Текст книги "Chaser"
Автор книги: Staci Hart
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Hearts and Arrows
Deer in Headlights (Hearts and Arrows 1)
Snake in the Grass (Hearts and Arrows 2)
What the Heart Wants (Hearts and Arrows 2.5 Novella)
Doe Eyes (Hearts and Arrows 3)
Fool’s Gold (Hearts and Arrows 3.5 Novella)
Hearts and Arrows Box Set
Hardcore (Erotic Suspense Serials)
Volume 1
Volume 2
Volume 3
Box Set
Bad Habits
With a Twist
Chaser – Fall 2015
Last Call – Winter 2016
Nailed – Erotic Shorts
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Once
Short story on Amazon
Copyright © 2015 Staci Hart
All rights reserved.
stacihartnovels.com
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
Cover by Quirky Bird
Photography by Perrywinkle Photography
Extra Chaser Goodies
Playlist
Pin Board
Table of Contents
Charming Bastard
Strings
The Life
Grown-Ass Woman
Boss
Hypnodick
Positions
Mr. M
Starving
The Surface
Truth or Dare
Sore Loser
Not-Date
The Rules
Fly
Stay
Pieces of Me
Gravity
Give and Take
Born to Run
Chances
Split
Raspberry Chip
Measures
Limitless
Home
Breathe
Epilogue – Cooper
Epilogue – Maggie
To Brooke.
You’re welcome.
CHARMING BASTARD
Maggie
COOPER GRABBED ME BY THE hips and dragged me to the end of the bed where he knelt. I gasped – somehow, I was completely naked, but he was fully clothed, smiling up the line of my body, that crooked smile of his that made my insides turn into mush. My thighs rested against his shoulders, and his eyes were smoldering hot, locked onto mine as he closed his lips over me and sucked. Hard.
“Whoamygod.”
That’s what I tried to say, at least, but I think it sounded more like Humuguh. Not that Cooper needed clarification. His eyes closed, dark lashes against his cheeks, fingers digging into my hips as he licked and sucked, sending tremors up my thighs when he moaned softly against me.
My eyes slammed shut, and my chin pointed at the ceiling as my fingers twisted in his dark hair. Within seconds, I was rocking against him with my heart doing its best to escape my ribs and the rest of my body begging him to keep going.
He broke away. I cracked my lids, which weighed about seven pounds each, and glanced down at him. His face was turned toward the closed bedroom door, with alarm written in every angle.
And then I heard the front door close.
Lily.
Cooper looked back at me, blue eyes wide, and we stared at each other for one stunned second before bursting into action. I rolled out of bed with wobbly knees, and he stood, scanning the room for a place to hide.
Here’s the problem: No one knew Cooper and I were hooking up.
Here’s the bigger problem: My brother, West, might actually kill Cooper if he found out.
It wasn’t because Cooper was one of West’s best friends. I mean, I guess that was part of it – calling West overprotective was like calling a great white shark ‘cuddly.’ The real issue was this.
Cooper was a player.
I don’t mean he dated around. I don’t even mean that he slept around. What I mean is that his level of hookup was beyond my ability to comprehend. Cooper was heir to a billion-dollar fortune, though that money required nothing to maintain. No job, no responsibility, which meant he partied nonstop. He’d dated – read: banged – every model and socialite in the New York major metropolitan area. I knew because I’d seen the details splattered all over gossip magazines in nearly every grocery store I’d ever been in.
No one would approve of the affair, particularly not my brother. God only knew what West had seen when they were roommates at Columbia – enough that West had sworn me off of Cooper for eternity. If he found out, he might ship me back to Jackson. And I’d have a hard time keeping it from West if his girlfriend found out. His girlfriend who had just dropped her keys in the dish by the door.
“Hide,” I hissed, as I pulled on my flowery bathrobe, and Cooper blinked at me as I spun toward the door.
I bolted out of the bedroom and closed the door behind me, smiling at Lily with what I was positive were crazy eyes.
“Hey, Lily.” My voice was a little too high, and I smoothed my crazy blond curls.
“Hey, Maggie.” She didn’t seem to notice I was acting squirrelly, just strode into the kitchen to fill up her water. Her legs were a mile long and lean, dancer’s legs, and she had the nicest butt ever. Rewards for being a professional ballerina with the New York City Ballet.
“You’re home early today. I thought you had a show?” My face seriously felt like a plastic mask as my heart jackhammered and my brain scrambled through places Cooper might have hidden. There was no space under my bed – that area was strictly reserved for my shoes, of which I had many – and the closet was about big enough for a mop.
I hoped to God Lily would leave to go meet my brother without needing anything from our room. And then I died inside because there was no way in hell that was an actual possibility.
She twisted her long, blond hair and threw it over her shoulder. “No show tonight. Maybe you were thinking about tomorrow?”
I let out an awkward laugh. “Oh, maybe I was.”
Lily finally glanced up as she screwed the lid on her water bottle, and her eyes narrowed the second she really saw me. She looked me over. “Why are you in your bathrobe?”
“Oh … well, I just got out of the shower.” My cheeks were on fire.
“How come your hair isn’t wet?” Her brows shot up, and her mouth fell open in a gaping smile when she figured it out. “Oh, my God, is Mr. M in there?”
“No,” I blustered, but she looked at me like she knew exactly what I’d been doing seconds before she walked in the door.
“You liar.” She laughed and bounded past me to throw open our bedroom door. Her face fell as she scanned the room, and I stepped into the doorway behind her.
Cooper was nowhere to be seen.
I let out the breath I’d been holding. “See? Not lying. I was just masturbating.”
A laugh bubbled out of Lily. “I love you. Sorry to interrupt. Let me just grab some stuff and I’ll leave you to it.”
I smiled, but it was half-assed as I scanned the room for any sign of him. There was nothing, just my rumpled, fluffy bedding and my clothes in a pile at the foot of the bed. I was all of a sudden very glad he’d kept his clothes on.
And then I saw the closet door. It was only open a crack, but we rarely went in there – it just wasn’t big enough to use for anything useful. I knew for a fact that it was closed before I’d left the room.
My heart went nuts again as I took a seat on my bed as far as I could get from the closet in the hopes it would divert Lily. “How was work?”
She set her bag on her neatly made bed and turned for her dresser. “Long and difficult and amazing, as usual.” She dug through her drawer. “What’d you do today?”
Cooper. I threaded my fingers in my lap and squeezed to help me focus. “I made some headway on jobs, have a few leads. I decided my vacation is over. I’ve been in New York for three weeks and haven’t done anything but sightsee and sleep.”
“And Mr. M. You’ve been doing a lot of him.” She snickered.
I blushed, thinking about him hiding in the closet. “Yes, and him.”
“I’m happy for you, though. After everything that happened with Jimmy, I’m sure this is a welcome change of pace. No commitment, and all that.” She tossed some clothes into her open bag.
The last thing I needed was commitment after breaking up with my fiancé. On our wedding day. After I caught him porking my maid of honor. “Definitely,” I said with a smile and swiftly changed the subject. “What are you guys up to tonight?”
“Dinner, then Habits. You should meet up with us.”
“Maybe I will.”
She held up some lingerie and waggled her eyebrows at me before stuffing it in her bag.
I wrinkled my nose and laughed. “He’s still my brother, you know.”
“Which is why I won’t tell you what I’m going to do to him when I put these on.”
“Thanks for sparing me the visual,” I added flatly.
She laughed as she zipped up her bag and slung it on. “Well, I’m off. Hope you’re next. You know where the batteries are.”
I blushed again. “I’m good, thanks.”
Lily waved as she passed by. “Bye, Mags. I’ll text you when we get to Habits.”
“All right. Have fun.” I called after her, not moving until I heard the door close. I let out a thousand-pound breath and hopped off the bed.
When I pulled open the closet door, I busted out laughing. Cooper was almost sideways in the closet, his long body bent like the saddest version of Tetris I’d ever seen around a stack of shoeboxes, a pair of snow boots, a small suitcase, and a few dresses that hung mostly in his face.
Somehow, he didn’t look affected, just smiled crookedly at me, his dark hair mussed and hanging a little in his face. “You found me.”
“You look ridiculous,” I said with a laugh. “Come here.”
He hauled himself out of the closet and stepped into me in almost a single motion, slipping his hand around my waist. “I wasn’t through with you.”
My body was pressed against his once more, and I smiled up at him. “That was too close.”
“I know. But I can’t say I didn’t enjoy listening to you and Lily talk about me like I wasn’t hiding in your closet.”
My hands slipped up his chest and around his neck. “I bet.”
“So,” he pulled me a little closer, “you call me Mr. M?”
“Well, it was Mystery Man, but that ended up shortened to Mr. M, which I think is funnier anyway, given that’s your actual initial.”
“Maybe I should come up with one for you so I can talk to your brother about us.”
“Ew.” I laughed and batted at his chest.
“Mystery Woman. Miss W. Works both ways.” He backed me up, smiling when I hit the bed. I hung onto his neck as he lowered me onto the mattress. “So what else have you told Lily about me?” His fingers found the tie of my bathrobe and tugged.
My heart fluttered as I watched his hand slip under the fabric and up to my breast. “Oh, just that you’re a rocket in the sack.”
He smirked and opened my robe slowly, deliberately, exposing my naked torso. “Is that so?”
Our legs tangled together, and I smiled at him innocently, even though I was already aching for him. “Mmhmm. I like to make everyone jealous with tales of your prowess. Well, except Lily. I’ve gotta be careful or she’ll start talking about her sex life, which involves my brother.”
He laughed and trailed his fingers down my stomach.
“We can’t do this here again,” I said, needing to make the point before I lost my ability to form coherent thoughts.
His hand skimmed lower, sending a riot of goosebumps across my skin. “Agreed. But in my defense, I only came over to give you back the panties you left over at my place. Although I can’t say I wasn’t enjoying the thought of you walking around Manhattan with no panties on.”
I giggled, breathless. “I’m sure that’s the only reason why you came over.”
Cooper chuckled, eyes on my lips. “You think you’ve got me figured out, don’t you?”
The butterflies in my chest took off, and I waved them away. “Isn’t it that simple, though? No strings. And anyway, we’ve only got two more weeks before time’s up.”
His eyes were still fixed on my mouth, and I tried to read his reaction, but he gave away nothing. “You and your rules.”
The rules were everything – they were the only way I could guarantee I wouldn’t get hurt again. I smiled to cover the reminder. “Two weeks. So show me what you’ve got while you can.”
His blue eyes met mine. “Oh, I plan to.”
Something about his words, about the way he was looking at me held me still. He was like a snake charmer – when he looked at me like that, like he could see me, I swear I’d do whatever he asked. I was sort of helpless in that way. And as his eyes burned a shade darker, he pressed his lips to mine and showed me plenty indeed.
STRINGS
Cooper
AN HOUR AND CHANGE LATER, I trotted down the stairs of Maggie’s building with my hands in my pockets and my heart skipping. I hadn’t wanted to leave, but I’d kissed her goodbye anyway, appreciating the feeling of her body against mine. I shot her The Smile – the one that made her cheeks flush, the one that got me what I wanted and served as a mask, when I needed one – and then I snuck out of the apartment in the hopes I wouldn’t run into any more of our friends, since the majority of them lived in that building.
I smiled to myself as I stepped out into the crisp Manhattan night, thinking about her, picturing her stretched out on her bed with her eyes closed, curly hair a mess, imagining the feeling of her fingers in my hair and her hot skin against mine. Making her feel good had become my new favorite hobby.
No one could say I wasn’t successful when I put my mind to something.
The affair had been going on happily for two weeks, though only under a myriad of ground rules, all set by Maggie. No commitment, no expectations. No dates or gifts. Four weeks, and we’d go our separate ways. The biggest rule – we had to keep it a secret. Because of West, she’d said, and she was right. If he ever found out, he might never speak to me again. That is, if he let me live. And he was the best friend I’d ever had.
I’d agreed to her terms without thinking twice.
I’d been doing the ‘no strings’ thing my entire life, but I should have known it wouldn’t be easy with Maggie.
“Cooper?”
It was nearly dark, and I looked up to find Lily and West arm in arm-in-front of me – West, tall and dark, hair tied in a knot, smiling at me from behind his beard, and Lily, tall and fair, eyeing me suspiciously.
I smiled back to cover my surprise. “What’s up, guys?”
“Hey,” West said. “We’re just heading to Habits.”
Lily’s eyes narrowed. “What are you doing over here?”
I shrugged and lied. “I was on my way to see if you guys were home—”
“Then why are you going the wrong way?”
“You didn’t let me finish. You weren’t at West’s, so I left. Was just about to text.”
West started walking and clapped me on the shoulder when he approached. “Well, now you don’t have to.”
Lily was still maddogging me. “Who doesn’t text first?”
“Me.” I smirked at her and winked as we walked toward the bar. “What are you guys doing tonight?”
West pulled Lily a little closer. “Probably just Habits for a bit, then home.”
I made a face. “But it’s Saturday night.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, well, not everyone parties every weekend like rock stars.”
“What do you mean? That’s exactly what everyone our age does on the weekend, rock stars or not.”
Lily leaned into West. “I’ve got to work tomorrow at ten-thirty. West can go out though.”
I shook my head. “She gave you permission, man.”
He laughed. “No, thanks. She’s been at the theater almost every night, and tonight I’ve got her to myself. You’re on your own, pal.”
I smiled, wondering if I could get Maggie to come over just as my phone buzzed in my pocket. It was a text from Jules, my assistant. She’d been organizing my life for me since I was seven.
Hey, just a reminder about the photo shoot with W Magazine. They said they’d meet you at the marina at 4:30 tomorrow to set up on Midnight Caller.
I sighed. I hadn’t told anyone about my nomination for W’s twenty-five most eligible bachelors, mostly because West would never let me hear the end of it once he found out. I wasn’t even sure why I’d agreed. I think I’d been so surprised that I didn’t even consider turning it down. Although if I’d have known they wanted to shoot on my sailboat, I might have refused.
I texted her back. Thanks for keeping me honest.
Somebody has to. I emailed you a list of their requirements. Sure you don’t want me to come with you?
Nah, I can handle it.
All right. The journalist is Elena. The stylist will have all the clothes, so just show up in whatever.
Naked, then. Got it.
I’m sure the photographer will be pleased. Really, though. Try to keep your pants on.
No promises.
Ha, ha. Let me know if you need anything.
Will do.
I hesitated with my phone in my hand. West and Lily were chatting, which meant they weren’t paying attention to me. I stared at my screen for a moment before pulling up Maggie’s name.
I found myself smirking as I typed a message. Just ran into West and Lily.
My phone buzzed within a second. WHAT?
Don’t worry, secret’s still safe. We’re going to Habits. Come meet us.
My phone was painfully silent for a few seconds. Didn’t you see enough of me tonight?
No such thing.
She was quiet again before it buzzed. I don’t know. I really need to paint my nails. Maybe wash my hair. I’ve been meaning to rearrange my sock drawer too. It’s a mess in there.
Come on. I’ll buy you a bourbon.
Pretty sure that’s a direct violation of the rules. No dates, and no buying me stuff.
Don’t make me beg, Mags. I realized I was holding my breath.
But it’s so cute when you beg.
I smiled. It’s so cute when you give me what I want.
You’re impossible lol. Let me get dressed and I’ll be there in a few.
If you’re still in your bathrobe, I think you should come just as you are.
I’m sure my brother will think that’s adorable. Now quit distracting me so I can get down there.
Hurry.
I slipped my phone in my pocket just as we walked through the heavy wooden door and into Habits. The bar was right around the corner from West and Lily’s building. Between the proximity to their place and the fact that Lily and Maggie’s roommate, Rose, was a bartender, we ended up there. A lot.
It was an old building with planked wooden floors and a dark bar balanced by clean white tile walls and big windows that faced the street. The food was good, and the drinks were strong. But the company was the best part.
We’d been hanging at Habits for years, ever since West moved in with Patrick after we left our dorm at Columbia. Once Lily moved in with Rose, the Habits crew was really born. Rose had been working at Habits as long as any of us knew her, and everyone gravitated there, including me. It was the first time in my life that I had a group of friends who were … normal, for lack of a better word. No trust funds, no ski trips to Switzerland or benders in the Riviera. And their normalcy made me feel normal. For a while, at least.
Rose stood behind the bar, her long, shaggy hair hanging down her back, which was to Patrick. She was very busy lining up shot glasses and ignoring him. In true fashion, he was watching her with dark eyes, like she was the most interesting thing he’d ever seen or ever would see. I could feel the heat from across the room as he wrapped his tattooed fingers around his glass and brought it to his lips.
I took a seat at the far end of the bar next to Patrick as Lily leaned over to kiss Rose on the cheek.
“Hey, Rosie. You guys are dead tonight. It’s too quiet in here.”
“Tell me about it. I’m watching the clock in ten minute intervals.” Rose jerked her chin at West and me, smiling with her hands on her hips. “What’s up, guys? Whatcha drinking? The usual, Coop?”
“Please.”
She reached for a rocks glass. “Whiskey or beer, West? We finally got Bulleit in.”
He smiled and took a seat on the other side of Patrick. “I can’t say no to rye whiskey. I’ll take it neat.”
“You’ve got it.” She got to work making drinks. “Thank God you guys are here because I needed some company. Bob’s not big on conversation.”
We all turned to glance at Bob, who seemed to be napping on his usual high-top bar table in the corner.
West shook his head, chuckling. “That’s the cardinal rule of public drinking. The minute you put your head down, the end.”
Rose waved a hand. “He’s harmless. Plus he’s nice to everybody, and he’s a damn good tipper. As far as I’m concerned, he can pass out in Habits any time he wants.”
The door to the bar opened, and I looked over to find Maggie walking in, curly hair bouncing and cheeks flushed. She walked a tight line toward us in dark skinny jeans and a light denim shirt, camel ankle boots clicking on the hardwood. She could have belonged equally in a magazine ad or on a farm. I imagined her lying in a heap of hay, smiling up at me, and my pulse quickened.
“Hey, y’all,” she said as she walked up, her Mississippi accent heavy. The second our eyes met, the flush in her cheeks deepened.
The Smile was one hundred percent unplanned.
Everyone said hello as she took a seat next to me. She was only a few feet away from me, but it felt like a million miles.
“Maker’s and ginger?” Rose asked with a smile.
I admired Maggie’s profile as she smiled right back. “That’d be great, Rose. Thanks.”
She turned on her stool to face everyone and hooked a boot in the leg of my chair. I couldn’t even look at her or my cover would be blown – my face would give me away.
“It’s quiet in here tonight for a Saturday.”
“Don’t remind me,” Rose groaned.
“Oh, I’m sure you’ll get busy later, right?”
“Probably,” she said as she handed Maggie her drink. “But I’m already in lax-mode.”
“What’s that?” Maggie asked and took a drink.
“Where you get lazy because you’re slow and start thinking about going home. So then when you actually do get busy, everything crashes because you were checked out. It’s all about the zone.” She tapped her temple.
Maggie laughed. “I’d be the worst waitress ever. I can’t multi-task to save my life.”
West smiled over at her “That’s true. I once watched her try to unload the dishwasher while she cooked dinner.”
“Burned dinner,” she added.
West chuckled and picked up his drink. “Lily said you’ve got a couple of leads on a job? We wouldn’t want Rose to feel obligated to give you one after learning your fatal flaw.”
“Funny, Weston.” Maggie smiled and rested an elbow on the bar. “I found a couple of things today that I’m real excited about. Only a few at schools – the rest are charity outreach programs. I’m just so ready to get back to working with kids again. I only had a solid year of teaching before … well, before everything blew up. But I miss my Kindergartners.” She sighed. “I’ll see what happens this summer. Maybe I’ll end up back in a classroom after all, but I’m excited at the prospect of charity work.”
I wanted to ask her about her job search and felt guilty for not asking when I’d seen her earlier. Not that Maggie was overly interested in talking. I smiled to myself, considering ways I could go about changing that.
“Good,” West said. “Seemed like you were gettin’ bored.”
“Maybe a little. I don’t know if I’ll ever see everything I want to see in New York, but I put a big ol’ dent in it. And I never thought I’d get through the pile of books on my tablet, but I did. It’s a terrifying, hollow feeling to have an empty to-be-read pile, I’ll tell you that much. I feel like my bookshelves are empty.”
West raised an eyebrow. “Get real books and you won’t have that problem.”
Lily laughed and made a face at him. “No, you’ll have an entirely new problem – where the hell to put all your books.”
“Yeah, West still hasn’t figured out the answer to that.” Patrick raised his glass to me. “Didn’t expect to see you at Habits tonight, Coop.”
I spun in the stool and leaned back against the bar, hanging my arm next to Maggie’s, feeling the small distance between us like it was tangible. “I was in the neighborhood. Figured I’d stop in and see what you guys were doing.”
Patrick smirked. “It’s Saturday – don’t you have some club opening or penthouse party to go to?”
“Right?” Lily added, her blue eyes bright. “Fun, fancy, rich people stuff.”
I shrugged. “I haven’t decided yet. Keeping my options open.”
“Oh, the high life.” Lily took a sip of her water. “Astrid’s around too. We came to meet her.”
I saw Maggie stiffen in my periphery before she took a long pull of her drink.
See, Astrid was my ‘girlfriend,’ which is in air quotes because the entire thing was a cover. Lily’s older sister and I had a long-standing arrangement. We’d dated at one point, but it never went anywhere because a) I’m a terminal bachelor and b) she met Sam. He’d been burned by the media and was a part of the social elite, but after what he went through, he wanted out. And Astrid was definitely in – an ‘it girl’ model who’d been living The Life since she broke out at eighteen.
So Astrid and I kept ‘dating’ to throw their scent off of Sam. We met a few nights a week at hot spot clubs and restaurants and appeared together whenever we had an event to attend – all in an attempt to keep the rumor mill spinning. I had full permission to see anyone I wanted on the side, so I did, which kept people buzzing with speculation that I was stepping out on her.
It was one of our favorite jokes.
Astrid was my unlikely confidant, one of the only people who I could trust with anything and everything. She knew about Maggie and was the only one of our friends who really got what it was like to live The Life. We were both in the same place, and she understood the pressure that came with everyone knowing who you were. It was a relief to have someone who I could be completely honest with in a world centered around wearing masks.
Maggie knew Astrid and I were a show, which was more than the rest of our friends knew. They at least thought Astrid and I hooked up, and we let them. In fact, I encouraged it. It was too easy, and Astrid needed my help. She hadn’t even told Lily – she was just too scared to lose Sam. She’d been hiding him for a long while, and she’d keep doing it or risk losing him. But I didn’t think Maggie fully believed me when it came to the ruse with Astrid. In fact, I didn’t think Maggie believed much of what I said.
It was my own fault. I’d built the image over years, through the course of my adult life. It was what everyone thought, and that was how I liked it. But who knew what West had told her. Probably recounted the worst stories in his arsenal, and he had a cache that could take down my love life indefinitely.
I was still lost in thought when the door opened once again and Astrid walked through, tall and skinny like all the models I knew, dressed mostly in black with her blond hair twisted into a sloppy knot. She smiled and took a seat at the far end of the bar next to Lily.
“Hey, guys. Hey, Coop.”
I winked at her and raised my glass.
Maggie tipped her drink back until it was empty and set the glass on the bar top. Her cheeks were pink, though she smiled warmly at Rose, avoiding eye contact with me. “Can I get another?”
“Sure,” Rose answered, not seeming to notice Maggie’s discomfort.
I made myself look away, but I couldn’t stop my smile. She always got weird around Astrid, which shouldn’t have made me feel like a boss. But it did. I took a sip of my scotch.
Lily turned to Astrid. “What are you doing over here?”
“I was just nearby and wanted to say hi.”
Lily rolled her eyes. “God, do you guys just wander around New York all day doing nothing?”
I snickered. “Sometimes.”
She shook her head at me before hooking her arm in West’s. “I can’t wait until this summer when we have a little time. I usually hate the end of the season. After working so much, a break is weird, like slamming on the brakes when you’re going a hundred miles an hour, so I usually end up at the theater every day anyway. But this year, I’m looking forward to it.”
West looked down at her and smiled. If they’d been cartoons, little pink hearts would have been floating between them. “We might go to Mississippi at some point to see Mom and Dad.”
“I really want to go to the beach, too.” She perked up. “Ooooh, could we go sailing, Coop? Maybe go up to the Hamptons?”
“Sure,” I answered. “Just say when.”
Lily looked to Maggie. “You’ve got to go sailing, Maggie. It’s my absolute favorite thing about summer, lying on the boat all day in the sun, the salty air, the sea – it’s amazing. And Cooper has a beach house in the Hamptons like a good rich boy.” She sighed. “I could stay there forever.” She eyed me, suddenly very serious and with a hint of authority. “Promise, Cooper?”
I thought of Maggie on the porch of the Hampton house at sunrise with nothing but my tailored shirt on, and I smiled. “Promise.”
“When does the ballet season end?” Maggie asked Lily.
“At the end of May this year, sometimes at the beginning of June. We always perform A Midsummer Night’s Dream as the last show of the season. You guys should come.”
“I’d love to,” Maggie said. “Maybe West can be my date.”
“Or we could all go.” I took a sip of my scotch and glanced at her over the rim of my glass. A small smile played at the corner of her lips.
“We should definitely all go,” Rose chimed in. “We don’t go to the ballet together enough.”
Patrick smiled at her. “No, we don’t.”
“Well,” Lily said, “I’ve got tickets with everyone’s name on them.”
“Oh, Cooper,” Astrid said, “speaking of tickets – a courier dropped off my invitation to the Met Gala earlier today. Tell Jules I said thanks.”
“I’ll let her know you got them.”
Lily perked up. “I’d almost be willing to date Cooper if it meant getting to go to the Met Gala.”
I snorted.
“What’s the theme this year?” Lily asked.
Astrid leaned forward, looking like a girl. “It’s called Spellbound: From Fairytale to Fashion, and I have this idea for my dress, but I don’t know if I’m going to be able to talk someone into designing it for me.”
Maggie was drinking again. I watched her, hoping she’d look at me, but I had no such luck.
“Oh, man I want to go so bad. Some day.” Lily sighed. “I can’t wait to hear about the exhibits.”
Astrid grinned and touched her arm. “Come dress shopping with me next week. I’ve got appointments with Givenchy and John Galliano. You know you want to see the inside of their boutiques.”
Lily’s eyes stretched wide. “Uh, yes, please.”
Maggie set down her empty glass with a clink and dug her phone out of her bag. She glanced at it for a brief second and turned to the rest of us with a smile I didn’t buy. “My mom just texted me and needs me to call, so I’m gonna run.” She laid some cash on the bar and stood.
Lily frowned. “You just got here.”
West was frowning too. “Is Mom okay?”
Maggie waved a hand. “Oh, I’m sure she’s fine, just a dry cleaning emergency or something silly. I’ll see you guys later.”
Her eyes connected with mine only once before darting away, cheeks flushing as she turned and walked out.
