That perturbed expression doesn’t ease, but she nods and follows me toward the bridal party.
Brilliant yet fake smile plastered over my face, I envelop Grace in an embrace. “Congrats, Gracey-cakes.”
“Thank you!” The sheer happiness in her glistens over her every curve and angle. “And thanks for coming. It’s so good to see you.”
I move on to her husband while she chats with Jocelyn, grasping his hand in mine. “Congratulations, man. Seriously.”
He smiles. Arealsmile. One that is visible to the naked eye. “Thanks.”
A tall, dark beauty at Julian’s side elbows him, and he winces. A feline grin stretches across her face. “Introduce me?”
With a roll of his eyes, Julian gestures to me. “Asher, this is my sister, Tori. Tori, Asher. We did residency together.”
Tori extends a hand to be shaken. “Hey, there.”
Julian’s eyebrows cinch as he stares at his sister, but the woman is still beaming at me.
Her hand is delicate but strong, and she doesn’t release me. “You single?”
Oh.
Oh.
She’sinterested.
Julian’s sister. Interested. In me.
An impulsive desire wakes, fueled by testosterone and cortisol and this looming emotional disaster on my horizon.
Julian got Grace.
I could take his sister.
In a strange, twisted world, I could act on her interest. I’m single. Available. The girl I brought has stressed, in no uncertain terms, just how much she doesn’t want me.
And Julian wouldknow. It would be in his mind for the rest of his life. He’s winning at life, but I could have this.
Aaaaand I’m an asshole.
Why is this thought even in my head? Because Julian has everything I want?
It’s not his fault my life falls short of his. Not his fault he’s blissfully in love, with one on the way, while I’m secretly pining after my best friend.
“He’s not single.” Jocelyn’s sharp voice beside me breaks through my reverie. The edge in it is new. Different.
I glance at her, only to find an uncharacteristic glare directed at Julian’s sister.
Tori drops my hand and shrugs. “Too bad. He’s pretty.”
“Victoria.” Julian squeezes the bridge of his nose. “Will you please stop hitting on all my friends? Look at them. They are clearly into each other.”
The siblings continue to argue, but I’m distracted by the lingering scowl on Joss’s face, the burnished red across her nose and cheeks. With one last nod at the newlyweds, I grasp Jocelyn’s elbow and direct her toward an empty area near the windows. The guests mix and mingle. Laughter and music drift about us.
I seclude us best I can. “You okay?”
Expression schooled into nonchalance, she looks out the window, where the setting sun lights the sky on fire, and bright orange sparkles over the rolling ocean. “I’m— Yeah. I’m fine. I’m...” Her gaze swings to me. “What was that, Asher?”
Confused, I study her face but find no answers. “What was what?”
