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“My sister is off-limits, Tristan. Don’t even fucking think about it. You can have any woman in New York but not her,” my brother grits out as if I’m not standing right here. I’m a grown-ass woman fully capable of making my own goddamn decisions.
Anger burns my lungs, and the all too familiar knot tightens in my chest. “And who are you to say who I can and cannot fuck?”
All three heads turn in my direction. Dominik looks shocked, like I’ve just uttered an obscenity in the middle of a church service. Tristan, on the other hand, is smiling cheek to cheek as he crosses his arms across his broad chest. Aaron looks to be turning red—or more hulk green, actually.
“Watch it, Zoe,” he warns.
“No, you watch it. I’m twenty-five, and if I’m going to live here in this house with you, then you’re going to have to get used to the idea of me dating. If you have a problem with that, I am happy to leave right this second.”
“Dating is one thing?—”
I turn to face Tristan, ignoring whatever my brother is about to say. “I got sent here because I was screwing my boss… and when he got bored of me, he booted me here. There were some rumors circulating, so this was a good excuse to get rid of me. So here I am.”
Tristan smirks, turning to face my brother without a care in the world about the wrath he might face. “I like her. She’s feisty.”
“You were having a relationship with your boss?” Aaron asks, ignoring Tristan.
I glance down at my nails. “I wouldn’t call it a relationship per se, more like a fuck buddy.”
“Jesus Christ.” Tristan chuckles under his breath, and I watch my brother’s patience grow thin.
Aaron’s nostrils flare as he keeps his fiery gaze on me. I match his stare, two seconds away from screaming at him for thinking he can tell me what to do. I don’t need his protection.
Maybe once upon a time I did. But I grew up and learned how to defend myself.
He was the sole person who watched out for me in a house where no one seemed to care. He was the one who truly loved me, and sometimes, it felt like an overwhelming flood, as if he was compensating for everything my parents failed to provide, for everything they couldn’t see. Aaron was always there, holding my hand, wiping away my tears, until one day, I made a decision to strip away my parents’ power. I wasn’t going to let their toxicity and my pain define me any longer. I wouldn’t let them shatter me anymore.
“That fucker needs to pay for using you like that and then kicking you to the curb. What’s his name?”
Aaron and I both come to a halt. Dominik’s voice distracts us from entering a potential shouting match that could have ignited in just a matter of seconds. Although, I’m uncertain whether my brother would ever raise his voice at me. I’ve always been the one with a quick temper—the storm—while he remains the calming presence.
“It’s fine. It’s done,” I say, grabbing the bottle of wine.
“It’s not fine. We’ll take care of it,” Tristan pipes up.
“No, you won’t.” I glare at him, welcoming the tart burn from the red wine as I tip the bottle back.
“You’re going to get drunk,” Aaron says, reaching for the bottle.
“That’s kind of the idea.”
“I think you need to sleep it off. A lot has happened, and you’re probably still processing everything. I can take you out around New York and Hudson Yards, show you everything and hopefully get you excited for a fresh start.” Aaron actually smiles. His kind offer is genuine, which makes it so hard to stay mad at him.
I don’t want to fight with him after just getting here. Especially not in front of his friends.
I nod. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
“Do you want some food?”
I shake my head.
“Enjoy guys’ night,” I say to the room as I turn around and head for the hallway toward my room.
Rounding the corner and turning for the bedrooms in the back of the condo, I glance over my shoulder to find a pair of dual-colored eyes on me. Has he been watching me the entire time? A painful expression flashes on Dominik’s face, but he doesn’t turn away from me, and for a second, I slow down, not wanting to break his gaze. Butterflies stir in my stomach uncomfortably before I remind them that Dominik is not someone I can ever touch.
He doesn’t want me.
Never has, never will.
