Cruel Love (16 page)

Both Reed Brennan and Dr. Meloni had just been granted a slight reprieve, and they didn’t even know it. Ariana smiled, saved her document and opened her chem notes, feeling like a benevolent saint—putting her own needs aside and granting her victims a few more precious days of life.

As Ariana led her fellow Stone and Grave members into the cave for her first official meeting as president, she tried as hard as she could to force a solemn expression onto her face. She fixed her eyes on the candle closest to the place of honor she would now occupy and stared it down, attempting to think somber thoughts. oughts about death and responsibility and privilege. But she just couldn’t do it. e giddy bubbles that had danced inside of her chest all afternoon had pumped up the party to a frenzied roar, and try as she might, there was just no keeping the ridiculous grin off her face.

She was president of Stone and Grave. She was
president
of
Stone and Grave
!

Now that she had started to plan for Meloni’s demise, she had resolved not to think about Dr. Meloni or Reed Brennan anymore. At least not for today. She wanted to enjoy this moment. She wanted to relish it. She was not going to let old enemies ruin one of the biggest accomplishments of her new life. As she slowly made the circuit of the room, she took a deep breath and let any negative inklings melt swiftly away.

is was her night and hers alone. No one could taint it. And just to put the capper on the occasion, Soomie had shown up at the last minute and joined the processional. It looked as if things were really starting to return to the way they should be.

At the top of the circle, Ariana paused and faced inward. Palmer should have been directly to her left, but once again he’d decided not to show—unknowingly giving her great ammunition for her remove-Palmer-as-V. P. plan. Instead, Soomie was next in line. After her came April, Conrad, Maria, and so on down the line, until Jasper finally brought up the very rear. Ariana glanced at Tahira and Landon, at the spot between them that she used to occupy—a spot for lowly neophytes—and it was all she could do to keep from giggling out loud.

Christian Thacker stepped from the circle to close the heavy doors silently. When he returned to his place, Ariana took a moment to relish her position, before speaking. “We are the Stone and Grave!”

“We are the Stone and Grave!” the membership replied. Ariana smiled. “You may all be seated.”

Candles flickered and robes swooshed as the membership settled themselves in on the ground. Ariana smiled at Soomie and turned to face the group.

“Before I open the floor to new business, I just wanted to say thank you all for granting me the honor of the presidency,” Ariana began, rolling her shoulders back. “I appreciate your confidence in me, and I want you to know that I won’t let you down.”

“Here, here!” Adam shouted, inspiring a round of applause.

Ariana smiled bashfully and raised a hand to silence them. “I’d also like to welcome Sister Emma Woodhouse back from her vacation,” Ariana added. “We missed you, Sister. Everyone’s so glad to see you here and healthy.”

Another round of applause. Soomie blushed and looked down at her lap. “I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you, Sister Portia, and you, Sister Estella,” Soomie said to Ariana and Maria when the noise died down. She looked up and addressed the room. “Over the past couple of weeks, Sisters Portia and Estella have shown me what true friendship and dedication really mean. While I would have preferred to have been here for something as important as an emergency election, I’m glad you all saw the same things in Sister Portia that I’ve seen. And I’m glad to be back,” she added, her eyes shining.

“We’re glad to have you!” Maria said, reaching in for a hug.

“Awwww
. It’s like a bad episode of
The View
,” Rob joked, earning a round of laughter from the guys. “Are there good episodes of
The View
?” Jasper inquired.

“All right, all right. We’ll dispense with the sentiment,” Ariana said. “Does anyone have any new business?”

“I do, Sister Portia,” Christian said, raising a hand. He pushed himself up from the floor and crossed the circle to hand her a note, written on heavy ivory parchment paper. Ariana recognized Palmer’s handwriting instantly, and her heart lurched.

“What’s this?” Ariana asked.

Christian shrugged. “Brother Starbuck asked me to give it to you at the start of the meeting.”

He quickly returned to his spot. e paper trembled slightly in Ariana’s grip as every single pair of eyes in the room was trained on her. What was Palmer doing? Having his friend pass her notes in the middle of her first official meeting? Was this another attempt at undermining her authority? Making her look silly?

“I think he wanted you to read it out loud,” Christian said.

Ariana shot him a look. Like that was going to happen. “I think I’ll read it to myself, first.”

Carefully she unfolded the note. It was short—only five lines—and what she read made her jaw drop. “What is it?” Soomie asked.

Ariana rolled her eyes and cleared her throat. “To the Brotherhood of the Stone and Grave,” she read aloud. “Due to recent events I find I am unable to, in good conscience, continue my membership in this once-prestigious chapter of this hallowed society. Please accept my sincere regrets, but I must hereby render my resignation. Sincerely, Palmer Liriano.”

Suddenly the room erupted in whispers and chatter. “Who
resigns
from Stone and Grave?”

“He’s gotta be kidding.”

“Doesn’t he realize he just made enemies of all the alumni?”

Ariana folded the letter, reinforcing the fold with a violent slip of her fingers, then shoved it toward April. “I believe you’re going to need that for our records.”

April took the note and tossed it into her notebook, slamming the cover over it. Ariana felt her blood pressure slowly rising, her heartbeat thrumming angrily in her ears. Palmer had done this to punish her. Clearly he was trying to show the brotherhood that he thought her so unworthy he’d sacrifice everything Stone and Grave offered just to oppose her.

Well, it was his loss. And in truth, he’d done her a huge favor. Palmer was out. She would never have to deal with him again. “Silence, please!” Ariana shouted.

It took a couple of moments, but after some shushing from other members, the cave finally fell quiet. Ariana took in a long, deep breath and blew it out through her nose. She would
not
let the brotherhood see her sweat. Palmer had no idea what he was talking about. Ariana
did
deserve to be here. She was a straight-A student, a valued member of the tennis team and the lit magazine, she’d stood out in her pledge class, and Soomie had basically credited her and Maria for bringing her back from the edge. No one at this school deserved to be president of Stone and Grave more than she did.

“Well,” Ariana said finally, calmly. “It looks as if we’re going to need a new vice president.”

She glanced at Soomie and grinned, looking for all the world like Palmer’s note, his opinion, couldn’t have mattered less. “Are there any nominations?”

BACK
ON
TRACK

“Welcome back, Soomie!”

Maria lifted her glass of sparkling water in a toast as Ariana and Tahira cheered. Soomie blushed and clinked glasses with them over the table in the center of one of Soomie’s favorite DC locales, Busboys and Poets. It was a cozy, dimly lit grill and bar on one side, and a well-stocked independent bookstore on the other—a place Soomie frequented so often she knew the waitstaff by name.

“We would have come up with something far more fabulous if you’d given us a little notice,” Tahira lamented, sipping her soda. She’d been thwarted when she’d tried to order a red wine and the waiter had laughed at her fake ID. The girl had been pouting ever since.

“Actually, this is great,” Soomie said, placing her glass down. “It’s perfect.” She took a deep breath and blew it out. “It’s good to be back.” “It’s good to have you back,” Ariana said with a warm smile.

“anks.” Soomie sat up a bit straighter as their salads arrived. A raucous group of tweed-clad men by the bar laughed loudly, and the decibel level in the room seemed to grow. “And besides, it sounds like these two are throwing you the party of the decade tomorrow, so that should be plenty fabulous for me,” Soomie said, raising her voice to be heard over the din.

“Party of the decade, huh?” Ariana asked, eyeing Maria and Tahira with interest. “Sounds like you guys have been hard at work.”

“You have no idea,” Maria said with a sigh. She plucked an olive slice off her salad, popped it in her mouth and pointed across the small square table at Tahira. “is one’s a slave driver.”

“All for a good cause,” Tahira replied blithely. “Does the president of S and G deserve anything less?”

Ariana grinned. She loved how everyone kept bringing up her new position of power. Now that she’d run her first meeting, even more calls and gifts had been rolling in, all from Stone and Grave members in high places. After opening up the truckload of boxes the UPS driver had delivered right to her door that morning, she was now the proud owner of a full set of Tocca candles, two iPads, a new laptop, a mink coat, the entire Ralph Lauren spring line, and more baubles and jewels than she could count.

As her friends dug into their salads, Ariana’s phone began to vibrate next to her plate. She shot the girls an apologetic look and eyed the screen. After all, a woman in her position couldn’t just ignore calls, texts, and e-mails. What if it was important S and G business? e e-mail was from a name she vaguely recognized, and the subject was “Congratulations!”

Ariana smiled and clicked it open.

Dear Miss Covington
,

I’m writing to congratulate you on your unexpected but much-deserved ascendency to the highest position in Stone and Grave. I’ve heard through our efficient grapevine that Princeton University is your school of choice. As a valued and high-ranking member of the Princeton Alumni Association, I’m writing to let you know that I’d be happy to help you along in the interview and application process and write you a letter of recommendation when the time comes. Feel free to contact me at any time.

Sincerely,

Geralyn Montrose, ESQ Atherton-Pryce Hall Alumna Princeton Alumna

“What is it?” Maria asked, munching on a single crouton. “You look like you just got excused from finals.” “Did you?” Tahira asked, quite seriously.

“No. But it’s just as good,” Ariana said, tucking her phone away. “It looks like I’ll have no trouble getting into Princeton now, thanks to S and G.” “Was there ever any doubt?” Soomie asked, spearing a cucumber with her fork. “You’ve got one of the highest GPAs in our class.”

Ariana lifted her shoulders modestly. “Every little bit helps, right?” She held back a laugh and smoothed her hands over her napkin in her lap. “But enough about me.

This is Soomie’s night.”

“So where have you been all this time, anyway?” Tahira asked Soomie. “Loony bin?” “Tahira!” Maria scolded.

Soomie laughed. “No, actually. I was at a spa in Antigua with my mom. And guys? We totally have to go back there together. That place was heaven.”

As Maria and Tahira peppered Soomie with questions about her vacation, Ariana surreptitiously read Geralyn Montrose’s e-mail again, keeping the phone under the table. Her giddiness nearly overwhelmed her. She was going to go to Princeton. She was going to graduate and go to Princeton and have the life she’d always wanted. e life she deserved. All she had to do was get rid of Meloni, and everything would be back on track.

LAST
MEAL

“You do realize my birthday is
tomorrow
,” Ariana said as Jasper led her, blindfolded, through a door and into a quiet room. From the sounds she had heard on their way here, she was pretty sure they were in a hotel—the lobby noise, the soft elevator
ping
, and the click of the electronic key had given it away—and she wondered if any of the patrons downstairs had alerted the police to her predicament. Of course, if she’d really been in the process of being kidnapped, she probably wouldn’t have been giggling all the way across the lobby.

“I realize,” Jasper said in her ear.

“And you also realize that one of these days you’re going to have to stop blindfolding me,” she joked.

Jasper ran his hands lightly over her shoulders, pushing her coat off and onto the floor. Ariana’s breath caught as the mink grazed her ankles. “Oh. But it’s so much fun,” Jasper whispered, sending shivers all down her back as he lightly kissed her neck.

He turned her around and walked her a few more paces into the room, then whipped the blindfold off. It took a couple of seconds for Ariana’s eyes to focus, but when they did, her breath was truly taken away. In front of her was a huge, bay window looking out over Capitol Hill. e dome of the Capitol building shone in the distance, illuminated like a bright white beacon. But the view wasn’t the only spectacular sight. Arranged in front of the window was a small dining table with a linen tablecloth and several silver plates, covered by crystal domes. The scents of garlic and rosemary filled Ariana’s senses, and she saw a basket of southern biscuits arranged at the center of it all.

“How did you—?”

“My mother told me how much you missed your mother’s cooking,” Jasper said. “I know this isn’t exactly the same, but …” “Jasper,” she said, turning to face him. “This is amazing.”

“Happy birthday,” Jasper replied, leaning in for a long, lingering kiss.

Ariana smiled, her lips buzzing. She couldn’t have asked for a more perfect night. ere was no place in the world she would rather be than here with Jasper. But as he reached for her hands, her heart pounded suddenly with the unknown. Come Saturday, she was going to start putting her plans into action. After all was said and done, she would be safe from discovery, safe from Meloni, safe from everything. Unless something went wrong. If something went wrong …

She couldn’t even think of the alternative without shuddering. “Are you cold?” Jasper asked, reaching his arms around her.