah mused. "Do I get peach cobbler rights? I'm her husband."
"Nova's peach cobbler is to die for," Beau informed the group.
"Or kill for." Noah pulled his wife close to him, and she wrapped herself around him. They'd come a long way in a short time, and I was happy for them.
"Thank you, Beau." I tucked my phone into a pocket in my dress. "See, y'all."
"Do you have a ride home?" Anson asked, walking with me, making it clear to all my friends that we were not colleagues who just met. Within a minute of my leaving, I knew that Beau, Noah, and Gabe would have the lowdown about Anson and my past.
Savannah, sometimes, was as small a town as Sentinel.
"I'm five minutes from here," I told him.
"Where's your car parked?" he asked.
"A five-minute walk," I explained.
"Then, I'll walk you home."
"No, thank you." I went down the stairs and was dismayed when Anson followed me.
I lived on Jones Street in a gorgeous historic building. I'd come far, far away from that crappy studio apartment, where I used to cook him dinner on a single-burner stove. A part of me wanted to show him how I'd risen in the world, but another wanted him far away from me, because every time I saw him, I wanted him despite who he was and what he'd done.