Page 9

Gripping the railing with both hands, I take a few deep breaths, trying to calm my racing heart. Like always, her presence makes me lose focus and any coherent thought.

I hoped this fucking spell she had on me since we were kids had finally disappeared. But no.

The universe is clearly playing games, because Sierra Thomas is pure perfection.

And I’ll be damned if she steps foot in a club dressed like that.

I arrange myself in my pants and call after her, “Ser, wait. What do you mean you want to…”

“What?” she says, already back inside. “Are you all wondering why I’m wearing Nick’s shirt? I thought it would be a good idea to get to know each other better, considering we’ll be married soon. Weren’t we allowed to have sex?” Sierra gasps with fake horror, and every single person in the room goes motionless.

Speechless. Unmoving.

“Oops,” she shrugs and takes a seat next to Kai.

And just like that, I feel it before it even starts.

The chaos.

Liam and Zayn’s glares would’ve been priceless if only they weren’t directed at me.

“What the fuck…?”

“Sierra…”

“Nickolas Hardy, you’d better not have laid your hands on my sister.” Liam is out of his chair and in my face in two seconds.

“And why not? He’s soon to be my husband. Do you expect me to marry him and stay celibate?”

Sierra is suddenly on my side, grinning playfully, like this is some kind of joke.

“Or maybe you thought it would be okay to cheat on my husband? You know, if he’s with a new woman every night, maybe I can do the same. Good idea.”

Over my dead body, baby.

The thought alone makes me absolutely feral.

And I’m surprised to hear she knows more about my life than I thought. It’s not like it’s hard to know, considering I’m in every online article the moment I’m spotted somewhere, but she’s read them. That’s obvious.

And why do I hear a note of jealousy in her voice?

Oh, I know why. Because I’m losing my damn mind.

I’m reading too much into her words. She can’t be affected by my actions. We haven’t seen each other in ten years. I tried every now and then to find out what she’s up to, but she’s always been private.

She doesn’t post on social media, avoids being photographed at public events and doesn’t give interviews.

Adding this to the fact that I’ve been away for so many years, and every time I came home she wasn’t present at any event I attended, you can understand why I didn’t even know how she looks now.

“Man, relax,” I groan. “We were out for ten minutes, and this is the first time I see Ser in forever.” I glance at Liam. “She’s wearing my shirt because she was cold. And under that shirt is her fucking dress. A dress that’s basically just a top, if you ask me. How the fuck do you let her go out like this?”

My question elicits laughter from everybody.

No, this isn’t funny. She’s not supposed to dress like this. I’m losing my mind here and I don’t know if what I feel is desire or jealousy.

Both. I feel both.

Fucking hell.