Page 4 of Through You
She looks offended. “The back door? Who do you think I am? And you still haven’t told me who you are.”
I get what she’s asking. My dress is too elegant to indicate that I’m just the house staff.
“That’s not important. We’re hosting a party downstairs.
I suggest using the back exit for your own good. Unless you’d rather make your way out past dozens of strangers while looking like that.” I gesture to her tangled hair and rumpled dress.
She shoots me a murderous glare. “Whatever.”
How ungrateful.
I know I’m doing Ares’s dirty work. Though I don’t endorse his actions, I know him well—he’s brutally honest with these girls and lets them know exactly what he wants. If they agree to sleep with him under his terms but then change their minds afterward and expect more, well, that’s on them.
After I make sure the girl leaves, I descend the stairs, taking the room in: the shining marble floors, the exquisite black-and-white paintings on the walls. The Hidalgos are not the type of family who have a lot of things to show off; they’re more into quiet luxurious details. Many guests have already arrived, and the room swarms with elegant dresses, expensive jewelry, and designer suits. I put on my best smile and begin to courteously serve those in attendance. I laugh at their jokes, even when I don’t find them funny. And I offer compliments, even though they’re fake.
I become more nervous as the time passes and the room begins to get crowded with guests. After all, this is a surprise party. Artemis has no idea that all these people are waiting to welcome him home after all these years away. The time of his arrival is getting closer. I don’t know why I’m so anxious.
Sofia gets everyone’s attention, and asks them to be quiet. Jon dims the lights, and everyone waits in complete silence while the doors start to open.
Artemis has finally arrived.
Two
Girls aren’t only interested in sex.
CLAUDIA
There are moments in life, especially when emotionally charged, that unfold in real time yet feel as if they are playing in slow motion. The door begins to open. The lights are turned on. And the sound of everyone clapping in unison echoes throughout the room.
It bothers me that my heart beats faster when I see him.
Artemis. I can’t help but notice how much he has changed. He’s no longer the bright-eyed seventeen-year-old boy who held my hand on that long-ago Fourth of July. He is a fully grown man dressed in a suit that makes him look older. His parents greet him, and a crowd of guests follows him around. He’s changed a lot—he doesn’t smile as much, and his gaze is cool and subdued.
I can’t deny that he’s more handsome than before. His features have matured, and he has a light, scruffy beard. I manage to take my eyes off him, and notice the redhead who stands next to him.
She’s beautiful—curvy, with very generous cleavage. I assume they’re very close by the way she clings to his side. She places a lock of her red hair behind her ear and smiles at Artemis’s mother.
And why should that matter to me?
I shake my head. I’m about to turn around when his gaze finds mine. His brown eyes, which I have always found beautiful, meet mine. I can’t breathe. The air around me feels different. And I can sense a tension between us. It feels as if, in this crowded room, we’re connected by a cord threaded with so many emotions. I turn away. I’m not brave enough to hold his gaze.
Gin is behind me. “He’s even more handsome in person,” she says.
I walk on by without replying. Jon greets me with a big grin at the bar. “Why are you always so serious? Smiling isn’t a crime, you know.”
I give him a tray with empty champagne glasses that need to be filled. “I don’t have a reason to smile.”
Jon presents me with a fresh tray of full glasses. “You don’t always need a reason.” He leans on the bar. “You’re really pretty when you smile.”
I raise an eyebrow. “I told you before, your flirty lines won’t work on me.”
Gin comes to stand by my side. “But of course they don’t work. Claudia prefers guys with beards.”
Jon pouts. “I’ll grow a beard just for you.”
I’m about to speak when a pair of strong arms circle me from behind. I recognize the cologne, and can tell that it’s Ares who is hugging me tightly.
“Thank you, you rescued me,” he says quietly.
