My Summer in London (My Summer #1)(29)
It took me another five minutes to finish up because my mascara took a while to dry. A minute might not be too much, but when you were counting down each second, it could feel like forever. My hair was already in a loose bun, and I only had to insert pins into my hair to keep it in place.
“I just need my shoes. Then I’m set to rock and roll!” I happily announced as finished hiding in the bathroom.
My stiletto heels were already sitting atop one of the two delicate-looking settee chairs, so I tiptoed my way towards it before giving a smile at Archer. He had taken the liberty of lounging in my bed with his head against my headboard and his shoes on my newly made-up bed, looking like a bored model in GQ with his elegantly expensive, custom-made tux.
“Look at you. You just waltzed in here as if it’s your domain.”
He threw me one of those lazy smiles that was similar to Cruz’s. These brothers and their toe-curling smiles … sigh. Of course, the older brother had it down to a T.
“That dress and everything underneath it is definitely my domain, love,” he rasped out, his eyes conveying what he wanted to do with this dress and my body.
“Right,” I said awkwardly as I reached for my shoes, trying to hide the rosy cheeks that crept up from his intensive stare. Once the stilettos were strapped and secured, I glanced over to where His Lazy Highness was lounging, hoping we could get a move on. “I’m ready if you are.”
“I’d rather spend the rest of my time with this excellent view. Alas, duty calls.” He exhaled a breath before getting to his feet and pasting on a dashing smile. “Miss Serena Woods, will you do me the honor of allowing me to escort you tonight?”
Typical Archer. He was charming; I had to give him that much. The guys sure knew how to make a woman swoon.
With my arm tucked in Archer’s, we both made our way downstairs as he enthusiastically murmured his coping skills for boring events, as he nicely stated, of pulling pranks with grouchy relatives. That way, his targets could easily forgive him since they were family and all.
The grand home was exceptional, but in the hands of a party decorating team, it had evolved into an extraordinary work of art. The room was full of pink flowers, silver candles, and beaded crystals everywhere. Flowers in all shapes and sizes, as long as they were pink, were there, and the fragrance added to the amazing setting. I had never seen anything like it.
“As you can tell, my mother adores pink flowers. Cruz tends to spoil her to her heart’s content,” Archer whispered in my ear as the uniformed waiter paused to hand us champagne-filled flutes.
My smile immediately vanished when I felt a prickly feeling that he was at a close distance from me. And lo and behold, when I carefully peeked to my left, the man was right there, sending daggers at me as he strode towards us.
“Serena,” Cruz greeted in a stale manner, blatantly ignoring the fact that his brother was standing right beside me.
“Cruz,” I quipped back with a careful smile before swallowing whatever pride I had left. “Where’s Ivy?” It was obvious given how darkly he looked at me that he wasn’t willing to be the mature one between us, so I felt obligated to direct our conversation towards the very reason he should begin to straighten out his act.
“You met Ivy?” Archer, who didn’t seem to mind being ignored by his sibling, raised his brow towards me, optimistically curious with his eyes bright and teasing.
His emphasis on the word met honed it home for me that Cruz wasn’t an available man; thus making me feel good that I had taken the initiative to cut whatever it was budding between us before it had even had the chance to blossom.
Clearing my throat, I glimpsed at Archer with a pleasant smile. “Yeah, at his office. She seems very nice.”
“Who’s nice?” Margery joined in on our cozy group, directing me her question. She was dressed in her golden-beaded regalia.
Blushing, I tried not to melt at the heavy weight of Cruz’s enigmatic, mercurial stare. “Ivy. She dropped by at the office the other day.” My small, deficient voice made me inwardly cringe.
“Isn’t she lovely, dear?” Margery whimsically said as she lightly touched her delicate coiffed hair, radiantly smiling. “Oh, I do wish Cruz would hurry and marry the woman already. They haven’t set a date yet,” she informed us with apparent disappointment. “No wedding date means no grandchildren.”
Archer seemed to rejoice in his brother’s compromising position. “Yes, dear brother, when can we expect such an event?” He decided to goad him even more by smiling smugly.
Their love/hate relationship somehow made me cherish the one I had with my sister. Our parents would seriously disown us if we ever treated each other this way, but it seemed that Margery was used to their sibling banter.
“This isn’t the time nor the appropriate place to discuss such delicate matters. If you’ll excuse me, I have people to speak to,” Cruz immediately excused himself.
.
Margery then followed Cruz’s lead and decided to mingle amongst her friends, and not really knowing anyone around here, I decided to stay close to Archer since he seemed to be the best person to hang around. Cruz, I realized, was nowhere in sight. I comforted myself with the fact that he was probably waiting on Ivy to arrive. I just hoped to God I wouldn’t make a fool of myself like I had when I first met her. There was also this small voice in the back of my mind, hoping I wouldn’t hurt as much as I had during that first encounter.