Page 82 of The Heiress
“No.”
“No?”
Elisha disengaged from me and exhaled from deep in her lungs. “Phoe...there’s something you should know.”
I was kind of shocked she called me Phoe. It was common for others to shorten my name, but I’d never heard it from her lips. I liked it.
“What?” I moved away from the wall and floated on my back, arms paddling to the sides, stretching out all my limbs.
“My Dad owns a lot of companies, he knows a lot of people, he can make things happen...”
I stood up in the water and whistled to show I was impressed. She flicked water at me again, but this time it was with a sting.
“I’m being serious,” she said.
“Okay,” I said, sensing her angst, “it’s cool, your Dad knows people and he has T&J coming to play at Beth’s party.” I flipped back on to my front and glided toward her. “That’s amazing, but what’s more amazing is that you’re a good friend to Beth.” I reached out and wrapped my arms around her, peppering kisses on her forehead.
And I shifted lower, my lips in line with hers, anticipating the sweet taste of her mouth, but she pulled back and said, “But am I? Really?”
“Sure,” I said, puzzled by her doubt. “And you’re a pretty amazing girlfriend, too.”
Elisha’s head tilted back and she looked to the heavens, seeming to be exasperated. I panicked, thinking she might not be ready to be labeled my girlfriend.
“Phoenix, I need to be completely straight with you.” I didn’t have time to blink as her words ran on, no chance of butting in. “My father is a billionaire, so rich that he flies around in his private jet and we own houses all over the world, and before I came to school here I’d never used a washing machine in my life. And I’ve got an ulterior motive for Beth’s party, which may be wrong, but I’m going to ruin Addison’s party, so no one turns up. So really, I’m not that amazing...” Only now her eyes met mine, staring hard like she was gaging my reaction.
And yes, I was a little stunned. Not by her actual admission, but her fervor, the vehemence in her voice, the rapid rise and fall of her chest.
“In fact, Iamthat horrible person you thought I was,” she motored on, her face scrunching in disgust, “because I’ve not been honest about who I am, and I want Addison’s party to be a gigantic flop.” She twirled, wading to the other end of the pool.
But for all the months that I’d struggled to move my body, it had no trouble now, swiftly embracing her from behind.
“I was wrong,” I whispered, my lips caressing her neck. “You’re theleasthorrible person I know.” I spun her around to face me, struck by her eyes, dark, sad, wistful. “In fact, I’d go so far to say you’ve become my favorite person.”
“I don’t think you get it,” she said, her frustration apparent, “my family is super wealthy, like onrich lists.And I’m trying tosabotageAddison’s party!”
Okay, the words ‘rich list’ genuinely shook me, that amount of wealth may have been a step above the Whittakers. But nothing about Elisha screamedpampered princessorsuper rich.Hadn’t she bought clothes from the discount racks at the Black Friday sales with Mom? And when Addison accused her of wearing a fake designer watch in front of everyone, she hadn’t disputed it. Was that how the super rich behaved—notflaunting their wealth?
“You said your parents sent you here to have a normal life?” I said. She nodded. “Away from the private jets and limos and vacations in Monte Carlo and...” I couldn’t resist a bit of humor, “...and laundry assistants?” Her lips curled upward, her shoulders shaking as she giggled. “But you’ve never acted rich?”
She shrugged and bit down on her lower lip. “But I’m about to,” she said. “And I wanted to tell you first. Kids will ask how T&J got to play at Beth’s party and they’ll probably find out who my parents are. So, are you okay with that?”
“I’m okay with that...but does this mean you’ll fly me anywhere I want on the private jet?” I teased.
She tapped my nose and said, “No. It means if you need your laundry done, I can do it!”
I put my hand on her head and plunged her under the water. She fought me, our arms entwining as she pulled me down for an underwater kiss, our lips locked until our lungs were on the verge of bursting.
Together we surged upward, gulping in air...kind of like a phoenix rising...and the only thing I could hear was her laughter ringing in my ears.
