I swallowed back the bitter disappointment, my jaw tight as I started backing toward the door. “No. Thank you. I’ll just catch up with her later.”
CHAPTER 20
AURELIA
By the time I got back home, my hair was damp from the afternoon drizzle and my boots were squeaking on the marble lobby floor. I was still mentally replaying my mother’s endless debate over ice sculptures versus champagne towers for the ball when my doorman stopped me.
“Miss Van Alen,” he said carefully. “There was a gentleman here for you earlier. Tall, fancy suit. Dark hair. He left in a bit of a huff.”
My stomach dipped. “Did he leave a name?”
He shook his head. “No, he didn’t want to leave a message either, but I saw his car out front. Aston Martin. If that helps.”
Aston Martin. Right.Of course, it was Harrison who’d showed up here uninvited.
I pulled out my phone the second I stepped into the elevator, dialing him before the doors even started sliding shut. It went straight to voicemail, though. When I got to my floor, I tried again, but with the same result.
Worry started gnawing at my gut. He’d shown up here unexpectedly, left in a huff, and now, his phone was off. I chewed on my lip, a strange, instinctive kind of restlessness taking over.I didn’t even realize what I was doing until I’d already turned around and headed back to the elevator.
Harrison’s townhouse was diagonally across the street from my own building. Practically close enough that I could throw a stone at his windows if I wanted to—and if my apartment had faced to the other side, but still.
Neither of us had ever addressed that fact, probably because it was far too convenient, far too tempting. But right now? It was exactly what I needed.
The drizzle had turned into a full-on downpour in the few minutes I’d been inside, fat cold drops soaking through my coat by the time I’d crossed the street. I was wet, freezing, and already furious when I started pounding on his door.
“Harrison!” I called over the rain, thumping hard enough my hand hurt as I cowered under his awning. “I know you’re in there and it’s cold out here. Open the damn door.”
For a few long moments, there was nothing. Just the rain drumming against the awning overhead. His car was parked in front of his garage, which was why I’d assumed he was here, but he didn’t have to be. He might’ve walked or taken other transportation.
Seconds away from leaving, I snapped my gaze back to his front door when I heard the lock turning. The door swung open to reveal Harrison, but he was disheveled. I hadn’t known him for very long, sure, but this seemed very uncharacteristic.
His hair was mussed but not artfully. His shirt was untucked and his eyes were shadowed like he hadn’t slept in days. He leaned one hand against the frame, looking both exhausted and irritated, like I’d interrupted something private.
I blinked at him, dripping rain all over his threshold. “There you are. Hello to you, too. I heard you came by my place. Can I come in? I wasn’t kidding about how cold it is out here.”
There was no lazy grin this time. No smirk and no smartass comment. In fact, he didn’t say anything at all. I stared at him for a beat, rainwater dripping down my neck and the sound of the storm rolling in swallowing up the silence between us.
He didn’t move or say anything. He just looked at me with those gorgeous but unreadable eyes. I frowned, my heart starting to pound wildly in my chest.
“What’s wrong with you?” I finally demanded, but it was still much gentler than I’d meant for the words to come out. I waved a hand at him, my gaze drifting lower to take in what a mess he was. “Why do you look like you didn’t sleep last night and you were having an afternoon nap in your suit?”
His mouth ticked, but not into a smile. At least he finally stepped aside to let me in, but the quiet intensity he was exuding made nerves twist in my stomach. “Oh, by the way, I got you the invite to that ball. As my plus-one. My mom doesn’t know it’s you, though. I told her?—”
Before I could finish, his hand shot out, catching mine. He tugged me inside with such sudden force that I stumbled. The door slammed shut behind me. I landed with a thud against his chest and felt a strong arm banding around my hips.
“Harrison—” I barely got his name out before he turned us around, pressed me back against the inside of the door, and kissed me.
It wasn’t careful or tentative. It was desperate, like a release of emotions he’d been bottling up for years. My breath caught in my throat, shock rippling through me even as my hands fisted in his shirt.
Everything else, the storm, the ball, and even our mothers and their ancient war disappeared in that single, searing moment. All I could think was that this was supposed to be a business arrangement. We were friends who were forging an alliance.
Nothing more.
So why do I suddenly feel like my heart has just been set on fire?
His mouth was crushed against mine, and suddenly, I wasn’t thinking anymore at all. I was just moving, kissing him back like my body had been waiting for this without telling me. His hands slid to my waist, pulling me closer, pressing me harder into the door until I could feel every line of him against me.
My fingers tangled in his hair and he groaned when I tightened my grip, the sound low and rough. He tasted faintly of whiskey, but there was something else there, too. Something I supposed was just him, a sweetness I couldn’t quite place.
