Page 16 of Lust
Instead, I took out my phone and texted one of my staff members to sweep the mansion grounds for my sister. My resolve to let it be didn’t last long, and I glanced around once more for Sara and that juvenile boy.
“I think they left,” Lilith informed.
For a split second, I had forgotten she was still here. “Excuse me?”
“Your sister,” she said in a matter-of-fact tone. “You were looking at her and that man with her.”
With furrowed brows, I stared at her with distaste. “Stepsister,” I corrected.
“Adopted sister,” she corrected my correction.
The response stumped me, and I wondered why she had thought to specify so pointedly. Lilith was a blank slate, but there had been an edge to her voice.
Goddamnit. My irritating sister managed to rattle me every time, unsettling my perfectly laid out plans.
“Right,” I conceded. “That’s what I meant.”
Lilith shrugged. “Don’t go all big brother mode tonight. Let the poor girl have some fun.”
I shook my head to rid the image of Sara’s display of fun. “Do you know of the boy she was with?”
“Umm…” Lilith looked at me unsurely. “I think Tobias something. Your parents had come by earlier to introduce him. Apparently, he was to lead the first dance with Sara.”
I froze.
I had dashed here from my meeting to find a dance floor already in full swing. It never crossed my mind that Sara might still opt to perform the first dance without me. Evidently, she didn’t care because she had Tobias.
“I don’t want to discuss my sister,” I lamented. “How’s work?” I asked, simultaneously texting my staff for an update on Sara.
I almost nodded off as Lilith unfolded the nitty-gritty details of her work as a lobbyist. Nonetheless, she was the most crucial component of my campaign, so I interjected when a response was appropriate. I wasn’t much of a conversationalist other than with Sara and had to learn the cues. A curt response at the right moment indicated to the speaker that you were engaged. It lessened the need to share, signifying your interest in the opposing party.
So was the rule of society and the game of politics. Short of kissing a baby, the art of being a politician was a cliché. Every action was deliberate, planned, and anticipated.
At least there was one upside to my sister. People seldom surprised me, but her ridiculous antics never failed to deliver, constantly shaking the monotony.
My neck craned on its own for the fifteenth time, searching for her. I finally caught a flurry of lace running out of the mansion grounds. She had been gone most of the night. A rage like no other manifested, and I had to let it out before imploding. With a measly excuse to Lilith, I blindly followed Sara, but it was too late.
Sara was already driving away in her car.
Small wins brought indescribable joy to life, I confirmed.
I tried to convince myself that Tristan’s wrath in this matter was inconsequential. But my mind replayed the image when Tobias and I fled the scene. There was something else behind Tris’ fury that I couldn’t pinpoint. Perhaps it was a flicker of… hurt?
No, that couldn’t be right.
So, what if I ignored his wishes? Tris might throw a fit over the trivial offense of sharing a dance with a gentleman caller, but I planned to enjoy the short-lived victory.
Tobias and I lazily strolled hand-in-hand through the manicured gardens of the mansion. Geometric boxwood hedges bordered a gravel walkway, giving it a hidden illusion. The full moon seeped through gaps of the greenery landscape just enough to find our way around. Even if I had custom-designed it, I couldn’t have carved out a more romantic night.
“UCLA is impressive.”
Tobias bumped my shoulder. “No less impressive than Georgetown.”
Throughout the night, I had learned that Tobias was four years older than me and joined the police force shortly after graduating from UCLA. And he recently transferred to a DC precinct.
I also learned that his folks were friends with mine. When they found out about his transfer to DC, Tobias’ Dad had suggested looking my family up.
Coincidentally, Tobias happened to be the officer who detained me. He put two and two together shortly after learning my last name and, in a suave move, called my parents to mention our run-in, minus the jail time.
