Chapter 30
Ashbourne Hall was one of the most historic residences in the High Battery on Charleston’s peninsula and was unlike anything I’d ever seen before. It was nearly ten thousand square feet of architectural perfection.
It was also Lucas’s grandfather’s home, where Lucas’s and Callie’s engagement party was currently being held.
The party was thrown only a month after they got engaged, but that was Lucas’s call and with Callie’s full blessing.
He wanted Blake to be able to attend, so he made sure the party took place during his pre-deployment block leave.
He didn’t care if it was deemed uncouth in his world for being last minute as long as his best friend—and one of his groomsmen—could attend.
And his grandpa was so elated that Callie was making an honest man out of his grandson that he didn’t give a damn about what anyone else thought.
Emmett Ashbourne was quite the character, and when it came to Callie, I was pretty sure he favored her over his own flesh and blood.
“I still can’t get over this place,” I said, looking at the view of the harbor from the rooftop deck.
“It’s definitely something,” Blake agreed as he leaned against the railing beside Gabe.
“Did you guys come here a lot with Luke when you were kids?”
“Yeah. Luke spent so much damn time here, and Gramps always invited me and Wes to come along.”
“Ya know what else I noticed?” I chuckled as I looked down from the rooftop into the privately walled garden and gestured to where Lucas’s grandpa was surrounded by a group of men and women his age. “They all have that posh southern accent.”
“That’s the old southern money accent,” Blake said, doing his best impression of it.
As we continued to people-watch from our place on the rooftop, I spotted Wes walking along the grounds toward the house alongside Lucas, Callie, and some guy I didn’t recognize as they talked. My eyes didn’t leave him until he disappeared inside.
Something about this thing between me and Wes seemed a little different lately.
If I had to pinpoint when the shift happened, I’d say it was about a month ago, right around the time we witnessed the proposal.
We were still our usual selves with our bickering and sabotaging.
We still had our secret deal to use one another for release—although, we’d scrapped the no sleepover rule because we figured we already broke it and realized that sometimes it was easier just to stay the night.
But it was those moments together that felt different.
Every look, every touch, every kiss…it all seemed to be charged with an unfamiliar air of intimacy that had never been there between us before.
I chalked it up to the fact that Wes and I weren’t the same people we were a little more than a year ago when we made that deal.
I think it was safe to say that we’d both grown and looked at one another differently now, without the layer of utter disdain and loathing that was there before.
And we had this secret, one that no one else knew.
It was just ours. And that gave us this sort of bond that I don’t think either of us anticipated when going into it.
Those moments felt more intimate because we were closer.
Wes and I…we were friends, but only behind closed doors when it was just the two of us in our own little fucked up secret world.
“Enjoying yourselves?”
I turned at the sound of Callie’s voice, seeing her approach me, Gabe, and Blake. “Yes,” we answered in unison.
“I still can’t get over this house,” I said.
Callie chuckled. “Well, you’ve always been a bit of an architectural history nerd.”
“I resent the ‘nerd’ part of that statement.” I peeked over her shoulder to where Lucas and Wes were talking to some guy. “Who’s that?”
“Corbin Blackwood.”
I wasn’t sure why the name sounded familiar, but before I could ask, the three of them started toward us. “You remember Blake and Gabe,” Lucas said with a grin.
“Of course,” the man shook their hands. “Nice to see you guys again.”
Gabe smiled. “It’s been a while.”
“It has,” he nodded, then looked at me. He was tall with dark brown hair, and his gray-blue eyes met mine as he flashed a charming smile. “And who is this?”
Callie linked her arm through mine. “This is my best friend—and maid of honor—Morgan Hayes. Mo, this is Corbin Blackwood.”
Suddenly, it dawned on me. “Blackwood…as in Blackwood Distillery?”
“The oldest and largest whiskey distillery in South Carolina.” He extended his hand, his eyes locked on mine. “Nice to meet you, Morgan Hayes.”
“You as well.” A subtle smile graced my lips as I shook his offered hand. “You’re the eldest Blackwood brother, right?”
He nodded with a chuckle. “Yes.”
“They have some of the best whiskey.” Wes’s voice, which seemed both a little louder and sharper than necessary, cut through the air. I looked over at him, seeing his green eyes darting between me and Corbin as we dropped each other’s hands.
“The Blackwood Distillery is one of the sponsors of The Rose Ball,” Lucas explained.
A curious laugh bubbled out of me. “That so?”
“Yes,” Corbin said with an amused grin at my reaction. “What’s so funny about it?”
“Nothing, I just wasn’t expecting a distillery to be a sponsor of a charity gala for a foundation whose sole mission is to combat drunk driving. It’s a little ironic, don’t you think?”
Corbin smirked. “So, would you be even more surprised if I told you that Blackwood Distillery isn’t just a sponsor of The Rose Ball but also a Supporter Partner in the Grady Foundation network?”
My brows rose slightly in surprise. “I didn’t know that…”
“We like to think of it as a way of helping to reinforce the foundation’s message and show that everyone has a role to play in making it happen, people in our line of work included.”
I nodded. “That’s admirable.”
After learning where the money in her mom’s trust came from, Callie didn’t want anything to do with it.
When she received the funds at the end of the probate process, she gave Lucas free rein to do whatever he could to get rid of it, only requesting that he do something good.
He donated all ten million dollars to The Grady Foundation, a non-profit organization centered around ending drunk driving and supporting victims and their families.
They hosted a charity gala—The Rose Ball—every year in June to raise funds, and because of the massive donation, Lucas and Callie were last-minute additions to be honored at that year’s event.
They’d scored each of us invites to the black tie event as their special guests.
“So, will you be attending the gala with these two?” Corbin asked. I looked at him and smiled with a nod, earning a grin from him. “Good to know.” His eyes and grin lingered on me for a moment before he looked back and started speaking with Lucas again.
Callie shot me a look, her brows raised with a smile. I shook my head, fighting back a smile of my own as I looked away from her.
My eyes landed on Wes to see him staring at me with an expression I couldn’t quite decipher.
We somehow formed this silent connection where we seemed to be able to communicate with just a glance, and he decided to use it to his advantage now.
His gaze slowly shifted around to ensure the others weren’t paying attention before he looked back at me and arched a dark brow.
I arched one back in question.
He gestured his head with a subtle tilt in Corbin’s direction.
I shrugged.
He scoffed through a laugh with a roll of his eyes.
The smirk that tugged on the corner of my lips made my silent question clear. Jealous?
His expression remained neutral, but his eyes flared with amused indignation. I could hear the words he wasn’t saying out loud playing in his sarcastic tone in my head. Yeah fucking right, Princess.