13
There’s a knock on the door while I’m deciding on which shade of lipstick to wear.
I pause deliberations between tubes to go answer the door. Charlie said he’d pick me up at eight, and it’s only seven forty-five. I was planning to meet him in the lobby, not have him come up to the door, but I wouldn’t put it past him to be early and come upstairs to ambush me. Charlie seems to enjoy catching me off guard. Or maybe he’s just naturally talented at it.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned about him, it’s to expect the unexpected. After a resounding victory—my only consolation was that he beat Tripp and Theo as handily as he did me—Charlie didn’t even gloat.
He handed his helmet off to one of the pit crew, told me he’d pick me up at eight, said something to Theo’s Irish friend, and then … left. Leaving lots of raised eyebrows and curious glances behind.
When I open the door to my hotel room, there’s no sign of Charlie.
Chloe’s the one standing in the hallway. She whistles long and low when she sees my outfit.
I fiddle with my Cartier bracelet. “Too much?”
“You said you didn’t want to go on this date. That somehow turned into you wanting him to fuck you before you make it to the restaurant?”
I roll my eyes at Chloe’s dramatics as I step aside so she can enter. I’m down to twelve minutes to debate between pink and red. “I brought limited options.”
This also happens to be the shortest, lowest-cut dress I packed. I want Charlie to get a good look at what he walked away from.
If he’s going to manipulate me into going out with him, I’m damn sure going to make him regret that decision.
“And earlier, you told me I couldn’t use your wedding tomorrow as an excuse not to go … so I feel like you should have limited input on what I’m allowed to wear.”
Chloe flops onto my bed and rests her chin in her hands. “Bridget said you guys kissed at JoJo’s party.”
I snort, imagining Gigi’s reaction to being called JoJo. “Yeah. So?”
“Why didn’tyoutell me?”
“Because it wasn’t a big deal.”
“Ri-ght,” she drawls. “That bet seemed super casual.”
“It’s just a date, Chlo. Actually, I’m not even sure it counts as one since I was coerced into it.”
“Coerced?” She snorts. “If you didn’t want to go, you wouldn’t be going, whether or not I approved of an excuse.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about him. If it makes you feel better, I probably would have mentioned it at some point, and I definitely would have said something sooner if I had known he’d be coming to yourwedding.” I give her a pointed look.
“He was on Theo’s half of the guest list. I didn’t ask for details about every name.”
“How well do they know each other?” I ask.
Chloe sits up. “Not that well. Theo said they hung out a few times at university, but that his mom was the one who insisted on inviting him to the wedding.”
“His mom? Why?”
She rolls off the bed and strides toward me. “Because the Marlboroughs are a big deal here, Lili. Theo says, even before Charles inherited the title, everyone treated him like a god. Now, he’s one of the most powerful men in England. That hotel we went to in London? His family owns it. When it got out he was coming to the wedding, several other schedules mysteriously cleared. Just … be careful.”
I raise an eyebrow in the mirror where I was doing my makeup. “You think I can’t handle him?”
“I think he’s a guy who doesn’t get attached.”
I spray on some perfume. It’s a bottle Mom gives me for my birthday each year, the kind I only use on special occasions. I brought it for Saturday, but one spritz tonight won’t hurt. “Do you remember when we talked last August while I was at Atlantic Crest? I told you I’d met a guy named Charlie?”
“The one you couldn’t find later, yeah.” The pieces click together on Chloe’s face. She gasps. “Wait … that was him?”