Page 49 of The Butterfly Effect
My red lipstick would’ve smudged if he had kissed me the way I wanted him to and it wouldn’t have been easy to fix, but imagining him ruining my lipstick later made my stomach flutter. We stepped onto the elevator and rode it back to the first floor, where Stuart waited next to another black Mercedes. “Mr. Carlisle, Ms. Thomas. You both look nice.”
“Thank you, Stuart,” I said, unable to stop the blush on my cheeks from growing.
William opened the back door, and I climbed inside before he shut it and walked around to the other side of the car. I fidgeted with my hair as Stuart climbed in the driver’s seat and pulled away from the curb and into traffic. We were only in the car for probably three minutes when the butterflies already flying around my stomach started to riot, and a nauseous wave of nerves rushed through me. I started to bounce my leg, and I considered asking Stuart to turn on some music.
“Relax, baby.” William put his hand on my thigh and squeezed, stopping my leg. He turned his stare to me, running his eyes down my chest and stomach to where my thigh just barely peeked out of the dress under his hand. His fingers twitched against the fabric, and he returned his gaze to mine. “You are going to be the most adored person at this party tonight. You’ll be on my arm, and it’ll be like I don’t exist because when they see you, they won’t want to look away.”
I nodded, chewing on the inside of my lip. His mouth was warm and gentle against mine when he leaned over and kissed me, and the nerves faded from my limbs just in time for them to return when we pulled up in front of a massive white house. The front double doors were propped open, with a crowd of people slowly making their way inside. Women were dressed in floor-length gowns, some even nicer than the one I’d borrowed from Erin, and men in full tuxes stopped to greet each other. There were a couple of people with cameras taking candid shots of the guests. I looked down at my own dress as if to remind myself that I was not underdressed.
“Shall we? My mother is certainly already aware we’ve arrived and will be waiting, likely without much patience.” William laughed and reached for the door.
I took a deep breath and nodded. “Yes, of course.” I mustered up as much confidence as I could carry in the small handbag and took a deep, centering breath as he climbed out of the car and crossed over to my door.
It seemed like everyone stilled and a hush rolled over the small crowd when William opened my door and held his hand out. His grip was firm and supportive, and I reminded myself that people weren’t staring atmebecause they were staring atus. They were staring because William wasn’t here alone. A camera flash made me gasp, and William wrapped his arm around my waist possessively. I inhaled his cinnamon scent deeply and smiled at him, aware of the eyes that followed every step we took.
People’s gazes followed us up the stairs to the large door, where I was overtaken by the murmur of mixed voices. The house opened up with a large foyer and a curved staircase, with a formal sitting room off to one side and a dining room to the other. Both rooms were filled with people. Caterers walked around with trays of food and drinks, and I almost grabbed a glass of white wine before William turned me away from it.
“We’ll get something better,” he whispered in my ear, and I laughed, knowing they wouldn’t serve bad wine.
He stood straight and winked at me, leading me through the living room to a small group of people. I could tell before we got to them that they were his family. His brother had the same facial structure, but he was clean shaven and probably more than a couple of years older. Their looks definitely came from their dad, his salt-and-pepper hair sitting well styled on his head, and when he saw us approaching, his dark eyes glistened with anticipation.
“You made it!” his father said, clapping his hand on William’s shoulders and pulling him in for a hug. He didn’t fight the hug, wrapping his arms around his dad in a symbol of intimacy that he didn’t often show.
“Of course I did.” William moved to shake his brother’s hand, getting pulled into another hug. The smile on his face was content, and I felt another anxious twinge of nerves that he wasn’t happy in Grand Rapids. “Good to see you, brother.”
“Always good to see you too, but I may be more interested in meeting yourplus one.” His brother turned to me with a raised eyebrow and a smirk on his face, and like William’s, his eyes were completely captivating. There was a suspicious curiosity on his face, but he held eye contact with me for a few breaths.
William wrapped his arm around me, and the grin I couldn’t get tired of seeing planted itself on his face. “Julianna, this is my older brother, Demetri, and my dad, Carter.Thisis Julianna Thomas.”
“Julianna, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Carter Carlisle was charming, and when he spoke, his voice was almost a purr. He grabbed my hand and turned it, brushing his lips lightly on the back.
“Please, call me Jules.” Next to me, William rolled his eyes and Demetri’s face softened. “I insist,” I added with a smile and a sideways glance.
“Well,Jules, I hear you’re pretty impressive, and there’s a rumor you may be looking to use your marketing talents elsewhere.” The way Carter said it made me aware that they knew I was no longer employed at DMI, and my cheeks flushed. “At some point this evening, you and I will chat. Until then, William’s mother will be hunting you down if you don’t find her first.” Carter looked from me to William as he spoke, and with a nod, William started to lead me away.
It was all over in a whirlwind, and just like that, we were back to moving through the crowd. People whispered behind us. The room was filled with obvious surprise that William wasn’t alone, and the eyes on me could be felt from every angle. I steeled my spine and kept my head high, determined to give anyone that wanted to watch a good show.
We turned through another tall, open doorway and into a beautiful, large kitchen. A small group of four women stood huddled around a couple of bottles of wine on the marble counters, and when they saw us walk in, they all gasped. One of the women hurried towards us. She was beautiful. Thick, dark-brown hair hung in loose curls just past her shoulders, and her hazel eyes shimmered. “You made it!”
“Hi, Mom.” He pulled the woman into his arms and planted a kiss on top of her head, and my heart squeezed. “This is my girlfriend, Julianna. She’ll insist you call her Jules.”His girlfriend.“Julianna, this is my mother, Beth, and these are her friends. When I told you we’d get you better wine, this is what I meant. These ladies will hide back here with the good stuff all night if we let them.” William winked, and a couple of the women giggled.
Beth wrapped her arms around me before I could say hello, and an excited squeal left her lips. “Oh, you’re absolutely stunning. I’m so thrilled to meet you!” She smelled like vanilla and wine. William poured two glasses of wine from the bottles on the counter for us.
“It’s lovely to meet you too, Mrs. Carlisle.” She instantly pulled back from me and a disgusted look crossed her face.
She shook her head. “No, no. There won’t be any of that Mrs. Carlisle stuff. You can call me Beth, or Mom… since you must besomethingif William brought you home to meet us. We’ve never met one of his girlfriends before.”
“Because I don’t date,” William said with a smirk, handing me a glass of white wine.
Beth rolled her eyes at him, slapping his chest. “Of course you don’t, but you’ll marry this one.”
My mouth dropped open, and I tried to hide my shock by taking a sip of the wine. William had only called me his girlfriend for the first time a few minutes ago, and we hadn’t actually discussed the formalities. The man did find me across the world, but he hadn’t put a title on it, so being his wife wasn’t something that had ever crossed my mind. William didn’t acknowledge her comment with more than a chuckle, and I safely assumed he wasn’t thinking about it either. Still, I couldn’t help but think about what it would be like to permanently be a part of this world and to have this man for the rest of my life.
“We better go find Demetri.” William leaned in to whisper in my ear, “And maybe show you off a bit more.”
When we walked back into the living room, it had mostly emptied out. His brother and dad still stood off to the side, but most of the crowd was gone. “Where did everyone go?”
William chuckled and pointed to a now open door off the foyer. “The actual event is in the ballroom.”
