Caroline
When Killian invited me tonight, he neglected to mention the gala is being held at The Met.
Because that’s a perfectly normal thing to forget.
We haven’t ventured out to The Met, even though it’s literally a couple of minutes walk from the Guggenheim, where we have been.
I could have spent the whole afternoon at the Guggenheim listening to Killian explain art to me.
I can pretty much do anything as long as it has Killian explaining something to me. The sound of his voice is soothing, and a huge turn on.
Cameras flash as we walk in and I swear people shout Killian’s name.
“Oh, you’re like famous famous,” I say, when we’re safely inside. My ears are still ringing.
Killian turns to me in confusion. “What’s the difference?”
“Some people can be slightly famous for something they did or they can be internet famous. Or they can have photographers shouting their name so they’ll stop to get their photo taken.”
“I mean, I guess I am. When I started, my agent would have me attend a lot of these parties and even though I hated them, I let her convince me. That led to meeting a lot of rich and famous people who invited me to their parties and the cameras followed.” He sounds so disappointed.
“Doesn’t hurt that you’re sickenly hot,” I tease.
He scowls at me, which makes me laugh.
A few people glance at us as we walk in, and I try not to feel self-conscious in my new dress which is completely out of my comfort zone. I have to carry it with confidence.
“Here’s how we’re going to do this,” Killian says. “We’re going to make one round around the room if we must. We’re not going to talk to anyone for more than five minutes. If someone continues past that, fake an emergency. We can be out of here in thirty minutes.”
“Killian, we can’t do that,” I say with a laugh.
“Who’s going to stop us?” He raises an eyebrow.
I open my mouth to respond, and close it. He’s right. No one is going to stop us, and no one is going to say that people expect us to stay for longer than thirty minutes because we have a name to uphold in society.
“Let me be a bad influence, Caroline.”
With a wink, Killian leads me into the thrum of people.
Here’s the thing about best laid plans. There’s always something you don’t see coming.
The proverbial curveball. In this case, the proverbial curveball is Broadway star Dawn Morgan.
She’s ethereal, glittering under the chandelier lights.
There’s this old Hollywood glam about her, drawing attention from everyone without even meaning to.
And she loves Killian. She latches onto him as soon as we’re introduced. Not in a bad, creepy way. She’s thrilled at the prospect of his art and being an artist herself, she wants to know everything and introduce him to everyone.
“I won’t take no for an answer,” Dawn says, smiling up at Killian. “Let us walk around the room and meet interesting people, or I will be forced to throw a party in your honor at my humble abode.”
From the diamonds dripping from her, I’m guessing her humble abode is worth millions and is somewhere on the Upper East Side with a view of the park.
I see Killian calculating what will be worse. Letting her show him off tonight, or having her throw a party for him, in his honor.
“I think we can stay a little longer,” I say. “It’s for a good cause.”
Dawn’s eyes light up. “She’s smart and beautiful. You should marry her. Your children will be beautiful.”
I swear the blood drains from my face and my body grows cold. Why does everyone want me to marry him? Killian’s eyes narrow at my stricken expression.
“I’m not sure Caroline is ready for that,” he says to Dawn.
Before I have the chance to explain, Killian turns to look at Dawn. “I’ll give you thirty minutes.”
“Challenge accepted.”
I let her whisk him off while I go get myself a drink and a moment to breathe.
Why doesn’t anyone consider that maybe I don’t want to get married?
Actually, that’s not true. I do want to get married, but on my own terms. When someone mentions it, it automatically brings flashbacks of my mother telling me that Beckett will make a good husband and it’s what I should want.
“Caroline, right?”
I turn to find two women standing beside me. They must be my age or a little older, both dressed in black Chanel dresses and Cartier earrings. I’d met them earlier, but forgotten their names.
“Rachel and Tanzie,” the blonde one, who I think is Rachel, says.
“Hi! Yes, of course, I’m so sorry. You meet so many people you start to forget the names.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Rachel says, waving a hand. “Once you start coming to these things more than once, you remember everyone.”
“I know what you mean,” I say. “I’ve been to a lot of these back home and it’s always the same crowd.”
“Is that how you know Killian York? You’re from California, right?” Tanzie asks.
“Yeah, we grew up together.” I take a sip of my champagne so I don’t say more. Sometimes, when I start talking there’s no stopping me, and I’d rather not say much about Killian and me.
“That explains it,” Tanzie says, with a forced sigh.
“Explain what?” I ask.
“How the two of you are together,” Rachel says. “We were worried you were another one of the groupies but you seem so nice and level headed.”
I’ve been around enough society types and socialites to know nice and level headed is actually an insult.
“I mean, surely you’ve heard the rumors?” Tanzie asks, leaning in as if she’s about to tell me a secret.
Across the room, Killian catches my eye. He’s turned away from the people he’s talking to and I see his phone in his hand as he types something. A second later, my phone pings, and I excuse myself to glance at it quickly.
Killian:
If I call my lawyer and transfer everything to you, will you please kill me?
Caroline
Tempting, but I like your smile and the orgasms more than the money.
Killian smiles briefly at the text.
Killian
Should have known you’d be selfish.
Caroline
Would you rather be dead or would you rather enjoy my mouth?
Killian looks up from his phone and even from across the room, I can see the promise in his eyes.
“Sorry, work never stops,” I say, going back to the conversation. “You were saying something about rumors?”
“Oh, don’t worry about it,” Rachel says. “My husband is incapable of having a conversation without his phone in his hand. It’s basically his second wife.”
“We don’t want to worry you about the rumors,” Tanzie says. “You seem happy.”
“Oh, but I love gossip. I can never resist it.” I lean in towards them, waiting for them to tell me something about my boyfriend that I don’t know.
“You’ve heard all about the messy break-ups, I’m sure?” Tanzie says, raising her eyebrows. “There have been a lot of them, or so we hear. Nice, innocent girls just like you.”
“Bit of a player,” Rachel adds.
“He gets bored easily,” Tanzie says. “Rumor has it that there have been a lot of women, and why not when he looks like that.”
“A lot of women?” I ask.
“Men like him always have a lot of women in their past,” Tanzie says, shaking her head. “I can’t even tell you how many women were after my Robert, but I put an end to that. Five years married, and happily.”
She raises her hand to show off her diamond ring.
It’s big and shockingly similar to the one I left behind.
I can almost feel the ghost of its weight on my finger.
I hope Robert isn’t anything like Beckett because she might be someone who puts too much stock into rumors, but I don’t want her to be cheated on.
“Relationships aren’t easy,” Rachel says, shaking her head. “You have to do so much to keep their attention, and it’s even worse when they have a tendency to get bored easily.”
“Well, thank you so much for telling me this. You’ve given me a lot to think about,” I say.
Rachel reaches out and squeezes my arm. “We just wanted you to be aware. You seem so sweet.”
I give her a small smile. “Thank you. Please excuse me.”
I drain the rest of my champagne and set the glass on the bar before walking away.
I almost miss the nights when everyone would pretend I didn’t exist because Beckett was more interesting.
I can’t decide if Rachel and Tanzie actually believe in these rumors or if they started the rumors because they’re obsessed with Killian.
Either way, I need to stay away from them.
I make my way to the restroom, the only place I’m likely to get any peace. Thankfully, it’s not full of gossipers and the only person in here is the attendant. I give her a small smile when I walk in.
I lean against the counter and breathe out, shaking my head. It’s a good thing Killian doesn’t attend a lot of these because I’d almost forgotten how much I hate these society events.
I’m making sure my make-up is good enough to survive the rest of the night and fixing my hair when the door opens behind me. I’m not surprised when Killian walks inside.
“Can we please have a moment?” Killian pulls out a wad of cash and offers it to the attendant. She glances at me and I try not to blush.
With a sigh, she accepts the cash and walks out. Killian locks the door.
“You carry a huge amount of cash on you and you tell me to be safe,” I say, shaking my head. I twirl a piece of pair and tuck it safely under my clip as Killian walks up behind me.
“You looked like you were having an interesting conversation,” he says, his hands settling on my hips. I look at us in the mirror, and I’m once again astounded by how I’ve ended up here. How easily he leans down to press tiny kisses on my neck and shoulder.
“Mm, the tales of your sluttery,” I say.
He glances at me in the mirror. “My what?”
“Apparently, there were a slew of women in your past because you’re a little slut who gets bored easily.”
“Am I?” Killian asks, blue eyes sparking like fire. “I’m surprised you gave me a chance.”
I tap a finger against my lips. “Me too, honestly. If the sexual history isn’t bad enough, what if you get bored of me, too?”