Beautiful Nightmare (Dark Dream 2)

“Oh, Emelie,” Caroline said with polite surprise, then warmer, “Beckett, darling. I thought you couldn’t make it tonight?”

I had no idea why Beckett was with Emelie, but I took advantage of the distraction none the less and switched out Caroline’s papers with the ones Elena had drawn up for me that afternoon. I tucked Caroline’s guardianship papers in my canvas bag.

“We were stealing some goodies from the kitchen and thought we overheard someone crying,” Emelie explained from the doorway. “Is everything okay in here?”

Caroline laughed lightly. “Oh yes, Bianca is just overwhelmed by her Christmas present.”

Beckett peered around the door and waved at me. “Hello, Bianca! Elias will be happy to see you.”

“Hello,” I returned, grabbing the papers as I walked over to greet them properly. I handed them over to Caroline along with the pen. “I think they just need your signature.”

“Oh, sign those already and get back out here,” Emelie exclaimed, waving her glass of champagne as if she’d had too much to drink. In reality, she’d arrived only twenty minutes before Elias and I had. “Perry was just about to make a toast and then we thought about a game of charades.”

Caroline frowned. “I don’t think we are quite done––”

Beckett stepped forward, just a little too close to Caroline. Her eyes flared wide for a moment when he took her elbow in a gentle hold and rubbed his thumb on the inside of her arm. “Come out and have some fun, Caro. I want to see you smile at least once tonight.”

I blinked at the palpable energy between them, understanding what Elias had said about rumors flying around the nature of their relationship.

So, why was he helping me dupe Caroline, now?

A small grin played with the edges of her full mouth and finally she sighed. “Oh fine, Beckett, but you must know you are the worst influence.”

He laughed heartily, taking the pen from my grip and giving it to her before presenting his back for her to use as a table. “I’m as pure as they come. And chivalrous too.”

Her grin widened into a smile was almost sweet. I felt a pang of something like empathy for her, wondering what it must be like alone on the throne of a family built on secret and lies.

It wasn’t enough to change my course, though.

Excitement burned through me as she bent over his back and signed her name to the line beside me with a neat little flourish.

“Done,” she announced.

Beckett turned and caught her around the waist playfully. “Excellent, now come out and play with the rest of us. Em, can you take care of those? Caro, do you need them scanned?”

“Yes, scanned and sent to the lawyer,” she agreed, but her voice was slightly breathless as Beckett pressed her into his side.

“No problem,” Emelie agreed, eyes twinkling as she stepped into the office with me.

“We’ll make the announcement later tonight, Bianca,” Caroline said, almost as an afterthought, her mind clearly on Beckett and the return of a fortune she’d believed had been wrongfully stolen from the family. She looked as giddy as a woman like her could be. “For now, let’s toast with champagne.”

“Yes, we certainly have cause for celebration,” I agreed with a broad grin as I followed her out of the office, closing the door on Emelie who was about to seal Caroline’s fate.

I toasted with the Constantines, but I didn’t stay to mingle even though Tinsley was there with a gorgeous older man named Magnus who I was incredibly curious about. I went up to my borrowed bedroom and carefully packed the few things I felt comfortable taking back with me to Lion Court.

Even though we had somehow pulled off the heist of a lifetime, I knew I wouldn’t feel safe until I was back at Lion Court.

I was just descending the last of the stairs into the hall when Caroline’s voice caught me off guard. When I peered up through my hair, she was standing at the mouth of the hall leading to her office with a look of shock on her face.

“I certainly hope you aren’t going to visit Lion Court,” she warned. “Remember, you’re a member of the household, now, Bianca. Adherence to the rules is paramount as a Constantine.”

“Oh, I know,” I promised her, dark glee blooming in my gut. “Obedience is everything. I know what happens to those who disobey you, Caroline.”

That animal stillness settled over her again, prey sensing it’s been targeted by a predatory threat.

I grinned at her as I stepped off the last stair. “You know, I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why you’d want to take in an orphan girl without social grace or standing. At first, I thought, maybe she just hates the Morellis that much. Enough to take anything she can away from them…”