Chapter 16
Chapter sixteen
TO DIE FOR
I barely have time to appreciate the modern yet cozy decor in the house as I chase after Delaney, which is probably for the best, because that would only lead to thinking about the person who owns it.
And I am definitely not trying to think about Cameron, and how his lips curved around his perfect smile when he said he hoped he’d run into me again.
Our time together was totally awkward and wildly embarrassing in retrospect, yet for some reason, a small part of me is hopeful around every turn that he’ll be there.
“Here’s the living room,” Delaney says, finally slowing down enough for me to catch up. “And there are the other two guests. Let me introduce you to them.”
My thoughts about Cameron are overshadowed by the sheer beauty of the space.
The living room is so grand Architectural Digest would be lucky to feature it.
The far wall is floor-to-ceiling glass, just like the front of the house that surrounds the entry.
It also spans two stories, with an enormous chandelier hanging from the wood-patterned ceiling that bathes the room with its warm, flickering light.
The view of the trees outside is blurred into a wash of green and gray by the rain, reminiscent of a moody watercolor painting.
The real showstopper, though, is the dark stone fireplace that cuts up the middle of the glass wall. The base is at least twelve feet wide, and if I stood next to it, I am pretty sure I would be at eye level with the mantle.
The two women sitting on a sofa next to the fire turn at our approach.
Delaney gestures for me to take a seat in one of the empty oversized chairs at the head of the grouping, while she takes the other.
I do as I am told and sink into the cushion like it’s an oversized marshmallow.
Delaney perches on the edge of her seat and crosses one leg over the other, so I use my elbows to fight my way up out of the chair and copy her strategy to keep from being swallowed whole again.
“Ladies, this is Drew. She just got here a few minutes ago. How about we do a quick introduction so that she can get ready before we have to leave for our wine tasting reservation?”
The woman closest to the fire perks up and tosses her wild, red curls over her shoulder. “Sounds good. Hi, Drew! My name is Leah. I’m so excited you’re here.”
“Nice to meet you, Leah,” I say, and can’t help but smile back at her sunny disposition.
“My name is Valentina,” the other woman says, and I am momentarily stunned by the perfect symmetry of her face. Her black hair is pulled back in a sleek bun that puts her deep brown eyes and high cheekbones on display.
She looks away under my gaze just as Judith reemerges from the kitchen, sauntering over with a fresh glass of champagne in hand.
“Perfect timing, Judith,” Delaney says, managing to flash her a genuine-looking smile. “I was just about to have everyone share where they were from and what they do.”
Judith walks past us to sit on the empty couch across from Leah and Valentina. “Perfect timing indeed. The cookies just finished baking.”
“Excellent. Thank you. How about you go first? Tell us what you do, where you’re from, and what brought you here.”
Judith takes a leisurely sip from her champagne glass before speaking.
“As you all already know, my name is Judith. I have lived all over the United States but have settled here in Charlotte to be close to my kids and grandkids. I just retired after thirty-two years in retail as a store manager, and I am here as a gift to myself for sticking to my morals and making an honest living.” She shoots Valentina a pointed look with the last comment, but Valentina just blinks back, seemingly unaffected.
“Thank you, Judith,” Delaney jumps in, cutting her off before she can air out any other grievances. “How about you, Leah?”
Leah’s kind eyes darken as they narrow at Judith for her blatant rudeness towards Valentina, and the only sound in the room is the crackling fire while they engage in their standoff, which, much to my surprise, Judith backs down from first. Leah lifts her chin a fraction at her victory and purposefully directs her introduction to me, Delaney, and Valentina.
“Again, my name is Leah. I’m from New Jersey, I’m a third-grade teacher, and I’m looking forward to analyzing this book with people who actually enjoy reading, instead of tiny humans that I have to bribe to read with candy.”
“Right? Who knew we would grow up one day and assign ourselves book reports for fun?” Delaney says with a laugh.
“Evelyn Graves’s book will be a great one to discuss.
I am very much looking forward to leading our first discussion tomorrow morning at brunch.
Has everyone finished reading it?” Everyone nods, so she continues.
“Excellent. Valentina, you’re next for introductions. ”
We all turn our attention to the dark-haired beauty, and she takes a deep breath.
“I’m Valentina, but you can just call me Val,” she starts.
“I’m from New Haven, Connecticut, and I’m a content creator, so I do a lot of different things, but my passion is my subscription-based fantasy, sci-fi, and video game cosplay modeling.
” Judith takes a pointed sip of her champagne, cluing me in to the meaning behind the honest living comment earlier.
Val continues, completely unbothered. “And I am here to test a hypothesis.” We all wait for the punchline, but she just looks back stoically into all our waiting stares.
“Great, thanks, Val. Maybe you can tell us more about that hypothesis once we get to know each other better,” Delaney says, her ice-blue eyes lit with curiosity.
“Well, since I am next in the circle, I’ll go ahead.
I’m your host, Delaney, and I have been leading bookish retreats for women here at the Ravenwood Manor for five years.
We host bachelorette parties, birthday parties, and friend groups who want a relaxing getaway.
My favorite groups to host, though, are solo travelers like you guys, who come to make new friends and be part of something unique.
In fact, the first solo retreat I hosted just booked a weekend this summer for a reunion.
They have remained close and are coming back as an established friend group now.
It’s really special what a weekend of bonding over shared interests can do for building lifelong friendships. ”
I look around the circle at the women and highly doubt that we will be one of her success stories, but after meeting Val and Leah, I feel confident that the weekend will, at the very least, be tolerable.
Staying in a beautifully appointed mansion with incredible food is not a bad setting to embark on the first step towards cementing my new persona either.
When the circle turns to me for my introduction, I take a deep breath to suppress Introverted Drew and summon Epic Drew in her place. “Hi, everyone. I’m Drew. I am from Los Angeles, and I work in a bookstore.”
I pause to come up with a reason for being here that doesn’t prompt them to sing happy birthday to me or reveal that I am testing my own hypothesis of sorts that may or may not put them all in mortal danger.
I probably should have thought of something while the other women were introducing themselves, but I was too distracted by the interplay of personalities to think it through.
With all eyes on me, the fire that felt good before now feels too warm on my face, so I throw out the first thing I can think of so that we can move on: “And I’m here to make new friends.”
“Well, you came to the right place.” Delaney beams, likely as relieved as I am that introductions are over with.
“I am going to leave you all to mingle for a bit while I add everyone’s number to a WhatsApp group chat so that we can be connected for the weekend.
Please accept the invitation when you get it, and let’s meet back at the big painting in the foyer in fifty minutes.
” She pushes herself up out of the chair with a nod and disappears down one of the hallways.
I turn back to the group and start to stand as well, preparing to make my own exit so that I can freshen up, when Leah leans forward and points at my coffee. “Where did you get that?”
I hold up what remains of the chocolate-covered latte. “Eagle Lake Coffee Co. It was to die for.”
“Hmm,” Leah nods, but looks unconvinced at the Nutella hearts that are now shapeless brown blobs on the side of the cup. “Did Cameron take you to get that?”
I pale at the hint of venom in her tone, and wonder if her bubbly personality from a second ago was just for show.
Val chuckles, the first bit of personality I’ve seen from her yet and leans forward to address me.
“Don’t mind her. She’s just jealous because you and I got to ride with Cameron and she didn’t. ”
I relax a bit as Leah launches into a giggle-infused rant about how it wasn’t Cameron that she was sad she missed out on, but his car.
Even though I am relieved that I didn’t manage to offend another guest already, my gut still feels like it’s been sucker punched as Val talks about her ride with Cameron from the airport.
Even Judith has nice words to say about him.
I shake my head to clear the strange emotion that feels an awful lot like jealousy from my mind and instead focus on the facts of the situation.
Cameron is the homeowner, and he does airport pick-ups so that Delaney can stay back and help get the guests settled. He and Delaney are both responsible for welcoming us to Ravenwood, so it only makes sense that he would be chatty to everyone in the car.
This conversation served as the perfect reminder that I need to stay focused on the end goal, because I am here for a very important mission.
Everyone here, including Cameron, is just a short-term stop on my long road ahead.
And once I have a shower, I will officially be able to free myself of what remains of my Dramamine haze, so that I can be laser-focused on—
“Ladies, sorry to interrupt,” a deep, familiar voice says from behind us. We whip around to see none other than my current distraction walking into the room. The air goes still as we all hold our collective breath at his entrance.
“Oh, hi, Cameron,” Judith says, sitting up straighter. “They were just talking about you.”
I grimace to learn that a grown woman tattling is somehow ten times more annoying than a child. Leah’s irritation matches my own, and when we lock eyes, we both roll them in mutual irritation.
“Glad I interrupted that, then,” Cameron says with a low laugh, and when I meet his eyes, they are already on mine. “Drew, can I borrow you for a minute?”
“Uh, sure,” I say, glancing back at Leah. Her shock reflects my own as I set my coffee on the table before going to stand by him.
“See you all in a bit for the wine tasting,” he says, leading me out of the living room, and leaving the women looking as stunned as I feel.