Copyright © 2013 Priscilla Glenn
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 1481988867
ISBN 13: 9781481988865
eBook ISBN: 978-1-63001-185-7
CONTENTS
SEVENTEEN MONTHS EARLIER
PRESENT DAY: CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Seventeen months earlier
This was going to be weird.
There was no getting around it, and there was no one who would be able to convince her otherwise. She knew what her best friend would say if she were there. “It’s no big deal. You’re not signing away your soul in blood. Just go have fun. Don’t get all Andie.”
Don’t get all Andie was always Tracey’s closing argument, the term she would use whenever she felt someone was being too analytical, or when someone expressed anxiety or disapproval over something. But this time, Andie thought, getting all Andie was completely justified.
She leaned closer to the mirror, putting on a second coat of mascara. Tonight would only be the second time she’d be going out with Colin, and yet he was taking her to some party with all of his old friends from high school. She had agreed to go, because she liked Colin, and because she had no good reason to turn him down, but she couldn’t shake the image of being the awkward outsider at some high school reunion. Not really the ideal situation for a second date.
“Shut up and be happy you’re getting a second date,” she could almost hear Tracey say in response, and she smiled to herself as she capped the mascara and tossed it back in her makeup case. Andie had known Tracey since the third grade, providing her with a front row seat to all of her friend’s relationships, if she were being kind enough to call them that. With the exception of one long-term boyfriend in college, Tracey was the quintessential serial dater, with what she claimed was appallingly bad luck in love.
“Okay, it’s not like he’s taking you to meet his parents,” Andie said to herself, channeling her friend as she dabbed on a little bit of lip gloss.
She took a few steps back from the mirror, adjusting the V-neckline of her shirt. She liked Colin. There was no reason she couldn’t have a good time with him tonight. After all, she could think of much worse places he could be taking her. Andie smiled at her reflection, holding onto that little bit of reassurance as she walked over to the closet and stepped into her shoes.
A few minutes later, a polite knock sounded on the door, and her stomach flooded with butterflies of both excitement and trepidation as she approached it. Her hand landed on the knob, and she took one final deep breath before pulling the door open.
“Hi,” she said with a smile.
“Hey,” Colin said, looking her up and down, managing to make the gesture look appreciative rather than sleazy. “Wow. You look incredible.”
“Thanks,” she said. “So do you.”
Even though it was usually customary to return that particular compliment when someone gave it, she really did mean it. Colin was extremely attractive; there was no denying that. Blonde hair, blue eyes, a beautiful white smile that belonged in a toothpaste commercial, nice athletic build, and, as Andie had noticed the first day she met him, impeccable hands.
He smiled. “Ready?”
She nodded and he stepped to the side, allowing her out of the apartment. They walked down to his car, and he opened the door for her, placing his hand on the small of her back as he guided her into the seat.
“So,” Andie said as he slid into the driver’s seat and started up the car, “whose party is this again?”
“A good buddy of mine,” he said, glancing in his rearview before backing out of the space. “He just got engaged.”
“Oh. So it’s an engagement party?”
“Not officially. He lives in Florida with his girlfriend. Or his fiancé, I should say,” he corrected with a smile. “Anyway, he’s in back in town for the week, so he figured he’d kill two birds with one stone, you know, celebrate his engagement and see a bunch of his friends. But it’s not an official engagement party or anything.”
“Oh, okay.”
He glanced over at her. “Are you uncomfortable with this? We don’t have to go.”
“No, not at all,” she lied. “I was just wondering what the occasion was.”
“It will be fun,” he said, flashing his Colgate smile before turning his eyes back to the road. “Wait until you see this house.”
“He’s got a nice place?”
“Well, he’s staying at his parents’ place while he’s in town. That’s where the party is. Just wait. You’ll see.”
They drove the rest of the way into Connecticut, the conversation flowing easily, until they turned onto a street where the driveways were farther and farther apart and the houses were no longer visible. Instead, they passed a series of large stone pillars and imposing monogrammed gates, the houses concealed somewhere behind the long, winding drives.
He turned into one of the driveways and stopped at the gate, saying something into the intercom that Andie didn’t quite hear. She was too busy squinting out of the windshield at the image before her. In the dusk she could just see its outline at the end of the long drive; to her, it looked more like a castle than a home.
“Jesus Christ,” she said, more to herself than to Colin as they drove up the cobblestone drive that ended in an enormous roundabout with a huge fountain right in the center; in the twilight, the rippling water glittered as if a thousand twinkle lights were floating just below the surface. The house itself was made of brick and stone, sprawling out forever in both directions, with enormous bay windows adorning the entire exterior.
“I know,” she heard Colin say, and she looked over to see him smiling at her. Andie realized her chin was practically in her lap, and she quickly closed her mouth, glancing back toward the house.
“Your friend grew up here?” she asked in awe.
“Yeah,” Colin said. “We all did, in a way. Justin’s house was sort of a second home to a bunch of us. We spent most of our time here.”
Andie sat in stunned silence as she stared out the window at the impressive mansion. When she noticed a valet approaching the side of the car, she glanced at Colin in alarm.
“Am I…I mean, is this okay?” she whispered, gesturing at herself. Suddenly the skinny jeans and cute wrap shirt she had chosen for the party seemed horrifically casual.
He shook his head. “You look great. I know this looks pretentious, but the people inside are totally unassuming. I promise.”
“Okay,” she said, feeling extremely unconvinced as the valet opened her door and offered her his hand, helping her out of the car. She looked him over, his bowtie and vest and pressed pants, before glancing back down at herself. As if she needed another reason to feel uneasy tonight. Andie stood there, completely frozen, suddenly lamenting her choice in footwear; there was no way she would be able to scale the wall and make a run for it in her heels.
Colin came around to her, placing his hand on the small of her back again.
“If it’s uncomfortable, we leave,” he whispered in her ear. “I know a great little diner near here. No valets,” he added with a wink, and Andie finally laughed, feeling a bit of the anxiety leave her body.
They started walking up the
wide steps that led to the front doors, and she shook her head. “I couldn’t imagine having access to a place like this when I was in high school.”
Colin laughed, a guilty look on his face. “Yeah, I’m not proud of all the stuff we did here.” He looked up at the house fondly. “But it makes for some good stories. I’m sure you’ll hear some tonight,” he said with a smile, opening the door and gesturing for her to enter.
The foyer was exactly what she should have expected, considering what she’d already seen of the house, but still, Andie was flabbergasted. Gorgeous marble floor, high ceiling, a double staircase that seemed to embrace the expansive space, each side curling in toward the other until they met at the huge loft overlooking the entryway.
A man dressed in a suit stood in the doorway, smiling at them as he directed them toward the great room. Colin nodded his thanks as they turned down the hallway, and Andie glanced around inconspicuously as they walked, trying with all her might not to look like some awestruck tourist at a museum. She wasn’t sure how anyone who owned a house like this could be unassuming.
The great room was, of course, enormous; floor-to-ceiling windows covered one entire side, and tables and strings of lights were set up outside, shimmering through the glass, setting a soft and classy ambiance in the room teeming with people.
“Colin!” said one of the men as they stepped down into the sunken room. “Good to see you!” He walked over with a woman at his side, and both gave Colin an enthusiastic hug.
The man turned to look at Andie. “Is this your girlfriend?”
She opened and closed her mouth, glancing at Colin before smiling at the man. “I’m Andie,” she said, reaching out to shake his hand.
She didn’t care what Tracey would have said; this was what would make it awkward. She and Colin were clearly more than friends; there had been an instant attraction when she met him at a coworker’s barbecue a few weeks earlier. He happened to be the brother of a friend of the hostess and had just intended to stop by to say hello; instead, he ended up staying the entire evening, sitting with Andie as they dipped their feet in the pool, talking about everything and nothing. And then, of course, he had asked her out. Their first date was cliché, but fun and sweet: dinner and a movie, followed by some playful conversation over ice-cream cones.
And an extremely hot make-out session.
But was she his girlfriend? She couldn’t quite say that yet. She didn’t even know if she wanted to say that yet. Or if he did, for that matter. And they would undoubtedly have to field that question all night. Andie hoped this guy, whoever he was, would just drop it.
“Hi, Andie. I’m Doug,” he said. “It’s great to meet you. This is my girlfriend Sara.”
“Hi,” the woman said, reaching forward to shake her hand. She was adorable, Andie thought, a tiny little thing with big blue eyes and a short brown bob.
“So you’re not gonna believe this,” said Doug. “Justin’s parents gave him and Stella a Bentley for the engagement.”
“Of course they did,” Colin said with a laugh. “Jesus.”
“Come see this thing. It’s incredible,” Doug said, already walking toward the glass doors that would take them outside.
Colin looked down at Andie just as Sara said, “You boys go. We’ll stay here and have girl talk.” She turned to Andie. “Unless you want to go see a car that looks just like any other car but costs more than my house?”
Andie laughed, feeling a little more at ease. “Yeah, it’s okay. I’ll stay here while you go check it out.”
“You sure?” Colin asked.
She nodded reassuringly.
“Okay,” he said, leaning down and giving her a quick peck on the cheek. “Get yourself a drink. I’ll be right back, okay? Two minutes.”
As the boys walked through the great room to the double doors leading outside, Sara turned to her. “He’s sweet. Always was. How long have you been together?”
“Um, we’re not officially…this is only the second time we’ve been out.”
“Oh?” she said, looking surprised before she quickly righted her expression.
“May I take your coat and purse, miss?”
Andie turned to see another man in a suit, one hand extended toward her, the other primly behind his back.
“Oh. I, um…yeah okay,” she said, tentatively handing him her jacket and bag and reaching for the numbered slip he handed her.
As he walked away, Andie glanced at Sara, who had an amused expression on her face. “Friggin’ coat check at your house. Can you imagine?”
She laughed again just as the sound of a phone ringing filled the space between them. Sara reached into her back pocket and pulled out her phone, glancing at the screen.
“Shit. Sorry, I have to take this. If you want to grab yourself that drink, the bar is just around the corner,” she said, pointing toward the hallway.
“Okay, thanks,” Andie said, and Sara smiled before bringing the phone to her ear, using her hand to plug her other ear from the party noise. “Sara Daley,” she said as she walked in the other direction.
Andie took a breath and glanced around the room. Colin was right; for the most part, everyone was dressed the way she was, talking and laughing and seeming very approachable. This might not end in disaster after all, she thought as she exited the great room in search of the bar.
The hallway was huge, as wide as her living room, with tremendous arching doorways leading off into various other rooms. She tried not to look like she was snooping, but her eyes kept wandering of their own accord as she made her way toward the bar. Just before Andie reached it, a large, winding staircase came up on her right, leading somewhere downstairs. She could hear muffled voices and laughter and music, and she paused for a second, glancing down the stairs as several people walked back up with drinks in their hands.
Andie looked around for a moment before she turned to the right, starting down the wide staircase.
She was horrified at her own brazen behavior; she knew she should just turn around, go back the way she came, and wait for Colin. But her curiosity was uncharacteristically in the driver’s seat, overriding her conscience as her legs continued to carry her down the steps.
She wanted a peek. Just a quick one. There was no way she could bring herself to ask Colin for a tour of this place; it would only make her look nosy and intrusive.
As if sneakily exploring it on her own didn’t make her look that way.
You’ll be quick, Andie assured herself. No one needs to know that’s what you’re doing.
She just wanted to see the downstairs, and then she’d come right back up, get a drink, and spend the rest of the night with Colin, behaving herself and keeping her curiosity in check.
At the bottom of the staircase was another hallway, just a bit narrower than the one upstairs. The voices and merriment were louder now, coming from a giant game room at the end of the hall; arcade games and varied gaming tables—billiards, foosball, Ping-Pong, air hockey—along with the biggest flat-screen television she’d ever seen and a tremendous sectional couch occupied the expansive room. She lingered for only a moment, attempting to appear as if she were looking for someone rather than nosing around, and she noticed the home theater across the hall, complete with tiered rows of plush recliner seats and an extremely intimidating-looking sound system.
Andie shook her head in disbelief as she turned to walk back upstairs, stopping when she spotted a third doorway at the opposite end of the hall. What the hell, she thought. She’d already given in to her shameless snooping. When would she ever get to be in a house like this again?
She realized what it was before she even crossed the threshold: a wine cellar.
“My God,” she said under her breath as she reached the doorway. It was practically the size of her apartment; the walls were floor-to-ceiling shelves full of bottles, and in the center of the room were several more independent shelves, filled to capacity. There had to be hundreds of bottles.
She stepped
into the cellar in complete awe, her eyes fixed on the soaring shelves bordering the entire room, nearly tripping over something underfoot. Andie looked down to see a small wrought-iron step-ladder on the floor next to the door, and as she lifted her eyes back up to the impossibly tall shelving, she bent to grab it, dragging it over to the nearest wall of wine.
Just as she was about to climb up and take a closer look, a loud slamming sound caused her to jump, and she whipped her head around to see the cellar door closed behind her.
“Crap,” she mumbled, stepping down off the stool. She walked back toward the door and twisted the handle.
Nothing.
Andie froze, her eyes widening for a second before pulling a bit more forcefully.
“No,” she whispered, twisting the handle the other way and trying again. “No, no, no,” she begged, leaning back on her heels and grabbing the handle with both hands, yanking back with the full weight of her body. The substantial oak door didn’t budge. It didn’t even squeak. “Oh God, please no,” she whimpered to herself.
The voice came from behind her.
“Well, that sucks.”
She screamed before he’d even finished his sentence, whirling around and flattening herself up against the door.
Instead of being startled by the ear-piercing shriek that ripped from her throat, he seemed amused by it. The corners of his mouth curved up in a smile as his eyebrows lifted ever so slightly.
Andie’s instincts kicked in as she felt the panic begin to swell in her chest. Locked in a cellar with a strange man at a party where she didn’t know anyone, where practically no one would be looking for her. Weren’t there scary movies that began this way? For all she knew, the room was probably soundproof. She felt a surge of adrenalin heat her veins as she kept her eyes on him, her back against the door.
“Did you think that was down there for show?” he asked, nodding toward the iron step stool she had dragged over to the shelves.
Andie brought her hand to her still-thudding heart. “I…I didn’t know…I’m sorry,” she said, reaching behind her with her free hand and twisting the handle again. The uneasiness in her chest was beginning to mix with embarrassment. “How do we get out?”