Page 127 of Valentine Nook
Yet I can’t take my eyes off her.
She’s never looked more beautiful. She’s never looked moreHollywoodin a black gown that hugs the perfect curves of her body I know so well. Gone are the tousled strands constantly falling loose around her face, replaced by a slicked-back twisty thing without a hair out of place.
Red lips, thick black lashes, shimmery cheeks. It’s no wonder every single guy in here can’t take their eyes off her. I’ve seen them follow her around the room all evening, admiring, leering, and wanting to get close to her.
She’s taken more selfies tonight than I have in my entire life.
She’s the starlet they all know and love.
But she’s never looked less like the Holiday I know.MyHoliday. The one who wears jeans and a T-shirt, feeds donuts and apples to my horse, cooks lunch for my family, and falls asleep crooked in the bend of my elbow.
I hate it. I hate sharing her. I hate that I have to give a piece of her back to her fans after tonight.
“Another Fall Ball done...” Miles yawns, leans back in his chair, and peers around at the remnants of our evening—a table littered with discarded champagne bottles and empty glasses. Cups of coffee are untouched. “Which means we’re on the way to Christmas. How are we feeling about it this year, Al? Good, bad, indifferent?”
We all look at Alex, though I don’t expect him to reply, and he doesn’t. He just picks up his whiskey glass and downs the contents.
Alex isn’t a fan of Christmas, given our father died in December. Alex had always blamed himself for it even thoughhe’s the only one. The rest of us use December to celebrate Dad’s life.
Ironically, while I was escaping the fallout of my almost wedding, Alex came out of his shell last Christmas. In hindsight, that was all after meeting Haven, and as she’s made it clear she wants nothing to do with him, it’s likely Alex will once more retreat, and relieve me from the title of grumpy brother starting December first.
My gaze flicks back to Holiday and Clementine, who are now talking to my mother and a group of her cronies. I need a distraction, and this conversation is as good as any.
“What’s happened with the property?” I ask, mindlessly checking my watch for the hundredth time. The countdown hasn’t slowed.
Alex traces his finger around the rim of his glass and shrugs. “Nothing. Not a peep from the real estate team. I offered the hundred million, and then it stalled. The lawyers can’t get a hold of anyone.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Nothing. What can I do?”
“You can start by coming to the after-party.” Miles leans over and refills Alex’s glass. “C’mon, Al. It’s Henners’s big night out.”
My lips twitch in amusement while Alex rolls his eyes.
Since Max came along, putting the brakes on Miles’s and Hendricks’s wild partying, the Fall Ball has become the only night of the year Hendricks really lets off steam. Max stays back at Burlington with Birgitta, while we stay at the family base in London—our house in Eaton Square—because Hendricks has decided he needs the hundred miles or so between Valentine Nook and the city before he can totally relax.
He also takes advantage of a lie-in the next day, but anymore than one night away from Max, and he begins to get twitchy.
“Alex . . .” Miles whines. “Please come.Pleaaase.”
Ignoring the uncanny impression of Max, Alex peers over his whiskey glass at me. “Lan, you in?”
I shake my head. “No, I’m taking Holiday to the airport.”
My watch says twenty minutes to go. It’s like time is speeding up. We’re going down a hill, and momentum has gathered until we’re hurtling to the bottom.
“Oh shit.” Hendricks winces. “I didn’t realize that was today. Sorry, Lan. How are you feeling?”
“Not great,” I reply. No point lying.
“But you’re going to see her again. She’s coming back, right?”
I nod heavily. “Yes.”
“When?”
I’m doing my best to answer the questions while ignoring the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, the one that’s a lot like a lead weight dropped into a lake.
