Page 80 of Heartstruck at Dawn
I was so ashamed of myself for wanting to stay, but that was one of my favorite arias being sung by RolandofreakingVillazón. I looked over my shoulder and dispatched a quick nod in Caleb’s direction, refusing to make eye contact with him. I quickly turned away to take my seat because I didn’t want to see his reaction as he judged my decision.
“Why don’t you enjoy yourself today and go back to pretending to hate me tomorrow?” William whispered in my ear when he took a seat beside me. “You know, in the same way you keep pretending to like Nathan more than you like me.”
“Stop,” I whispered back.If he planned on taunting me like that for the next three hours, I wouldn’t be able to power through the entire thing.Three hours.Next to William.I swallowed hard at the thought.
I took a deep breath and tried disconnecting myself from the situation and direct my focus on the performance. But I kept thinking about howUna Furtiva Lagrimawouldn’t come up until the last twenty minutes of the second act. And not seeing Rolando Villazón performing it would be a tragedy. I needed to talk to Nathan and let him know where I was and that I planned to stay.
I texted him onceQuanto è Bellawas over.
Me:I know you’re busy. I’m so sorry to keep bothering you. But something happened. I need to tell you something.
Half an hour went by, and no reply from Nathan. William behaved and seemed to be enjoying the opera. He kept up with the translation screen and laughed a few times with Dulcamara’s aria, where he launches into the longest and shadiest list of his potion’s miraculous effects. Finally, luring Nemorino into buying it to hopefully make Adina fall in love with him.
I kept glancing at my phone’s screen, but still, no reply from Nathan.
And just like that, ninety minutes went by like nothing, and the curtains came down for the intermission.
“Do you want to get something to drink?” William asked casually.
I accepted. My throat was dry, and I needed to stretch my legs.
We stepped out of the box, and William guided me through the corridors. Aaron and Caleb followed close behind.
“Hey, you’re walking too fast for me,” I complained. I was wearing heels and wanted to look around the place. It was beautiful.
“It’s best if we don’t stop,” he replied, keeping his head down. I guess he didn’t want to be recognized. I remembered what Joel told us about how crazy it could get with William.
A few people stared at us, and I even saw a young woman pointing at William as we walked past a bar. I wondered why we weren’t stopping there since we were going to get something to drink.
We made our way to the Grand Tier level of the house and walked up to a door just off the stairs.
Patron Lounge.
We stepped inside. Only a few people mingled around the place.
The private lounge was divided into two interconnected, elegant, and classically decorated rooms. One had plum-colored walls with beige-colored sofas and a bar made of solid wood. The other space had gray-colored walls with gray and plum-colored sofas. There were huge windows with beautiful views of the city.
“Are you—a Patron?” I asked William.
A server approached us and offered champagne. William grabbed two glasses. “As of recently, yes,” he replied, offering one to me. “Skål.” He bumped his glass against mine and took a long sip of his champagne.
“I didn’t know you were a donor.” I sipped on my champagne too, wondering if I would get arrested for underage drinking. That would’ve topped off my night nicely.
“Since the event was sold out, I had to make a big donation.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.He did that just to bring me here?
I’d barely given my glass a few sips when another server walked by with more champagne and switched William’s empty glass for a fresh one.
“Thirsty?” I asked with a smile.
“Parched.” He echoed my smile. “I had a stressful day.”
“Why? Work-related, or?”
“Not really,” he replied, downing half his champagne in a single gulp.
Hmm.William was always too vague for my too-curious mind.
