Page 287 of One More Kiss

Chapter6

CORA

“Cora,can you come to the table now?” My mother’s voice at my ear dragged me out of my thoughts. I’d been glued to my phone all evening. Something was up with Axel, but he wasn’t saying what. It had been twelve hours since I’d seen him, but my skin already itched from wanting more of him. It was always like this when we could finally see each other. The longing overruled everything else. He awakened something so primal and so intense within me that I could barely function after our meetups.

“I’m waiting on my lemons,” I said weakly, gesturing toward the bartender at the other end of the bar. We were at Hallow, an upscale restaurant located in a converted cathedral. Everything glinted gold and heavenly, the remnants of the saintly influence, no doubt.

“Have them bring it to you at the table.” My mother was using her stage voice, which was soft and hid the annoyance lurking underfoot. Only I could hear how agitated she truly was with me.

“I know, but—” I swallowed hard. I did not want to see any of the people who had gathered at our table. “He’s cutting it fresh. Besides, you know they always forget to bring enough lemon.”

She lowered her head and sent me a direct glare. “I’ll see you at the table.”

My mother wound through the crowd, leaving me feeling like a little girl in trouble. My parents had a specific way of making everyone yield to their desires. Their manipulations were often subtle and prolonged, and after enough time, became the same as a python squeeze. In the end, you’d agree to what you’d never considered possible.

I’d walked into this expecting the squeeze. I knew what awaited me at that table. And being aware was half the battle. I needed it to be.

When the bartender returned with my small plate of perfect lemon wedges, I grinned. Small pleasures kept me going. I snapped a picture and sent it to Axel: My basic bitch lemons are ready.

I tucked my phone into my Hermes leather handbag and slid the bartender a ten-dollar bill before winding through the packed restaurant with my prize. I’d walked into this knowing it was a business meeting, which was why I’d worn a simple black high-necked dress and matching heels. My pink goat skin handbag was the only acceptable flair for a meeting like this. But even though this was overtly a business reunion, I knew there was so much more on the line than just business—which was why I was prepared to lollygag, divert, and annoy.

“Cora! There you are!” My mother’s bright voice frayed at the edges as she called out to me over the din. I’d “gotten lost” on my way to the table, and her waving hand shot into the air to guide me.

“Oh, boy.” I offered a big but fake smile as I approached the round table, set for six. The Margulis/Rossberg party. “Almost wandered right out onto the street.” Which was what I wished had happened.

“Cora! It’s so good to see you again.” Eli’s parents stood to greet me, his mother coming toward me with a warm smile and outstretched arms. From day one she’d treated me as a surrogate daughter. We’d only met a handful of times, and to be fair, I did like the woman. She’d always been sweet with me. But my mother could be sweet with me, too, and that didn’t mean the python squeeze wasn’t waiting at the end.

“You look bright eyed and bushy tailed, as usual,” Eli’s father told me as he shook my hand briefly. Eli himself waited behind his parents, a small smile on his lips. His chocolate caramel gaze settled on me, blond tresses arranged in a perfect finger wave. He was twenty-three like me, but his arrogance added a few extra years, made him look older.

“Eli, good to see you,” I said curtly, offering my cheek for the requisite peck. He pressed his hand against my back—which he normally did not do—and brought me in closer to him.

“I’m so happy you agreed to this meeting,” he murmured into my ear. “You’re hard to catch, you know that?”

“Excuse me?” I pulled back.

He watched me as if he knew a secret. Like maybe my father had promised him something. “Let’s just say it’s good to know that money is what makes you purr.”

I felt like that comment deserved a slap on the cheek, though I wasn’t entirely sure why. What had been said behind closed doors? My mother urged me to sit down in the chair beside her, leaving the last empty seat for my father, who had been held up at the office. I swallowed my frustration at Eli’s comment and sat down—of course right at Eli’s side.

“So, Cora, tell us—how have classes been?” Eli’s mother gushed.

“Oh, June, give her a moment to order a drink at least,” her husband chided with an apologetic look my way. “What are you drinking, Cora? Whiskey, neat? Or maybe a sauvignon blanc.”

I laughed politely. “Water is fine. A chardonnay wouldn’t hurt.”

While Eli’s father worked on flagging down a server, my mother folded her hands on the tabletop. “Allan should be here shortly. It’s not like him to be so tardy.”

“Maybe a meeting ran over,” Eli suggested.

“I’m sure he has a very good reason,” June said.

The knot in my gut cinched tighter. I didn’t know why my father was late, but it was weird. Axel wasn’t replying to me, which was also weird. All of that on top of staring at the weirdness around me made me feel like I could drown.

“We don’t want him to miss a second of our discussion,” Jeffrey said, grinning as a server approached. He crossed his arms and sent a too-wide smile up to the young lady. “Please, the most expensive chardonnay in the building. A bottle.”

“I certainly don’t need a bottle,” I said.

“It’s for celebrating afterward,” Jeffrey explained. “With Eli.”

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