Chapter 18
“Shit,” Asher curses under his breath.
Oh God, what the hell is our father saying right now?
“I mean, shoot. That sucks that the weather means you guys can’t leave until the morning.” His eyes widen, bulging out of his head.
“Fuck,” I mutter, immediately scanning the room for next steps, my problem-solving brain kicking into overdrive.
We need to hide everything, but the problem is, the foyer looks like a bomb went off inside of a bougie Party City.
I haven’t even had time to process the pretty blonde girl standing between Asher and me, who is currently crossing her arms the same way our Princess does. The biggest elephant in the room to ever exist.
I doubt she’s the only one in the world who does that, but the coincidence would still be insane, given the fact that she’s standing inside of our house right now.
“We’re not home. But we‘ll be back soon.” Asher ends the call and shoves his phone into his sweatshirt pocket. “He’s going to be here in five. Fuck.”
“Fuck,” I repeat back to him, taking one last second to gather myself before snapping into gear.
“All right, listen up.” Our friends and the straggling staff members all turn their attention to me.
“We need to hide all of this right now. Everett is going to be back in less than five minutes, and there cannot be a shred of evidence.”
Maria raises her hand as she asks, “And where would you like us to shove everything?”
Tapping my toe incessantly, I run a thousand ideas through my mind.
We could take it all up to Asher’s and my wing of the house, but there’s a chance he would go in there to check on us later and find all of it.
We could take it back to the storage rooms, but I think it would take us too long to get everything down there, unlock the sealed rooms, and then get everyone out of the basement without detection before he got here.
“I have an idea.” Someone speaks up in a sweet, timid voice.
Turning to Cirella—thanks to Alora, I now know her name—I encourage her to continue. “What are you thinking?”
Her lips part before closing and reopening.
The doe-eyed stare is suddenly so obviously familiar.
“You need somewhere Mr. Kensington and Adrianna are unlikely to look. So, you should hide everything in the staff wing. We could put it in my room or Jules’s.
” She glances at her nodding friend, who appeared at her side at some point.
Asher shrugs. “That’s—that’s not a bad idea.”
“Easier to access than storage.” I clap once, the idea solidifying in my mind. “Let’s do it. Gather everything up. We are moving it down into the staff rooms.”
Myra, the director, walks in at the perfect time. “I grabbed a couple of extra hands.”
My heart warms as at least ten other people emerge from the hallway, all ready to help us cover up our party crime.
I think we might actually be able to get all of this in one trip. The seconds are rapidly ticking away as I grab a couple of stacked boxes before turning my attention to Cirella.
“Well, Cirella, lead the way.” I smile, watching a thousand emotions shift through her face at once.
She stands a little taller. Her shoulders settle, and her chin lifts with a nod. Everyone scrambles and grabs as much as they can.
A few seconds later, the foyer is empty, and we’re moving, heading into hiding.
We pass a few offices, the laundry rooms, storage area, and the first floor of staff suites before turning into the stairwell.
Asher and I are directly behind Cirella, Jules, and Myra as we reach the lower floor and step into the well-lit hallway, golden sconces lining the walls.
A couple of steps later, Cirella stops outside of a suite door, dropping her boxes to the ground. “Jules and I can fit quite a few people; otherwise, Myra can take the rest further down the hallway.”
Asher and I stop with Cirella, knowing damn well there’s not a chance we’re letting her out of our sight until we can talk to her.
After letting us into their front lounge area, Cirella enters the code to her room and pushes the door open, leading the way inside while Jules does the same for her individual room.
“Last person in, please lock it,” Cirella announces to the back of the group.
Asher and I go straight back against her far wall near her bed, making room for everyone else. Thankfully, the rooms are decently large.
Part of the group files in after us, including our friends—Alora, Blair, Malik, Griffin, Elias, and Finn—as well as a few staff members. Someone locks the door, and we’re officially sealed inside.
Everyone drops their armfuls with a sigh as pride blooms in my chest. This was actually a brilliant idea. Our father never comes down here, and I doubt Adrianna would sink so low, likely thinking staff are beneath her holier-than-thou ass.
“You saved the day,” I tell Cirella with a smile.
Turning to us, she looks up, a nervous smile on her face. “Not a problem.”
Her breathing is shallow, her pretty blue gaze bouncing between Asher and me. She swallows hard, her lips parting to say something, but she stops herself.
Yes?
Something steals her attention behind me, her eyes flying open.
We follow her stare, and my heart leaps into my throat, my airway cutting off. Jesus.
I instantly calm my shock, realizing it’s just a little mouse.
A little mouse …
OMG.
The whiskers twitch as it looks up to a vase of flowers … the same exact flowers Ash and I gave our mystery girl.
“Holy shit,” I whisper, fireworks exploding in my mind, heart, and fucking soul.
It’s really her.
Oh my God. It’s really fucking her.
She offers her hand to the mouse, who scurries onto her fingers, and she carefully cradles it against her chest.
Peering out of the corner of my eye, I glance at Ash, who’s watching her with the same state of awe that I am. She’s been here the entire time, in our own house.
A knock sounds on the door, echoing in the deafening silence of the room.
“It’s Jules,” Cirella’s friend calls out, and someone immediately lets her in.
She whispers, which I doubt is needed, given how far from the front entrance we are, “All right, we have a room ready to store everything in if you guys want to follow me. And then we can go back to work so we don’t look suspicious.”
Everyone obeys her immediately, quietly filing out of the room, including Alora, Malik, Blair, Griffin, Elias, and Finn. I don’t know where our friends plan on blending in, but honestly, right now, I couldn’t care less.
Cirella steps forward, and I steal a fast glance at Ash, who is looking at me knowingly with narrowed eyes.
She strides forward, her pace quickening, and we’re right on her tail.
I click my tongue as she tries to slip through the door, and Ash shuts it right as I circle my fingers along her waist, pulling her back from the threshold.
“I don’t think so. We need to talk,” I rasp, my voice deep.
Asher locks the door and slides the bolt into place. Even if someone has a key, they can’t get in.
Leaning down, he presses his lips into the blonde waves by her ear. “Hello, Princess.”
Slowly, she turns around with big doe eyes and parted lips. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about. I just wanted to help.”
Reaching out, I brush my finger along her hairline, tucking it back behind her ear, just like she had it the night of the engagement party. “And you helped so much.”
“Mr. Kensington and Adrianna will probably be looking for you,” she stammers.
“Unlikely,” Asher says, running a finger under her chin and tipping her head back. “Besides, you aren’t getting rid of us that easily.”
She swallows hard. “I think you must have me confused with someone else …”
“Take the mask off, Princess. Don’t you think you’ve kept your boys waiting long enough?
” I beg, desperately needing her to acknowledge the connection between us.
“Look, we may have been idiots to not realize who you were sooner, that you were living in our house, right under our noses. But you’d be sorely mistaken to think we’re leaving this room without making sure you know exactly where we stand. ”
“I-I—” she stammers, but Asher cuts her off.
“Take a deep breath. Please. Before you try to convince us that you’re not who we know you are.”
Her gaze bounces back and forth, sheer anxiety and panic glimmering in her eyes.
Wetness starts to form, welling just above her lashes.
Shit.
Asher comforts her, cupping her shoulders and meeting her eyeline. “Hey, it’s okay. Don’t cry.”
“It’s all right,” I murmur.
Fear creeps into my body, tightening around my throat. Did we push her too hard, too fast? Did we mess this all up?
But my doubts fade away because a second later, she launches herself toward us, her arms around our waists and face pressed between us.
The world falls silent around me, only the sound of my heartbeat thumps in my ears.
“I’m sorry.” Her voice is muffled, and her bottom lip trembles.
My heart drops to the floor because she thinks for a second that we’re mad at her.
My hand immediately finds the back of her head, cradling her and pulling her tighter between us. “Don’t apologize.”
“We’ve got you,” Asher assures her.
She nods into us, and we let her hold on until she’s had her fill, slowly pulling away. “I wanted to tell you. I—”
“Shh. It’s okay. We know you had your reasons. Seriously, you don’t owe us an apology for anything. Besides, you might’ve saved our asses tonight.” I cup her cheek, brushing her soft skin with my thumb.
Asher continues, “We’re not mad, Princess. Don’t look so scared. We get it.”
Her breathing is erratic, unbridled, and I can’t help but to wonder who instilled this reaction in her, this innate fear to offer endless apologies and tears.
A knock sounds on the door, and she freezes to stone.
“Oh God.”
“It’s probably just Jules,” I mutter, and her head slowly shakes.
“Cirella. Open the door.”
It’s definitely not Jules. That kind of sounded like … Adrianna.
“You bolted the door? You have ten seconds. I swear to God.”