Someone knocked on the door, and I called for them to come in. Standing in the threshold was Paige, looking lonely and desperate.

“Room for one more?” she squeaked.

I pulled back the blanket and sheets. She smiled and then hurried to lie beside me. I wrapped my arms around her and relaxed as she kissed the inside of my wrist.

“You’re beautiful,” she whispered. “What is it like? To live in a house like this? To live this life?”

I didn’t know how to respond, so I said the first thing that came to mind. “Close your eyes.”

Paige reached back, wedging her hand between my wet thighs.

“I saw him come downstairs,” she said.

“So you decided to come up?”

“I knew he wouldn’t stay.”

“I didn’t need him to.”

“I do,” she said, “need people to stay. You can pretend I’m him … if you want.”

“I’ll pretend you’re you,” I said, kissing her temple.

Paige relaxed in my arms, settling in while the bass throbbed through the floor. After a few minutes, the music abruptly turned off, and I knew Tyler and his friends were ending the party and kicking everyone out.

Not long after, Paige’s breathing evened. I closed my eyes, pulled her closer to me, and sunk into oblivion.

Chapter Two

CHAPTER TWO

I was just making my way to my father’s pristine black Audi when the first van arrived. Men and women filed out, their boots crunching against the snow as they carried buckets, vacuums, and boxes of cleaning supplies into the house. Felix, my father’s assistant, had already expedited the new sofa.

My parents wouldn’t be in Estes Park from Rome for another week, providing plenty of time to get the house back in order. It wasn’t the first time Felix had had to hire crews to clean up after a party, and he was very good at making sure nothing was out of place. Since I was seven, Felix had been the peacekeeper and protector of the family, and doubled as my father’s bodyguard when necessary. Sometimes Felix had to protect Daddy from me.

“Miss Edson,” Felix said, nodding as I approached the drive.

He towered over the Audi, his suit jacket tight around his thick arms. His metal-rimmed glasses were tinted, protecting his eyes from the same sun that reflected off his smooth head. He held a cellphone in his right hand and a clipboard against his chest with his left. No doubt there was a list several pages long of items to be checked off, repairs and orders to be made, all in an effort to provide Daddy with the life he paid Felix to create.

“Thank you, Felix,” I said.

Once I passed, he swept the driver side door open, allowing me to slide inside. The car was warm, already running, making my fur vest and tall boots feel more like overkill than appropriate winter attire.