Ice queen, p.5
Ice Queen, page 5
for a few moments that seemed to drag out and then turned
around and walked toward the foyer. Her confident stride
was obviously back, and the way it made her hips sway,
subtly but in such a sexy manner, made Aisin take a deep
breath. She really could have used something stronger than
a Coke, but as she was the designated driver, that was not
to be.
After elbowing her way to the bar, Aislin decided to have
her Coke there. She managed to grab a stool that a tall man
vacated and climbed onto it while clutching her glass.
Sipping from it, she thought back to the woman—Susanna.
Always somewhat of a harmless flirt, though never a tease,
Aislin usually didn’t let her thoughts linger on any dance
partner when she was out with her friends like this. It was
the dancing that mattered, and yes, the camaraderie of the
group. She used to hook up a lot, but life and age had
changed her. Having a good time was one thing. Getting
into anything that would just screw up her life and be…
messy was another.
And yet. There was something about this Susanna. She
had looked a bit out of place at first. No, strike that. A lot out
of place. Her black dress was sexy enough, but too posh.
Her jewelry spoke of refined taste and wealth. The shoes
though. God, those sandals with the heels from hell had
added at least four inches to Susanna’s height. Despite that,
the two of them had fit so well together while dancing. The
way it had felt to wrap her arm around Susanna’s waist…
Aislin groaned into her Coke. God damn it. It had felt too
good.
She found Susanna’s hasty exit intriguing. The woman
had been part of a group of foreigners. Aislin thought she
had heard some Italian, yet she had ditched them and
hurried off with a worried look chiseled on her face. Ah. Her
face. Susanna had high cheekbones, nearly transparent
hazel eyes that reflected the wild lights in the club, giving
the impression of stars, and lips painted a brownish-rose
color that begged to be kissed away. Exasperated at where
her thoughts kept going, Aislin downed the last of the Coke
and slid off the barstool. As she turned to return to the
dance floor, she bumped into the person behind her.
“I’m sorry,” Aislin called out to be heard over the music.
“No worries. My fault,” a tall, dark-haired woman said.
Dressed similarly to Aislin, she merely smiled and then
leaned in over the counter. “Two strawberry daiquiris and a
virgin Bloody Mary, Peter!”
“Coming right up, Boss!” the bartender shouted back and
fired off a broad grin. “You in your private booth? I’ll come
over with it.”
“Thanks!” The tall woman turned to leave but stopped.
“You look familiar.” She tapped her chin. “Wait. Do you work
at East Quay High?”
“I do. I’m the school counselor. Aislin Kennedy.”
“Mike Stone.” She held out her hand to Aislin.
Aislin tried not to gape. Of course. This was Michaela—
Mike—Stone of Chicory Ariose fame and local entrepreneur.
Aislin found her bearings and shook Mike’s hand. “Nice to
meet you. As I’m sure you hear all the time, I’m a fan of
your music—and your food.” Aislin felt like an idiot, but it
was hard not to fangirl around this statuesque woman.
“That never gets old.” Mike grinned. “My friend’s
daughter loves her school and is all about how great the
staff is.”
Aislin’s chest filled with pride and warmth. Her work as
school counselor was never easy but often very rewarding,
and it was nice to hear that students were happy with their
school regardless. For some reason, an image of the young
girl in the coffee shop earlier in the day flickered through
her mind. Judging from her uniform, she didn’t go to East
Quay High. Aislin hoped she had a good connection to her
school.
“You here with friends?” Mike leaned her elbow against
the counter, clearly not in a hurry to get back to her party.
“I am. This is our first time, and we really like it.” Aislin
snapped back into their conversation. “Is it your place, Ms.
Stone? I mean, the bartender called you boss.”
“Mike. Please. And yes. My wife and I own it, together
with Manon Belmont.”
Manon Belmont. The legendary Belmont family was as
close to royalty as you would get in Rhode Island, or the
entire Eastern Seaboard, for that matter. “I think it’s
awesome that you open up venues like this locally. Usually,
you have to go to Providence, or even Boston or New York,
for a club experience like this.”
“That’s what we thought.” Mike nodded. “I saw you
dance earlier. You’re talented.”
Her cheeks heating, Aislin looked down at her hands
before returning her gaze to the smiling Mike. “Thank you. I
enjoy it.”
“And to dance with the most eligible woman in these
parts, that’s quite the accomplishment. I’m not prying, don’t
get me wrong, but Eryn, my friend, spotted Susanna Durr on
the dance floor, in the arms of a pretty young woman, and
got very excited.”
“Eryn Goddard?” Aislin’s brain nearly stalled as she tried
to focus on Susanna’s surname, not to mention the part of
her being eligible, and of being watched by famous people.
“She’s amazing as well, and Vivian Harding…” Embarrassed
at her gushing, even if Mike simply smiled kindly at her,
Aislin closed her lips around the rest of the words and only
continued speaking after she cleared her throat. “We
bumped into each other on the dance floor. I mean Susanna
and I. Happenstance. I wouldn’t read anything into it.” Not
sure why she was defending herself, or Susanna, Aislin
pushed her hands into her back pockets.
“Please, forgive me. I didn’t mean to put you on the spot
like that. It’s just that we know Susanna from mutual friends
in New York, and when we saw her, we were elated. Good
for business, you know. She has quite the following.” Mike
chuckled.
“She does?” Aislin knew she was missing something.
“Susanna Durr. Famous or infamous, depending on your
standpoint, CEO of Karma Enterprises. Fashion, makeup,
magazines, you name it!”
Oh, shit. Aislin remembered Corinne’s words while they
were in line to get into the club. She had of course heard of
the company. Who hadn’t, really? Among teenage girls, and
boys, young adults, and people of all ages who were into
fashion, it was almost a religious experience to follow every
branch that Karma touched. Aislin wasn’t as into fashion and
makeup as some of her peers, mainly because she had
found her style years ago and stuck to it. Corinne, on the
other hand, subscribed to several Karma-owned magazines,
and Aislin wondered if she would figure out who Aislin had
danced with earlier. Probably.
“I had no idea. My friend recognized her earlier, but I
didn’t quite make the connection. Honestly,” Aislin said,
turning her attention back to Mike. “We just found ourselves
dancing in the same spot, sort of. I hope she had fun. I
mean, so she’ll be back.”
“Looked like it.” Mike winked at her. “Not every day you
see Susanna letting her hair down, so to speak.”
Aislin thought of how Susanna had felt in her arms and
realized that it didn’t matter one bit that Susanna had
turned out to be corporate royalty. On the dance floor, Aislin
considered everyone equal. It was about moving to the
rhythm, the connection with your dance partner. Being rich
or poor was insignificant.
Mike pointed at a booth to their far right. “I better get
back to my wife and Eryn, but it was really nice running into
you, Aislin. I know Stephanie, their daughter, will be thrilled,
as she sings her school’s praises.”
“I’m glad she likes East Quay High.” Aislin smiled. “It was
nice to meet you.” And pretty awesome to find out that one
of the town’s most famous citizens was not stuck up at all.
In fact, the opposite.
While walking back to her own friends, who were back on
the dance floor, Aislin thought of how Susanna Durr had
gone from stiff and a bit awkward to soft and lithe in her
arms while dancing. An unwelcome tingle erupted in the
center of Aislin’s belly at the thought of how they’d swayed
to the music, and she pushed it back immediately. Dancing
was one thing, it was her thing, what she loved to do.
Dancing with Susanna was a one-time occurrence and
something she’d enjoyed, but no more than that. It was
better, and safer, that way.
CHAPTER FIVE
Cynthia’s door was closed but not locked. After knocking
twice, Susanna opened it and peered inside. The room was
dark, but she made out the silhouette of her daughter over
by the window seat.
“Cynthia? I’m coming in, all right?” Susanna had kicked
off the sandals in the foyer before hurrying up the stairs,
and now she padded over to Cynthia, her feet not making a
sound against the plush white carpet.
Cynthia had her face turned toward the window where
rain created lines, which in turn drew eerie patterns on the
light-gray walls. Her breathing was labored and tear-filled,
and she hugged her knees tightly against her chest.
Susanna couldn’t remember ever having found Cynthia in a
fetal sitting position like this, and dread fought with worry as
she sat down in front of her daughter on the seat.
“Sweetheart?” She placed a gentle hand on one of
Cynthia’s knees but removed it when her daughter jerked
backward.
“Don’t.” Cynthia’s whisper was hoarse, as if it pained her
to speak at all.
“What happened?” Susanna folded her hands on her lap.
“Nothing.”
“Clearly something happened.” Susanna heard how rigid
she sounded and attempted to mellow her tone. “You’re
upset.”
“What else is new? Right?” Turning her head slowly to
face Susanna, Cynthia’s green eyes burned a lime-green
hue. “It’s me, remember. Too emotional, too erratic, too
demanding…too much.”
Flinching and unable to hide her reaction, Susanna drew
in new air through her teeth. “You’re nothing of the sort.
Right now, you’re upset, and I want to hear about it.”
“Why?” Cynthia returned her attention to the raindrops
sliding down the glass between them and the elements.
“Why?” Susanna couldn’t believe her ears. “Because I
want to help.”
“There’s nothing to help. At all. Everything is fine.” Giving
a snort that sounded like a mix of mockery and sadness,
Cynthia shrugged. “Or as people in your world would say,
business as usual.”
“That doesn’t make sense,” Susanna said. “Lovisa said
you were crying.”
“Well, I’m not crying now. I’m fine.”
Stress and impatience, and a sense of having gone
through this so many times with Cynthia, made Susanna
fight back a sigh. “Why won’t you talk to me?”
Slowly, Cynthia turned her focus back to Susanna. There
was something distant in her gaze, and she didn’t appear
tense anymore. Rather, Cynthia slumped against the
window frame, letting her head fall back as she regarded
her mother through eyes that were mere slits. “Why should
I?” she whispered. “You never hear me.”
The matter-of-fact words were like a hard slap across
Susanna’s cheek. She flinched but tried to remain calm and
keep her focus on Cynthia. Something was wrong.
Something had to have happened at Alyssa’s party. Why
couldn’t her daughter just tell her? “But I really want to help
you. Together we can—”
“Fix it? Fix me?” Shaking her head, Cynthia snorted.
“That sounds more like you, Mom. See a problem? Fix it at
any cost. Throw your money and name around, put the fear
of God, or should I say, of being blacklisted, into those who
won’t fall in line.” Cynthia sat up, her movements jerky. “You
don’t get it, and you never will. You can’t help me. I’ll be
fine. I’ve been through worse, and I can take care of
myself.” She pushed off the window seat and strode over to
her bed. Getting under the covers, she pulled them up to
her chin and curled up to a ball. She looked so small,
Susanna felt as if she had traveled back a decade in time.
But Cynthia wasn’t an adorable little four-year-old any
longer. Instead she was on the cusp of becoming a young
woman, and Susanna ached at the thought that she had no
idea what to do at this point. Everything she tried backfired.
Used to success in every other aspect of her life, she
couldn’t understand why she couldn’t be the mother she
envisioned she should be to her child.
Knowing full well she was dismissed for tonight and that
Cynthia wouldn’t open up—yet again—about what was
going on in her life, Susanna hesitantly walked over to the
queen-size bed and bent to kiss her daughter’s forehead. “I
love you. Get some sleep.”
Cynthia didn’t respond, but Susanna could have sworn
she heard her give a quiet sob. Wanting to hold her girl
tight, Susanna knew her hug wouldn’t be welcome. Instead
she smoothed Cynthia’s multicolor tresses from her face
and then left the room. Still in the mindset of earlier years,
she left the door to the hallway slightly ajar until she heard
Cynthia say, “No. Close it.”
Susanna gripped the doorknob hard and pulled it shut
behind her. The symbolism in that movement did not escape
her.
✥ ✥ ✥
Aislin pulled out into traffic, glad she had only one more
stop before she could go home. She planned to park her
friend’s car at Corinne’s condo and walk home the short
distance.
“So how come you actually ended up dancing with
Susanna Durr?” Corinne leaned against the passenger door
and grinned broadly. “I mean, she isn’t exactly your type.”
Though used to Corinne’s directness, Aislin found her
friend’s inebriated words annoying. “What’s that supposed
to mean?” she muttered.
“Hey, no offense. You usually go for the ones that share
your, um, aesthetic, sort of.” Corinne held up her hands,
palm forward. “I can see the attraction, though, and you did
check her out when she arrived with her people. Simply
curious how you managed to work up the courage to ask her
to dance. I mean, her and her kind aren’t exactly…you
know, people like us.”
People like us? Aislin wondered how it could have
escaped her friend of so many years that Aislin had felt like
an outsider growing up, and now when she had returned,
some familiar patterns had reappeared. Granted, Aislin
wasn’t the one to share and turn herself inside out to her
friends, which in all honesty meant she kept them guessing.
“I didn’t exactly ask her to dance. We were shoved
together when the dance floor got crowded. Guess it just
happened.” Aislin made a left turn and ended up behind two
double-parked cabs letting off more people than should
have been humanly possible to cram into the vehicles.
“Look at that. Clear violation.”
Corinne didn’t allow for a change of topic. “So, how was
it, then?”
Amazing. Heart-throbbingly amazing. “It was fine. She
was a bit taken aback, I think.”
“And you reassured her?” Corinne wiggled her eyebrows.
“I mean, I saw you continue when the music slowed.”
“I suppose.” Cringing now, as she didn’t want to talk
about the feelings dancing with Susanna had stirred in her,
afraid of somehow diluting them, Aislin was relieved when
the cabs finally moved, and she could pick up speed to get
Corinne home.
“I don’t want you to walk home,” Corinne said and
yawned, clearly done with the topic of Susanna Durr for the
moment. “Just let me off, and you can return the car on
Sunday or something. I’m not going anywhere this weekend.
Intend to spend it sleeping, I swear to God. I’m bushed.”
“Thanks.”
Relieved
