Page 52 of No Longer Safe

“I have gotten to know Carina over the last few months and I can see why my son loves her the way he does. She is an absolute delight and if you haven’t had the chance to speak with her, please, take the chance to do so today.” Uh, oh. Carina lifted her flute in a silent salute before she took a big gulp. She was so much better at all of this than I was. I would have sunk into my seat to disappear, though I hadn’t always been this way. It was stupid Brian’s fault. I would have basked in the attention before. He really tried to ruin me. “I would like to propose a toast. Carina, I wish you a long and happy life with my son. I wish you both an entire gaggle of children to keep you busy and Ace on his toes. I wish you both nothing but passion and happiness as the years pass by. I love you both and I can’t wait to watch you both sayI do.”

A collective clapping sounded around us and I felt myself blush. Was I supposed to give a toast too? Carina placed her hand on my wrist and shook her head. I was glad for it because I hadn’t been prepared at all to give one but I was sure we would have plenty of time for me to give one. There were more parties to come.

After everyone came to introduce themselves to the future Mrs., the gifts were placed around Carina in a castle of boxes.

“Am I supposed to open these with everyone here?” Carina whispered to Nana.

Nana rolled her big eyes. “No. Absolutely not.”

Carina nodded once and walked around the barricade of gifts. “Thank you all so much for coming and all of the gifts, I can’t wait to open them all with Ace tonight.”

Yeah right, I was going to be the one opening them with her! I couldn’t stand the suspense. Ineededto know what was hiding within the expensive wrapping.

Thankfully I didn’t haveto wait long. I was jumping up and down in a little shift dress and sandals when the wait staff finally brought all the gifts up to her room. Carina was wearing a pair of biker shorts and a sports bra. Her white socks were a stark contrast against her light brown skin. She looked like an influencer goddess.

The boxes were stacked up and we looked at them all, unsure of where to start. “Are you sure Ace doesn’t want to be here for this?” I asked as I pulled a box from the top of the seven-foot stack by the bedroom door.

“Psh,” She waved her hand dismissively. “No, he hates this kind of stuff.”

“Good,” I clapped. “I love this stuff, even though it’s not for me.”

Carina rolled her eyes. “I’m sure I won’t miss half of it and if there’s something you want, you are free to it.”

Matching cashmere travel pj sets, designer travel bags, travertine candles, designer moisturizer—that cost over $300, I looked it up—, etched champagne coupes, silk pillows, elaborately embroidered velvet robes, more pearl jewelry than Carina would know what to do with, Hermès silk scarves, loafers—how did they know her size?— and so much more.

At least ten more boxes waited for us. Carina pinched the bridge of her nose. “Do you want the rest?”

“What?”

“I don’t want to see any more of this stuff. We were gifted similar items at our first engagement party. What am I supposed to do with all of it? I don’t think they would like it much if I gave it to the wait staff. Especially since Ace told me they gossip with other houses. I would hate for it to get back to these people.”

I was already out the door with four of the boxes before she’d stopped talking. She laughed as she threw a box at me from the doorway and it bounced off of the wall beside my door.

“You only use me for my pretty stuff!” She giggled.

“And the food, I will do anything to eat that way again!” I waved the box at her before I tossed it into my bedroom. I hoped there wasn’t anything fragile in it. It didn’t feel heavy.

Alexei’s door opened and he poked his dark head into the hall. His eyes darkened when they landed on me. “Did you have a fun day?”

Did I have a fun day? Who was he? What was with the small talk? Where was the snark?

His lips fell open and he stepped out of the room before he marched across the space separating us. “How?” His fingers gently tilted my chin up toward him, all while Carina watched from her doorway with a slack jaw. I was never, ever going to hear the end of this. First, he carried me up to the house and now he was touching me with such tenderness.

“The power of makeup,” I shrugged out of his grip and stumbled back to my room.

“I can’t wait for your face to look like this all the time. I hate that you have a reminder of him, right now.”

I’d definitely found myself in an alternate universe.

At least the food was to die for.

Chapter Thirty-Six

Alexei

Scrubbingmy hands down my face, I watched as the clean-up crew started boxing things up below. I’d watched periodically throughout the day, trying to get a glimpse of a certain brunette. It was torture, being stuck up here. Mother had warned us when we told her we were all coming up to the house with Carina and Audrey. At first, it was because it was AudreyandCarina. This house hadn’t seen this much excitement in… well… ever. It was nice to have something to look forward to besides casinos, strip clubs, and high-end bars. Dare I say it, the current lifestyle was beginning to get boring.

There was also the case of Brian not wanting to miss another trip with his future bride. The thought of finally being able to meet Brian was enough to make all of us feral. We’d been practically foaming at the mouth to get a chance with him. Now that he was gone, everything was boring. It was boring because no matter how much I wanted to see Audrey, distance was better. I didn’t want her to think I was lying in wait for her to finally be single. I knew they were done, it was evident when she placed that ring on the bottle rocket.

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