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“I don’t want to, Andie.”
Will swerved around a curve. I tried to get my breath under control. “What were you doing in the house? How’d you know?”
“I saw you leave the party. I wanted to find you to say goodbye. Just goodbye.” He shook his head. Anger still coiled his muscles, but he looked dazed. “I asked security if they’d seen you. They told me you’d gone into the house.”
I pressed my face into Will’s arm. “I wanted to see everything one last time.”
“You had more of a goodbye than I did.” I could barely hear him. Lifting my head, I stared at my cousin’s carved profile, a gorgeous silhouette against the moonlit outdoors.
Oak trees streaked by, rustling overhead. The moon shone through the leafy branches. Will braked sharply at a bend, then floored the gas again.
After a few silent minutes, he cleared his throat.
“Were you with anyone this year?” His eyes focused on the winding road. I was grateful for his tight grasp on my hand.
“I had a boyfriend this spring. He thought I worked too much.”
Will’s lips twitched. “You probably did.”
“What about Maddie?”
He leaned his head against the seat and accelerated. “Let’s not talk about her right now.” In his pocket, his phone kept ringing.
Trees flashed by, then streetlights. We reached my apartment faster than I could have expected. Will drove around the block until he parked the SUV in a tight space. Jumping out, hands connected, we rushed up the three flights of stairs to my dark and empty apartment.
My heels clattered down the front hall. My black satin dress was pushed up around my thighs, stuck to my body with sweat and creased beyond recognition. The incessant buzz of Will’s phone reached every corner of the apartment. In my bedroom, the door slammed behind us.
Panting, we faced each other. Will’s eyes held so many expressions that I couldn’t tell how he felt.
I slipped my hand into the pocket of his tuxedo pants, pulled out his ringing phone, and handed it to him.
He shook his head. “Not now, Andie.”
“Yes. Before anything else.”
He raked a hand through his wavy brown hair and gave me a long look. Then he stepped outside my bedroom with the phone.
Through the open door, I heard my aunt’s voice. It arrowed straight down the line, her cool control shattered.
“What are you thinking? Have you gone crazy? Come home now.”
“No, Mom.” The command had returned to Will’s voice. “I’m not coming home.”
“You don’t know what you’re doing. Are you with Andrea? Do you have any idea what she’s out for? She was there to make you happy last summer. Her time is done. You need to understand. That girl will take you for everything you’re worth.”
“No, Mom,” Will said again, his voice low and intent. “That’s what you would do. Not Andie. Andie’s not like you.”
A pause. Rose spoke more quietly, then Will’s voice came, icy. “Dad says he’s sorry? It’s not enough. He can tell that to Andie. He owes her a lot.”
Lower voices now, angry murmurs. I couldn’t make out my aunt’s words anymore, and all I could catch from Will, over and over, was “no.”
When a higher, equally hysterical voice came through the phone, I knew it was Maddie. That conversation was shorter. Will’s tone was softer, but just as firm. I heard him say, “We’re done, Maddie. It’s over.”
I leaned against the wall in my bedroom, tensed, still wearing my heels, my dress rustling with every movement, unable to sit down.
Finally, the voices ceased. My bedroom door swung open. Will walked through. The violet shadows were still under his eyes. His hair was a tousled mess. His tux outlined his shoulders and lithe body. He turned off his phone and dropped it on my dresser, facing me again.
“You got what you wanted,” I said softly. “People not seeing you as Richard’s son. Not knowing what your future will look like. Working for things.”
