Page 13 of Dangerous Love

Chest heavy, I ran my thumb over her face on the screen, remembering how warm she felt in my arms again. Then, I closed my eyes as I pressed the delete button, hoping the distance I had to put between us again wouldn’t hurt as much.

CHAPTER7

Sienna

Pots and pans banged through the whole kitchen. A couple of chefs stared down at the food cooking at their stations, while a bunch of aides scurried around prepping the last plates and other bits and pieces.

“Fucking get on with it, mate. I have a woman to get back to. I’m not spending the whole night cleaning up.” Avery’s voice carried through the entire room. I smiled at the sight of my brother in his white jacket, beads of sweat running down his forehead as he tossed a bunch of containers on the bench and started washing them himself.

“Still love getting your hands dirty, I see, big brother.” I snuck up behind him until I leaned against the metal counter.

Avery jerked his head up, the water spraying all over his whites. “God Almighty.” He dropped the kitchen hose and pulled me into his arms. “You’re the best surprise ever, Shorty.”

I gave him a quick hug. “It’s good to be here. I love what you’ve done with the place.”

He grabbed my hand and moved us to the front of the kitchen, leaving the ruckus behind. He twirled me around, a giant smile on his face. “Someone looks nice.”

I chuckled as I rolled my eyes. “You remember I live with you, right? You did just see me this morning.” In his defence, it wasn’t like I’d spent a lot of time outside my room lately. Everything was heavy and draining, and though it wasn’t their fault, being around them all wasn’t something I looked forward to. Most days. For some reason, today felt different.

Avery took me in his arms again. “Whatever. I’m allowed to be happy to see my little sister back in my kitchen. I need you to keep me on my toes.”

My hand patted his chest a couple of times. “Okay, old man. Hold your horses. It’s not like I’ve been resurrected from the dead. I just came to see what all the fuss was about with this new gig everyone’s been mentioning.” As the words left my mouth, Riley barged into the kitchen.

A new t-shirt on his back and his hair wet, he strolled in with a strange look on his face as he eyed Avery still holding me. “Thought I’d check the state of the kitchen, Avery. Grace tells me she’s sick of waiting for the house master to come home before two in the morning.”

The two men grinned at each other. “Tell her I’ll be there to warm her up shortly.”

I scrunched up my nose. “Ew. Bro, spare me the visual.”

Riley strolled closer until he leaned against the wall next to us. “It looks pretty much done, Avery. If you want to take your woman to bed, I can hold down the fort here.”

My brother’s face turned into a grimace. “Jesus, kid. Now it’s me who doesn’t want that fucking visual. The last thing I need is to see your face when I’m under the sheets with my soon-to-be wife.”

Laughter travelled through the busy space as Riley shrugged. “My wedding present to you.”

Avery smiled. His forearm snaked my neck and he pulled me closer as he said, “Shorty, since you’re in such a good mood, do you think you would agree to come to one of Grace’s dress fittings tomorrow? It’s just to try the outfits on. You’re the only one who hasn’t been fitted.”

I narrowed my eyes and tugged myself out of his embrace. “Someone’s being greedy. I hate those things.”

Riley winked at me. “No, you don’t. I’m pretty sure I remember you dragging me to a shopping mall for freaking hours, so I could carry your bags while you tried on everything from every store.”

I sighed. “I don’t know…” There was a difference between turning up here tonight, and playing happy families while pretending all was back to normal.

“We just need you to try the dress on, Shorty. In and out. No questions asked.”

My breathing grew faster, and I forced my face into a neutral position. Anything, so they didn’t see me lose my shit as I fought the panic attack threatening to manifest at the idea of parading around in a fucking dress, in front of friends and family I hadn’t seen in over three years. “Av, I’m not ready for socialising yet. Please.”

Riley took a step, and with an outstretched hand, he turned one of the chairs back until he was straddled on it. His eyes met mine, and he smiled. My heart rate settled. “What if I took you? Just me and you,” Riley said. “We’ll try the dress, tell the seamstress what works and what doesn’t, and then we’re out of there.”

I tugged on my earlobe, hesitation coursing through my belly. I did want to try on the dress. I also wanted to give Avery and Grace some peace of mind. As Riley’s voice soothed my nerves, the truth hit me: I was willing to go anywhere with him just because he asked. “You’ll stay with me while I try it on?”

“Yep. Like the good old times.” He and my brother exchanged a nod.

“Like the good old times,” Avery parroted.

My eyes squinted as I glanced between the two men. “What are you up to? I don’t need two ofhim.” I pointed my thumb at my brother.

Riley cackled. “Shit, no. Don’t give me his dad bod already. I’m at the prime of my life.”

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