Chapter 31
31
A hush falls over the room as soon as Oliver Kensington appears onstage.
Everyone’s taken their assigned seats, the classical music playing as ambient noise lowering to an inaudible level.
“Good evening, everyone,” Oliver tells the attentive crowd. “On behalf of the board and my family, I’d like to welcome you to Kensington Consolidated’s annual gala. As many of you know, we hold this event every year. Not only to celebrate our achievements as a company, but to also give back to the community. This year, all proceeds will go to Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit that works tirelessly to build affordable housing. We’re fortunate to have their CEO, Linda Wilson, with us tonight. I am sure she would be happy to answer any questions for anyone looking to become involved in the organization. And if you’d like to make a financial donation, please see Martin at the back table. Martin, wave a hand.”
A middle-aged man standing to the left of the stage waves one hand.
“I’m proud to kick off the contributions with this commitment from Kensington Consolidated. We’ll be donating a hundred million dollars toward this incredible cause.”
Loud claps fill the room as the CEO covers her shocked face with her hands.
“Now, as many of you know, Kensington Consolidated is a family company. My earliest memories are visiting my father at the office. For as long as I can remember, I wanted to contribute to that incredible legacy. Serving as Kensington Consolidated’s CEO for the past twenty-three years has been an immense honor. And in that official capacity, I have an announcement to make.”
Whispers start to ripple through the room as Oliver pauses. Crew Kensington steps onstage, followed by a white-haired man I assume is Arthur Kensington. Lili appears next, followed by her mother and brothers. She’s smiling, but it looks a little forced. Not the carefree one I got used to seeing.
“Come over here, Crew.” Oliver claps his brother on the shoulder when he joins him at the lectern. “I’m thrilled to announce that, effective immediately, Crew will be rejoining Kensington Consolidated’s board and serving as the company’s COO. Hollywood’s loss, our gain. You had a longer career out there than most, little brother.”
Lili’s father rolls his eyes good-naturedly as laughter echoes through the room. He says a few words to his brother, shakes his dad’s hand, kisses his wife, then hugs his kids. They look like a whole happy family up there, loving and supportive.
I realize this was one of the “internal changes” Asher referred to during our phone call.
After the Kensingtons leave the stage and take seats at the head table, dinner gets served. The starter is a cantaloupe and cucumber soup, followed by a plate of salmon, served with asparagus, radish, and pickled strawberries.
Dessert is a buffet.
I walk out onto the huge balcony rather than wait in line, pausing when I spot the figure standing and staring at one of the marble sculptures.
Hands in pockets, I head for Lili, only stopping when I’m a couple of feet from her. “They need some plants out here.”
It’s all stone—the floor, the railings, the sculptures.
She stiffens, recognizing my voice, but doesn’t look away from the work of art. I study it too. A man, draped in a toga and holding three arrows. “Ares?”
“Apollo. He was the god of archery.”
“People used arrows in war,” I say, feeling the need to defend my guess for some reason.
Perhaps the naked disdain in her voice.
I have my answer as to whether Lili is angry about the way I left Saint-Tropez. The realization isn’t entirely depressing. She cares if she’s mad. If she were indifferent—or worse, over it—it wouldn’t have mattered when or how I left.
“Did you bring a date?” Lili asks, sounding bored.
My head rears back with shock. The fuck? She thinks I’d bring another woman to her family’s event?
My tone is deceptively calm as I answer, “No.”
Lili clicks her tongue. “I’m sure Beatrice would have loved a trip to New York.”
My confusion—and irritation—grows. “I wouldn’t know. Since I didn’t ask her.”
She hums, then drains the glass she’s holding, her hand falling back to her side.
The dress she’s wearing is black with a white cityscape that’s unmistakably New York. I’m not sure if she meant it as a reminder, but it serves as one. This is her home. And her parents are moving here, only strengthening her ties to it.
I came all this way to chase after a woman who will always live on this side of the Atlantic and who—if her annoyance is anything to go by—doesn’t even want to see me.
“What are you doing here?” Lili asks, echoing my thoughts.
She finally turns to face me, the force of her beauty hitting me full-on. Blue eyes. Dark hair. Full lips.
It’s the same thrill as jumping off a cliff—an adrenaline rush, followed by a hard landing.
I’ve seen her naked. Seen her laugh. Seen her dance. Seen her swim. Seen her scowl.
But I’ve never seen her cry before.
I think I imagined it at first. But then another droplet of water streaks down her cheek, hesitating, then falling to the brick patio.
Lili sniffs. Blinks rapidly before handing her empty glass off to a passing waiter.
It feels like I’m talking around a mouthful of gravel as I ask her what’s wrong. Is she upset about … us? Is something else going on? I’m completely confused, but I don’t think admitting that is going to help anything.
She repeats, “What are you doing here, Charlie?” rather than answering my question.
I opt for the simplest answer. “I got an invitation.”
Lili mutters, “Asher,” under her breath, confirming my suspicions about who sent it. Her eyes narrow. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”
I stare at her. “What are you talking about? I texted you.”
She didn’t answer, so I assumed she was mad at me. That only strengthened my resolve to see her in person. I never assumed she didn’t receive it.
Pink streaks her cheeks. “I-I didn’t get it. I delete texts from numbers I don’t have saved.”
For some reason, I think she’s lying. Not about not getting my text, but something else. She’s fiddling with her bracelets, the way she does when she’s nervous or unsure.
“Theo sent it to me,” I tell her, like that’s necessary information.
It should be. My conversation with him went something like this:
ME: I need a favor.
THEO: Hey! Sure. What is it?
ME: Don’t ask any questions, please.
THEO: Got it.
ME: Can you send me Lili’s phone number?
THEO: I don’t have her number.
ME: Your wife does.
THEO: You want me to steal it from Chloe’s phone?
THEO: Have you talked to Lili since you left France?
THEO: Is everything all right?
ME: Do you know what a question is, Hughes?
THEO: 212-535-1012
ME: Thanks.
THEO: Don’t cock up again!
Bloody embarrassing.
“If you wanted my number, you should have asked me for it before you snuck out in the middle of the night.”
I wince, rubbing the back of my neck. “There was an?—”
“‘Urgent business matter.’ Yeah. Got it.”
Even without the air quotes she uses, I’d have gotten her doubt, thanks to the heavy emphasis she places on the excuse.
“I didn’t want to leave, Lili,” I say softly.
“Well, we were both going to. Right?”
Right is a rhetorical question. We both know the answer. I knew how different our lives looked when this thing between us started. I just never expected it to matter this much.
“Lili!” A teenage girl skips toward us. “Your grandmother is looking for you. She wants to introduce you to some friends, and please don’t make me go back in there without you because she sort of scares me.” She shoots Lili a pleading smile, then glances at me. “Hi! I’m Wren.”
“I’m Charlie,” I tell her.
Wren gasps dramatically. “The duke? My mom and Aunt Scarlett were just talking?—”
“Where’s Gigi?” Lili asks quickly.
“This way,” Wren replies.
Lili glances at me. “Have a safe trip home, Charlie.”
Then, she heads inside.
A chill creeps across my skin that has nothing to do with the blast of air-conditioning as she and Wren enter the building through the nearest door.
A sense of loss. It feels like watching a boat sail away that I really, really wanted to be aboard.
I walk past the statue of Apollo and continue to the railing. We’re only up one story, so there’s not much of a view. A small, walled garden juts off from the hotel’s lobby. Around and above, towering skyscrapers. I feel like I’m standing in front of Kensington Consolidated’s headquarters again, dwarfed by their staggering height.
I prefer looking around and seeing stone walls. Grassy hills. Rugged moors. Wooden gates. That scenery will always be home to me. Even busy London feels different to this, where it seems the entire city could collapse around you like a tower of blocks.
“Lot quieter out here, isn’t it?”
I glance to the left, my spine straightening and my stomach tumbling as Crew Kensington approaches me.
We met—very briefly—at the Red, White, and Blue party his mother-in-law threw.
“Warmer too,” I reply. The heavy layers of my suit have trapped a lot of humidity inside.
Lili’s father nods, stopping beside me to take in the same limited view. “I’m looking forward to winter. Been a little while since I experienced one here.” He glances at me. “You look familiar. Have we met?”
“I’m Charles Marlborough. We met at the Fourth of July party in the Hamptons.”
“That’s it.” Crew snaps his fingers. “Nice to see you again. Had to be a bit awkward for you.”
I stare at him, totally taken aback. If Lili told her father what I said about her, there’s no way he’d be aiming a friendly smile toward me right now.
“Because you’re British,” Crew clarifies.
I must look confused.
“Oh,” I realize.
“Sorry. Dad joke.” He sips from the glass tumbler he’s holding. “What do you do, Charles?”
I decide to be honest. “Right now, I’m trying to figure out how much I care about doing exactly what my father wanted me to do.”
“Ah, parental expectations.” Crew smiles. “Been there. Your old man used to pulling all the strings?”
“He was.”
“Was? Is he …”
I nod. “He died last year.”
“Very sorry to hear that. Sounds like he left you with a lot.”
“In some senses.”
A lot of stress? Guilt? Uncertainty? Expectations? All yeses.
Money? Advice? Support? Love? Not really on any of that.
“My father manipulated me and my brother for years. Pitted us against each other. Made everything a competition and changed the rules whenever he felt like it. At one point, I left. Turned my back on most of what he’d wanted for me and walked away, just to prove I could.”
“Do you regret it?”
“No. But I’m not sure I’d do it the same way all over again.” He looks down, swishing amber liquid around in his glass. The huge cube of ice clinks against the side. “Leaving didn’t make me care any less about what he thought. Didn’t make us any closer or me any freer from his expectations. Or keep my father from making his opinions about my choices known.”
“At least I don’t have to worry about that last part,” I say.
Crew chuckles. “True.”
“Charles! You made it!” Asher Cotes is strolling toward us, the wide smile on his face evidence of the perpetual cheer I’ve come to associate with him. “And good, you’ve met Crew.”
“We’ve met before,” Crew says. “At Josephine’s celebration of his countrymen no longer running this place.”
I smile wryly.
Lili might look like her mother, but she shares her dad’s sense of humor.
“Way to be a terrible host, Crew,” Asher says. “Ask about soc—I mean, football instead.”
“You follow football?” Crew asks me.
“Only Premier League,” I tell him. “You should have bought part of Man U rather than AC Milan.”
Crew smiles. “Who told you I own part of AC Milan?”
Another voice joins our conversation before I have to answer. I assumed his ownership was common knowledge, but I guess not.
“Why am I not surprised you two are hiding out here?” Oliver Kensington approaches, yanking his tie so it loosens a little.
“Relaxing,” Crew corrects. “Not hiding.”
“Stargazing really,” Asher adds.
They knock fists.
Oliver rolls his eyes, then turns to me and sticks out a hand. “Oliver Kensington.”
“Charles Marlborough,” I reply.
“Nice to meet you, Charles.”
We shake hands.
Oliver bears a striking resemblance to Crew—strong genes in this family—but his demeanor couldn’t be more different. His mannerisms remind me of my father actually. Nonplussed and assured, but a little uptight.
“Charles?”
I glance to the left, my jaw tightening when I see my mother standing a few feet away.
“Excuse me,” I say to Oliver.
He nods, then turns to talk with Crew and Asher.
I walk toward Georgia, who’s wearing a floor-length gown and a diamond necklace. Her hand is looped in Derek’s elbow.
“Hello … Mum.”
I’m never sure what to call her to her face. Mum seems too warm. Georgia too cold.
“Charles,” she repeats. “What are you doing here?”
“I was invited.” I give her the same answer I offered Lili and hate the comparison.
One woman means a lot more to me than the other, and it isn’t the one standing in front of me.
“Oh. You—I didn’t know you were in town.”
“It was last minute,” I answer.
I wait for her to ask more questions. But she doesn’t. She doesn’t bring up Blythe either.
Georgia simply stares, like she doesn’t know what else to say to me.
Maybe she doesn’t. We’re so far from a traditional mother-son relationship; it’s almost laughable.
“All’s well in England?” Derek, surprisingly, is the one who speaks next.
“It’s fine,” I tell him. “Enjoy the rest of your evening,” I say to them both.
Then, I head for the doors, having had my fill of the balcony.
My mom doesn’t try to stop me, and I resolve to stop trying with her.