The Stranger (25 page)

He winked at me. “More on that later?”

“Deal.” I locked my wobbly knees and fought an urge to cling to him. “I’ll wait for you outside.”

“No, please, stay.” He led me to a chair, gestured for me to sit down and then went to his grandmother and kissed her on the cheek. “Happy birthday.”

I hadn’t realized that it was Astrid’s birthday today. I felt bad—okay, maybe not bad, but a little naughty. I hadn’t been particularly nice to the birthday girl. But then again, the bitch had made niceties hard the moment she sicced her dogs on me and tried to manhandle me into a conversation I wasn’t ready to have.

Seth took a small bundle from his pocket and, sitting next to Astrid, put it in her hands. I recognized the little package. It was the one Anya had given him the first time we’d gone out to her homestead. I’d been so jealous when I’d thought he had a girlfriend.

Astrid opened the package and gasped. “Is it...?”

“The old man carved it especially for you,” Seth said. “Anya got it during her last visit.”

“That old fox.” Astrid signaled to Robert. “Magnifying glass, please.”

Robert rushed to retrieve it from the desk.

“It’s divine.” She stared through the glass at the miniature totem pole she held between her fingers. “Oh, Seth.” The warmth in her smile shocked me. “This is wonderful, the best birthday present. Thank you so much, dear.”

“You’re very welcome.” He smiled at her in return and I caught a glimpse of the boy he’d once been, of the young man who’d strived to please the demanding grandmother he no doubt adored. Perhaps I’d been too harsh on her. After all, she was his family and he loved her.

“Mistress?” Robert said, after conferring with the attendant who came to the door. “The governor has arrived.”

“In that case,” she said, rising to her feet, “I suppose we should greet said governor.”

She took a moment to find a place for her gift on one of the shelves that held a fine collection of miniature totems. “Perfect,” she said, before she appropriated Seth’s arm.

“Robert?” she added. “Please escort Miss Silva to the hall. Seth and I will attend to the reception line.”

“Summer can stand the hassle.” Seth offered me his other arm. “Will you?”

Astrid’s smile wavered on her lips.

“I don’t want to get in the way.” I took Robert’s arm. “I’ll just mosey around, make new friends.”

“Are you sure?” Seth said. “You’re welcome to stand with me.”

“I’m sure.” I conceded the small victory to the birthday girl. “See you later, alligator.”

His smile tampered with my knees. “That’s a promise.”

* * *

The party was in full swing. Cocktails were served in the main hall, an atrium that spanned the entire length of the house and opened up to the expansive veranda. There must have been a thousand people in the lavish mansion and the gardens. Armed with a watered-down mimosa, I found a secluded corner that allowed me a good view of the reception line and settled down for a hearty session of people watching.

What the hell was I doing here, so far away from home, surrounded by such a dazzling display of wealth, fashion, and power, in an environment that defied the little I’d known about Alaska prior to my arrival?

My eyes fell on Seth, who’d turned on the charm and was enthralling his guests like a battle-seasoned veteran of the social scene. He had so many facets to his personality. He could morph on the spot, from CEO to pilot, from soldier to civilian, from hermit to socialite, from business genius to family man, to just my guy.

My guy?

I choked on the damn mimosa. I slapped my chest until I stopped coughing. The way I felt about Seth frightened me. I’d fallen for him too fast. It wasn’t like me. I’d always been cautious and, after my disastrous marriage, I hadn’t expected to find someone who could accept me with my hang-ups. Someone who despite my inconvenient disorder, I could trust. I’d come to Alaska looking for Tammy. I hadn’t found her yet, but I’d collided with Seth.

“Excuse me?” A young man with gray eyes, a freckled face, and two glasses in hand interrupted my thoughts. “Are you Summer?”

“I am,” I said. “Who might you be?”

“I’m Stuart.” He offered me a fresh mimosa. “Ally’s husband?”

“Ah, yes, Stuart, the doctor from Texas. Nice to meet you.” I set my empty glass on the windowsill and accepted the drink. “Perfect timing.”

“Ally sent me to the rescue,” Stuart said.

“Oh, I can manage,” I said. “You don’t have to rescue me.”

“But I do,” he said, flashing his infectious smile. “Seth told Ally and Ally told me. Double Erickson orders. Those have to be followed or I risk catastrophe.”

I had to laugh. “I think I know what you mean.”

“Ericksons spend an inordinate amount of time manning long reception lines at parties,” he said. “I’m afraid my company will have to suffice for the moment.”

“What about the other family members?” I asked. “Don’t you spend time with them?”

Stuart waved a finger from side to side. “We do not fraternize with the enemy. We stick by the good Ericksons and we don’t go to the dark side, ever.”

“The dark side?” I said. “You mean Benjamin’s side of the family?”

“The Alex faction,” Stuart said. “That’s him over there. The one with the dark curls? He just weaseled his way between Seth and Jeremy. Did you see that? Ally just gave him
the
look.”

“
The
look?” I said.

“Yes, you know, the Erickson look?” Stuart said. “The narrow-eyed, straight-lipped glare that burns a hole in your skull and activates your acid reflux?”

“Ooh,” I said, laughing. “Yes, of course, the radioactive look.”

“Radioactive is right.” Stuart grinned. “You’ve got to have guts to stick with an Erickson. You’ve got to have gastric endurance.”

“Stop terrorizing me,” I said. “Astrid already did enough of that for a day.”

“Astrid?” Stuart grimaced. “Ouch. Do you want me to call the ambulance?”

“I’ll live.”

“Sorry you had to go through that,” Stuart said. “I wish I could tell you it gets easier to climb the Astrid glacier, but there isn’t a pair of crampons sharp enough to conquer those heights. Did you see that?” Stuart elbowed me. “Alex just spoke to Astrid. She spoke back!”

“Um...is that unusual?”

“It’s a bit surprising, after what Alex did to Seth last week with that Star Lake mess,” Stuart said. “On the other hand, she’s got no proof that Alex was behind the hoopla and Astrid is the neutral element, Switzerland on steroids. She will not favor one grandson over the other without solid proof.”

“She did lose two sons,” I said. “I’m sure she loved them both.”

“But think about it,” Stuart said. “She must be partial to Arthur’s kids. After all, she brought them up single-handedly. Seth, Jer, and Ally were orphaned. Whereas Ben’s children still had mothers to care for them, even if Ben’s wives were all certifiably insane.”

“Alex’s mother too?” I asked.

“Alex’s mother especially.” Stuart downed his drink. “She is greed in the flesh and she taught it to her son, who worships the mighty dollar. Alex is the most rapacious of the Ben lot.”

“Sounds like a reality show.”

“An Erickson reality show would be all drama,” Stuart said. “I don’t know what more proof Astrid could want. Alex has been jealous of Seth all his life. Ally says Alex was always trying to throw a wrench in Seth’s plans. He even stole Seth’s girlfriend when Seth was sick. Talk about a low blow.”

Girlfriend?
My antennae perked up. I was about to ask Stuart for details when Astrid and her brood broke out of the reception line. She headed for the balcony overlooking the atrium and waited for her family, the governor, and her most notable guests to arrange themselves behind her. The crowd broke into applause. Seth stepped up to the podium, welcomed everybody and wished his grandmother a happy birthday. Then Astrid took to the mike, thanked the crowd for their contributions to the Alaskan Conservation Fund and invited them to proceed to the dining tents.

“Twenty thousand dollars a person,” Stuart said, as we flowed with the crowd out the terrace and down to the lawn. “That’s how much an invite to this lovely party cost these folks. I don’t know about you, but where I come from, that’s an obscene amount of money. She raises millions a pop. No wonder she’s the queen of queens.”

Or the empress of all queen bitches. I bit my rebellious tongue back and, wedged next to Stuart, made it to the proper table, where my name was engraved on a silver placeholder, next to Seth’s. I had to say good-bye to Stuart, who was assigned to the opposite side of the incredibly long VIP table. I took in the fresh flower arrangements on the tall silver stands, the vintage bone china, and the crystal chandeliers. I guess I knew what to expect if I ever donated twenty thousand dollars to a cause.

Eventually, Astrid led the VIP procession. She took her place at the head of the table, escorted by Jer, who sat next to her, along with the governor and his wife and a host of celebrity guests. Ally joined her husband somewhere north of me. Several chairs south from me, Alex pulled out the chair for a red-haired hottie, whose long curls provided a lot more coverage than her mini-dress.

I found myself glancing at the woman. So this was the girlfriend Seth had been with when he got hurt, the one who left him for Alex. Wow. She was so different from me. In every way. What had Seth seen in her? What could he possibly see in me? How would he want to be with me when he’d been with her?

Seth was the last one to come to the table. Undoing his coat’s top button, he took his seat next to me, reached out for my hand, and leaned over my shoulder.

“Did Stuart find you?” he said.

“Yes, sir,” I said. “And he did his duty. He welcomed me to Ericksonland.”

He quirked an eyebrow. “Ericksonland?”

“It’s more than a concept, you know.”

He broke out into a fit of quiet laughter. “I love it.”

The smile on my face widened. I felt as if I’d been deprived of joy when Seth finally sobered up.

“Sorry about the solo grandmother encounter,” he said. “Was it bad?”

“It was like fumbling into a tigress’s cage wearing a raw steak gown.”

“Damn,” he muttered. “I know how Grandma can be.”

“I’m so glad she doesn’t own wolves instead of dogs.”

“Oh, fuck.” Seth grimaced. “Please don’t tell me she did that thing where she set Devon and Daemon on you?”

“Okeydokey,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I won’t tell you.”

He swore under his breath. “I know this has been a dud so far, but we just have to get through dinner and then we’re home free. Bear with me, will you?”

“I shall try.” I sighed as the first plate of the fourteen-course meal outlined on the printed menu was set before me. Only thirteen courses to go.

* * *

Dinner was an endless affair and, even though some courses held only microscopic samples of rare delicacies, fourteen courses was a lot of food. My favorite part of the meal comprised a trio of gigantic crab legs. Seth had to get the meat out of the armored shell for me, but once I tasted it, I was in food heaven.

After dinner, we tried to recuse ourselves from the table, but the governor wanted a word in private with Seth. I drifted back to the atrium, where several bands took turns entertaining the crowd. I watched the people dance, took a self-guided tour of the house and ended up at one of the bars on one of the grounds’ overlooks. By then it was getting colder, which was not a problem, since attendants dressed in Andean costumes made an appearance, distributing exquisite merino shawls to the partygoers.

I wrapped myself in a fine cream shawl and enjoyed the stunning views. A pair of otters played in the surf and several eagles fished along the coastline. I leaned over the railing and spotted a lighthouse at one end of the property, a straight white tower standing like a sentinel on the rocky shore.

Out of the corner of my eye, I tracked Alex Erickson, assessing me from afar. I had no interest in meeting him, so I straightened my spine and bristled with hostility, letting my body language do the talking. Either the idiot couldn’t read my not-so-subtle cues or he chose to ignore them altogether. Next I knew, he leaned on the railing next to me.

“My great-grandfather had that lighthouse built in the 1930s.” The breeze toyed with his curls. “It was before Alaska became a state in the union. My father used to keep an apartment out there, for when he was out of sorts with his wives.”

“I suppose that would make your father Benjamin.” I glanced at him. “And you are, of course, Alex Erickson.”

“At your service.” He appropriated my hand and kissed it. “
Enchanté
.”

“I’m afraid I can’t say the same in reference to you,” I said, retrieving my hand from his clutch.

“Don’t tell me a beauty of your caliber has already chosen sides.” He flashed his version of a seductive smile, which struck me as fake and faulty at the same time. “From what I’d heard about you, I gathered you’d give a guy a fair chance.”

“Please,” I said. “No need for flattery here.”

“Flattery?” He flashed a phosphorescently white set of teeth. “Surely, you haven’t looked in the mirror lately.”

Really? Was he making a pass at me, right here, in broad daylight?

I shot him a cutting glance. “It won’t work with me.”

“What won’t work with you?” he asked.

“Your shameless flirting.”

His shrewd stare took me in. “Feisty, aren’t you?”

“I’ve been called worse.”

Alex pulled out a monogrammed case from his pocket and eyed me as he put together the halves of an electronic cigarette. I got the clear sense he was trying to figure me out. He had the poise of a proper Erickson plus a set of swarthy looks that must have come from his mother’s side. A head of curls topped a wide forehead and framed a narrow face that reminded me of the painting of Napoleon I’d just previewed in the gallery.

“Everybody in the family is talking about you,” Alex said.

“Glad to be pulp for the rumor mill.”

“You’ve got spunk.” He puffed on his e-cig and released a cloud of vapor. “You and I may be able to get along.”