Be Brave With Me

Chapter Thirty

Her heels sank into the soft, white sand spread out on a terrace that overlooked the harbor of Monaco. Aurelia slipped out of her shoes and picked them up to carry.

This was a fake beach party, wasn't it? Going barefoot would just add to the atmosphere.

Her relieved exhale as her tortured toes sank into the sand morphed into yet another yawn. She'd lost count of how many she'd held back in the last few hours. After a long Saturday spent watching Bastien qualifying for the race and making small talk with the most random people, all she wanted was to head back to the Plan B and crawl into bed to rest up for tomorrow. She was to meet with her parents before the race, joining them for breakfast at the Hôtel de Paris.

More than anything, she needed a good night's sleep to present her best self tomorrow. Yet, here she was, at tonight's most exclusive pre-race party, finding her way to the bar to order herself a Monaco Mule, and to "Mingle!"

Doctor Jess' orders.

She was keeping an eye on her from one of the lounges set up around the pool where she was sitting down with Susanna, Bastien's publicist. Both of them busy orchestrating the next strategic moves for their charges this weekend.

Waiting for her drink, Aurelia took in the scene around her. It was still early, so the DJ was keeping the bass low and the music mellow. A few people were swaying - not too wild, just cool enough - in front of his table, a few people were splashing around in the pool, a few sitting at its side with their feet dipped in. Most were standing around the bar with drinks in their hands, pitched forward to catch every word about the groundbreaking new discoveries their opposite had made in the search for the unifying quantum gravity theory.

She imagined, at least.

She wasn't even close.

Did you know they've imported this sand from the Maldives for tonight? So lush!

Taking the chopper here was the best idea I ever had. No traffic, man!

Did you attend the Prince's dinner last night? Oh, not invited? Well, you didn't miss anything. The oysters tasted extremely fishy this year.

I told him he should've invested when I did! But the asshole didn't listen, of course. Little brothers, am I right?

Did you see Aurelia Carmichael in Bastien LeJeune's box yesterday? They were all over each other! How on earth did she manage to snatch him after her fuck-up in Cannes? I thought she'd keep a low profile and lick her wounds for at least a year...

Aurelia thanked the waiter for her drink and ducked away from the bar.

She remembered another beach party not too long ago where she had been the talk of the party, too. Last time around, she had literally bathed naked in the attention. This time around, she dove underwater and kept out of sight, holding her breath for as long as possible.

It didn't help. She still was a fish out of water.

"Aurelia Carmichael, you stunning creature!"

"Get your cute butt over here!"

She looked up and spotted Fipp and Lucie at the far end of the terrace with their feet dipped into the pool, waving her over.

Her heart lifted.

People she knew!

And between them: a place where she'd fit in.

"I've missed your beautiful faces, lovelies." Aurelia greeted them each with a pat on the head. She sat down between them, eased her legs into the water and was squeezed into a tight hug from both sides.