The Sterling Boys(13)

"Yeah," Dale drawls. "Dane hired a private investigator to track down any possible family he had living. He managed to track down his father, but Dane didn't want to meet him. He assumed he more than likely had some siblings out there. He was right. The dude found Brittley. She was living on the streets, hopping from one place to another, sometimes camping out under a bridge. Dane went to her, told her who he was, and asked her to come back with him.

"It took her a few months to accept, but she finally did when she realized Dane was relentless and he planned on hounding her until she caved. She's still learning to adjust. She was a filthy mess when he brought her here. She's brilliant though, despite her short stints in public school. It took a little while for her to catch up, but she has an eidetic memory, which helps. She has excellent grades, and now—with Dane's help—she just got into Sterling University."

I'm overwhelmed. No, scratch that; overwhelmed is a mere distant illusion in the rearview mirror. Dane has a sister? And no one bothered to tell me? That actually hurts.

"She got into Sterling? With hardly any consistent schooling? Damn. Dane must have pulled some real strings," I murmur idly as I watch Dane hug the girl with an affectionate embrace.

"It wasn't too hard. She scored high on numerous things, and she had an epic essay she based solely on her actual life experiences. Dane is friends with a few board members, and once he explained the situation, they were willing to give her a fair shot to gain admittance. She blew them away in an interview."

I sigh out hard, now realizing six years isn't just a little bit of time; it's an eternity. I've been so wrapped up in my life away from here, that their lives went on without me. I feel... lost, disconnected even. This isn't what I expected when I came back home.

"I can't believe you guys told me about old Mrs. Harvington getting kicked out of the country club for indecent exposure—ew, by the way—but you failed to mention Tag Masters getting married and Dane Sterling having a long lost sister. You're the worst newsfeeds ever," I joke lightheartedly, doing what I can not to pout.

"Not like you'd have believed us about Tag. And you don't really like hearing about Dane," Corbin says with a one-shoulder shrug, acting as though that explains it all.

I frown, suddenly feeling a little selfish. "Dane and I were best friends for five years. He was there for me when no one else was. If he has a sister, I want to know. If he has a girlfriend, I'll pass on learning."

They all smile lightly, and I silently curse the tequila. Stupid truth serum. I should have left off the last part. That was too much.

Kode shifts beside me, sitting a little tenser.

"You want to go to the party tomorrow?" he asks, leaning down to press a chaste kiss to my shoulder.

He's always affectionate when he drinks. More so than usual.

"No. I'd rather not. He should get to enjoy his time with his sister instead of having me there to make it awkward."

"You two ever going to fess up to what happened?" Dale grumbles, crossing his arms as he cuts his eyes toward me.

"Yeah. Sure. It's a short story. Nothing happened," I say, watching them all roll their eyes before shifting the topic toward the party.

"Nothing at all," I mutter dryly, keeping the surly comment low enough for only my ears.





Chapter 3





DANE




You'd think I'm a teenager right now—playing games, feeling antsy about seeing a girl, changing my clothes over and over. Hell, I've even practiced what I'll do when she gets here. My palms are sweating, and I'm sick. So sick. Fuck. I'm eighteen again.

A silver Audi rolls into my driveway, distracting me enough from my pacing to offer a little reprieve. Step one of my plan is here.

The party is already underway, and everyone seems to be thoroughly wrapped up in the alcohol and festivities, so no one notices when I step away to greet my secret guest.

Long, sleek, tan legs show themselves first before the platinum blonde hair draws my attention. If she was anyone else, I'd think she was enough to turn my head, but she's not anyone. And quite frankly, since Rain has been back, I have stopped noticing other women at all.

I groan and curse myself for even letting her get under my skin.

As if my love life wasn't already fucked up enough because of the girl. Six years. Six damn years, and I've been unable to achieve any sort of real relationship, despite my best efforts. There's always that rift between me and every girl who isn't Rain, because no one measures up to the girl I once knew. Not even the woman she is now meets the standard she once set.

"I was surprised to get your invitation," Tria says while stepping toward me.

To be honest, I never imagined there would be a day when I invited Rain's evil half-sister to my party, but if Rain insists on putting her hands all over my brother in front of me, then it's time to fight back. She hates Tria, so my plan to piss Rain off goes into effect tonight. Our playing field needs to be level.