31. Chapter 31
I need more wine.
I’m thrumming with excitement when the car pulls up in front of the large stone apartment building in New York. The Bouviers sent a car for me so we didn’t make a big reunion scene at the airport since news of Evie’s return hasn’t hit the media yet.
The driver—I’m ashamed to admit I don’t even remember his name—comes around to open the door, but I’m already out of the car and sprinting inside. If I weren’t so geared up, I would probably notice the elegant marble floors and extravagant furnishings in the lobby.
“Can I help you, madam?” the uniformed concierge asks in a formal tone as I skid to a stop in front of him.
Before I can do some banshee screech to inform the man that I’m here to see my best friend and he needs to take me to her NOW before I skewer his liver with the nearest sharp object—because perhaps I’m feeling a bit emotional and dramatic today—a deep voice rings out through the space.
“I’ve got this, James. She’s with me.”
Whirling, I find Auburn Bouvier, billionaire extraordinaire, CEO of Bouvier Fashions, and Evie’s older brother, striding across the floor. I’m vaguely aware that the concierge is practically curtsying in the man’s presence, but Auburn owns the whole damn building, so I guess it’s to be expected.
I launch myself at poor Auburn, and he laughs, returning my embrace amid the of course, sir, very good, sir mumblings from James behind me .
“She’s just as excited to see you,” Auburn murmurs into the top of my hair. “Let’s go.”
Backing up, I’m horrified to see my makeup streaking his perfectly pressed yellow shirt. I didn’t even realize I was crying. Again. I’ve been a big bucket of happy tears since finding out Evie’s alive and well.
“Shit, I’m sorry,” I say, swiping at the mess, and he stills my hands with a chuckle before wrapping a comforting arm around my shoulders.
“No problem, Juliette,” he says, leading me toward the elevators. “I have plenty of shirts.” His grin is cheeky because of course the man has approximately a million shirts. He owns a high-end fashion company.
The elevator arrives instantly, as if it knows the owner is summoning it, and we step inside.
“She’s really okay?” I ask when my stomach flips at the speed of the car as we jet up toward the penthouse.
“She is, and she’s happy.”
“And alive,” I say, swiping at my face.
“Yeah, she’s alive.” His voice is quiet and filled with so much weary emotion. I can’t even imagine what this family has been through. Of course it’s been hard on everyone who knew and loved Evie Bouvier, but to have your sister disappear has to be devastating.
“Thank you for always taking my calls,” I tell him. “I know you’re a busy man.”
Auburn scoffs. “Of course I took your calls. You are Evie’s best friend.”
I have to fight back another round of tears at those words. He didn’t say “you were Evie’s best friend.” He said “you are Evie’s best friend.”
Because nothing… not time… not distance… could ever break our bond.
The elevator doors slide open, and I see the grand door in front of me. I take two steps forward and freeze. For some reason, I’m inordinately nervous. My best friend is behind that two inches of wood, and after seventeen years, I’m finally going to see her in person.
Auburn skirts around my still form and swings open the door. And she’s there, the biggest grin on her gorgeous face. With a squeal, she’s on me, jumping up and wrapping her arms and legs around me like a spider monkey. I almost fall over but am braced from behind by Auburn’s hands on my shoulders.
There are tears and laughter in equal measure as Evie and I squeeze each other so hard I’m surprised I don’t hear bones cracking.
“You’re here!” she shrieks.
“You’re here!” I yell back, twisting our bodies from side to side. “And you’re still short.”
“Oh, shut up,” she giggles, squirming until I set her down.
We stand less than a foot apart, studying each other.
Evie is no longer the almost nineteen-year-old I’d last known, but she’s still undeniably her.
Bright blue eyes, brilliant smile. Her hair is shorter and a little darker, but it’s cute and stylish, framing her pretty face with its familiar delicate features.
“I still can’t believe you’re really here,” I breathe.
“I know.” She grabs my hand and drags me into the living room. “Come on. Gianna’s dying to see you again.”
A freaking goddess walks in from what I assume is the kitchen. She has long, dark hair, an adorable baby bump, and a radiant smile. “Hey, nice to see you again,” she says in a darling drawl. “I only got to talk to you for a minute at our wedding.”
Auburn’s wife is younger than him, but she walks with the confidence of a woman who bagged the most eligible billionaire bachelor in New York City. She grips both my hands and leans in for a cheek kiss.
“Thank you for having me. Are you sure I don’t need to get a hotel room?” I ask.
She rolls her green eyes. “Bitch, please. We could house an army in this apartment.”
I love her. She’s real, unlike so many of the women Auburn had been with prior to meeting Gianna.
Auburn follows us into his palatial penthouse apartment, nudges us toward the oversized red couch, and takes his wife’s hand. “You two catch up. I’ll help Gianna in the kitchen, and then we’ll make ourselves scarce.”
I watch them go before turning wide eyes back to Evie.
“Don’t say it,” she warns, like she can read my mind, even after all these years.
“I have to.”
“Don’t.”
Ignoring the warning, I wobble my eyebrows at her. “Your brother gives off some serious BDE, Evie. And I say that respectfully.”
My best friend claps her hands over her ears. “Don’t want to hear about my brother’s big dick energy. Don’t. Want. To. Hear. It.”
“That’s not the BDE I was talking about. I meant…” I pause dramatically and coo, “Big Daddy Energy.”
“Honey, you have no idea,” Gianna chirps, striding into the room with a square black plate of chocolate chip cookies, and my face turns the approximate color of a ripe tomato.
“I, uhhhh. Shit, sorry.”
She sets down the tray and waves a dismissive hand. “Pssshht. Don’t worry about it. You think I don’t know I’m married to a total Zaddy?”
“Someone call my name?” Auburn asks with a smug smile as he brings out a tray of hot appetizers and sets it on the coffee table. It looks like it’s been assembled by a Michelin star chef.
“Are y’all hiding Gordon Ramsey in your kitchen?” I ask, pretending to peer around them.
Gianna rests her hands on her belly. “Some women nest when they’re pregnant. I cook.”
“She cooks like a queen,” Auburn says, grasping his wife’s chin and lifting her face to his for a soft kiss.
I feel like an intruder viewing a very intimate moment.
He’s looking at her as if she’s his entire world, and it reminds me of that last night on the island.
With the man I’ve been trying to forget .
Evie groans. “Don’t you two get started. We have company.”
Gianna steps back, a self-satisfied smirk on her lips as she brushes her red lipstick from her husband’s mouth. “Go get the fruit board, Zaddy, and then we can leave.”
“Oh my gosh, this is too much already,” I say, wiggling my fingers at the vast amount of food.
“We just want you two to have a nice visit and not be bothered by having to worry about food and stuff. Juliette, I didn’t know if you drank red or white wine, so we have both.
” She gestures to the bottles on the coffee table.
“Evie knows where the wine fridge is, so help yourselves if you need more.”
Auburn returns with a black ceramic tray overflowing with enough fruit to feed the population of Rhode Island.
Then he pulls a plump purple grape from the stem and licks it before popping it in his mouth and rolling it around.
He lets out a low hum of approval, and the entire time, his heated blue eyes never leave his wife’s.
Gianna’s face flushes a pretty pink, and Evie and I slowly turn our heads toward each other, eyebrows raised in question.
A knock on the door interrupts the moment, and Auburn gives Gianna a wink before literally strutting across the living room.
“What was all that with the grape?” Evie hisses to her sister-in-law.
“Trust me, you don’t want to know,” she says, biting her bottom lip as she watches her husband’s ass.
“You’re probably right,” my best friend mutters with a wince.
Auburn returns with my two suitcases. “Juliette, I’ll put your bags in your room.”
“You can leave the smaller one here,” I tell him. “It’s for Evie.”
“What did you do?” she asks suspiciously.
“You’ll see,” I tell her slyly, reaching for a toast point topped with smoked salmon, a thin slice of cucumber, and a fat cherry tomato.
After Auburn and Gianna leave, Evie pours us both a glass of crisp, white wine.
“Well, those two are hot as hell,” I comment .
“They are disgustingly steamy,” my friend adds. “And wait till you see Monty and Kassie again.” She leans closer and lowers her voice. “I think my little brother is a Dom.”
I fan my face and take a swig of my wine. Images flash through my mind of strong fingers digging into my hips, of that spanking, of the hand necklace.
Stop it, Juli. We’re not thinking about… him .
For the next two hours, my best friend and I talk a lot, cry a little, and laugh like maniacs. She fills in some more of the details of her disappearance as we drink enough wine to get deliciously tipsy. It’s the best reunion I could have imagined, like we’d never been apart. But we had.
“Okay, don’t think I’m weird, but…” I stand and grab the small floral suitcase Auburn left behind.
“Too late,” Evie shoots back with a grin. God, how I’ve missed her smile.
“I bought you a present every year on your birthday,” I admit, unzipping the suitcase.
“Juliiiiiii,” she whines. “You’re gonna make me cry.”
“Meh, don’t get all sappy on me. Most of them are kinda cheesy,” I tell her. “Well, this one is special.” I turn over my arm and show her my tattoo.