Caroline #2
“It rarely comes in handy because I can also tell when someone is miserable and I have to learn to keep my mouth shut,” he says. “I once got a black eye in college because I told a classmate to break up with her toxic boyfriend.”
A giggle escapes me and I cover my mouth in embarrassment.
Aiden’s mouth lifts up into a smirk. It’s strangely comfortable talking to him, even if I can feel a heated gaze boring a hole into my back.
I look over my shoulder and easily locate Killian.
He’s standing with a man who’s talking to him, his face in shadows, but eyes looking right at me.
I doubt he’s even paying attention to what his conversation partner is saying.
“I hope that’s not going to happen tonight, I have a partner’s meeting on Monday,” Aiden says, following my gaze.
“Trust me, his problem is with me, not you.”
Lilith comes back with our drinks as Aiden and I are talking about my work and some of the clients I’d handled. But I’m far more fascinated with his work. Given the opportunity, I would have loved to be a family and divorce attorney.
If I’m planning on staying here, I’ll have to find a job, though I can’t expect a glowing reference. I’ll basically be starting from scratch.
Aiden has to leave early but before he goes, he gives me his card and tells me to call him. He doesn’t imply why I’ll need to call him. I thank him for the card and tuck it into my phone case so I don’t lose it. I look around for Killian, but he’s nowhere to be seen.
“Have you seen Killian?” I ask Eve. She’s mixing up a drink and I can tell she’s fully enjoying her role as bartender.
“He was around somewhere. Last I saw, he was talking to Wes.”
I don’t know who Wes is so it’s not like I can track him down.
Maybe Killian went back to the apartment.
I feel a prickle of discomfort at the thought that he left because of me.
I also wonder if he’ll call Beckett? Killian is his older brother and if he thinks I’m cheating on his brother, he’ll tell him, right?
“Try this,” Eve says, handing me a martini glass. The drink in it is neon green so I assume it’s either radioactive or an apple martini.
I take a sip and yep, it’s an appletini.
“It’s good,” I say.
“What did you and Aiden talk about?”
“Are you trying to ply me with alcohol so I’ll reveal all my secrets?” I ask.
Eve smirks, shooting me a wink. “I can’t tell you all my plans.”
I giggle, picking up a cheese cube from the platter next to her.
“We mostly talked about work,” I say.
Eve frowns, twisting her mouth to the side. “But you think he’s cute, right?”
“He’s strikingly handsome,” I agree.
His vibe and personality was really calm, the kind that instantly puts you at ease. Pulls you in and makes you think he’s a safe place to keep your secrets.
Whereas…
My eyes lift and I see Killian across the apartment, talking to Lilith.
It looks like they’re discussing something serious.
Killian is not a calm place. He makes my nervous system go haywire with a single glance.
Not to mention he’s literally my ex-fiancé’s older brother.
But something about his protectiveness immediately puts me at ease and makes me reckless at the same time.
I want to do stupid shit just so he’ll protect me.
“Killian is always strikingly handsome,” Eve says quietly. “In that kind of dangerous way where you don’t know if he’s going to be nice or toxic.”
I narrow my eyes at her. “Eve. We’re not going there.”
“Why not? It’s not like you’re engaged anymore.”
I look at her, shocked. I haven’t told her I was engaged and as far as I know, neither has Killian. More importantly, how does she know I’m not engaged anymore?
She pours her drink into a glass and settles next to me.
“I saw the wedding card on Killian’s fridge the other day. It’s too much of a coincidence that he knows two Caroline’s from California,” she says.
That makes sense.
“But how do you know I’m not engaged?” I ask.
She gives me a look. “No woman leaves unexpectedly months before her wedding, without a wedding ring, if she’s still planning on getting married. You also haven’t mentioned your fiancé once since you’ve been here.”
I look at where Killian and Lilith are talking. They’ve been joined by the same man Killian was talking to before.
“Do you think he knows?”
If he does, why hasn’t he said anything?
“Killian’s a smart man, but a man nonetheless. At most, he might think you have cold feet.” Eve pauses, looking at me in thought. “Why don’t you want him to know?”
“I’m not ready for him to say I told you so,” I reply honestly. “I don’t know how much you know, but our families are extremely pretentious to the point where they’ll put their reputation in society above their child’s happiness. Killian left, but I couldn’t.”
Not even when he asked me to.
I still think about that night and every time I do, I tell myself I was an idiot for not leaving with him when he asked.
Every time, I remind myself that’s my perspective looking back from where I am now.
Back then? I was only twenty-two and maybe there was still some optimism left in me that my parents could accept me. More fool me, I guess.
“He knew I was going to regret this decision,” I tell Eve. “And he’s right. And he’s going to gloat.”
“He won’t,” Eve insists.
“Trust me, this is the one time it will make sense for him to gloat.”
Eve starts to reply when a group of people come through the door and draw her attention away. I’m thankful for it because this isn’t something I want to discuss. I move away from the kitchen and towards the windows.
Someone’s opened one and I stand in front of me, breathing in the cool May air. It’s hot in the apartment with so many people here.
I brush my hair back, trying to cool my neck. I should have worn my hair up.
“Suffocating, isn’t it?”
I turn, and find the same man I’ve seen talking to Killian standing next to me. He’s about the same height as Killian, and dressed in all black like him. Are they part of a club or something? His brown hair is neatly styled and he’s wearing glasses.
“The party, I mean,” he clarifies. “Maybe the company?” He points at himself.
“I don’t know the company well enough to tell you whether it’s suffocating or not,” I quip.
He grins boyishly. “I’m Wes Callahan.”
I look down at his proffered hand.
“Caroline Sinclair,” I say, shaking his hand.
“Nice to meet you, Caroline. How are you liking New York?”
“I haven’t seen enough of it to know whether I like it or not.”
“If you want, I can be your tour guide,” he offers. “Eve and Lilith will vouch for me.”
I’m taken aback by his offer, and I open my mouth to decline because he might be friends with Eve and Lilith but he’s still a stranger to me. I don’t get the chance to turn down his offer, though.
“That won’t be necessary,” Killian says from behind me. I look at him over my shoulder. He doesn’t even glance at me, his gaze on Wes.
Is he serious? Does my opinion matter so little?
“I can’t spend my days cooped up in the Tower of Exhaustion,” I tell him.
He finally deigns me worthy of eye contact.
“The apartment is not exhausting.” He frowns like he can’t imagine why anyone would say such a thing. The apartment itself isn’t exhausting, except he never leaves it.
“It is when you can’t leave it without someone thinking you’re going to end up on the 5 o’clock news.”
“New York isn’t safe for someone who’s lived a very sheltered life,” he says.
“Why do I think you’re using sheltered to mean stupid?”
We’re both ignoring Wes, though he’s still standing there. There’s a little grin on his face, which makes me wonder if he’s actually enjoying this.
“I don’t think you’re stupid, Caroline,” Killian says in frustration. “Argumentative, definitely. Not everything is a court case and you don’t have to defend yourself.”
I’m overreacting. I can see the words on the tip of his tongue and he stops himself from saying them.
Turning, I pick up my glass from where I set it down on a side table.
I never learned to fight for myself. What I did learn is to shut myself off from people who clearly don’t appreciate what I have to say.
“Excuse me,” I say to Wes.
“Caroline--”
I don’t wait for whatever Killian wants to say. He can save his apologies because I’m really not interested.
Lilith waves me over and I paste on a polite smile as I walk to her and the group of people she’s with. She introduces me to her friends and the whole time I’m aware of Killian hovering. I don’t look at him.
He can keep his opinions to himself, and I’m going to finally live my life the way I want to.