“So, see … you and I, Sydney, are on the same team. We just want these guys to get married and the wedding to go smoothly, right?”
SYDNEY
Wrong.We weren’t on the same team. I was determined to get to the bottom of Brandy’s lying and cheating ways. Maybe I’d find clues in her room.
Alec’s nickname for Brandy was Princess because he treated her like one. And she must have believed she was one because her room was decked out in pink and crystals. If there was any doubt that Brandy was not high maintenance, as Alec liked us to believe, this proved that wrong.
“Crystal, huh?” I was just inside the room, gawking up at the elaborate chandelier above her bed. And if that wasn’t enough, her bedpost and frame were encrusted in some diamond-like stones around the edges.Over the top much?
“The wedding favors are probably in her closet.” Austin ignored my question, strolled over to her closet, and pulled open the door.
And then I gawked a second time because her closet was most likely the size of my bedroom at home.
Curiosity got the best of me. I inched toward her dresser while he was out of sight and perused her belongings. Earrings, lipstick, a few fashion magazines, and an endless amount of jewelry littered the dark wood. But what caught my eye was a gold locket. A locket I hadn’t ever seen before.
Interesting.
My eyes went back to Brandy’s closet. I could hear Austin rummaging around in there. “Did you find it?”
“I don’t even know what I’m looking for,” he griped. “She has so much shit. Seriously, how much stuff can a girl have?”
“It should be a box with little bottles of mints. We helped her make them a couple weeks ago, but she said she’d give it to the wedding planner herself.” I reached for the locket and popped it open.
Crap. Crap. Crap.
My muscles tightened, and I swallowed a gasp. Carved in script letters, it said,B.C. *heart* H.B.
A heaviness that I felt in my chest spread to every part of me. I rubbed the heel of my palm against my heart. How could this be happening? Yeah, I never liked Brandy for Alec, but eventually, I’d have dealt with it. Like we all would have. Because Alec had picked her. Because Alec loved her and we all loved him.
Alec had given Brandy a bracelet and a promise ring before her engagement ring. Brooke had helped him pick out the pieces because out of all of us sisters, she had an eye for beautiful things.
Alec always showed off what he’d bought her. And when he finally gave it to Brandy, he’d flaunt it in an exaggerated way, like by lifting her hand and showing off her wrist.
I’d never seen this locket. Could it be from a relative? I shook my head, not wanting to jump to conclusions. I needed more proof. I was in denial. What was my problem? I was so ready to convict her, and now that I maybe had proof, I didn’t want it to be true.
The anger I’d felt earlier dissipated and was replaced with this utter need for my gut feeling to be false.
I squeezed the locket in my hand and shut my eyes tightly. “Please, please, please.” I didn’t know who I was calling out to. All I knew was this would absolutely break Alec, and the thought killed me.
Austin emerged from the closet, holding a medium-sized cardboard box, and I stuffed the locket into my jacket pocket. His smile was wide and big, as though he’d just hit a grand slam.
“Who’s the man?” His smile dissipated a second later. “Hey,” he said, his voice soft, “are you okay?” Concern clouded his features. “You look like you’re going to be sick.”
Damn it.“I’m sorry.” My voice came out flustered, and I smiled awkwardly. “My stomach hurts.” Like a bad actress and a second too late, I hunched over. “Ouch.”
“Oh.” He took a step back, as though he didn’t know what to do. “Do you want some Pepcid? Pepto? You wanna use the bathroom?” He grimaced. “You can use the one upstairs. It’s the one I go to when my stomach hurts.”
Okay. Gross.
“No, it’s just cramps. It’s that time, and I’ve been really emotional lately.” It was entirely true, though perhaps exaggerated for the need of the moment. “We raised Alec since my mom died, and with this wedding coming up …” I paused, forgetting the lie of my stomach hurting as I stood straight. I thought of the locket in my pocket and the fact that I was stealing. The possibility of what I had seen being true entered my mind. Then, my thoughts flickered toward my brother. “It was almost always me, raising him. Serena was too busy with the agency. So, it was me getting him breakfast before school, me finding his tutor when he was struggling with Calculus, me going with him to get fitted for his prom tux, me helping him during his college applications, and before Brandy …” I paused, reliving the heart-wrenching moments. “Me comforting him when he had his first heartbreak.” I choked up at the end of the sentence.
Without warning, without pretense, Austin shocked me by dropping the box and reaching for my hand, the touch so intimate that I stiffened.
“I get it,” he said, his green eyes sympathetic. “I’m gonna miss my little stinker and having her in this house. My father’s nonexistent. So, I’ll be the one walking her down the aisle. The only thing keeping me sane is knowing that I’m handing her over to Alec, and Alec is the best guy I know.”
His thumb made small circles on the top of my fist, causing unwanted goose bumps to travel up my arm.
I swallowed. “He is. He is the best guy I know too.” Which was why I had to get to the bottom of this and find out for sure if Brandy was cheating.