24. Rae
24
RAE
“S hit. We’re supposed to bring a gift,” I call as I fasten my earrings in front of the powder room mirror.
“Only if you want to be invited back.”
“It’s Tyler and Annie’s housewarming. They’re not going to un-friend us, right? And he’s already been living there for ages.”
I duck into the hall to see Harrison stepping into his shoes at the front door. He looks breathtakingly sexy in dark trousers and a button-down shirt. No jacket.
It’s a win.
The past two weeks have been a struggle, but we’re moving forward. I can tell he’s having a difficult time, but he always finds a smile when I’m around. I wish he didn’t try so hard for my sake.
One piece of good news is that Zachary Whelan is in jail and was denied bail. But thanks to the delays in the planning department, some of the most important renovations at the new club are on hold. It’s eating at Harrison.
“I have a gift for you,” I inform him as we step into the elevator and hit the button for the ground floor.
I hold out the notification on my phone.
“The zoning was approved?”
“This morning,” I confirm.
Disbelief fills his handsome face. “How the hell did you get that before I did?”
“Leni.”
“Fuck.”
He crosses to me as the doors open, taking my face between his palms.
He kisses me, long and deep, before coming up for air.
“I need to check on the club on the way. Make sure everyone’s on the job working twice as fast.”
“No, you don’t,” I say quickly, and he grimaces.
“I’ll pull up the security footage. Just to make sure everything on the exterior is on schedule.”
As we exit the elevators at the lobby, he reaches for his phone.
I try to bat it away. “Don’t you trust Leni?”
His frown is exasperated. “I did until she booked me to give that presentation yesterday to a group of LA entrepreneurs without telling me. It was out of character.”
It’s also why I’ve been working on something special the past few days, something that requires him to be far away from the club in order for it to be a surprise.
In the end, he’s too strong and I can’t get his phone.
He stops in the middle of the lobby, pulling up the security footage.
Shit. I squeeze my eyes shut…
“The fuck is wrong with the security cameras?” he gripes.
I exhale and peer around his arm at the screen. “It looks like the interior one is fine. Just the street view is shorted out.”
Thank you, Leni , I say in my head.
I lay a hand on his cheek, brushing my thumb along his jaw. “We should stop and pick up a gift though.”
“No, we shouldn’t.” He takes my hand, nodding to the doorman as we pass out into the sunshine and approach Harrison’s car that the valet has pulled up.
“Yeah, we should. Annie’s pregnant, and you’re supposed to buy shit for babies, right?”
“Their gift is already being delivered.” Harrison rounds to the driver’s side.
I pull up, staring at him. Of course he ordered a gift and had it delivered. It’s probably something thoughtful and expensive, and he knows I suck at friend-ing and didn’t even point it out.
“I love you.”
He freezes before turning back. “Say it again.”
“I love you.”
He comes back to me and kisses me against the side of the car until I’m breathless.
Fuck breathing. It’s overrated. Especially when the alternative is having Harrison King’s possessive mouth worshipping mine.
“We’re going back inside,” he murmurs.
“No time,” I pant in response.
“Wasn’t asking.”
* * *
Harrison
Eventually we make it to Tyler and Annie’s place in the Hills. Apparently, Tyler rented the house last year while he was finishing his album and just bought it. It’s stunning, modern and white with a pool facing the view over West Hollywood.
Most of the couple dozen people at the party are familiar. Annie’s father, Jax Jamieson, semi-retired yet still fully the most famous rock star in the world, along with his wife and their two young children. Rae’s friends Beck and Elle.
“The ice sculpture is beautiful,” Annie says, half-serious and half-amused as she surveys the giant form now occupying their table.
Rae snorts and turns to me. “Isn’t that what you sent them for their New York housewarming?”
“It is. It’s why we also sent something else. Because it’ll melt faster here.”
Her laugh bubbles up from somewhere deep inside, and fuck if I don’t love that sound more every time I hear it.
Annie tugs Rae away to talk with Annie’s stepmother, Haley, and I head out to the patio with Tyler and Beck. I can’t help admiring at the view—not of the ocean, but back at the house. The family and friends all around.
There’s love here. The kind I’ve missed since my parents died and the kind I hadn’t let myself hope for since long before Eva.
“Who’s your realtor?” I hear myself asking.
Tyler turns toward me, looking surprised. “I thought your penthouse had three bedrooms.”
I shrug as I lift my glass to my lips. “A man always wants more.”
He and Beck exchange a look before Tyler shakes his head.
“Does Rae know about this?” he asks.
“I find it’s best to work out the details, then start working on her.”
They grin.
“Damn,” Beck says. “She’s got you.”
I cut a look over my shoulder to see Rae inside with the other women. I love her, and the way she told me she loved me too today… it was everything.
I’ve been thinking about what I’d do if besting Mischa wasn’t my only goal. Ceding La Mer always felt like a failure, but I’ve never considered what I’d gain. I could experiment with complementary business lines that interest me. Perhaps smaller venues in new markets. Partnerships with the local community.
Echo Entertainment could slow down and look the fuck around, and so could I.
“Harrison King, family man. Whatever would the tabloids say?” Beck says, smirking.
“He’s not a family man yet,” Tyler comments. “Did you see the announcement for the new club?”
“ Kings ,” Beck chortles. “You’ve been in the States too long, friend. Whatever British tendency to understatement you had is gone.”
Beck pulls up the social post on his phone—the one that went public through dozens of influencers who’ve committed to opening night, plus my company, scores of media outlets, and, of course, Little Queen.
“Everyone in the world will be watching you,” Beck notes.
I cast a look at Rae talking with the other women. “Fucking let them.”
We toast.