Page 13 of The Exception

I tried not to glower at him, but it was difficult. “You startled me. I can’t help it that my shoe got caught.”

“Not the most sensible footwear.” He tilted his head to indicate the shoes that I was now holding in my hand. Strappy heels that were sexy and fun. “Maybe you should reconsider your shoe choice.”

“Maybe you should reconsider your word choice,” I spat back.

We hadn’t seen each other in two years. But less than five minutes in, and we were already arguing.Typical.

“What are you even doing here?” I hissed under my breath.

Graham rarely attended events like this, leaving them to his brother, Jasper. Graham abhorred small talk, and these events were a waste of time, in his opinion. Yet he was here. And now that I thought about it, he didn’t seem all that surprised to see me.

“Last I checked, I run this hotel.” He kept his voice low, the water sloshing around us as we climbed the pool stairs. “And I was coming to say hello before you dragged me into the pool.”

I lifted my chin, ignoring everyone around us. Unwilling to rise to his bait.

Graham yanked a towel from a cart beside the pool. “Here.”

“Thank you,” I huffed, taking it from him with more force than was necessary.

Graham leaned in. “People are watching,” he said in a low voice. Then louder, for the benefit of our audience, he said, “We’re fine. Please, enjoy yourselves.”

The musicians had resumed playing, and everyone seemed to have returned to their previous conversations. Regardless of whether that was true, that’s what I was telling myself. Because Graham was right; I could still feel everyone’s eyes on us. I was drenched and humiliated, and I just wanted to hide in my room and pretend this had never happened.

Josephine and a hotel employee rushed over as Graham was toweling himself off. “Oh my god. Lily, are you okay?”

I nodded. Just embarrassed and ready to get the hell out of here.

She rocked from one foot to the other, glancing at Graham’s back and then to me. Her eyes went wide, and she mouthed, “OMG!”

“I’m going to head back to the room,” I said.

“I’ll go with you.” She moved to set down her drink.

“No. No.” I hugged myself. “Enjoy the party. I’ll catch up with you later.” She looked uncertain, so I nudged her, smiling brightly in an effort to convince her. “Have fun. And you better not come back early. At least, not on my account.”

“Okay. Okay.” She huffed, but she said the words with a smile. “Text if you needanything. Promise?”

“Promise.”

She hesitated and then, finally satisfied by whatever she saw in my expression, she returned to the party.

I clutched at my purse, filled with a deepening sense of dread. I pulled out my phone, and the screen was black. “Merde.” Destroyed. Along with a ton of images I’d snapped of the hotel earlier for content, content I had planned for the château. I sagged, realizing that I’d never gotten the chance to upload them.

Graham wrung out some water from his jacket. “You can get a new one.” It was said in such a callous, offhand tone that it pissed me off.

I glowered at him, my earlier concern replaced with anger. “No. I can’t.”

I couldn’t just blow money on a new phone, but he wouldn’t understand that. And even if I could, it still wouldn’t solve the issue of my unsaved content.Fuck.

I brushed past Graham as I strode toward the building, still clutching the towel to my chest with one hand.

He easily caught up to me and grabbed my wrist, his hold light but authoritative. “Liliana, wait. You’re bleeding.” I followed his gaze down to my ankle, and sure enough, there was blood.

“I’m fine.” I tried to shake off his hold. “It’s a scratch.”

“Allow me to help you.” He held my wrist and my attention, lowering his voice as he added, “I insist.”

“Always have to cover your ass, right?” I quipped. “I’m not going to sue you,” I said as we headed toward the lobby. “If that’s what you’re worried about.”

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