Dear New Guy, welcome to Stardust Cove. We hope you enjoy this town. But you should be warned. Ebony Rosebank is off limits. If you want to enjoy your stay in this town and you don't want to see your dad lose his new job managing the dealership you will wipe that love struck look off your face when you're around Ebony. Because Gavin is always watching and he will literally kill forher.
The post had hundreds of upvotes and dozens of comments of agreement.
For the rest of that class he had thought about the post, oscillating from confusion to anger, looking around him hoping to catch a guilty expression for someone to blame. Had it been some sort of elaborate joke?
Cameron had gotten his answer to that question when he finally met the guy in question. Of course, Cameron had spotted Ebony first. Her shapely figure caught his eye in the sea of students switching from one class to another but a second later he spotted him.
Small black pupils set within bright ice-blue irises locked in on Cameron just as Ebony waved at him. She had introduced the guy next to her as her brother, Gavin, and surprisingly, Cameron managed to keep his expression neutral despite the obvious differences between the two. Because that didn't matter—there was something far more important demanding his attention as he stood under Gavin's silent stare. He had a decision to make.
He either listened to every red blood cell in his body that rushed through his veins at the sight of Ebony's smile or he took the warning post to heart. All around him, Cameron had felt the subtle stares of students as if they too waited for him to make his decision, thus setting the tone for his remaining school life. The reddit group had thousands of members. Were all the students a part of it? All watching and waiting to see what he did?
As he walked away from the barbecue line with his order, Cameron shook his head with a rueful smile at the memory. That day he had chosen the safest route. He nodded at Gavin with a friendly smile, forcing his lingering gaze away from Ebony's beautiful face.As if they had been watching and waiting, Cameron had received a text soon after that meeting. He actually still had that text saved in his phone from the unknown number even after all these years.
Unknown number:Good choice. Better to stand beside the devil you know than chase the angel you'll never have.
Chapter two
Pulling into the third bay of the garage, Ebony killed the engine just as the blue Bronco pulled into the bay next to hers. With the bags of food in each hand, she didn't wait for Gavin as she headed through the door and down the long marble hall to the kitchen. Behind her the garage doors rumbled closed.
"Let's eat in the den," Gavin called out from behind her.
Ebony stopped and swung around, giving him a look. "What? Why?" Even though she already knew why.
Closing the distance between them, Gavin leaned forward and bent his head down toward her as if he was going to give her a kiss and Ebony froze. The opening was all he needed to snatch the bags of food from her hands with a victorious grin before he strode away.
Annoyed, Ebony followed him as he passed by the grand kitchen. Just like the rest of the house the immaculate room was designed mostly in white and black. Ribbons of gold threaded through the creamy marble across the counters while tall black iron windows with their curved designs lined the wall. Bright natural light poured over every inch of the house, gleaming off the shining surfaces and perfectly designed rooms.
"Because I want to watch the last episode of my show," he answered halfway down the curving stairs that led to the basement, before adding. "On the big screen."
Ebony sighed but didn’t argue. There was a perfectly working TV hanging on the wall in the dining room, camouflaged as a still life painting of a windswept field. But she knew it was pointless to mention that. What he wanted was the huge ninety-inch TV down in the basement along with the big comfy black corduroy couch where he could eat lounging in comfort.
They were both descending the stairs to the den when a rumbling noise echoed faintly through the quiet empty house. Ebony's heart jumped in her chest as she looked to Gavin in confusion. What was that? There was no one else in the house, just them. Well, that wasn't entirely true. There was Duke, their sweet Golden Retriever who was usually laid out across Gavin's bed at this time of day taking a nap in the sunlight. But that sound had been too big a noise for Duke to make.
As if a flip switched inside of him, Gavin quietly set the bags down on the stairs and turned to face her. Ebony's eyes widened as she took in the shift in his body—a dangerous shift. Even standing a few steps below her Gavin was still eye level with her. At six-foot-four and well over two hundred pounds Gavin was built like a UFC champion with the skills to prove it.
"Wait here," he said quietly, walking past her up the stairs.
Ebony shook her head, her mind immediately jumping to the worst possible scenarios even as she strained to listen.
"No," she whispered. Her hand clasped onto the sleeve of his shirt but he didn't stop moving, forcing the fabric to pull out of her grasp. "Gavin!" she hissed, demanding he stop but another sound froze them both.
The sound of a door opening.
For one second, Gavin stood stone still, his broad back taking up most of her line of sight at the top of the stairs before the tension left his body and shoulders dropped.
Gavin turned back to her with a smirk. "The alarm didn't sound and I just set it a few seconds ago when we came in."
Ebony only had a few seconds to think about that before he spoke again.
"That meansthey’reback," Gavin sighed, scrubbing his face with one hand and looking to the ceiling with an annoyed expression.
Any last trace of fear vanished as she thought about his words. "They’re back already?"
Their parents, Grant and Whitney Rosebank, weren't supposed to be back home until next week. Constant jet setters, the couple never stayed in one place for too long.
"Oh shit, my barbecue." Gavin looked worriedly back at her and then to the bags sitting on the steps.
"Did I hear barbecue?" A familiar deep voice sounded from above them.
