Page 22 of Trust Fund Baby

“Did you come here a lot before the renovations?” Hallie asked as she stepped out.

“I spent nearly every summer here,” James said, moving around to grab our bags.

Of course he did. Rich people summered. Regular people worked double shifts and prayed their window A/Cs didn’t give out.

“My mom wanted me to get out of the city,” James continued. “She thought it was good for me to have a break from the concrete jungle.”

I snorted at the ridiculous sentiment. “She didn’t want you to spend all your time rubbing elbows with the rich in the city, so she brought you here to rub elbows with the rich out of the city?”

James chuckled in agreement. “Come on, let’s get inside. You can pick your rooms.”

As we walked in, the cool air surrounded me, and I paused for a moment, taking in the expansive area. The ceilings were high, the floors were wide plank, and the staircase curved just so, as if designed for dramatic climbs and descents. I pictured a teenage James standing there for debutante season with the girl he would present to society. Much like Sebastian had done for me.

“As long as my room has a view and a bathtub, I don’t care,” I said, already planning on staking my claim on the largest room.

“And as far away from Sebastian Whittaker as possible,” I muttered under my breath, just loud enough for Hallie to hear.

She gave me a sidelong glance, her curiosity barely contained but thankfully didn’t push. Yet.

“Can you point me in the direction of the closest bathroom?”

“Just down there, second door on the right.”

“Perfect,” I said, already plotting a way to hide away in the warmth of a bubble bath once I got to my room until I could pretend this was just a nice, normal weekend getaway with my best friend.

The truth became unavoidable as I made my way down the hall, consciously trying to stay calm and avoid obsessively thinking about every way this weekend could go horribly wrong.

How could I possibly continue this charade of not knowing Sebastian all weekend? Hallie was already on my trail. I deposited my luggage on a bench just outside the bathroom James directed me to that was still draped with a drop cloth from the recent renovations, leaving Hallie and James to get on with whatever plans they had for the trip.

With a click, the bathroom door closed, and I slid down it, needing to be alone. I needed a second. Maybe five. Maybe a decade.

My heart was pounding like I’d just sprinted around this entire property instead of diving into the closest bathroom. My reflection in the mirror looked only mildly feral, which felt like a win. I splashed some cold water on my face and gave myself a stern look.

You’re fine. You’re an adult. You are not going to let Sebastian Whittaker ruin a perfectly good weekend.

I dried my hands on a towel that still had the tag on it and stepped out into the hallway.

And that’s when I saw him.

Sebastian strode through the front door, the crisp fabric of his suit rustling with each step. With a duffel bag slung over his shoulder and sunglasses nestled in his thick, dark hair, he looked far more attractive than felt fair.

His green eyes found me at once, their color intensified by the golden afternoon light. His hair was slightly longer than the last time I saw him over a month ago. It was less sculpted, more tousled in that effortless I just woke up like this kind of way that people would kill for. The same tattoos I’d seen back at McGuire’s climbed the backs of his hands. The same hands I used to trace with my fingers when we were seventeen and thought we had the world figured out.

“Roxie,” he said, but it felt involuntary. Like he could hardly believe he was using my name.

I stopped walking. Mostly because my legs forgot how.

“Sebastian.”

9

Seb

I wasn’t sure what I expected when I walked into James’s family’s Hamptons house. Part of me hoped for some champagne and caviar waiting for me. Or James talking about whatever hedge fund he was excited to work on this week as he showed me to a spare bedroom where I could get some sleep after the day that I’d had.

What I wasn’t expecting was to walk in and immediately see her.

Roxie King.