Prologue
Arella
The laughter and voices in the room were like a dull roar, with everyone I loved filling the house.
Well, almost everyone. There was still one person missing. With each minute that passed, the knot in my gut tightened, making me feel like my middle was being squeezed in half.
He was okay, I tried to assure myself. Jordan was just running late. He wanted to surprise me, make me think he wasn’t coming, and then when he showed up, I would have the biggest smile on my face. Just for him. He would sweep me off my feet, and we would have our happily ever after.
It wasn’t wishful thinking. I’d seen it happen right in front of my eyes with my sister Nevaeh and her husband, Braxton. He’d shown up at her own eighteenth birthday party, and their entire relationship had been like a fairy tale ever since. Sure, there had been one or two bumps along the way, but that had only strengthened their love for each other.
I’d only been sixteen at the time, but I knew it would happen for me with Jordan. Our chemistry couldn’t be ignored any longer. The last time we’d hung out, just the day before, the air around us had felt charged. The hunger I’d seen in his eyes had matched my own; the way he’d had to stop himself from touching me time and time again had left me trembling by the time he’d said goodnight.
His face had been tense as I’d stood beside his car with him, silently begging him to kiss me. There had been only a few short hours left until I turned the magical eighteen. One kiss wouldn’t have hurt anything. But he’d only stroked the backs of his fingers down my cheek and given me a tight smile before telling me goodnight.
I hadn’t reminded him about my party. We’d talked about it earlier in the night, before watching a movie in the living room, so I knew he would remember. Plus, I didn’t want to sound desperate and annoying. Girls like that always made me roll my eyes, but I was starting to get why they did those things. They were just so infatuated—so in love—they couldn’t help thems
elves.
But just because I felt like I couldn’t breathe without him with each day that passed and I wasn’t officially his, didn’t mean I was going to turn into someone I wasn’t. That was insane.
Right?
My eyes were trained on the front door, so when it opened, I held my breath. Only for it to be pushed out forcefully when I saw it wasn’t Jordan Moreitti, but his parents instead.
I blinked at the beautiful couple, who were both welcomed by my mother and then Aunt Emmie. Alexis Moreitti held one small present in her hand, while the other clutched her cane. Her husband stood at her side, his eyes adoring her as she spoke to the two women in front of them, but I noticed he, too, was carrying a small gift.
The knot in my stomach tightened more and more, and I pulled out my phone, making sure yet again that I hadn’t missed a text or call from him. But the screen was empty. I swallowed the lump in my throat and put on a brave smile, somehow knowing in my heart that Jordan wasn’t coming.
Maybe he was sick.
Why else would he not show up on this day, of all days? My eighteenth birthday was a big deal. Not only was I officially an adult, but it meant that we could finally be together. Even though we’d been hanging out so much over the past two years as just friends, I’d made no secret of the fact that I wanted more. Everyone in my family knew how I felt about him, especially Jordan’s best friend, Mia.
As I stood there, I watched Mia walk over to the Moreittis, with her beautiful baby daughter on her hip. She embraced Alexis, and Emerson gave a sweet giggle when Jared Moreitti bent his knees to speak directly to the toddler.
I shouldn’t have been so jealous that Mia was close with Jordan’s family. She was his best friend after all. They thought of her as a daughter and had even included her in family gatherings all her life. Of course they adored her and would treat Emerson as if she were their very own granddaughter.
But that didn’t kill the jealousy that ate me up inside whenever I thought about Mia and Jordan. I hated that they were best friends, that the two of them were still so close. Maybe I wouldn’t have felt like that if I didn’t know they had slept together in the past. Then again, maybe I would.
Was it so crazy that I wanted to be Jordan’s best friend? That I wanted to be included in his family like Mia so easily was?
Instead, his parents shot me a glance that told me they weren’t comfortable approaching me on their own. I couldn’t really blame them. Jordan had never taken me to their house or even invited me to share a meal with his parents. I knew them only because they sometimes came to parties, usually those hosted by Aunt Emmie, like her famous Christmas Eve party. To them, I was just one of Emmie Armstrong’s nieces. If I was lucky, they might even think of me as one of their son’s friends, but I doubted they would ever consider me more to either Jordan or themselves.
Especially since he was apparently blowing off my birthday party.
I quickly pushed that thought down, not wanting to get angry if he was, in fact, sick. With presents in hand, they had obviously come in Jordan’s place. And he wouldn’t miss my birthday unless he were ill or it was important.
“Arella,” Palmer murmured from beside me. I turned my gaze away from the couple staring uncomfortably in my direction and glanced at my best friend. Palmer looked at me with concern as she touched the back of her hand to my forehead. “Are you feeling okay? You went pale all of a sudden.”
I forced a smile, but she knew me so well that she could tell it didn’t reach my eyes. “Just a little tired, I guess. My mom and sisters took me out shopping all day, then we spent a few hours at my favorite spa.”
I’d been pampered to within an inch of my life with first a massage and then had my hair and nails done. It felt like I was getting ready for prom or the red carpet when someone started doing my makeup. But for me, it was so much more than that. Today was supposed to be one of the most important and life-changing days of my existence.
Only it wasn’t turning out anything like I expected.
I could tell by the look in Palmer’s brown eyes she wasn’t buying what I was selling, but she didn’t call me out on it. She glanced over my shoulder, and I knew she was looking at the Moreittis. Grasping my hand, she gave it a firm squeeze. “Here they come with your mom,” she said. “Give me that killer smile of yours and giggle like you mean it.”
I did just that without questioning her, knowing she would never steer me wrong. I felt a few eyes on me as I giggled, filling the room with the singsong sound that always made my dad smile, no matter what. Moments later, Mom murmured my name, and I turned to find her standing behind me with the Moreittis at her side.
I widened my eyes in surprise, thankful for all the acting classes I’d taken over the years. “Mr. and Mrs. Moreitti,” I greeted. “It’s so nice to see you.”
Alexis gave me a small but warm smile. “Happy birthday, sweetheart.” She offered me the gift in her hand. “Just a little something from us.”
“Thank you,” I told her sincerely. “You didn’t have to do that. Just having you here means so much.”
Her face softened somewhat, some of the tension leaving her shoulders. “We also wanted to deliver Jordan’s present in person.” She glanced up at her husband, and he handed over the present he was holding on to.
“Jordan had to make a quick trip to Italy for me,” he said with a grim smile. “He regrets he couldn’t make it in person, but he made us promise to give you this personally.”
I stared down at the small box wrapped in metallic red paper with a glittery red bow on top. Metallic red was my favorite color, something Jordan knew. But the gift his mother had given me was wrapped identically, and for some reason, that made me feel like crying.
When I made no move to take the present from him, Palmer saved me. “Why don’t I hold this while you unwrap the Moreittis’ present?” she murmured.
I put on my best smile, which put the Moreittis at ease, but it didn’t fool either Palmer or my mom, who was giving me a concerned frown. I forced my fingers not to tremble as I carefully unwrapped their small present and found a gift card to one of my favorite boutiques. It was a thoughtful gift but impersonal, and it told me they hadn’t wasted much energy putting effort into it.
Still, I was thankful for it, and I told them so as I hugged them both.
When they glanced at Palmer, still holding Jordan’s gift, I discreetly shot Mom a “Help me” look. Without question, she turned to the Moreittis with a beaming smile. “Oh, look! There’s Drake. Gabriella was telling us just last week how active you two are with GreenPlanet. Did you know they asked him to do a single just for their latest fundraiser?”
Their eyes brightened, and they let Mom lead them over to my dad. Once they were out of earshot, Palmer glared down at the present still in her hands. “What should I do with this?”
The smile I’d kept in place for Jordan’s parents vanished. When I looked at his gift, all I wanted to do was cry. His dad wasn’t very convincing about the work excuse, so I didn’t believe it for a second. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to throw away anything Jordan gave me.
I took the small box. “I’m just going to put this in my room,” I told her as I started for the stairs. “I won’t be long.”
Upstairs, I closed and locked my door before falling back against it. Tears burned my eyes, and I clenched my fingers around the shiny present so hard they quickly began to ache. Fighting a sob, I moved on shaking legs to the bed and flopped inelegantly down on the end.