out a hand to stop him.
“No such thing as the right woman, not for that. Alicia may be a one-in-a-million kind of girl, but that doesn’t make her a saint.”
“You have some kind of problem with Alicia?” Matt asked, curiosity lining his features.
“No,” I replied immediately, but it didn’t look like they believed me. Whatever. That was their problem. Mine wasn’t with Alicia, per se. It was with the concept of two people tricking themselves into believing that they really could be together forever.
Frustration rumbled through my veins: at my brother, at his falling in love, at the eventual fallout I knew I was going to have to clean up when the ticking timebomb that was their relationship finally exploded.
It was time for another shot. Or two. Maybe three.
I was leaning over the bar to grab the bartender’s attention again when three women approached us. They were the kind of girls who constantly sought us out. Clad in revealing dresses, heels that could take your eye out, and so much makeup that it was impossible to tell what they really looked like.
Perfect.
Getting laid suddenly seemed like a great idea, the perfect way to get out of my head for the rest of the night.
I zeroed in on the leader of the pack, a blonde with a nice rack and a red dress that showed off smooth, toned thighs and legs from here to the ocean. She opened her mouth to speak when they neared us, and I caught a glimpse of metal in her mouth.
A tongue ring.
Awesome. That would do nicely. I beat her to the punch and flashed her the grin that usually got me what I wanted. “Hey there, sweetheart. How about I buy you a drink?”
Chapter 2
Kelly
“Well, well. The prodigal sister returns.” I smiled when I opened the door to my place to find Alicia holding a bag of snacks and a bottle of wine.
My sister looked happy, as she always did these days. Her blue eyes sparkled, and her blonde hair was pulled into a loose ponytail that hung over one shoulder.
She was dressed as the very picture of an efficient young professional, in a black dress that hugged her slim frame, an earpiece that she was in the process of removing, and shiny black peep toe heels.
My work attire was very, very different to hers. On the best of days, I wore fitted skinny jeans and old band shirts that I’d collected over the years to the office. Today’s was of a band probably only me and its members had ever heard of. They’d disappeared years ago, but I still liked the shirt.
Pulling Alicia in for a quick hug, I stepped aside to let her into my apartment. It was tiny in comparison to the mansion that she lived in with her fiancé, famous rocker and frontman of Destitute, Jared Larsen. But it was mine, and I loved it. I’d painted each of the walls a different color and had framed retro posters on most of the walls.
She pursed her lips but couldn’t keep them from lifting a little at the corners. “I’m hardly the prodigal sister. I saw you last week.”
“Then you disappeared back into Jared and only resurfaced now.” Following her to my kitchen, I reached for two wine glasses and went to dig around the drawer for the opener while Alicia started unpacking the snacks she’d brought.
“I didn’t disappear into Jared,” she protested, cheeks flushing. “Well, not only into him. I’m trying to get everything set up for the tour too. It’s exhausting.”
Finally locating the opener, I poured us each a glass of wine and popped one of the chocolate chip cookies she was arranging on a plate into my mouth. “Shouldn’t you be planning your wedding?”
“Probably, but I just haven’t had time. I think I’ve got the biggest things covered. We’ve got a date, a venue, and a wedding planner. That should do it, right?” She looked genuinely hopeful that I would agree with her assessment. I didn’t know much about wedding planning, but I knew enough to know that that wouldn’t do it.
Barely suppressing an eyeroll, I handed her wine to her and picked up the plate of snacks to carry into the living room. “You know, if you keep putting off actual planning, you’re risking interference from Mom. Or the band’s manager. Or something horrible like that.”
She shuddered slightly, then nodded. “I know. Mom would go wild with the budget Jared’s allowing for this whole thing.”
My eyes had bugged