Wild Violet (The Vi Trilogy of The Gilded Flower Series Book 1) (6 page)

Over an hour later, Vi still hasn’t left the dance floor. More people have come in and filled the space, but she doesn’t notice. Dancing is when she feels free and in her element. Her skin has a light sheen from the sweat coming off of her while her criss-crossed floral silk dress sticks to every inch of her body.

“Holy shit, would you look at that guy who just walked in,” Dahlia says, breaking Vi out of her trance. Her gaze moves to where Dahlia is pointing.

All of a sudden, Vi can’t feel her feet, which have become cemented to the floor. “Andrés,” she says under her breath.

“What?” Dahlia shouts, but Vi shakes her head and returns to their table, grateful the dim light over their corner table casts a shadow where she sits.

Dahlia trails Vi and throws herself onto the sofa next to her friend. She takes the glass Vi hands her, and they do a shot together.

“I want to know him.” Dahlia nods in Andrés’s direction.

Vi doesn’t look over. She has no desire to see who he’s with. Her heart is beating wildly, more than when she was dancing. Finally, curiosity takes over and she steals a glance in his direction, relieved he doesn’t seem to have noticed her.

“Isn’t he with someone?” Vi asks, trying not to be obvious, but the need to know who’s with him becomes stronger. She takes another shot.

“So?” Dahlia shrugs. “There are no rules, Vi. You don’t have to leave with the person you came with.”

Vi chokes on her drink, hearing her words repeated to her. “Right, well, good luck.” On second thought, she’d like to see how available he makes himself.

Ten minutes and one more shot later, Vi decides she shouldn’t be hiding from him. Granted, the tight feeling in her chest reminds her that she cares more than she’s willing to admit, but with the vodka flowing through her, she can easily disregard that feeling. Denial is a beautiful thing.

Despite the out-of-the-way location, the club fills up by 1 a.m. Vi spots Dahlia grinding against a tall, beautiful man with dark chocolate skin. When she’s within earshot, Vi asks, “What happened with the other guy?”

Dahlia eyes her warily. “No dice. He totally ignored me.” She shrugs. “Whatever. But damn, the way he dances. Well, you can only imagine how fun he’d be.”

The man Dahlia’s dancing with stops for a moment. She smiles playfully, lifts his chin with her finger and says, “No worries, baby. I know you’re going to be a lot of fun tonight.”

Vi shifts toward the center of the dance floor, losing herself in the moment. She has enough to worry about. Andrés and his client shouldn’t be one of them.

Out of nowhere, a hand moves over her ass, around her waist and presses against her stomach, pulling her against a hard, familiar body. She lets out a low chuckle as she melts into him further, drawing her arms around his neck. “Couldn’t you get fired for this?”

Andrés’s hand falls a little lower, brushing over Vi’s sex, releasing the fire burning within her. She rolls her head to one side, inviting him to kiss her neck. “She’s in the bathroom, so I only have a minute,” he says into her ear. “I just couldn’t resist. You look incredible.” He trails his lips to the other side. “You’re making it hard for me to focus on my work.”

Vi reaches behind her and touches him. “I can see how
hard
it is,” she lets out a low laugh.

He spins her around, and their bodies continue to move in their own rhythm. Vi’s heart is pounding against her chest. He must feel it too. His lips brush over hers, and in that moment she knows. Denying her feelings for him will be next to impossible.

After the kiss, he disappears into the darkness. Vi stops moving, losing her center of gravity in that moment. She manages to push through the crowd to find Dahlia who’s making out with her man at their table. “Time to go,” Vi announces.

“Where were you guys last night?” Lily asks, joining Vi and Dahlia by the pool. They woke to a spectacular summer day with clear blue skies and the low hum of the waves washing on the shore.

“Didn’t D tell you?” Vi asks, turning over in her chaise. She hardly slept when they got back to the house. All she could think about was Andrés’s kiss.
Could it be as hard on him as it is for her?
By six a.m., she had all but admitted defeat and took to the treadmill in the gym that overlooks the water. From there she watched the sunrise as she tried her best to run away from the feelings that threatened to overcome her.

“No. I was stuck hanging out with Jack and some friends of his. Can you believe the audacity of one of them to hit on a girl while his girlfriend was in the bathroom? It was disgusting. I feel badly for her.”

“Did you say anything when she got back?” Dahlia lifts her sunglasses off her head and sits up, letting her untied bikini top fall into her lap.

Lily shook her head. “Jack asked me not to. Why? Should I have? I’ve never been in that situation. And sadly, my two closest friends were MIA.”

Vi gives Dahlia a dirty look. How could she exclude her sister last night? That was cold.

Dahlia shrugs, looking a little bit guilty. “If I were you, I would’ve said something. Just keep in mind, guys like that usually hang around friends who do the same. They like enablers.”

Lily looks at Vi, who gives her a weak smile, backing up what Dahlia said.

“There’s truth to that. But if you trust Jack . . . .” Vi lets her words trail off. She doesn’t know anything for certain, just rumors which are easy to dismiss. People like messing with couples like Lily and Jack because their outward perfection makes them easy targets. Unless she can confirm it, she’d rather not know and let her best friend be happy.

Before Dahlia could press further, Lily picks up the phone and mouths, “It’s Jack.” Her twin rolls her eyes.

As soon as Lily is out of earshot, Vi says in a hushed tone. “What gives, D? I’ve never seen you like this with Lily. Excluding her from going out with us last night is low, not to mention passive/aggressive. You don’t have to like Jack, but don’t punish her for it. Let her be happy.”

Dahlia shakes her head. “I want to, but he’s such a tool, Vi. Don’t say anything to anyone, but I saw him a couple of weeks ago in the City.”

“So?”

“So, he wasn’t in London where he was supposed to be. He was at a bar in TriBeCa,” Dahlia pauses to take a long drink, “With Rachel. We went to high school together. She was such a mean girl back then, criticizing people for not following trends or being too trendy. Miserable cow.”

“Are you sure it was him?”

Dahlia raises an eyebrow at Vi, implying her reply was more than idiotic. “What do you think?”

“Did you tell Lily?”

“Of course I did, but she swore it couldn’t have been him, that they spoke earlier that day. Blah blah. I’m telling you, Vi, he’s up to no good, and my sister is too deep into her own fairytale to notice.”

“Why didn’t you confront him?” Vi asks, unlacing her bikini top.

“Ha. I wish I had. I almost did, but I was a bit high.”

“Ahh. So you admit you aren’t the most credible witness.”

“Whatever, Vi. I know you want to side with Lily on this one, but believe me, she deserves a lot better than that tramp, Jack Rothstein,” Dahlia says, setting down her glass and diving into the pool.

“That dress is gorgeous,” Lily coos walking into the guest room where Vi is staying. “Is that vintage?”

She turns away from the mirror and nods. “Found it in a random shop on the Lower East Side.” What a steal it was. Vi can recognize quality when she sees it. The label was torn off, which is probably why it was selling for a third of what it should have. Dressing for the Baron Labor Day party is always a challenge. The white theme means that you need to ensure you stand out in something that no one else is wearing while also looking effortless. It doesn’t help that the moneyed guests can afford pretty much anything, like the corset dress Vi had planned on wearing, but that cost over three thousand dollars.

She eyes Lily’s dress. “Oh, hon, you look stunning. Wherever did you find this?” Vi lifts up the thin soft fabric.

“At a shop in Forte di Marmi. I stumbled on some incredible finds.”

Vi walks back to the vanity to apply a light gloss. “I haven’t gotten all the juicy details about your holiday. Did you and Jack have a good time? Plenty of hot summer sex?”

Vi smiles when she notices Lily blush. She leans against the table and places a wide silver cuff over her wrist. “It is good between you guys, right?”

Lily crosses her arms in front of her chest. “Have you been talking to D?”

“Why? Should I be?”

Lily shakes her head and sits on the edge of the bed. “She has it in her head that Jack is cheating on me.”

Vi feigns surprise and moves over to the bed. “Do you think she’s right? Your sister wouldn’t make that up. She loves you too much.”

“I just can’t believe Jack would ever cheat on me. When we’re together, he’s incredibly attentive and sweet. My mom thinks D is jealous, that maybe after what happened in California . . . .”

“Lily, you can’t possibly think for a moment that that’s true.” Vi can feel her face get hot. How could their mother suggest such a thing? Is she trying to turn them against each other?

Again, Lily shakes her head. “Not at all.”

Vi sees the doubt behind Lily’s crystal blue eyes. Doubting Jack? Doubting Dahlia? No, it’s self-doubt. She can’t discern who to believe because she’s been living under the wing of her parents for far too long. Vi puts her arm around Lily. “Thankfully we’re young. There’s no rule that says you have to marry the first guy you fall in love with.”

The Baron Labor Day white party is one of the biggest events of the summer. Under Poppy Baron’s careful vision, she turned a once informal garden barbecue into an event coveted by not only the New York elite, but an international one as well.

As Vi and Lily descend the stairs to the garden, she observes people milling around, cocktails in hand talking about their exciting summer holidays abroad, although Vi can’t help but wonder if it can really be
that
exciting when they all summer in the same places.

Her thoughts wander to her summer, her first in the City without a trip to Europe or a beach to break up the monotony. She had wanted it that way so she could experience being on her own without the obligation of seeing friends. But she got far more than she had expected between meeting Andrés and learning of her father’s plans for her. She gratefully accepts a cocktail from a waiter and downs it in one gulp, considering that the clock is ticking on her freedom.

“It’s about time,” Dahlia squeals putting her arms around them. “Are you ready to have fun tonight?”

Vi and Lily smile when they look at Dahlia. She appears fresh-faced and genuinely happy. This is a first in a while.

“You’re in a good mood,” Vi comments, already on to her second drink.

Dahlia holds up a small vial tucked in the palm of her hand. “I’ve got a little something else that’s white for tonight.”

Lily’s jaw drops. “You brought cocaine?” She says under her breath.

Dahlia nods. “How else are we supposed to get through tonight?”

Vi looks around, hoping no one has noticed. “Just be careful, D. You don’t want to make a scene.”

“Oh please, as if half the people here aren’t on something. Don’t be such a buzzkill. I thought it’d be fun for us.”

“Mom will kill you if she finds out,” Lily warns.

Dahlia smiles impishly. “No she won’t. Mommy dearest is too busy.” She nods in the direction of the bandstand where they spy Poppy talking to a gorgeous blond gentleman who can’t be much older than them.

“Any takers?”

Vi shrugs. “I’m good for now.” She’s not adverse to doing it, but even she can’t help but care a little about the Barons’ impression of her. Poppy would find some way to blackball her from future parties if she ever found out about it.

“I already know Lily’s answer.”

Lily’s back stiffens.

“That’s not fair, D.” Vi jumps to Lily’s defense.

“Fine, whatever,” Dahlia replies, turning on her heels.

“Thank you for taking care of my Lily-pad for me,” Jack says, joining Vi and Lily in the gazebo at the far end of the rose garden. They were catching up with some former classmates from Choate when Jack swooped in to give Lily a very dramatic, over-the-top kiss that just screams
trying too hard
.

Lily turns and gazes up at Jack. By her expression, Vi can see that her friend is wholly enamored with her Prince Charming while the girls surrounding them appear equally enthralled. It’s almost sickening to watch these well-educated young women who attend top schools like Princeton, Smith and Penn all swoon and lose their minds in Jack’s presence.

Vi watches and listens carefully to every word and flirtatious line he doles out to Lily and her friends to see if Dahlia is onto something. But nothing stands out except she finds it a little odd when he asks one girl, Jules, if she and her boyfriend had a list of famous people they could sleep with if the opportunity ever arose.

Vi clears her throat when the girl blushes and giggles out her insipid response. “What about you Jack? You have a list?”

He gives a sly, sexy smile and rubs the back of his neck. Then he reaches out and pulls Lily in by her waist. “Don’t need one.”

Vi smiles back and looks at her friend with concern. Dahlia’s right.