Page 108 of Sterling Stone

How time has passed. How much of it I’ve lost by not being with him.

Still, I’m here now, and his gaze is fixated on me.

“You know better than to listen to the BS, right?”

“I know,” I offer him a confident smile. Because I know him.

His mouth is slowly twitching upward when he stumbles toward me, forcing me backward a step.

Stone turns his head, holding tighter to me, while addressing the person behind him.

“What the⁠—”

Sharp feminine laughter coming from Stone’s sister cuts off his sudden irritation.

“She made me do it.” Stone glances from his giggling sister to the man holding her in his arms.

“What are you, thirteen again?” Stone bristles a little bit, shuddering almost as a thought occurs to him.

I understand there’s an age gap between Cortland and Vale. One Stone struggles to ignore, knowing Cort once changed Vale’s diapers. I shiver a little at the thought as well.

Cort narrows his eyes at Stone’s sharp tone, and Vale breaks out of her partner’s dance hold.

“Easy there, cowboy big brother,” she teases, her eyes lifting to the hat on Stone’s head. “Are you trying to steal the title from Ford?”

Stone stares at his sister, blinking a second, before a low snort leaves him.

I can only surmise Vale means the playful nickname Cadence has for their brother. His wife is full of irony as she’s the country singer and he was a professional baseball player. I haven’t seen a hint that Ford is a cowboy at heart.

Other irony in the hat-wearing situation . . . Cortland is wearing a similar cowboy hat, but in black suede.

“You okay?” Cort asks Stone, sensing something in his old friend.

I glance from one man to another, knowing their history. The pain still lingering inside Stone. The sense of loss possibly deeper than the betrayal.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Stone snaps back, exhaling deeply afterward, mustering patience I sense he’s struggling to find.

With my hand still in his, I squeeze, drawing his attention to me. Suddenly, I’m feeling very protective of him, wanting to wrap my arm around him and get him the hell out of here. Or step in front of Stone and shield him from whatever he’s feeling in Cortland’s presence.

Instead, Vale has her arm tucked into Stone’s, and she’s practically dragging him off the dance floor.

He glances back at me, not wanting to make any more of a scene than his sister is already making.

Cortland and I remain on the dance floor another second.

“If they break into a Ross and Rachel dance montage, I’m out of here,” I mutter, hoping to lessen the tension, despite the irritation brewing in me.

Cort snorts, getting the joke about siblings on the popular show Friends.

I turn toward him. “And if you hurt him again, I’ll be the wrath of that damn monkey.”

Cort assesses me a moment before understanding, remembering that annoying pet Ross once had on the show. He dips his head, acknowledging my warning.

I don’t let anyone mess with mine.

And Stone Sylver belongs with me.

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