Page 42 of My Favorite Sin

His eyes flick to me despite no one else noticing my arrival. He checks me out, his gaze dipping down the length of my body for a split second, then he glances back at Felix with the slightest traces of a smirk. Heat creeps up my neck, pleased that he likes what he sees but nervous over being in the same room as him and our family.

“Here she is,” Josh says, and everyone turns to face me—the good little daughter I am, sister, and niece. Yet I have this secret none of them know about except Dan, and it makes my skin itch.

Felix rolls his eyes and mutters something to Dan. Whatever he’s said, I know it’s a comment about Josh and not me. The dynamics between Josh and his sons is always a bit tense at these events, but they generally all manage to behave.

Daxton and Jordan are the first to greet me,each giving me a hug. I say a quick hello to Killian. Our morning runs have been awkward this week, with him and Violet asking about the date I went on with Liam, and me trying to focus on something other than how I got naked in front of our brother.

Next, I move onto Tyler and his girlfriend Harper. They’re a year younger than Felix, twenty-five, and have been dating since forever. They’ll get married one day, I’m sure of it.

“Hey, Ally.” Tyler gives me a quick hug.

Out of all my stepbrothers, he’s the one I’ve spent the least amount of time with. We’ve never lived together. When Josh stepped down from developing luxury hotels, he passed the reins to Tyler. For as long as I’ve known Tyler, he’s worked like a dog, trying to fill the shoes of his father, and is constantly stressed. He doesn’t have the same easy-going nature as his brothers. There’s also some issue between him and Felix I don’t understand. Harper has some issue with Felix too. I asked Dan about it once and he didn’t have an answer for me other than a personality clash. The pair stay away from Felix, and considering Dan and Killian are closer with Felix, they rarely get the chance to see Tyler.

“How have you been?” I ask.

“Oh, you know. Same old. And you?”

“Oh, you know. Same old.”

“Funny.” He says the word without humor. I can tell it’s not out of rudeness. This is just Tyler. I never see him smile or crack a joke. He looks older than his years from all the stress of his job. More like his father than the youth of his brothers.

I hug Harper next.

“Love the dress, Ally. You look gorgeous.”

“So do you.” Harper is always stunning with her strawberry blond hair and pale complexion. She’s friendlier than Tyler, though I haven’t spent much time with her either, due to her busy dance schedule in the New York City Ballet.

Once we’ve shared a few words, I’m left with only Felix and Dan to greet. Neither of them approaches me. Felix, I understand, considering his issues with Tyler and Harper and how I’m standing right beside them. As for Dan not greeting me, perhaps he’s trying to keep our public interactions limited so no one suspects anything of us. But everyone knows we’re close. Staying away from him today isn’t an option.

“Baby sis.” Felix winks at me, nodding me over.

I press my lips together, bracing myself and decide to just get this greeting over with. While everyone continues chatting among themselves, I hug my oldest stepbrother. Before letting go of Felix, I catch Dan staring at the ribbon in my hair. We make eye contact, and I see a glimpse of the heat within him I witnessed in the backseat of his car. Satisfaction ripples through me, though this is hardly the time or place to be pleased about toying with Dan.

“Hey,” I say to Dan as soon as I’ve let go of Felix, not sure how to approach him.

Amusement plays in Dan’s eyes and on his lips as he watches me, making my stomach do a somersault. “What, everyone gets a hug except me?”

“Of course you get a hug. I just haven’t gotten the chance to hug you yet.”

I lift up onto my toes and wrap my arms around his neck, planning to make this a quick encounter. But Dan’s arms slip around my waist, pulling me flush tohis warm body and holding me for a beat longer than socially acceptable.

“Cute dress. You wear it for me?” he whispers.

I squirm out of his arms, praying no one saw the hug.

“Good week?” he asks, still with a hint of something smug in his voice. It takes me a beat too long to realize the meaning behind his tone, that he’s referring to the phone sex, and I go completely red.

“What? Oh, um, yeah. Busy week.” I angle my body away from Dan, scanning the living room for onlooking eyes. Felix is occupied with his phone. Everyone else is in deep conversation. Thank God. “And you?”

Dan chuckles behind me but gives no answer. His finger hooks around my pinkie, the contact so understated and hidden in plain sight for the entire family to see. Gooseflesh rises on the back of my neck at his warm touch. I shake my hand free and fold my arms, earning another soft laugh from Dan.

Jordan steps up to me with a glass of champagne. “Hey, gorgeous. You look a little off. Everything all right?”

Crap. She’s noticed. Haseveryonenoticed?

I blurt out the first thing that comes to mind. “I… have a date tonight that I’m nervous about.”

“A date. That’s so exciting. Who’s the guy?”

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