Who?” CC’s voice was clipped with curiosity, but I heard the excitement in her undertone.
I rubbed at my temples, honestly at least halfway to convincing myself that death would be better than this. “Aurelia Van Alen. You know, the Van Alens. Why do we never invite them to anything?”
“Where did you hear that name, sweetheart?” I could hear that she was trying to keep her tone light, but it was sharpenough to cut diamonds—and it wasn’t just because my head was feeling so sensitive.
“Dad talks about Richard Van Alen sometimes,” I said, grimacing at the throbbing in my skull. “They still do some consulting together. You know that. I was just wondering why we never knew them growing up.”
There was a click. Just like that, she’d hung up on me.Fantastic.
I was not in the right mind to deal with that, or with CC’s judgment, or with anything, really. Not today.
After a brief moment of consideration, I grabbed my laptop and curled up under a blanket on the couch, still fuzzy from last night. When I pressed the button to power up my laptop, there was nothing. The damn thing was dead.
Of course. Fuck, and it’s Friday. I should probably be at the office.Weather permitting, but one glance outside told me that it probably wasn’t.
I was stuck. Cold. Alone. Hungover.
Perfect.
One of those things, at least, I could do something about, so I slowly sat up again, grimacing when more pain shot through me, and went over to the fireplace. At least some heat might bring life back into me.
In my hungover logic, however, I fucked up with the vent, not opening it properly, and soon, the entire living room was filling with thick smoke. I coughed and hacked, gagging as I waved my hands in front of my face and wondering if I’d just accidentally set the townhouse on fire.
This is a losing battle.I gave up mid-cough, but finally opened the vent, hoping it’d at least help to air the place out.
As I stumbled back to the couch, my gaze settled on the window again and it occurred to me that Aurelia had raced out alittle while ago. I had no idea how long it’d been, but she’d gone out. In…that.
Wind was gusting down the street, the sleet gone, but the rain hadn’t quit. Immediately, worry sped through me, my gut tightening as my brain-fog parted just enough for me to realize that she never should’ve left.
I grabbed my phone off the coffee table and called her, clutching the device harder than necessary as I waited for her to pick up. As soon as she did, relief flooded my entire body and I exhaled a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.
“Harrison?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. “What’s going on?”
“Hey, uh, did you make it out all right?” I asked. “I didn’t realize how bad it was still looking out there.”
“I did. I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. We’ll talk later.” The words were rushed and quiet, so soft that it took some focus to figure out what she was saying.
She hung up before I could respond and I sighed, finally steeling myself to blink through the smoke and return to the fire place. It was fucking freezing in here and the smoke would clear faster if I could manage a proper flame.
It took some effort to coax the coals to life, but the new logs I’d added finally cracked, heat began to spread, and just as relief started to seep in, the power flicked back on. The overhead lights blinked first, then the heater hummed to life, and I sank back against the couch.
Well, at least I can get some charge on my laptop now. This day might just not be a total write-off after all.
CHAPTER 10
AURELIA
Ilooked up at the impossibly grand club through the rain-streaked windows of my car. A shiver of apprehension ran down my spine. It wasn’t only because of the prospect of running through the freezing rain, but also because of what was waiting for me inside.
My mom loved this place. It looked like someone had plucked it straight out of a Jane Austen novel and dropped it on the outskirts of San Francisco, but that also made it her domain.
After reluctantly shutting off my engine, I tightened my coat and popped the collar, rearranging my scarf to cover my chin and the bottoms of my cheeks. This was the absolute last thing I had the energy for right now, especially since the painkillers I’d taken hadn’t quite erased the dull pounding in my brain, but I climbed out of the car and raced across the parking lot to the club’s front door before I lost my nerve.
Cold air stung my lungs and made my face feel numb, but my coat’s hood protected me from getting absolutely soaked on my way in. The door opened as I approached it, a doorman immediately stepping out of my way as I burst into the foyer.
Warmth washed over me instantly and I breathed out a sigh of relief as the doorman shut the door behind me, but he seemedapprehensive until I looked up, sliding the hood off so he could see my face. “Aurelia van Alen. I’m here to meet my mom, Regina.”
“Of course, Ms. Van Alen.” His entire demeanor changed on the spot, though I wasn’t sure if it was because he recognized me from the few visits I’d made previously or if it’d simply been my mom’s name that had done the trick. He relaxed and held his hand out to take my coat. “She’s in the dining room. We were told to expect you.”
