Chapter 17 #2
Aurelia and I were engaged, and even though no one knew about it and there was no romance involved, I wasn’t about to flirt with other women. I saw Laney notice me putting some space between us, a frown flickering across her forehead, but she quickly smoothed it out with a smile.
“Megan does Pilates with me over at Gwen’s studio and she’s become one of my favorite people. I figured it was about time she met everyone.”
Sterling joined us then, sliding an arm around Laney’s shoulder and grinning at me. “When did you get here? I was starting to think you’d gotten a hotter invitation for tonight.”
“I wasn’t that late.” I groaned as I shook my head at him. “It was maybe thirty minutes and the traffic killed me.”
Megan nodded her agreement, widening her eyes at Laney and Sterling. “It was really bad earlier.”
She glanced at me. “You live in the city too?”
I nodded but quickly turned back to my brother and his wife, once again seeing Laney notice that I was making a point of not encouraging Megan’s interest at all. “You two have only been out here for less than a month. Surely, you still remember what traffic is.”
Laney laughed. “Of course, we do.”
Sterling shrugged. “You should’ve left earlier. Punctuality is important.”
I let out another groan. “Spare me the lecture, Dad.”
He smirked. “Well, I am about to be a father. I might as well get some practice with you.”
Laney elbowed him in the ribs. “He doesn’t need that from you right now. You’re not about to be his father.”
“Hear hear.” I took a sip of my drink and wondered what it would take for him to stop thinking about me as the baby. Hopefully, the actual baby would do the trick.
In the meantime, however, Megan had finally moved a little bit farther away from me and she was now looking at Sterling with a suspicious kind of curiosity in her eyes. “You know, I’m actually glad I have the opportunity to talk to you tonight.”
He glanced at her. “You are? Okay, but I’m warning you in advance that I’m not very interesting.”
She laughed. “That’s okay. I’ve actually got a question about your mother, and I’m sure she’ll be the first to admit that she is interesting.”
Sterling chuckled through a groan. “That’s true. She really would be. Ask away, though I can’t guarantee I can get her involved in any charities you might be pimping, and I also don’t know if she’d be willing to appear in one of your wellness videos.”
Megan waved him off. “It’s not that, although if she ever does want to be on my channel, I’d love to have her, but I was actually wondering about her and Regina Van Alen.”
I nearly choked on my own tongue. Suspicion tightened my insides and I snapped my gaze toward her, wondering why she would ask about that.
What were the odds she would show up here tonight and start talking about Aurelia’s family without even knowing the connection between us, but asking the exact questions I wanted answers to?
Sterling frowned. “You were? Why?”
Megan shrugged. “Aurelia, her daughter, and I have been friends for ages. When I told her I’d be coming here tonight, she seemed surprised. She mentioned that she didn’t think Regina and CC got along, so I got curious.”
My brother sighed but shrugged a shoulder. “All I know about it is that CC has serious issues with Regina. I don’t know the details, but it sounds like they were close back in high school and something happened. They had some kind of major falling out and they haven’t really spoken since.”
I sipped my whiskey, letting it seem like a casual interest while mentally cataloging every detail. If I played this right, this coincidence might work to my advantage.
“It must’ve been one heck of a falling out,” Laney commented lightly. “CC will talk the hind leg off a donkey about anything. If she hasn’t said any more than that, whatever happened must’ve been serious. It’s not like her to keep her opinions about people quiet.”
She wasn’t wrong. Something about this entire situation felt off. Megan asking the questions I’d wanted to ask. CC not giving even Sterling any details.
Sterling repeated that all he knew was that whatever had happened, it had happened decades ago. Then they moved on to a different topic. I finished my drink and excused myself to get a new one, but my fingers were itching to dial Aurelia’s number.
Later that night, when I was on my way home, I finally gave in to the urge to call her. That entire situation with Megan had set off alarm bells in my mind, and while I didn’t think I’d given anything away, Aurelia and I needed to talk.
“Hello?” Her voice came on the third ring, a little breathless. “Harrison? Do you have any idea what time it is?”
“Hey,” I said, trying to keep my tone casual. “Yeah, I do, but I was wondering if you’re up for a visitor?”
She paused. “You want to come over to my place? Now?”
“Yep. Can I?”
There was another pause, then a warm, tiny sigh that made my chest tighten. “Yeah. Sure. Are you okay? You sound a little strange.”
“I’m on my way,” I said. “I’ll see you soon.”
I didn’t answer her other question. The truth was that I wasn’t really okay, but I wasn’t about to admit that.
Suddenly though, all I wanted was to see her, not only because of what had happened tonight, but also because just hearing her voice had made me acutely aware of the fact that I hadn’t seen her since New York.
In fact, we’d hardly even spoken. As I raced into the city, it occurred to me that even though I probably really shouldn’t, I actually genuinely missed her.