Longing For The Beach Billionaire Daddy
Chapter 96

*Shelby*

I closed my eyes in the back of the car as the driver made his way through the New York traffic. I was exhausted from the fight I’d had with Lauren the night before. I’d finally gotten everything off of my chest, and put Lauren in her place. She knew if she continued to help Blaine blackmail her father or me, I’d make sure she wouldn’t receive her trust fund.

Lin and I had left the party before Lauren returned back inside. Jerrick seemed confused about everything that happened but didn’t ask questions when Lin asked him to come to a diner with us instead of staying at the party. We all sat in a booth, drinking decaf coffee and eating pancakes until the early morning hours. It turned out to be a lot more enjoyable evening than I’d expected.

A text came through, and my eyes fluttered back open. I couldn’t help but smile seeing Michael’s name glowing on my screen.

Michael: I can’t wait to see you later tonight. I’m sorry I won’t be there when you get home. I had some stuff come up at work that I can’t get out of. You should go out and enjoy yourself. I’ll see you for dinner.

At Michael’s text, I thought over what I could do to occupy my time until he made it home. My thoughts immediately went to my old roommate and best friend, Aubrey. I hadn’t seen her since she came to visit me after my accident.

I called her and she picked up in just a few rings.

“Shelby!” Aubrey sounded on the other end of the phone.

“Hey Aubrey, I’ve missed you!” I said.

“I’ve missed you too. What’re you doing?”

“I’m actually just driving into New York. Are you busy today?” I asked.

“Not at all. I’m actually pacing the apartment, trying to replace something to do. There’s a football game on, and Giani doesn’t want to miss it. Why don’t you come over, and we’ll figure something out?”

I could imagine her bouncing on the tips of her toes, just like I’d seen her do so many times before. Aubrey was never one who could sit still for long. Being stuck at home on a Saturday was likely driving her crazy.

“That sounds great. I’ll have the driver drop me off there instead. We are about thirty minutes away,” I said, excited to see my friend again.

“Great! I can’t wait!” Aubrey squealed before hanging up the phone.

She really meant it when she said she couldn’t wait. By the time the car pulled up in front of the old apartment, Aubrey was standing at the front of the building waiting for me. A huge smile was plastered on her face as I got out of the car, and she wrapped me in a tight hug.

“I’m so happy to see you, especially since this time, I can squeeze you without worrying I’ll hurt you,” Aubrey said, hugging me tighter.

I laughed. It felt good to be around her again. I’d always loved living with her because she was like a ray of sunshine. She always saw the positive side of every situation.

“I’ve missed you so much,” I said, Aubrey finally letting me go.

“I’ve missed you too, Shelby. It’s been so different since you and Lin moved out. I can’t wait to show you some of the changes I’ve made in the apartment. Let’s go up and get warm while we decide what we’re going to do this afternoon,” Aubrey said, grabbing my hand and leading me up the stairwell.

The apartment was very different from when we all lived there together. Giani had moved in with Aubrey after we moved out, and it looked like he let Aubrey make all the decorating choices. The small space was decorated floor to ceiling in calming neutral colors. Bright green plants decorated every flat surface in the apartment. The whole place seemed brighter.

“Wow Aubrey, this place is gorgeous. I had no idea it could feel so spacious in here,” I said, turning around the room.

Giani sat on a comfortable-looking sofa, absorbed in the football game on the tv. He turned when I entered and flashed me a fast smile. I gave him a quick wave so he could return to watching.

“You like it?” Aubrey asked, a sheepish smile on her face.

“I love it,” I said, smiling.

Giani’s cell phone started ringing; he cursed under his breath before taking it out of his pocket. His facial expression changed from irritation to curiosity as he looked at who was calling him. He stood up off the couch and walked past us.

“Sorry, I have to take this,” he said before stepping into the hallway.

“Well, what would you like to do today?” I asked Aubrey.

“There’s a new art gallery that opened up a few blocks over. Would you like to walk through it with me? Giani said he’d go with me, but I know it’s not really his thing,” Aubrey said.

“Yeah, that sounds great. We could stop at the coffee shop on our way over,” I added.

“That sounds perfect,” she said with a smile, grabbing her coat.

We walked down the familiar sidewalks to a hole-in-the-wall coffee shop that we used to frequent nearly every day. I missed their pastries and ordered myself a large coffee and a blueberry muffin, which smelled like it’d just come out of the oven.

Aubrey and I took a seat at a table right in front of the main window. We watched people walk by as she told me all about her kindergarten class and how much she loved what she was doing. I was so happy for her and answered all of her questions about my new internship.

“I’m so glad the internship worked out in the end. I’m still sorry that you didn’t get the one you wanted,” Aubrey said, taking a sip of her latte.

“That’s okay. I think this one at Hastings Engineering is going to work out great. Everyone there seems so nice. Plus I get along really well with Jerrick,” I said.

“Oh, is he the one Lin has a thing for?” Aubrey said, leaning in.

“Yes, they both obviously like each other. They’re going on their first date tonight and I can’t wait to hear how it goes,” I said, smiling.

“You’ll have to tell me what’s going on. You know how quiet Lin can be about actual feelings,” Aubrey said with a little laugh.

“That’s true,” I said, popping a stray blueberry into my mouth. “She did cancel two other dates to go out with Jerrick, so it seems pretty serious.”

“Wow,” Aubrey said, leaving her mouth open a little too long.

“Anyway, how are you and Giani doing?” I asked.

“We’re doing really well. I was really glad we got to take the next step and move in together. We’re getting along better than ever,” Aubrey said with a doe-eyed smile.

“I’m glad,” I said, wishing I could tell her about my engagement.

“I’m glad that things worked out between you and Michael. He seems to make you really happy,” Aubrey responded. “What happened with Lauren, though?”

“I confronted her at the party last night. I told her that if she didn’t stop working with Blaine or if that made-up story about Todd and me leaked, I’d tell her dad that she was involved. I promised her that she’d have to say goodbye to her trust fund. She was snarky at first, but as soon as I brought up the money she was after, her tune changed,” I said, not being able to keep the smile from my face.

“I’m so proud of you, Shelby. I never liked that girl.”

“Wow, strong words for you, Aubrey,” I said, teasing. “I told her that she needed to give up her unearned spot at Harvard. She’s supposed to be gone before the weekend is over, but I guess I’ll replace out on Monday if she actually listened.”

“I’m sure she did. I’ve only seen you mad a few times, but you’re intimidating when you need to be,” Aubrey said with a laugh.

We continued catching up about everything we could think of since we’d seen each other last as we walked the remaining few blocks to the art gallery. The stark white gallery was accented with bright pops of colorful paintings.

“All of the paintings were done by local artists. Please let me know if you have any questions, ladies,” the young woman behind the desk said after greeting us.

We murmured our thanks and wandered our way through the maze of paintings. It was slow-moving because there were quite a few people in the gallery at the time, and Aubrey wanted to be sure to see everything there.

We stopped to comment on the ones that stuck out to us. I even found a few I was going to tell Michael about because I thought they’d go nicely with some of the furniture we had picked out for the townhouse.

One particular painting caught my attention, and I stopped to admire the beautiful abstract depiction of what I imagined to be a sunset. It immediately reminded me of all of the sunsets I watched with Michael on his yacht when we first met.

I pictured the beautiful painting over our bed in our master suite. Immediately, I knew we had to have it. I pulled out my phone to call Michael and tell him about it.

However, just as I was about to dial, I felt a hand graze my back. My skin prickled, and I turned around to see a figure in a black hoodie retreating through the crowd. Panic bubbled up in me, and my chest tightened. I felt like I was holding on to what little air I could force into my lungs.

Aubrey noticed my fear and grabbed my elbow. She pulled me to a small padded bench just out of reach from the crowd.

“Are you okay?” she asked with concern in her voice.

I nodded, which only made my head feel fuzzier before everything went dark.