Page 90 of Awestruck at Dusk
“That’s too bad. I’ll send Joel to drag his ass down here if he doesn’t show up at 12 o’clock sharp,” Lily said, walking back to the house. I followed close behind.
“Please do.” I laughed. That wasn’t a half-bad idea.
“Hey, sis!” Zara shouted as she rushed down the stairs.
And so the sisfest begins.
Zara looked effortlessly beautiful as always—her long, tanned legs on display in ripped white jean shorts. Her shiny brown locks held up in a messy bun, and her eyes of the bluest blue sparkled from afar.
Why wouldn’t William want to sleep with her?
“Hey—sis.” I’d come to terms with the fact that I would never feel comfortable calling hersisbut that I didn’t have a choice anymore but to keep doing it. I was sure I could make it sound more natural with time. And she wanted to be an actress, so I couldn’t tell how genuine she was about the nickname. She was surely going to be a great one.
“Where’s Natey?” she asked with a frown. “He’s been hiding from me.”
“Nathan’s been hiding from me this past couple of days, too. Don’t worry. He’s been crazy busy. But he’ll be here tomorrow.”
“Ugh. Bloody workaholic,” Zara grumbled, walking around the kitchen counter. “Fancy a cuppa?” She looked at her watch and placed a cup on the counter. “You’re right on time for tea time. Lily, how about you?”
“Sure. Thanks,” I told her. I couldn’t stop staring at her moving around the kitchen—William’skitchen. She seemed to know her way around it very well, almost entitled. LikeI’m the woman of the house, kind of entitled. Lily refused the tea and grabbed a wineglass and bottle of wine instead.Is that Nemorino’s?
“Do you take it with milk?” Zara asked me. It seemed like she’d been brewing a kettle because all she did was pour it in the cup.
“Just a splash.”
“Points for that, sis.” Zara winked and placed the cup in front of me.
I sipped on my tea. It was delicious and officially my drink of choice for the rest of the evening. I wasn’t in the mood for drinking any alcohol today because I planned on taking a mild sleeping pill at night. I’d figured out that it was less likely for me to have any nightmares when I slept more profoundly.
The three of us took our drinks to the terrace. Zara told us about how she was still undecided about a couple of great apartments she’d found as Lily uncorked the bottle of wine, whichwasNemorino’s. I guess there were a few cases left from the party. William never sent the ones he said he would, for obvious reasons. Maybe those weremycases.
Whatever.
“In what neighborhood are you looking to live?” Lily asked Zara as she poured herself a glass of wine.
“Well, I want to be close to Juilliard, and I also want to be close to you guys,” Zara replied, twitching her mouth to the side. “I found a studio apartment in Lincoln Square, so I guess it’s very convenient—location-wise. But there’s also thisstunningone-bedroom apartment in the Ritz Tower. And it’s got the loveliest rooftop.”
“Wow! So you’d literally be our next-door neighbor,” Lily said.
Zarareallywanted to be close to the Sjöbergs. The Ritz Tower is mere feet away from our apartment building—on Park Avenue as well. You can even see the Ritz’s gray sunshade if you look left when exiting our building. It’srightthere.
“I know! And Nathan’s apartment is also close by,” Zara said, taking a sip of her tea. “I’min lovewith the Ritz apartment. But it’s only for sale. My realtor reached out to the owner and asked if he would be willing to rent it, but he refused.”
“So what are you going to do?” Lily asked. “Are you renting the studio on Lincoln Square then?”
Why do I have the feeling that…
“Well, Will insists on buying it. He said it would be a great investment opportunity and that he would let me buy it from him later on when I start working.”
Yeah, Juan Pablo can suck it. I could steal his fortune-teller job in a second because Ikneeeew it.
Lily’s eyes went wide as she drank from her wine. And I was sure we were thinking the same thing—William and Zara were officially a thing, right? Who gets you into Juilliard, pays for the whole thing, and buys you an apartment while they’re at it?
She must’ve been great in bed. I had my doubts now if that was the first time they’d slept together—probably not.
“You’re all set then,” Lily said. I coughed to stop a nervous laugh from escaping my mouth. The way she said it, with such shock, was so disturbingly amusing.
Fortunately, Zara didn’t appear to notice my reaction. She was grinning, seemingly excited about her new life in New York City. I hated all the parts of me that felt jealous of Zara. Everything was working out so perfectly great for her. And that, I didn’t mind—good for her. What bothered me was that it was all because of William.Hewas responsible for her happiness, and I resented that.
