And I felt like a princess in my chocolate-brown chiffon dress. I’d accessorized it with French blue—strappy sandals and a simple wrap. Aidan’s mother’s aquamarine and diamond necklace—the one he’d given me last year for Christmas—completed the outfit.
The jewels were heavy against my throat, fit for a viscountess. I didn’t feel worthy of them. They were far too valuable, too precious for a school prom. But seeing the happiness—the love, the pride—shining in Aidan’s eyes when he saw me wearing them told me I had made the right choice.
As soon as we stepped out onto the stone patio, I paused, glancing back inside. “Wait. I’d better tell Matthew where I’m going. You know, just so he doesn’t get all twitchy if he can’t find me.”
I saw Aidan roll his eyes, though he tried to hide it by turning away from me. “Fine,” he said. “Do you see him anywhere? He was sitting over there with the other chaperones.”
I peered through the glass in the door, my gaze scanning the staff table in the room’s corner. Matthew’s seat was empty now. “That’s weird. I don’t see him. Oh well. We can’t stay out long, anyway. I think they’re doing king and queen soon, and I’ve got to be there to cheer for Cece when she wins.”
Winterhaven was progressive in many ways—we didn’t have cheerleaders or a homecoming court, much less a homecoming queen. But some of the old-school traditions remained, including the presentation of prom king and queen, voted on by the senior class. There were actual crowns and scepters, or so I’d been told, and the king and queen led off the night’s dancing with the opening slow song, also chosen by the seniors. I was pretty sure that Cece had it in the bag, though who would be voted king was anyone’s guess.
“Feeling confident in your roommate, I see.” He reached for my hand, bringing it to his lips.
“No one else has a chance,” I said with a laugh. “Anyway, she looks like a queen tonight.”
“The both of you do. My queen,” he said with a mock bow.
I leaned in to him, resting my head on his shoulder. The sun had only just set, leaving the sky a colorful canvas. Indigo, gray, orange, pink painted the sky in wide, rolling bands. Down below, the town’s lights were twinkling, matching the first stars up in the sky. In the distance, the river stretched and twisted. Across it spanned the Tappan Zee Bridge, brightly lit against the river’s still, dark waters.
The breeze stirred, lifting the tendrils of hair from the sides of my face, cooling my skin, and I let out a contented sigh. “It’s a beautiful night, isn’t it?”
“Beautiful,” Aidan agreed, but when I glanced up at him, I saw that he was looking at me, not the view. My heart did a little giddyap, my skin tingling all over.
“Have you ever been to a prom before?” I asked him.
He shook his head. “No. Never. You?”
“This is my first.”
“Good,” he said, his fingers trailing down the column of my neck, eliciting a shiver. “A first for us both. I feel as if I’m at a ball, stealing away my paramour for a forbidden kiss.”
I held my breath as his lips slanted down toward mine. His kiss was soft and gentle and sweet, leaving me aching for more.
“Let’s go down to the lawn,” he said, his voice low and silky smooth. “Perhaps we’ll find a hedgerow maze to get lost in.”
Wordlessly, he led me down the wide steps to the flagstone path below that wound through the hotel grounds. We’d taken only a few steps when I stopped, dead in my tracks. Matthew stood a dozen or so feet away, with a woman. And they were arguing—loudly.
“It’s just that I don’t like surprises. You know that,” he said. “You should have told me you were coming.”
“Then it wouldn’t have been a surprise,” the woman said sharply.
Charlie. It had to be Charlie.
“You’re putting me in an awkward position,” Matthew said. “I’m supposed to be chaperoning. Not . . . with a date.”
“Technically I’m here with my father. I’m his date. This is about her, isn’t it?”
Matthew shook his head. “No. I just don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“Look, Matt, if you’re willing to give up everything for her, don’t you think I at least deserve to meet her? Can’t you at least give me that?”
For some inexplicable reason, I chose that moment to test our connection. I reached out to him psychically: Megvéd. There was that click again, and then he was there, right inside my head. For a split second, our consciousnesses merged. I could feel everything he felt—panic, discomfort, confusion. And then just like that, he disengaged.
As if in slow motion, he turned toward me. The woman followed his gaze, her eyes meeting mine, and then she looked back to Matthew.
His face said it all.
“Aren’t you going to introduce us?” the woman asked, a brittle smile on her face.
I launched myself into action, hurrying over to where they stood in silent standoff. “Hi, I’m Violet,” I said, forcing a neutral tone into my voice. “You must be Charlie. I’ve heard so much about you!” I held out a hand to her, and she took it, pumping it twice before releasing it. “Oh, and this is Aidan. My boyfriend,” I added pointedly, offering him my best besotted-girlfriend smile.
“It’s so nice to finally meet you, Violet,” Charlie said. “Obviously, I’ve heard a lot about you, too.”
She was tall in heels—almost as tall as Matthew. Her hair was pale blond, pulled back into a neat French twist, and her eyes were the same light blue as Kate’s had been. She looked older than I’d imagined. Older and more sophisticated.
And she loved Matthew—I could sense it. Really loved him, in a desperate kind of way. I’d never felt so low in all my life.
Because I was the one keeping them apart. She’d never have him all to herself—ever—and there wasn’t anything I could do about it. No amount of reassurances, of promises that my heart belonged elsewhere, would change that. As much as I liked to think that I was in control of my own destiny, there were some things that fate controlled—like centuries-old blood-borne legacies that couldn’t be denied, no matter how hard we tried or how badly we wanted to ignore them.
Just then my cell, which I’d stowed away in my little purse, let out a screeching chirp. “Sorry. I need to get this,” I said, digging it out and glancing down at the screen.
Where are u? the text read. They’re about to do king and queen!
“We have to get back inside,” I said to Aidan. “It’s crowning time.”
He just nodded, clearly anxious to extricate himself from this uncomfortable little tableau.
“It was really great to meet you,” I directed at Charlie as I stuffed my cell back into my bag. “Maybe we can . . . I don’t know . . . go out to dinner or something after graduation?” It was a stupid suggestion, but I was floundering for something appropriate to say.
“It was good to meet you too,” Charlie said.
“We’d better hurry,” Aidan said.
I made it back just in time to clasp Cece’s hand and give it a squeeze before they called her name, declaring her prom queen. The room erupted in cheers as she made her way to the center of the dance floor and accepted the sparkling tiara.
Standing beside me, Joshua wolf-whistled loudly as Queen Cece made her curtsy, scepter in hand.
“She looks beautiful up there,” I told him, nudging him in the ribs.
“She looks amazing,” he agreed.