Page 98 of War

He sputters. “And give some girl the impression that I have any interest in a relationship? Yeah, no.”

I eye him over the rim of my glass as I take a sip. “One day,” I say, savoring the burn of the bourbon, “you’ll be looking forward to nights like this so you can impress her.”

Hall chokes on a bark of laughter. “Who?”

“The love of your life,” I say as I finally find Ava.

“Spoken like a man in love,” he hums.

I take a sip of my drink and grin. Maybe I am. But when I zero in on my wife again and spot my stepbrother kissing her cheek, my smile slips and my heart lurches right out of my chest.

What the fuck?

THIRTY-EIGHT

AVA

“As always, another fantastic event.”Liv tips her glass of red wine in my direction.

Her husband hasn’t let go of her hip since they approached, though he’s now scanning the room and nodding here and there.

Beckett and Liv have a palpable kind of love. It emanates from them when they’re simply standing beside one another. God, what would that be like? To be that loved? Liv jokes that Beckett’s obsession can be suffocating, but her ability to make light of it is one of the reasons the emotion is so pure. She doesn’t fear that she’ll upset him, that he’ll tire of her, or that his attention will wander. And rightfully so. It’s clear to everyone in their orbit that his obsession will not wane.

Though it’s impossible not to wish for something similar, a love like that isn’t in the cards for me. I’ve locked myself into an arranged marriage, and though I know Tyler cares for me, I won’t fool myself into believing we’ll ever havethat.

Giving Josie, Scarlett, and Brayden what Liv and Beckett’s kids have, though? A real family with two parents who love them with all their heart, biology aside? That, we can handle. And if I had to choose between the two, I wouldn’t even stop to think before choosing them over having some fairy-tale kind of love of my own.

I’ve never been a lucky person, and that isn’t going to change now. No, I am under no illusion that I’ll ever have that once-in-a-lifetime kind of connection.

“We couldn’t do it without the generous donations from the Langfields.” It’s the truth, and I swear I’m not kissing their asses. More generous people do not exist.

Smiling, Liv tilts her head. “I hear congratulations are in order, by the way.” She searches the room until she spots Tyler.

He’s propped up against the bar next to Daniel, a drink in his hand, watching me. When our eyes catch, I can’t help the blush that warms my face.

“How did that happen? I didn’t even know you two were dating.”

“That’s a good question.”

The deep voice over my shoulder startles me. Internally, I cringe. Though I can’t see the man, I know the voice well. Eyes closed, I take two steadying breaths. Shoot. This will not go well, and the last place I want to talk to my ex-boyfriend about how I married his stepbrother is in front of my boss.

Remember how I said I had no luck?

When I turn, Xander gives me a warm smile and presses a kiss to my cheek. “It’s so good to see you, sis.”

The kindness in his tone has me swallowing my tongue.

Also, sis? Ew.

Stunned, I stammer out, “X-Xander, I didn’t expect to see you tonight.”I hoped I’d never see you again.

“Wouldn’t miss this event for anything. As you know, our firm donates to many of the Langfield charities.” His voice is so loud that Beckett and Liv are almost forced to acknowledge it.

And they do because they don’t suck like he does.

“We appreciate that so much,” Liv says. “This is your brother?” She quirks her brow, studying him.

Xander attended several events with me in the six months we were together, so I’m sure she’s seen him before, though she likely doesn’t know why he looks familiar. And after he called me his sister, why would she put two and two together? Again, gross.

---