Chapter Fourteen #2
“Yeah, I use that code too,” he sneers before gliding his hands down his jacket and pants. “She’s hot. Believe me, I get the attraction,” he adds with an arrogant chuckle.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I suggest you walk away,” I grit out.
“I’m talking about our stepsister, obviously. Well, I guess she’s not really mine…? I don’t know how it all works. But I’m guessing not technically, as she’s not Sara’s daughter? Either way, that means she is way less off-limits to me than she is to you, I’d imagine.”
My eyes close slowly, and I resist every urge coursing through me telling me to put this asshole through the closest wall.
“I’m only going to say this once, and then we aren’t going to have this conversation ever again.
Halle is very much off-limits.” I swallow hard, wanting to tell him that her orgasming all over my tongue and cock five minutes ago was fucking proof of that, but I refrain from that too.
I deserve a medal for all this fucking restraint when I barely have much of it when it comes to Saint.
“You can take that however the fuck you want. But if you so much as breathe in a way I don’t like toward her, you will fucking regret it.
” I don’t wait for his response because I couldn’t care fucking less.
I couldn’t care fucking less about all of this, to be honest. My mother was clearly upset now, and she was the only reason I was here.
Part of me wants to take Saint and get the hell out of here, but I don’t want to make things worse.
I grab my phone and shoot a text off to her telling her to come straight back to the venue when she’s done. Usually, I’d wait for her, but I didn’t want to make it completely obvious by walking in together, and the last thing I wanted was for her to get intercepted by Dylan.
Fucking dick.
When I make it back to the venue, people are starting to take their seats, and I groan in annoyance, thinking we’re going to be sitting close to my mom, Mike, and his fucking son.
I make my way toward the bar and order us both an old-fashioned, knowing that we’ll need something stronger than wine to get through this dinner.
“I haven’t talked to you all night.” The voice of Elana Sharpe cuts through my thoughts, and then I see my mother’s best friend holding what looks like an espresso martini.
“You look the same somehow.” She smiles warmly, and I wish I knew what kind of conversation this was going to be so I’d know if I needed to be guarded.
“Hey, Mrs. Sharpe.”
“Oh please, you’re twenty-five now, am I right?” she asks as if she’s trying to do the math. “I think you can call me Elana.” She smacks my arm before turning around and darting her gaze briefly around the room. “Where’s your partner in crime?”
“Bathroom. She’s not feeling the best.”
Elana nods. “I can imagine today might be kind of hard for her. Not that she’s not happy for your mom, but…
just a reminder of who’s not here.” Her honey-colored eyes watch me sadly, and not in a way that anyone else has tonight.
“My dad died a few months ago, actually. I don’t know how Halle has done this since she was four.
It really sucks,” she continues, and the look on her face is full of sorrow.
“I’m so sorry for your loss, Elana.”
“Probably different because Halle was so young when it happened, but… that means she’s gone her whole life without a dad.
I feel lucky to have had him as long as I did and so sad for anyone who got cheated out of those experiences.
” She puts a hand on my shoulder and squeezes.
“I’m glad she had you. If you can’t have a dad looking out for you, I’d say an older brother is the second-best thing. ”
I grab mine and Halle’s drinks from the bar and take a healthy sip. “I know that’s what everyone sees me as, but I’m not her brother, Elana.”
I can see her struggling with what to say next as her curious eyes study me. “Nothing’s changed, has it?”
“What do you think?” I ask while not looking at her.
My eyes are trained on the door, waiting for Saint.
She doesn’t respond, and when I look over at her, I can tell she’s not planning to until I answer her.
“No.” I shake my head. “Nothing’s changed.
Nothing is ever going to change. I won’t ever not be in love with her.
” I swallow nervously, hating the words preparing to leave my mouth.
“Whether or not that means we’ll be together forever is another story. ”
“Are you… together now?”
“Yes,” I answer honestly.
“Does your mother know?”
“Well, I sort of exploded that all over her about ten minutes ago, so yeah, but she didn’t before. Or maybe she did.” I turn to face her. “You tell me. You’re her best friend, so you’d know better than me.”
“Not to my knowledge. She figured things fizzled out when you moved to Seattle.”
“No. Not even close.” I shake my head. “I mean, obviously, we went longer without seeing each other, and there were periods when we weren’t talking, but it’s always been her for me.”
I hear a sharp intake of breath, and when I look over, Elana is looking at me like she feels sorry for me. “I hate that this was how you had to meet. That your circumstances make it so hard for you to be together,” she says with a soft smile.
I’m shocked by this response after hearing everyone else’s opinions over the years and in the past few days. But then I remember the compassion Elana has consistently shown all three of us from the moment we moved in next door. “Have you shared this opinion with my mother?”
“Here and there, when it was warranted. I’ve just always told her that two people who are destined or even determined to be together are going to find a way.
And nothing or no one will ever be able to stop that.
I understood her approach when you guys were younger, but once you went away to college and Halle was a senior…
” She shrugs. “I told her she was wasting her breath, and the harder she pushed, the more you guys were going to push back. I love her dearly, and I think she did have the best intentions, but she doesn’t understand why you two have distanced yourselves…
I do.” She pauses before she speaks up again.
“My son really never stood a chance.” She chuckles.
“No, and if you could relay that message to him, that would be great,” I say with a hint of humor even though I’m dead serious.
I look toward the entrance just as Halle enters, and it’s amazing what just having her in my sights can do to my mood.
Not that I was bothered by the conversation with Elana, but it just made me want to have my eyes on her.
Halle approaches us, and I immediately hand her the old-fashioned I ordered.
“Hi, Elana.” She gives a timid wave, probably because she’s not sure what kind of conversation she’s walking into.
I can tell she reapplied her makeup, and while her hair has fallen slightly from the tighter curls from earlier, it doesn’t look like she spent the last twenty minutes being fucked in a coat closet.
“Hi, Halle.” She smiles back and gives me a small side hug. “I’m going to take my seat. But it’s good to see you both”—she hesitates before finishing her thought—“happy.”
When she leaves, Halle’s eyes flit to mine in question. “Way better than I was expecting,” I say, answering her unspoken question about how that conversation went.
The sound of silverware hitting a champagne flute rings through the air, and when I look toward it, Mike stands in front of his seat, trying to get everyone’s attention.
“If everyone wants to take their seat, we are going to start serving dinner. But before that, I want to thank everyone on behalf of my future wife, Sara, and myself for coming out tonight and celebrating with us. I hope everyone enjoys themselves,” he says before sitting down.
There are two empty seats across from him and my mother, which I assume are for us, and I’m already dreading it.
When we make it to the table, sure enough, our place cards are there, and my Aunt Emily is sitting next to my mother, while Dylan is on the other side of Mike, making for a potentially very uncomfortable dinner.
I pull out the chair for Halle, and she sits down before I take the seat next to her.
I immediately put my hand on her thigh to give it a brief squeeze, alerting her that I’m here and she’s not alone.
Elana sits next to her, and I’m grateful that it’s someone who isn’t judging us. And that it’s not Brant.
“I hope you’re hungry,” my mother says to us with a smile that I can tell is forced.
I nod, still irritated with her, while Halle politely speaks up. “Yes. I wasn’t feeling that great, but I’m better now,” she offers, probably to corroborate the story she told me to tell to excuse her absence from the party.
“Good,” my mother says, but her voice is clipped.
“So, Halle, when do you graduate from business school?” Mike asks, and I wish everyone could just leave her alone.
“In May,” she answers.
“And what’s next for you?”
“I have started applying to a few places, but I'm not exactly sure if I want to stay in New York.”
“Where do you see yourself if not in New York?” Dylan asks just as our salads are being placed in front of us.
“As I said, I don’t know yet,” Halle says with a smile, but I can hear the fuck off in her voice, and I couldn’t be prouder.
Dylan smirks at us, clearly enjoying goading us. “Well, didn’t you mention a boyfriend? What about him? Where is he? I would assume you’d like to be wherever he is?”
“It’s a decision we’ll obviously make together.” She smiles, and then I feel her hand on my thigh, signaling me to relax because I’m ready to speak up to warn him to back the fuck off.