Page 62 of Heartstruck at Dawn
“Mimi!” I laughed.
“I’m herpretendboyfriend.” He laughed too, grabbing my free hand. “Imagine how big her smile will be when we start dating for real.”
“How not? Why pretend, then?” Mimi asked, looking perplexed. “Sataboot?”
“Let me explain,” I replied. I told Mimi what happened the night before. My father was going to find out anyway when he got the report. I told her Thomas and Nicholas showed up at the party and started a fight with Nathan after telling them he was my boyfriend.
Mimi seemed shocked when I pulled up my sleeve and showed her the ugly bruise Thomas left on my arm. “And what aboot Aaron and—”
“They stopped the fight in time and kicked Nicholas and Thomas out,” I reassured her.
“Yer father willnae be pleased,” Mimi said, sipping on her coffee.
I knoo.
Sophie walked out of her room, looking pretty, wearing jeans and a brown sweater. Her hair was still damp from her shower. “Bonjour,” she said sweetly. We all said good morning back to her.
I offered her breakfast, and Mimi excused herself from the table, taking her cup with her. “Where’s Cecile? I never heard her arrive,” Sophie asked, pouring herself a cup of coffee.
“Um, she spent the night with Tobias,” I said, looking at Nathan. “At least that’s what he told me in a text.”
“What?” Sophie grimaced and sipped on her coffee. “That is so unlike her. Have you tried texting or calling her?”
“Cecile’s phone is out of battery. I guess we’ll have to wait for her to come back.”
Nathan and I sat with Sophie while she ate her breakfast. We kept talking about how screwed up Thomas’s surprise visit was. Sophie seemed worried about it and agreed with Nathan about the order of protection. I explained why I didn’t want to do it yet, but she didn’t understand my reasons, or at least she didn’t want to. It was best to change the subject.
“Did you have fun with Ren?” I asked Sophie with a big smile.
“Oh my God, yes! He’s so cute, Billie! Such a nice, decent guy. Smart, funny …”
I was so glad they clicked.
“He’s such a nice guy,” I told her.
“He is. Guys like him are hard to find. Too bad we’re leaving tomorrow. But he’s going to Spain for Christmas break, and he might take a trip to Paris for New Year’s Eve.” She grinned.
“Sophie, that sounds amazing!”
There was a faint knock on the door, and I ran to see who it was.
Cecile was standing on the other side wearing her 20s dress from last night. Sobs escaped her as soon as she saw me. I immediately placed my arms around her.
I’m going to kill Tobias.
“HEY, IT’S OKAY.”I pulled back slightly to see Cecile’s face. “What happened?” I asked her, watching her soul thaw into tears. It broke my heart. Nathan walked to the foyer where we stood. He excused himself and told me he would call me later. He surely wanted to give us privacy so we could talk.
Cecile and I took the conversation to the guest room. Sophie followed us.
“I feel terrible. So guilty,” Cecile said in between sobs. “I don’t knowwhyI did it. What am I going to do now?” She covered her face with her hands. “I have to tell Paul. He’ll definitely want to end things after this.”
“Did you—sleep with him or?” Sophie asked.
“Of course, I did! Look at him! He’s just so—” She couldn’t stop crying. “Ah! Ihatehim.”
She was devastated.
“You did consent to it, right?” I mused. “I just want to make sure he didn’t—”
