“Are you bringing anyone?” I needed to figure out sleeping arrangements, but I was mostly curious as to whether Sebastian was seriously involved with a female. Considering the crowd he was running with right now, I was hoping he wasn’t.
“Nope. I’m flying solo.” Sebastian paused for a moment before asking, “You? Have you found a woman who will put up with your cranky ass for more than an hour?”
Not so long ago, I would have told Sebastian everything. Now, I didn’t trust him. He ran hot and cold these days, and the last thing I needed was for Dane to find out the truth. “As a matter of fact, I have. Congratulate me. I’m recently engaged.”
I waited as the line was silent, knowing Sebastian was still connected, but wasn’t talking.
Finally, he answered. “You got engaged? And you didn’t say anything? I didn’t even know you were seeing anyone.”
Fuck! Now I was feeling guilty because there was an underlying hurt in my brother’s voice. It made me feel like a complete asshole, but there was more at stake than just Sebastian’s feelings.
I can’t tell him. He’s too unpredictable.
“Whirlwind relationship. You’ll like her,” I told him awkwardly, knowing I was a shitty liar when it came to fabrications with my brothers. Most people didn’t know the me who lay beneath my professional demeanor. Hell, I barely knew myself anymore.
“What’s she like? Where did you meet her? Do I know her?” Sebastian was quickly sobering up.
“Nice. No. And no, you don’t know her.” I answered his questions rapidly, hoping he’d let the subject go.
“What’s her name?” Sebastian persisted.
“Eva.” I decided to keep it simple. He’d be meeting her soon enough, and I was uncomfortable talking about her.
Did it matter if Eva was technically their stepsister? Should they know the truth? I didn’t see why they should. They’d never known, and they’d never met her. She wasn’t blood, so there wasn’t much harm in keeping our flimsy ties a secret. Hell, I hadn’t even completely verified her claim yet, but I was already working on that. I did know that even when I did have proof that she was really our stepsister, I wouldn’t tell them. Dane could never know the truth.
“Do you love her?” Sebastian sounded puzzled.
Jesus Christ! I hated lying to him, even though he’d been a fucking jerk for a while now. “Yes.” The word slipped from my mouth easily, the lie complete by uttering one single word.
“Damn. She must be hot.”
“She’s smart, kind, and honest.” I said those words without even thinking, knowing them to be the truth. Eva was everything many women in our circles were not. Maybe that was why I had this unholy instinct to fuck her and protect her at the same time.
“I notice you didn’t say she was hot,” Sebastian mumbled.
“Touch her and I swear I’ll put you in the hospital,” I growled, unable to stop visions of Sebastian acting inappropriately with Eva.
“Holy shit, bro. I think you really are in love. And she really must be beautiful. I might be a dick, but you know I’d never touch another man’s woman, especially my brother’s.” There was some anger in Sebastian’s voice.
Yeah, I knew that. Sebastian had good reason to be testy about the subject. “I know.” But when you’re intoxicated, you’re a different person from the brother I knew and trusted. I didn’t add those thoughts to our conversation.
“Is Dane bringing Britney?”
I recoiled at the mention of her name, not because she meant a damn thing to me anymore, but because Dane was, in fact, bringing the woman I’d once cared about. Neither of my brothers knew I’d been intimate with Britney—in the biblical sense, or why she was now pretending she was madly in love with Dane. I knew she didn’t love my brother because she wasn’t capable of love. Britney was a user, a manipulator.
“He’s bringing her,” I replied flatly.
“Now there’s one hot woman,” Sebastian whistled appreciatively.
Britney was beautiful, but as attractive as a poisonous snake to me now. “On the surface, perhaps she is.”
“Are you jealous?” Sebastian’s voice was more quizzical than teasing.
“No. But I don’t trust that she’s with Dane for the right reasons.” I wanted Sebastian to see the truth for himself since I couldn’t tell him.
“You think she’s jerking his chain? That she only cares about his money?” Sebastian’s voice became clearer, and slightly hesitant.
“I guess we’ll figure that out eventually.” I was noncommittal because I needed to be. “But I don’t trust her.”