I shot back the tequila, the alcohol stinging my throat and burning my stomach as it settled.
Silas placed Spencer’s glass on the table, but Spencer didn’t move.
I rolled my eyes. “Oh my God, would you stop acting like a fucking priest and just drink it? If there ever was a time for us to get drunk together, it’s tonight.”
For a few seconds Spencer remained still, clearly for dramatic effect. When he finally took his glass, both Silas and I cheered, pouring each of us a refill.
The three of us sat on the porch talking, allowing ourselves just a few hours of not thinking about our mom or dad or our evil, new stepmother. It felt good to be together like this—siblings who teased rather than cursed. Laughing rather than yelling.
Eventually Silas passed out on one of the recliners. We all knew he had started his drinking binge the moment he put on his tux.
Spencer placed a hand around my shoulder. “Well, little sister, you got what you wanted. I’m drunk and about to go throw up on the bathroom floor. How about you?”
I chuckled. “I’m fine. Go to bed, Spencer.”
He pulled his eyes into slits, trying to focus, and gave me a peck on the cheek. “See you in the morning.”
I poured myself one last shot as Spencer went inside, and slipped off my shoes before sauntering off the porch onto the cobbled walkway. All the guests had left, and my dad and his new wife had retired to their room, probably fucking like rabbits.Ewww.
Tomorrow they’d leave for their honeymoon, which meant I wouldn’t be forced to watch them play house for at least another few weeks. But I refused to sleep in the house on the night my dad vowed before God to love and honor another woman.
My shoes dangled from my fingers as I strolled toward the cottage, tossing back my last shot and placing the glass in one of the Greek urn planters that lined the walkway. Good thing all these Persian silk trees couldn’t talk. I had snuck out the house down this exact path more times than I could count. Twenty-four-hour security my ass. All it took was a few Benjamins, and the security guards instantly went blind, allowing me a free pass without alertingMr. Whitlock.
Solar lights highlighted the path, accentuating the exotic plants and shrubs underneath the black sky as I got closer to the guest cottage, rounding the back. Silas had an extra key to the back door hidden in a plastic container under a fake sprinkler in case he’d end up with a guest who needed…entertaining.
I grabbed the key and placed the sprinkler on the steps leading up to the glass stacker door at the back. My shoes hit the wooden deck as I dropped them, and it sounded ten times louder as it echoed through the midnight silence.
While I aimed for the keyhole, I unzipped the side zipper of my dress, the lace starting to feel like sandpaper against my skin.
“Goddammit.” I struggled to keep my balance as I finally pushed the key in the lock, tripping over the dress that pooled around my feet. “Motherfucker.”
Brushing my hair back, I straightened, narrowing my eyes as if focusing would make it possible to see in the dark. Spencer was right. Alcohol did make you stupid.
I had been in this cottage enough times to know the couch was about four steps to the left after entering through the back.
One.
Two.
Three.
Click.
“What the—” I cringed, sudden bright lights tearing through my retinas as fright had me choking on a gasp. “What the hell?” I blinked a few times until I could see the man leaning against the arched wall, and I leaped to the back of the room. “Who the hell are you?”
“You know I could have shot you, right?”
Only then did I see the gun in his hand as his arm stretched down his side. “Jesus. Why do you have a gun?”
“Why are you sneaking in here in the middle of the night?”
I narrowed my eyes and leaned forward. “I know you.”
Familiar blue eyes stared at me with amusement, his lips curved at the edges. “Yeah. You stuck your tongue down my throat.”
His white wifebeater shirt clung to his chest, his skin beaded with sweat. But it was his eyes that seemed familiar. Bright blue and fluorescent. “Remember?
“Vaguely.”
The room started spinning, my skin burning red-hot while my stomach churned.
He inched closer, tucking his gun behind his back, shoulders squared and eyes pinning me in place. If this were a movie, this would be the part when the hot stranger said something incredibly sexy and seductive, grab the girl around her waist and slam her back against the wall.
But this wasn’t a movie. This was my life. So, this was the part where I threw up…right before I passed out.