Page 2 of Now and Forever
"No. Security told me a guest wanted to give that to you, that's all," he said, looking down at his watch. His eyes went wide. "You need to hurry or you're gonna miss the bus, girl."
Looking at her own watch, Golden groaned. She had three minutes to get outside and across the street before the bus came and went. Thanking him, she rushed out, smiling at patrons who caught her gaze as she went. Waving at the lobby reception agent and the security guard who opened the heavy gold and glassdoor for her, she dashed by and sprinted across the deserted street just as the headlights of the bus crested the hill. Golden let out a grateful sigh. Although it wasn't the last bus of the night, she had no intention of waiting an hour and a half for the next one.
As usual, the bus was empty. At this time of night, it only ever seemed to be her and maybe one other passenger. This was unheard of back in New York. For her two short years at Juilliard, it never mattered what time of day she took the bus; it had always been crowded.
The yellow light from the ornate iron street lamps swept by, illuminating the dimly lit interior of the bus, showing glimpses of her reflection where she leaned her head against the window. Quietly, the bus navigated away from the Rosebank Hotel and down the quiet main street of Stardust Heights, past the expensive shops and perfectly landscaped square until the streetlamps were more spaced out leaving patches of black. If she squinted into the darkness, Golden could make out windows with soft warm light radiating from massive houses in the distance. This was the heart of Stardust Cove's opulence, a realm she knew intimately yet always felt estranged from.
A city within a city was the best way to explain it. Stardust Cove, a strange best-kept secret in Texas located on the coast. The idyllic little beach town was where Golden had spent the majority of her life. While the main part of Stardust was filled with normal middle-class people, Stardust Heights was the jewel on its crown. Located up the mountain in a narrow valley hollowed into its shelf, Stardust Heights looked down at the rest of Stardust Cove with a serene sense of detachment, its elevated position affording a panoramic view of the quaint city while never really having to touch it.
Golden couldn't help but hum the familiar tune of "She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain," as the bus began its descent, a tune she had hummed countless times to herself as she traversed back and forth between the Heights and the Cove years ago.
Ten minutes later, she was thanking the older bus driver for dropping her off in front of her house and watching him drive away. Her neighborhood was quiet—and so was her house.
Her footsteps echoed across the hardwood floors of the bungalow. Flipping on the main light, Golden couldn't help but grimace at the starkly empty interior. Two years ago, she lived here with her great-aunt. The place had been so jam-packed with antiques and furniture that it took a ten-man team working day and night to clear it all out.
Now it was just a shell of the home it used to be.
Setting the flowers on the kitchen counter, Golden grabbed a large glass from the cabinet. One of the few pieces of odds and ends left over from her previous tenant.
Carefully, she pulled at the velvet ribbon and unwrapped the black paper from around the bouquet. A card tumbled out of the packaging and she paused. Plucking it from the counter she turned it over and read the black script. Golden sucked in a breath.
Welcome back.
-Grayson Rosebank
Chapter three
Six Years Ago
"What if we get caught?" she whispered.
Golden was currently standing behind Gaige as he punched in the code for the elaborate wrought iron and glass door. Even as she hovered close to her friend's back, ready to use him as a shield if they were caught, she couldn't help but look around in utter amazement. They were standing in the alcove of the mansion's front door. The mansion, like every other grand estate in Stardust Heights, was Georgian inspired and covered in rich stone that screamed old-money.
The door opened and Gaige turned around, raising an amused brow at her. "Why are you whispering? And for the hundredth time, it wouldn't matter even if we did get caught."
Ugh, the arrogance of this boy! They were skipping their last two classes of the day. Of course, she had every right to be cautious. Why she hung out with the cocky bastard was beyondher. And yet, here she was, following him inside his mansion like an idiot.
"I don’t know why I even asked," she hissed, still maintaining her whisper as their footsteps echoed on the marble floors. "Your dad just lets you do any ol’ thing, doesn't he?"
Without missing a beat, Gaige gave her a teasing smile. "Technically, your dad does too."
Golden stopped in her tracks in the middle of what looked to be a giant formal living room. Shock morphed through her at his words. There was a beat of silence between them before she erupted in laughter.
Smiling even brighter now, Gaige motioned her to continue following.
He was the only one who could joke about her absentee father with her. Granted, he was probably the only person in the world who would dare for starters and he was for sure the only one at Stardust Heights High School who knew her sad little backstory. Golden couldn't place exactly how she became friends with Gaige Rosebank, the son of a man listed in the Forbes 500, but she was sure it had a lot to do with his warped sense of humor.
On the outside he was the typical golden boy with a classically handsome face, tall, and athletic body, nothing at all that really stood out from the sea of other good-looking rich boys at school. No, it was what shone through those mischievous blue eyes. Sure, he was wicked and sometimes amoral when he was around his buddies, but with her, he let something honest out. A vulnerability that he did not show to the other guys he hung around or the hordes of girls he toyed with. With her, he was open and just a touch softer.
"Did you bring it?" Gaige asked, his voice echoing off the walls of the long hallway he turned down.
Turning her backpack around until it was hanging at her side, Golden pulled out a part of her swimsuit. "Yes, but it's still too cold to swim even if your pool is heated…" Her words died on her tongue as Gaige opened a set of double fogged doors at the end of the hall.
It was as if he just opened the door to the Tardis. Was this it? Was this her moment? Was Doctor Who finally choosing her to be the next companion?
Unsteadily, Golden stepped forward into the huge room. Half solarium on one side, windows lined the wall while sloping glass panes covered one-half of the room's ceiling. Sunlight poured into the long room, shining down on top of the still surface of the huge pool.
Golden's brain did a quick reboot. Gaige Rosebank, son of Grayson Rosebank who was the brother of Grant Rosebank. The brothers owned nearly every piece of land in Stardust County and were some of the richest men in Texas. So why was she utterly speechless right now? Shouldn’t she have expected something like this when Gaige proposed the idea of skipping and spending the afternoon lounging by the pool? Well, she didn't, dammit. Her pauper's brain could never conceive of something this lavish.
