𝐒𝐲𝐧 ┃𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞

27. 𝐷𝑖𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑟 𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑦

May 6, 2023

Queen

The sound of the cool jazz filled the sport's car as Aiden pressed on the gas a little bit too hard. The cold air rushed into the car as buildings became unrecognizable at our speed. I leaned my head against the seat and closed my eyes, thankful for all of the distractions clouding my mind. My full attention should've been on Aiden, but ever since I talked to Saint, I'd been thinking about Syn.

I knew something was off, but the fact that Saint mentioned it...it made everything feel more real in a way. Everything that was happening with Syn wasn't just in my head. He wasn't fine. Something was happening that I just couldn't see...

That hurt me the most; that I couldn't see it.

If we were in each other's shoes I was sure he'd figure me out within seconds. Obviously, it was because he knew me better than anyone, but that realization only made my heart hurt to the core. It meant that I didn't know him enough to be able to figure it out. What's wrong with me? Was it because Syn never told me anything or because I didn't try hard enough?

The car came to a slow and my eyes fluttered open to see us pulling into the driveway off a large gated mansion. With one arm, Aiden drove around the large water fountain in the middle of the walkway and parked in front of the staircase. I looked around to see about a dozen other cars parked around us and I raised a brow.

"I thought this was a dinner...?"

"Dinner...party," he added with a grin as he took off his seatbelt. "I hope that's not a problem."

"No." I shook my head. "It's fine." It was better this way. More people meant that this was less intimate and hopefully there would be a lot less attention on me. "Is there anything I should know before we go in?"

"Well, my father is having a meeting with this big contractor about some property," he said. "It was a last-minute thing but chances are you won't see much of him tonight."

"Okay." I nodded. "Let's go then."

We both left the car and I held the bag of wine in my hands nervously. Guests were walking up the long steps with trains of dresses following behind them and I grimaced. "I thought you said there was no dress code."

He laughed, glancing around us quickly before placing a hand on the small of my back. "You look perfect, trust me."

I glanced down at the satin burgundy dress, fixing the spaghetti straps as I took a deep breath. I guess I didn't look horrible, but I wished I put in a little bit more effort. I watched my steps as I walked, making sure my heels didn't slip. Falling here in front of all of these people would be an embarrassment I was sure I wouldn't be able to recover from.

Two guards on either side of the double door entry nodded at us as we walked in and Aiden shot them a familiar smile before guiding me inside. "Woah," I said as I walked inside. One would think that a single chandelier would be enough to capture the beauty of a house and reflect it, but there were dozens. A large one dangles over the foyer as smaller ones danced around it.

A double staircase floated across both sides of the foyer leading to a walkway between them where guests were lounging and watching the front door. I could hear the faint jazz music in the background and immediately picked up on where Aiden got his taste in music. That must've been the only thing he got though because he definitely didn't get his parent's extravagance when it came to decor. I'd been to his house and although it was nice, he didn't seem to care for any color coordination or extra things.

"This is nice," I said with an astonished nod as I looked around.

"It's okay, I guess." He brushed it off, continuing to lead me deeper into the house. "Excuse me," he muttered to guests in the way. Before I knew it, we were standing in front of a large double island where a woman was wearing an apron and laughing with the guests around her. "There she is," Aiden said lowly.