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Andrew stared at me kindly, his green eyes the opposite of mine. I wish I got some of his features sometimes. He punched my shoulder lightly. “Heads up, soldier, you got a hotel to run,” he joked.
“Kids?” My father peeked into the room. “Stop hiding and go network.”
We both turned to leave. As we walked out, Andrew leaned closer and whispered, “If you need me to beat up this friend of yours, I will happily oblige.”
With that, my little brother disappeared into the crowd of the large ballroom. Tables were set up in perfect diagonal lines along the edges. The dance floor opened, and orchestra music blared through the speakers. Mother was no doubt having a fit somewhere in the back over the volume.
People conversed, drank, laughed, and played political chess with one another. I scanned the crowd, anxiety sitting like a barbell in my stomach.
“You know, this is a celebration,” Marisol said next to me.
I turned with a smile, throwing my arms around her before I could think to stop myself. “It’s been too long.”
“Don’t I know it, dear.” She smiled lightly. “But you look as beautiful as always.”
I nodded, the brief moment of relief fading. We lingered on the outside of the crowd, taking a seat at one of the tables.
“Your mother mentioned a boy?” Marisol said, her eyes lighting up.
I nodded. “There was one. But, he is…stubborn.”
Marisol smiled lightly. “All relationships come with their problems.”
“I don’t know if we’ll get past this one, to be honest.” I shrugged.
She lifted my chin up. “He might be stubborn, but I know someone who’s best descriptor is her stubbornness.”
Marisol’s husband called her from the dance floor, his feet moving in and out as he beckoned her to dance. “Trust me, Steve over there…" She let out a low whistle. “He ran out of the common hall when I said he needed to have dinner with my parents.” She rose from her chair, patting me on the back. “And look at him now.”
He beckoned her closer, following the beat of the music till her hand was in his. I watched them dance with one another, as in love as the first day they met. I glanced at my phone—hopeful—but found no messages. I sighed, frustrated.
“Why is a pretty woman like you off by herself?” A man took the seat at the table across from me. I glanced up, double taking. He looked so much like Liam.
I furrowed my brows, scanning him. Liam was a spitting image of him, from the hair color to the body shape. Although this man was better kept, while Liam was more disheveled. The man in front of me spoke, sat, and talked with a certain poise and pomposity. I recognized the political chess from a mile away—the man wanted something. “I’m sorry?”
“No need to be sorry, Miss.” He smiled a twisted grin. The same feeling I felt when Nate talked to me at the bar rolled across my skin.
The hair on the back of my neck stood up, and the room heated up.
“A young woman like you…why, have you ever been to Dockside?” he asked. My blood ran cold, draining to the ground through my feet. Why would he care about the bar?
“I don’t…" I started but didn’t finish the statement. I wasn’t sure what to say. “Do I know you?”
He shook his head, leaning back. He rolled his sleeves up, his spider tattoo a replica of Kai, Liam, and Carson’s. And the man in the photos. Pieces started falling into place, but there were still too many missing. “I don’t believe I ever had the pleasure of meeting you. I’m Samuel Webb.”
I nodded. “Nice to meet you.”
“And you are?” he asked.
“Late.” I nodded, rising to my feet.
He followed my movements, blocking my path. “You look like this woman my friend described to me. Do you know Nathaniel by chance?”
“I don’t, sorry,” I said, shifting past him.
He grabbed the crook of my arm, pulling me back to him. There wasn’t a force in it, more of an understanding that I wouldn’t fight him. “Are you sure?” he asked.
“Mr. Webb!” my father’s voice boomed. Samuel released me as he turned to see my father. “I’ve been waiting to talk to you.”
