Chapter 16
AURELIA
Istared past the Christmas decorations out of the coffee shop window, smiling faintly as I thought about my fiancé. Even now, days later, the thought of that was utterly crazy, so completely removed from the reality of my normal life that I could hardly believe it was true.
We were back in San Francisco, but I still couldn’t stop touching the ring. It dangled from a thin gold chain around my neck, tucked safely beneath my blouse. The metal was warm against my skin. Every so often my fingers brushed over it like I needed regular proof it was still there.
Part of me kept wondering if I’d dreamed up that evening high above Manhattan when Harrison had gone down on one knee in front of me. The guy was confident as fuck to have done that under the circumstances, and the fact that he had didn’t help my attraction to him at all.
The ring wasn’t on my finger anymore, though. It hadn’t been since we’d left the restaurant that night. Keeping it there would’ve been insane.
Regina would’ve spotted it in two seconds or less, but the reprieve from my mother’s scrutiny of it felt temporary. She noticed everything eventually, and when she did…
Yeah. I’m not ready for that shit storm.
The little bell over the door jingled, pulling me out of my thoughts.
Megan breezed in like she was arriving at Paris Fashion Week instead of a corner café, dressed as always in designer athleisure from head to toe.
My friend’s skin glowed with whatever serum she’d no doubt been paid to plug this week.
Oversized sunglasses perched on her head.
I quickly tucked the chain deeper into my shirt just before she spotted me. A loud squeal tore out of her and she glided across the room to brush a kiss to each of my cheeks. “Aura! You look fabulous, baby.”
“Megan,” I said dryly, chuckling when she pulled away. “You’re as subtle as ever, aren’t you?”
“What can I say? I’m a brand these days. I can’t help it.” She waggled her eyebrows and plopped into the chair across from mine at the table. “I’ve got to admit, babe, I was surprised to get a call from you asking to meet in the morning. You’re always at work. What’s going on?”
I shrugged, faking an easy smile. “There are a lot of chapters to that story, but the highlights are that I’m my own boss now. I make my own hours and they’re pretty flexible for my friends.”
She grinned, then leaned in conspiratorially. “Seriously, you went out on your own? That’s huge news, girl. Why haven’t I heard or seen anything about it?”
“Maybe because I didn’t post it to any of my socials?” I suggested lightly, but it was also true.
Megan was a well-known wellness influencer. She knew everything about everyone who was anyone and she lived her entire life online. If it wasn’t on social media, it hadn’t happened in her world.
She laughed. “I definitely would’ve known if you’d posted it anywhere. Why the secrecy, though? Even your mother posts more than you do. Speaking of, how was New York? I saw you went shopping at Bergdorf’s. Classic.”
I groaned. “She posted about that? God, I really need to talk to her about privacy settings.”
“Don’t worry, I’m friends with her online.” Megan smiled but glanced at her watch. “I’ve only got about thirty minutes before Pilates. Do you want to come with me? It’s a great session. You’ll love it.”
“Thanks, but I can’t.” I sipped my latte, stalling for a just few seconds to get my mental ducks in a row. “I might join you another time, though.”
“Uh-huh.” She squinted at me, clearly suspicious as her gaze swept across my face. “Seriously, what’s going on with you, babe? You sounded stressed on the phone, and don’t take this the wrong way, but you look tired. Really tired. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. You know how Regina is on shopping trips. She wiped me out.” I set my cup down slowly. “I need you to do something for me. A favor, but it has to stay between us.”
Her eyes lit up instantly. “Is this the fun kind of something you need done? Or the illegal kind? Because if it’s illegal, that’s also fun, but I’m going to need to procure a wig before we get started.”
I laughed. “It’s not illegal, but it’s probably not going to be fun either. It’s personal.”
Megan tilted her head, studying me like I was about to confess to leading a double life as an international jewel thief. “Oh, well, that’s mysterious. Okay, tell me. What’s the favor?”
I leaned in, lowering my voice just in case. “I need you to dig into my mom. I’m trying to find out why she and CC Westwood hate each other so much.”
Megan blinked, then sat back, her jaw dropping in slow motion. “Wait, Regina hates her? Oh my God, why don’t I know this already?”
“Because neither of them have ever posted about it?” I teased.
She narrowed her eyes but pulled out her phone like a knight unsheathing a sword. “Challenge accepted. Give me a week and I’ll know more about their feud than they do.”
I smiled faintly, but my stomach twisted into dozens of knots. Whatever she found, I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be good. Megan’s fingers flew across her phone, no doubt already typing her mission into her Notes app before she suddenly perked up.
“Actually, this might be easier than I thought.” She gave me a relieved smile.
“I know the Westwoods. Gwen and I go way back. She did a collab with me a few years ago for her Pilates studio and I’ve been doing her classes ever since.
She’s a total sweetheart, but here’s the thing.
Her best friend is Laney Westwood. Laney comes to Gwen’s classes too and we’ve gotten pretty close. ”
My eyebrows shot up. “Of course, you’re tight with Sterling Westwood’s wife. Why wouldn’t you be?”
She leaned across the table like she was about to discuss state secrets, her eyes wide and glittering with excitement. “Laney invited me to a little Christmas party Sterling is hosting at their place. It’s, like, super small. Only close friends. Ultra exclusive.”
I blinked at her, the gears in my head already turning. “Sterling Westwood, the heir of all heirs.”
“Mm-hmm.” She smirked. “The brooding, impossibly gorgeous one with the perfect jawline and is, unfortunately, completely faithful to his wife.”
I rolled my eyes. “I don’t see why that’s unfortunate. Shouldn’t we be happy that there are still men out there who take their vows seriously?”
“Not when the man in question looks like him.” She grinned shamelessly. “Anyway, why are we digging into your own mother?”
Because Regina played everything close to the chest, but CC, from what Harrison had said, loved to gossip.
I would imagine that as her eldest, Sterling might know something the others didn’t.
If anyone knew the real story about why our mothers loathed each other, it was him, but this way, with Megan doing the digging, it wouldn’t be coming from either Harrison or myself.
I took another sip of my latte, trying not to let my eagerness show. “It’s just curiosity. My mom doesn’t even greet them, which struck me as odd, and she’s always going on about how the Westwoods exclude us from everything. It felt like it was about time I found out why.”
Megan’s eyes lit up with gleeful suspicion.
“Oh my God. You like one of them, don’t you?
Which one? Wait, don’t tell me. It’s Callum.
Or is it Harrison? Shit, it doesn’t really matter with that family.
They’re all gorgeous, but I need details.
Just so you know though, apparently Callum is entirely faithful to his wife, too. ”
I tried to keep a straight face. “I don’t like anyone. I just need answers about my own family.”
“Uh-huh,” she said, singsong, clearly not buying it, but she sipped her coffee and finished it before she raced off to Pilates.
Relief washed over me when she was gone, but I knew that I would owe her so many details once the news of my engagement to Harrison broke. I could’ve told her today. He and I had only discussed our mothers not finding out, not our friends.
But I kept it a secret because I hadn’t quite wrapped my own mind around it yet, and maybe also because deep down, I wasn’t ready for anyone to poke holes in our arrangement yet. The truth was that I was actually getting excited about this.
I would never admit it out loud, not even to myself most days, but Harrison had surprised me. He wasn’t the playboy I’d heard whispers about or just another entitled Westwood with a jawline carved by the gods.
He’d been brave enough to suggest we go out on our own, even though he was comfortable at his family’s company. Even though he clearly looked up to Sterling. That took guts.
Plus, if I was being totally honest with myself, he was everything I always would’ve wanted in a husband—if I’d ever allowed myself to really think about it, which I hadn’t.
But the point was that Harrison was like a sexy best friend I wouldn’t mind hooking up with, who made me laugh, but who also made me feel safe in a way I hadn’t realized I craved.
For the first time ever, I felt like someone had my back.
Someone who had my best interests at heart, who knew my dreams and my goals, and who actually believed that I could and should pursue them all.
That was also the reason I could never hook up with him regardless of anything else. Still, he was nice to look at.
When I got back to my apartment, I went straight to the spare bedroom I’d decided would be my office from now on.
The brand new desk was still bare, the walls unadorned, but I stood there imagining files, spreadsheets, and blueprints for ventures Harrison and I could tackle together, and I saw something real.
A future. A future in which he was my business partner at the very least.
The rest? Well, maybe it would come. Maybe it wouldn’t. For now, it was enough to know that he’d actually followed through on what we’d drunkenly talked about.
The ring proving it was hanging warm and heavy against my chest, literal evidence that he was serious about what he said, and that when he went after something, he gave it everything he had. And that? That kind of dependability was what I needed in my life.
More than romance. More than love. More than anything else, I needed someone to take me and what I wanted seriously—and to my greatest surprise, Harrison Westwood was turning out to be that person.