At First Hate (Coastal Chronicles)

“Always, Mars,” he said slowly. “But you could make it up to me by going out on the water with me.”

I arched an eyebrow. “I thought breakfast was making up for it.”

“Come sailing with me, Marley.”

And dammit, I said yes.

21

New York City

March 9, 2013

New York City was loud.

It shouldn’t have been that different than Boston, but somehow, it was. And I never wanted to leave.

It had taken a miracle for me to get my entire spring break off. The lab had only wanted to give me the first weekend, but Derek had insisted we’d be gone the whole time. I never took time off, and so I’d asked for what I wanted, and they’d granted it, albeit begrudgingly. Now, I was here with him, and things were unreal.

Derek’s interview had been this morning. I’d been all alone in his friend’s house, which was actually an enormous two-story penthouse on top of Percy Towers.

I hadn’t yet met Camden Percy, but the house was larger than life. I’d never seen this much luxury in my life. Not even Derek’s house back home was this fancy. I’d been tempted to look up the Percy net worth and just decided it was probably in the nine- or ten-digit range.

I’d tried not to gape as we took the private elevator up to the top floor. He had a private elevator. My mind was boggled. I wasn’t sure how many guest bedrooms he had, but I’d taken a separate one from Derek. We were some undefined thing that I was terrified to see come crashing down. As much as he’d said that I shouldn’t complicate things, I couldn’t stop the fear that this was going to all fall apart again. So, we hadn’t taken another step forward. As much as I was sure it was killing him.

It took me longer than normal to get dressed to go out. I’d second-guessed what to bring with me. Misty and I weren’t the same size, but she’d rummaged through her sister’s closet and brought me back some designer labels. I’d felt ridiculous, accepting them, but apparently, Misty knew the Camden Percys of the world.

When I stepped out of the bedroom with my hair down in waves, my makeup fresh, bright red lipstick painting my lips, and a black designer dress with a square neck that made my boobs look amazing—if I did say so myself—Derek’s response was enough to make the effort worth it. His eyes widened to saucers, and he gaped for a few seconds.

“Wow, Marley,” he said finally.

I laughed. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. Wow.”

At the last second, I’d grabbed the scarf Derek had gotten me for Christmas and brought it with me. It was still cold in the city, and something would be better than nothing.

“Final touches,” I said with a grin as I wound it around my neck.

He smirked. “It’s perfect.”

We headed to the first floor of the penthouse, and I got my first look at the incomparable Camden Percy. He was hot in a controlled possible Mafia boss sort of way. Derek was all Southern charm. No matter how much time he spent at Harvard, that was who he was. Camden was raw power. It radiated off of him. His eyes and hair as dark as night, he wore a power suit that even I—who knew nothing of fashion—could tell had been custom-tailored, holding a crystal glass of scotch. He was intimidating and maybe a little bit terrifying.

I straightened my shoulders and held my hand out. “Nice to finally meet you.”

He slipped his hand into mine and shook once. “You too. Ballentine speaks highly of you.” His eyes darted to the scarf. “This season, if I’m not mistaken?”

“Uh, yes?” It came out like a question.

He glanced at Derek, offering him his hand. “Your doing, I presume.”

Derek laughed. “I have good taste.”

“That’s why I like you.” Camden drained his drink and then nodded to the elevator. “Come on. Party is waiting.”

The party ended up being at Club 360, a nightclub on the top of Percy Tower. It was a rooftop bar overlooking the entirety of New York City. A bar was stretched along one side with VIP booths against the opposite wall. The dance floor took up the majority of the space in the middle.

Amelia Ballentine was waiting for us at the entrance. She was radiant in a shimmery black-and-silver number. She was skinnier than I’d ever seen her before in my life. And it was only accentuated by her long ponytail high on the top of her head and the red-bottomed high heels on her feet. She looked imperious and oh-so New York City fashion.

Camden’s eyebrows rose at the sight of her. I didn’t blame him. Or her when she caught sight of him. Camden made his introduction, and she met him with a Ballentine smirk on her lips.