Chapter 168: Stay Right There

Cecilia

"So," Alice said, flopping onto one of the couches with obvious satisfaction and immediately ordering a bottle of champagne from the server who appeared like magic. "What do you think?"

I sank onto the couch beside her, still trying to process this entire situation. "I think Arthur is going to kill both of us if he finds out."

"Then we won't tell him," Alice said simply, accepting two champagne flutes from the server and handing one to me. "What happens at girl's day stays at girl's day. That's the rule."

I took the glass automatically, my mind still spinning. "But why a nightclub? We could have gone literally anywhere else—spa, shopping, lunch at that place you like—"

"Because we've never done this before!" Alice interrupted, her eyes bright with excitement and something else I couldn't quite identify. "Ceci, we're young and hot and each have boyfriends who are ridiculously possessive and would lose their minds if they knew we were here. Don't you think that's exactly why we should do it?"

The logic was still flawed, but I found myself smiling despite my reservations. "When you put it that way..."

"Exactly!" Alice clinked her glass against mine with enough force to make the champagne slosh. "Now drink up and enjoy the show. The dancers here are supposed to be incredible."

As if on cue, the lights dimmed and music started pulsing through the speakers—something with a heavy beat that made the champagne in my glass vibrate slightly.

I took a sip, letting the bubbles burst against my tongue, and felt some of my tension ease. Maybe Alice was right. Maybe this was exactly the kind of harmless rebellion we needed.

The show started, and I had to admit—the dancers were good. Really good. Athletic and graceful and clearly trained, moving with the kind of fluid confidence that came from years of practice.

"So," I said during a lull between performances, turning to Alice with the question that had been nagging at me since Arthur mentioned it. "Arthur said Max has been acting weird lately. Is everything okay?"

Alice's expression shifted immediately, her smile turning softer, more private, and I knew I'd hit on something. "Define weird."

"Distracted. Unavailable. Not inviting Arthur and Carter out like he usually does." I studied her face, looking for clues. "Did something happen? Is he—" A horrible thought occurred to me. "He's not controlling you again, is he? Because Alice, if he's trying to isolate you or—"

"No!" Alice interrupted quickly, setting down her champagne flute and turning to face me fully. "God no, Ceci, it's nothing like that. Max is—" She stopped, seeming to struggle with whether to tell me something. "Can you keep a secret?"

"Always," I promised immediately.

Alice took a breath, and then the words came tumbling out in a rush. "We're getting married. Like, soon. Max has been spending every spare minute planning this massive surprise wedding because apparently your engagement party was so perfect it gave him some kind of competitive complex about outdoing Arthur."

I felt my jaw drop for the second time that morning. "You're—wait, what? Married? When?"

"I don't know exactly when," Alice admitted, her smile turning slightly sheepish. "He thinks it's this big secret, but I figured it out days ago. The way he keeps sneaking off to make calls, the fact that he asked me my ring size 'just out of curiosity'—" She rolled her eyes affectionately. "He's not as subtle as he thinks he is."

Joy flooded through me, pure and uncomplicated, and I threw my arms around her in a tight hug. "Alice! Oh my god, that's amazing! I'm so happy for you!"

"Thanks," she said, hugging me back just as tightly. "I'm happy too. Terrified, but happy. And honestly? Today is kind of my last hurrah before becoming Mrs. Reynolds. Hence—" She gestured around the VIP room. "Nightclub, male dancers, champagne, the works."

"A bachelorette party," I said, understanding dawning. "This is your unofficial bachelorette party."

"Exactly!" Alice pulled back, grabbing her champagne again and raising it high. "So let's make it count. To us—young, hot, about to be married to men who are way too intense for their own good!"

I raised my own glass, laughing at her toast. "To us! And to keeping secrets from our fiancés!"

We clinked glasses again, and this time I drank deeper, feeling the champagne start to warm my blood and loosen the last of my reservations.

The afternoon blurred into a pleasant haze of champagne, laughter, and increasingly ridiculous commentary on the dancers' performances.

At some point we ordered more alcohol—something stronger than champagne, though I couldn't quite remember what—and Alice started telling me embarrassing stories about Max that had me crying with laughter.

"And then," she was saying, her words slightly slurred as she gestured wildly with her drink, "he actually tried to—wait, no, I can't tell you that part. That's classified husband information."

"You're not married yet!" I pointed out, my own voice coming out louder than I'd intended. "No spousal privilege!"

"Pre-emptive spousal privilege," Alice declared with drunken authority. "It's a thing. I just made it up."

I dissolved into giggles again, leaning heavily against her shoulder. "You know what? I'm going to be the best detective ever. The best. Better than Sherlock Holmes."

"Hell yeah you are!" Alice agreed enthusiastically. "And I'm going to—I'm going to ride on Max's shoulders and sing! Like, literally. At our wedding. While he walks down the aisle."

"That's not how weddings work," I managed between laughs.

"It's how my wedding is going to work," Alice said with absolute conviction. "I'm the bride. I make the rules."

The room was spinning slightly now, the edges of everything going soft and fuzzy in that way that meant I'd had way too much to drink. I fumbled for my phone, squinting at the screen as the numbers seemed to dance and blur.

What time is it? I tried to focus, but the digits kept moving. Was I supposed to be somewhere?

Arthur. I was supposed to be home by six. That was important. Very important. Arthur had said—

I managed to unlock my phone through sheer force of will, my fingers missing the screen several times before I finally pulled up Arthur's contact and hit call.

It rang once. Twice. Then his voice: "Ceci?"

"Arthur," I said, and even I could hear how slurred my words were. "I need—I can't see the time. It's moving. The numbers are dancing. I have no idea if it's six o'clock yet! I need you to come get me. You said six and I promised but I can't—"

"Where are you?" His voice had gone hard, controlled in that way that meant he was already moving, already formulating a plan. "Ceci, baby, tell me where you are."

I tried to remember, tried to think past the fog in my brain, but everything was so fuzzy and warm and—

The phone slipped from my fingers as consciousness started to slip away, Alice's voice fading to a distant murmur as darkness pulled me under.

The last thing I heard was Arthur's voice, sharp and commanding through the phone's speaker: "Ceci! Stay right there. I'll come pick you up!"