Chapter 25 #2
“You can only avoid one conversation tonight,” Carina said as we entered the ballroom. “Your dad or Scarlett. Pick one. I vote for avoiding your dad.”
I groaned. I’d told her and Scarlett what Seth said without mentioning he was the source, but Carina had been on me about confessing to Scarlett about the kiss too.
“I will. Tomorrow,” I hedged. “I don’t want to ruin her night.”
“You’re not going to ruin her night.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I’m her best friend too, and I know her. This is for your own good.” Carina looped her arm through mine, pulling me toward our table when I attempted to flee. “You have to tell her, or the secret will eat you alive. I love you both, and I don’t want any self-cannibalism on my watch.”
“Gross. Can you not talk about self-cannibalism before dinner?”
“Don’t deflect, or I’ll spam your inbox with the goriest videos I can find on the internet until you tell her.”
I scowled, already regretting bringing her as my plus-one. She looked so innocent with her black embroidered gown and sweet smile, but she was really the devil in disguise.
“I can’t tell her before I’ve talked to Vincent.” I grasped for another excuse. “She’s his sister, and he has a stake in this too. We need to wait for the right time.”
Vincent and I agreed we needed to tell her, but we hadn’t settled on the who, when, or how. We’d messaged a ton since Budapest, but we’d been so busy prepping for the gala that we hadn’t had a chance to really sit down and talk about what came next.
“I get it, but knowing you two, the ‘right time’ means never.” Carina came back swinging with the brutal truth.
“Think of it this way. The longer you keep it a secret, the longer you’ll have to sneak around behind Scarlett’s back.
It’ll be exhausting, and she’ll be hurt you waited so long to tell her.
It’s better to get it over with. I’m sure it’ll work out, and Vincent will understand. ”
I hated to admit it, but Carina was right.
It’d been five days since the kiss, and I was already drowning in guilt from keeping it a secret from Scarlett.
“Fine,” I said. “I’ll tell her, but if you send me a single gory video, our friendship is over.”
Carina beamed. “Deal.”
I broke out into a sweat as we reached our table, where Scarlett was talking to Lizzie from HR. She’d been my first real friend in London, and the thought of hurting her made me feel a little sick.
Lizzie waved to us and bowed out gracefully to talk to Henry.
“Hey! You look beautiful.” Carina bent down to hug Scarlett hello and caught my eye over her head. You got this, she mouthed. “I’m going to run to the loo before dinner. Be right back.”
I took a seat next to Scarlett, who indeed looked stunning in a one-shoulder violet gown that contrasted perfectly with her dark hair and pale skin.
“Where’s Asher?” I asked, stalling for time while I tried to think of ways to broach my confession.
Remember how Vincent and I came back to the villa together in Budapest? Well, we did more than get food beforehand.
You’ll be happy to hear that Vincent and I don’t bicker every day anymore. Why? It’s a funny story…
Your brother and I kissed. I liked it. The end.
“He’s taking a group photo with the team,” Scarlett said. “I’m a little tired, so I decided to wait for him here.”
I straightened, my concern temporarily overriding my anxiety. “Is it a flare-up?”
Scarlett had been diagnosed with chronic pain after her car accident years ago. It could flare up any time, though it was often exacerbated by stress or overexertion.
“I’m fine,” she reassured me. “I just needed to sit for a while. Besides, I have to stay and bid on Asher or he’ll never forgive me.” She lowered her voice. “See that woman over there? She’s been trying to ‘win’ him for the past three years. She freaks him out.”
I followed Scarlett’s gaze to where a woman with jet black hair and a tight leopard print dress had cornered a pained-looking Jones.
“He’s probably right. I know a cougar when I see one, and I’m not talking about her dress,” I joked.
Scarlett laughed. “This event is filled with cougars. Honestly, good for them, as long as they stay away from my boyfriend. I’d love it if they bid on Vincent though. He would die.” She said this with the kind of glee that only a little sister could feel at her brother’s expense.
“Yeah.” I forced a matching laugh.
Tell her now. It was the perfect segue.
But when I opened my mouth, nothing came out.
Carina kept reassuring me that Scarlett wouldn’t be upset. She was probably right (again), but that didn’t stop the little voice of doubt in my head. The one telling me I was only a mistake away from losing the people I loved because they were only tolerating me anyway.
“Speaking of Vincent, do you think he’s been acting weird lately?” Scarlett asked. “It feels like he’s been avoiding me since Budapest.”
I gulped. Thank God my dress was sleeveless, or it’d be marred with pit stains by now. “Um, no. He’s always been weird.”
What are you saying? Tell her!
“Maybe.” She sounded dubious. “I feel like something happened. I’m not sure if I did anything wrong? He’s usually more…” She waved a hand in the air. “You know. There.”
I was tempted to lie, but staring at her wide, worried eyes, I couldn’t. Nor could I let her think he was keeping his distance because she did something wrong.
“Actually, I do know why he’s been acting weird.
” I took a deep breath and willed my nerves to steady.
“Before I tell you this—this next thing, I want you to know that it was completely unplanned and that I didn’t mean to wait this long to tell you.
I just didn’t know how to bring it up, and I was scared you’d hate me for it. You still might.”
Scarlett’s brow creased. She set her drink down and focused on me, her eyes filled with equal parts curiosity and wariness.
“I kissed Vincent last weekend. In Budapest. After the club.” The words tumbled out in an avalanche. “We really did just leave to get food, but then we were walking through the city and it started raining and I…it just happened.”
I wasn’t sure whether my run-on sentence made sense. It was hard to tell from Scarlett’s reaction since her expression was unreadable.
“I’m really, really sorry I kept this from you.” My pulse was racing a mile a minute. “Vincent and I haven’t discussed what the kiss means for us yet, so if you’re wondering whether we’re dating, I have no idea. But I wanted to tell you because I couldn’t keep it a secret anymore.”
There was a long silence before Scarlett released a sharp breath. “You kissed Vincent,” she said, the words slow and measured.
I nodded, my stomach cramping.
“On his birthday.”
I nodded again.
“And it wasn’t a one-night stand type of situation?”
“No. We didn’t, um, sleep together.”
“Oh.” She slumped against her seat and closed her eyes. “Thank fucking God.”
I blinked. “Uh, thank fucking God that we didn’t have sex or…”
“No, thank fucking God that you kissed!” Scarlett popped up in her chair again. “It’s about time. You two were killing me with all your flirting disguised as arguments. I thought I’d have to Parent Trap you boneheads before you realized you liked each other.”
My jaw dropped. “Wait. You wanted us to kiss?”
“Well, ‘want’ is a strong word. In an ideal world, Vincent is a monk and I never, ever have to think about his love life. But you two have had…vibes for a while, so I’m glad you finally acted on it.”
That was almost exactly what Carina said when I told her.
I couldn’t believe it. I’d been twisting myself up in knots over this confession, and she’d been anticipating it the entire time.
“So you’re really not mad?” I ventured.
“No.” Her face softened. “I admit, I am a little nervous. He’s my brother, and you’re one of my best friends.
I don’t want you to hurt each other. Not that I think you will, but relationships are unpredictable.
That’s why I asked if it was a one-night stand.
Those have a higher likelihood of going astray—” She broke off with a startled laugh when I threw my arms around her.
“I love you,” I said, my voice muffled against her hair. “You’re the bestest friend and sister ever. I’m so glad you’re not pissed at me.”
“I love you too.” She sounded amused. “If you guys do end up dating, just promise not to share any explicit details with me, okay? I don’t want to be traumatized.”
I laughed, pressure easing from my chest. “I promise.” I pulled back, my smile wide enough to split my face. I felt like someone had lifted a twenty-pound weight from my shoulders and chucked it into the river.
We didn’t get a chance to talk more before Carina returned from the loo and the rest of our tablemates took their seats for dinner.
Carina raised a questioning brow and grinned when I gave her a discreet thumbs-up.
Told you it’d work out, she mouthed.
She had. I was never questioning her instincts again.
The players and coaches were all seated together near the stage since the auction was scheduled to start after the main course. I deliberately avoided looking at my dad. I was having a great night, and I didn’t want to ruin it.
Right before dessert, the emcee bounded onstage to kick things off. I didn’t recognize him, but he looked vaguely familiar. Maybe he was a lesser-known celebrity or sports influencer? They often emceed at these events.
“Ladies and gentleman, I apologize for interrupting your meal, but I’m happy to announce that it’s time for our fourth annual Blackcastle Bachelor Auction!
” he proclaimed to loud cheers and wolf whistles.
He explained the rules before adding, “All proceeds will go to the St. George Children’s Hospital, so get your checkbooks out because our first bachelor is already waiting to meet you.
All the way from Morocco, we have the one, the only… Adil Chakir!”
More cheers as Adil jogged onto the stage and spun around in a dramatic fashion.
I cupped my hands around my mouth and yelled, “Work it, Adil!”
He grinned and did a little shimmy that had the crowd going wild.
Now that the weight of telling Scarlett had been lifted off my shoulders, I could actually enjoy myself.
The auction was silly and a little cheesy, but it was also fun and raised money for a great cause.
It was exactly what I needed after the rollercoaster of the past few months.
The free-flowing champagne and the chance to eat dinner with a famous footballer had the bidders in a frenzy. Samson, Gallagher, and Stevens all went quickly, but Noah and Asher brought the house down—Noah because it was his first time participating, and Asher because he was Asher.
“Yes! Take that!” Scarlett said triumphantly when she “won” Asher for a whopping forty thousand pounds. He’d given her carte blanche for the auction, so he was in essence paying for himself, but he didn’t look at all upset about it.
He winked at Scarlett before sauntering offstage to disappointed murmurs from the other bidders. The woman in the leopard print dress glared at her like she was the girlfriend, and Scarlett had robbed her of a night with her partner.
“I like this event so much more when I can participate,” she said, ignoring Leopard Print’s hostility. “Poor Noah though. I bet we won’t see him in public again for at least six months after this.”
“He might quit the team if they make him participate again next year,” I said, only half joking.
Noah had spent his entire time onstage looking like he’d rather swim back to the US naked than be here, but that hadn’t stopped a statuesque brunette from bidding the second highest amount of the night on him.
“Finally, our last bachelor of the night needs no introduction,” the emcee said. “Making his first auction appearance in years is none other than the captain himself, Vincent DuBois!”
My stomach flipped. I swallowed past a dry throat and ignored Scarlett and Carina’s knowing smiles as Vincent strolled onto the stage, all easy grace and clean-cut devastation.
His navy suit molded perfectly to his frame, and he greeted the ecstatic crowd with a dazzling smile.
It fooled the majority of people in the room, but I recognized his fake PR smile when I saw it.
It was a little too bright, a little too forced. His eyes didn’t crinkle the way they did with his genuine smiles, and a flicker of tension disrupted his jaw before he smoothed it out.
Like Noah, he was hating every second of this. He just hid it better.
Unlike with the other players, I didn’t cheer as the bids quickly escalated. It was a bloodbath. People were outbidding each other before the emcee had a chance to acknowledge the last offer, and he was growing visibly flustered as he tried to keep up.
Vincent kept smiling even as his shoulders tensed.
“Twenty thousand!”
“Twenty-one thousand!”
“Twenty-two thousand!”
The bids kept going up, and the shouts kept getting louder. The front runner was Leopard Print Dress, who looked like she might murder someone if she didn’t win.
“Thirty thousand!” she shouted.
The room fell silent. Vincent’s smile finally wavered, and a hint of panic crept into his eyes before he covered it up.
“Thirty thousand! Wow!” The emcee beamed. “Thirty thousand going once…”
I clutched my knee with a white-knuckled hand. My heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest.
“Thirty thousand going twice…”
Don’t do it. I couldn’t afford it in more ways than one.
My dad was here. My friends, my coworkers, the entire Blackcastle team—they were all here.
“Thirty thousand going three times…”
Vincent looked vaguely ill. He glanced around the room like he was desperate for someone, anyone, to save him.
The emcee raised his gavel. Before he could bang it, I jumped up from my seat and yelled, “Thirty-five thousand!”