Page 5 of Michael

“Mich—”

He went up close to his brother’s face. “You stay out of my business and I will stay out of yours. Or do you think your obsession with Diamond to be okay, hm? I should talk to Mother and Father about what I—”

His brother stiffened and now interrupted him. “Fine. I will back off for now. Let’s go; I am sure everyone is wondering why we are missing,” Ben said coldly, an angry look on his face.

Michael felt guilty for throwing that in his brother’s face, but he didn’t need him in his business either. Ambra and he were grown adults and would deal with what had happened just like they always did.

He nodded and pulled himself together before following his sibling out the door and to the waiting audience of guests.

Chapter 2

Ambra sat outside in the parked rental car, looking at the Brooks’ grand chalet in the Swiss Alps.

She had so many memories of the times she visited there and spent time with Ben and Michael and the family. She smiled thinking of all the pranks that she and Michael had pulled on each other, or how they had ganged up on and tormented the family. The board games, the late nights sneaking outside after curfew to meet up, and even playing games of hide-and-seek. Michael loved that game. He got off on finding his hidden prey, as he liked to say, and she did too. Hiding from him and thwarting him at every turn had been a fun game between them, both trying to win until she’d get caught in her hiding place or their parents would come outside to get them.

They had eventually grown out of playing pranks but would still pull one here and there. This time, she thought she would play another fun one, as their lives were now getting busy. She and Ben were getting ready to launch a tech company, on top of him working with his brothers, and Michael had taken on more of the responsibilities at the hotels to lessen Carter’s load.

Their meet-ups had changed, as they had, and they were all going in different directions and getting involved in relationships. She had just wanted one more memorable moment; something that they could laugh about, but it had backfired horribly. She flushed with embarrassment as she remembered that day and the moment everything had gone horribly wrong.

“This is a bad idea,” Diamond hissed as she handed Ambra a paddle. The auction was in honour of one of the charities Diamond ran, raising money to build more shelters for the homeless. Ambra was so proud of her big sister because growing up, she never thought that she would be anything other than a trophy wife for her long-time boyfriend. Even though it was true that Diamond was engaged to Bryson Reid, a very famous quarterback whom she had been dating since private school, they had yet to get married, and she had found that she loved working with charities. It started out with just volunteering to get extra credit in school, but now she was running two charities; one for women and children who needed financial help and the other for building shelters for the homeless.

Tonight was an important night for Diamond. Not only would she be receiving the money to build more shelters, but there were also television news crews here covering the event, and that would give her charity organization more publicity for their cause. It was not the night for Ambra to pull her prank.

“Just pull Michael aside and tell him how you feel about him,” Diamond said in exasperation.

“Diamond, for the last time, we are just friends, and there is nothing between us. I will just raise my hand once or twice to freak the two of them out, then it will all be over with and his package will go to Summer.”

“Mark my words, this is going to backfire on you,” her sister warned.

Ambra bit her lip, reconsidering her actions. Her sister might be right. She was about to put back the paddle when she spotted Summer watching her with a smirk on her face. She recalled the words Summer had said to her one time when they had all gone out for drinks to celebrate Ben and Michael now helping to run the Brooks empire alongside their older brother Carter.

She had been in the bathroom washing her hands when Summer had walked in, flicking her long blond hair behind her. She had gone to stand alongside Ambra as she smoothed her nonexistent wrinkles from her face.

Ambra stiffened when Summer turned to her, a false friendly smile on her lips that didn’t reach her cold blue eyes.

“Enjoy your time with Michael while you can because once we become official, I do not share, and that time is coming very soon.” Ambra turned off the taps, water dripping from her fingers.

Summer reached into her small Chanel purse and pulled out her lipstick, putting the blush-coloured gloss on her overly plump lips, ignoring Ambra now as if she hadn’t said anything.

Ambra flicked her hands, letting the water splatter into the sink, and if some of it hit Summer, then that was just too bad. From the sound of Summer’s shriek, it did. Ambra grinned.

Ambra turned and went to the paper dispenser, pulling the paper out and drying her hands. “You clearly don’t know Michael or me well if you’re in here making that statement. We will always be in each other’s lives, whether you like it or not, and I don’t think you will need to worry about me so much because I doubt you will be together for long.”

Summer glared at Ambra, and then her eyes burned with vengeful glee.

“Sorry to burst your bubble, but you and Michael have known each other since private school, and he never noticed you as more than just a friend. But he has been pursuing me ever since the day we met. How that must burn, to not have the man of your dreams take any notice of you, hm. And you can try and say you are just friends.” Summer raised her fingers in air quotes.

Now it was Ambra’s turn to stare at her in cold fury.

“Anyone can see that you clearly want him from all your desperate attempts to get him to pay attention to you. If I were you, I would just bow out gracefully.”

Ambra felt a cold disdain for this uppity, entitled rich woman who knew nothing about her and Michael’s friendship. Nothing could come between the bond that they had.

And that’s why she decided to never mention to him that she was interested in being more than friends. She had developed a crush on him the moment he had dried her tears when she was turned down by a boy she had favored during their high school years. The end of summer dance was coming up, and she had asked Pearson to be her date, but he had turned her down.

Pearson had been her first high school crush, but those warm feelings had transferred to Michael when he was there for her when she had her first taste of a broken heart. For the first time, her best friend, who never took anything seriously in life, was not joking around or teasing her about wanting to date the class president Pearson McGee.

Michael had even stepped up and offered for him and Ben to take her to the dance, and she had accepted. They had dressed up in matching black pants, t-shirts, and black ties. The three musketeers.

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