The expensive champagne as well as the rest of my stomach’s contents made a violent exit, landing all over Julien’s hands, neck, and tuxedo front. He jumped back, releasing me and throwing a string of curses into the balmy night air as he looked down at the mess. I may have been naïve, but I wasn’t stupid. I ran like hell back into the mansion, not caring in the least about my appearance or the state of my underwear. The guests gasped and shuffled out of my way as I searched frantically for my parents. Everything would be okay as soon as I found them and got out of this horrible place.
It felt like forever before I spotted my mother, and when she turned and saw me, an expression of horror fell over her face. By the time I reached her arms I was sobbing and incoherent. She pulled me along until I heard a door close behind us and the noise from the party dimmed to a whisper. And then my father was there and they were both telling me to calm down and tell them what happened. I eventually got control of myself while my mother dabbed at me with my father’s handkerchief and they both tutted with concern.
The whole story spilled out between hiccups and nose blows, and I didn’t notice until I was all finished that neither one of them had said a thing during the telling. My father’s expression was the first to catch my attention. He stared past me at the wall in the small sitting room we occupied, and I recognized the look on his face. It was the one he got when he was contemplating a difficult problem. It was not the face of a father who was preparing to go rip the dick off a man who’d just assaulted his daughter. My eyes flashed to Winona, finding hers staring back at me, another familiar expression stamped on her face. It was one I knew so well I could predict the words she would say before she even opened her mouth.
“Now, Miranda, I know you’re upset, but this is nothing to get all worked up about. It was just a misunderstanding.”
I had to endure a twenty-minute lecture from both of them about how important these business contacts were and how “boys will be boys” and how Julien had just felt me up a little and how most girls would have even liked it. “Give it a couple years and you’ll see what all the fuss is about,” was one of the highlights.
When the hostess came in to check on us, William laughed it aside, claiming I’d had too much to drink and had my feelings hurt by her son. “Kids.” The one word explained it away. She laughed and made some comment about her son being a notorious heartbreaker, as if it was a point of pride.
Through it all, I remained silent. Talking wouldn’t do any good. The only other words I said that night were, “Not on your life,” when William told me to go find Julien and apologize to him.
I was sent home on a flight by myself the next morning, and I never joined my parents on another trip again. Nor have I ever left the country since.
Winona continued to bring me dresses from foreign lands, and I continued to dream, but never again were William or Winona a part of anything I dreamed or any future I planned.
Chapter Sixteen
PONCH
“You’re not a chess guy anymore.” Maria leans over to whisper in my ear as she retakes her seat next to me at the dining table.
I throw her a questioning look, but she’s staring straight ahead and reaching for her wine glass. We haven’t had a moment alone since I walked in the door, so I still have no idea what she’s talking about. She’s probably just messing with me with this whole chess thing.
The evening has gone even better than I could have hoped to this point. I’ve steered the conversation in a way that’s allowed the Fontaines to talk mostly about themselves but have also managed to demonstrate some of the qualities that make me a solid, trustworthy guy in the process. I even kept a straight face every time William forgot to maintain his fake accent or Winona tried flirting with me. Maria was a bit quiet, but it was honestly a relief since she tends to be unpredictable and get me into trouble when she opens