Page 18 of Samhain
I had always hated Los Angeles. It wasn’t the beautiful, glamorous place most people thought it was. It’s little more than a trash heap. Admittedly, some of the surrounding areas were nice, even if everything was so…brown and they had to ship water in from somewhere else to make the plants grow. I tried to garden in containers, and I did what I could with a planter in the backyard, but being this close to the salt water and the drought in California meant I couldn’t get much going.
I longed for the summers in Scotland. I missed the trees.
The trees know, one of my nannies used to say.
Know what? I’d asked her.
The trees know all.
Hell, I’d take Virginia humidity over this bloody barren wasteland. The dry air reached inside me and sucked the moisture out of my soul, making me feel as empty and lifeless as everything around me.
I knew better than to let that show. Especially after Sandra, the PR rep for the royal family, used my vacation as an avenue for press events. That was how we found ourselves at this charade.
The formal charity on the sign said, “Children with Cancer,” but it was obviously an opportunity for the host to boost his ego. He’d hung giant portraits of himself and his family all over the mansion, and the only people in attendance were other A-listers. I narrowed my eyes at this year’s People’s Sexiest Man and smirked.
He wasn’t even that hot, not compared to Lex, and definitely not compared to Carter, who was currently laughing at a story some other famous actor told him.
Strange how well he fit in here like he’d been born for the notoriety, his personality that perfect blend of charisma and relaxed confidence. I’d done the best I could in the few weeks since we moved. His mother and Lizzie were delightful, and they reminded me what a normal family was supposed to be like—teasing and loving and touching.
Most people came out to LA and struggled for years, but the trick was networking, right? My family had afforded me knowledge of everyone, or at least, it had afforded everyone knowledge of me. I walked into spaces and doors opened for Carter on their own.
That was what I did for the people I loved. I gave them all of me to make them whole. That was what got the princess locked up in her ivory tower in the first place, wasn’t it? Some stupid curse that required her sacrifice to rescue her idiot family members from the horrible villain.
Everyone got what they wanted, but what about the princess?
What did I want?
Carter’s eyes met mine from across the party and he pulled one side of his mouth into a dimpled grin. I bit a cigarette between my teeth and lit it, taking a deep inhale that made me think of Lex. This was his brand—his smell, his taste.
“What are you doing over here alone?” Carter said, shoving his hands in his pockets as he sauntered toward me.
“Thinking.” I held the pack out to him.
He sighed and took it, pinching one in his fingers so he could bring it to his lips. “Should I even ask?”
“Change. Nothing ever stays the same for long.”
Carter blew out a breath. “Fuck, that’s heavy.”
Too heavy. My heart matched. Changing the subject, I said, “You fit in here.”
He smiled and inhaled on his cigarette. “Can I tell you a secret?”
“I suppose. We are married, after all.”
“I’m an actor.” He winked. “I fit in everywhere.”
I chuckled and raked my gaze over him. “That’s the key, isn’t it? Fake it until you make it.”
“Roll with the punches. Whatever cliché you can think of.”
Sadness echoed behind his eyes before he hid it away, and I ran a hand through my hair, taking another drag on my smoke as I brushed my curly strands back.
“What do you think they would say if they were here?” Carter gestured to the party behind us, the rich people in their fancy clothes sipping champagne and nibbling caviar.
“Lex would roll his eyes and call everyone a sycophant,” I said.
“And Ivy would dazzle the crowd while counting down the seconds until we could leave.”
