Page 1 of The Wrong Brother

Chapter

One

JENNY

Every time I blink, it’s like flipping through a magazine, each page showing a different perfect scene. They don’t look real, any of them. This entire night feels like a fantasy…a place too beautiful, with its sprawling garden around the lake, all wrapped up in starlight and soft music. The whole scene glows with all the golden lights strung from the tree branches, shimmering in the lake’s reflection.

I’m tucked up in my perfect hiding spot, curled up on a sturdy branch on one of the estate’s many trees. From here, I can see it all…the glimmering water, the guests in their finery drifting across the lawn like they’re in a movie.

This whole night is some kind of enchanted scene, and I’m just a spectator on the edges, looking in.

But I’m not here for them. Yes, they are beautiful and glamorous, but my eyes are glued to the shining star of the movie…Brett Jackson.

His blond hair practically glows in the crowd, bright and golden. He sticks out like a beam of light among a sea of dark-haired men. He’s laughing, that perfect laugh of his, and every time those marvelous teeth flash, I feel a jolt in my chest, like I can’t breathe right. It’s like he’s lit from within. He is completely at ease. For he was born to be in this kind of crowd. And all around him, the women giggle, hanging on his every word, leaning in close to touch his arm. Their eyes sparkle with interest, and I feel a tight, hot knot of jealousy twist in my stomach. He isn’t that funny…he’s never been that funny.

I hate the way they look at him. The way they laugh, practically swooning, their eyes eating him up. I know he’s charming, but they don’t know him like I do. They don’t know about the time he lifted me into his arms when I was little, scooping me up to protect me from that cranky dog everyone thought was harmless. They weren’t there that day… weren’t there when he smiled down at me and promised I’d be safe as long as he was there. They don’t understand that he’s been mine ever since. My heart’s been his from the moment he rescued my stuffed animal from that dog’s slobbery mouth and handed it back to me like it was nothing in the world.

Ever since then I’ve been biding my time.

One day… when I turn eighteen, I’ll be ready, and he’ll see me as more than the chauffeur’s daughter who lives above the garage. I’ll finally be part of this world, part of his world. But right now, all I can do is watch from the shadows, feeling like my heart will burst just seeing him laugh with someone else. It’s torture, pure torture, knowing he’s so close yet so far away, and all I can do is stay hidden up in this darned tree.

Just then, he glances away, moving from his little circle of admirers, and for a second, it feels like he’s looking right at me. My breath catches, and I freeze, feeling my whole body go still as if by some miracle he’s finally noticed me. But then I realize…heisn’t looking at me. His gaze has slipped past and is scanning the crowd. My heart sinks, realizing I’ve just imagined it.

But someone else is looking.

A darker, heavier presence, like a shadow passing over the ground. I spot Brett’s older brother, Zack, watching from across the lawn, his eyes scanning the crowd with that intense gaze of his. My heart speeds up for a different reason now. Zack isn’t exactly evil, but there’s something about him that feels heavy, like he knows more than he lets on, and he’s always watching, always lurking on the edge of things. I shrink back into the shadows, hoping he doesn’t see me up here. He makes me feel like he knows my every little secret, like he sees everything I’m trying to hide.

Before I can sink any lower, I hear my father’s voice calling out from below.

“Jenny! Jenny! Why on earth haven’t you been answering your phone?”

I clench my teeth, trying to blend into the branches, willing him not to notice me. But his voice comes again, sterner this time. “

Jenny! Stop trying to hide, you brat. I know you're there. I can see you. I’ve told you to stay out of that tree. Get down here right now!”

My stomach twists with a sinking feeling as my father’s voice echoes again, stern and unyielding. I know there’s no hiding now. With a reluctant sigh, I begin to climb down, inching my way carefully from one branch to the next. The bark scrapes against my palms, rough and uneven, and I cling to each branch as though it might save me from the lecture I know is coming.

The leaves brush past my cheeks, whispering against my skin like a secret. I’m only a few branches from the ground when my foot slips and my hands lose their grip on the rough bark. Before I can even gasp, I’m tumbling through the branches.

The world blurs into a swirl of leaves and twinkling lights, my heart pounding in my chest as gravity pulls me down. I feel the sting of branches scratching against my arms and legs, snagging at my clothes as I tumble faster towards the ground.

And then…thud.

I land flat on my back, the impact jolting through my spine. For a moment, everything is still, the breath knocked out of me as I stare up at the sky, stars scattered like glittering shards in the vast darkness. My heart is racing, my pulse pounding in my ears as I lie there, feeling every inch of me throbbing from the fall.

The sounds of the party fade around me, muffled by the ringing in my ears. Slowly, I become aware of my father leaning over me, blocking out the stars. I blink, disoriented. His expression is a mix of worry and irritation. The world snaps back into place, the voices and laughter of the ball swirling faintly around us.

“You’re going to break your neck one of these days,” he says with a frown.

Chapter

Two

ZACH

The night is perfectly orchestrated…at least, it should be.

Guests cluster around the gardens, champagne in hand, their laughter drifting lazily in the night air. My brother, Brett is as ever, surrounded by a bevy of admirers, each one with eyes full of the ridiculous fantasy that he will choose her. Most of them have come with their parents, who are also hoping Brett might finally show interest in one of their daughters. They won’t approach me; they know better. My patience for small talk is nonexistent. The ball may look like a social event, but it’s meant to keep the Jackson family’s business running at full throttle.

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