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“You knew this was a costume party, right?” Brick said dryly as he took in his brother’s tux. “Not th
e prom.”
Hayden scowled back. “I am in costume.” He rolled his shoulders inside his black jacket defensively before he straightened his bow tie. “I’m supposed to be Prince Charming.”
Brick snorted. “No. I’m Prince Charming.”
“Hmm.” Hayden scanned his brother’s costume before murmuring, “I like mine better.”
Then his gaze strayed to me. He blinked without saying a word as he studied my Power Ranger outfit. Since he had no idea who I was behind my mask, he merely gave me a respectful nod before stepping past us and heading toward the buffet.
Brick scowled after him. “My Prince Charming is so much better than his it’s not even funny. Mine’s traditional. His is just… Lame.”
I grinned because his mood was amusing. The brothers had always been somewhat competitive.
“Well, there sure are a lot of Prince Charmings here tonight,” I mused, trying to distract him.
Grinning, Brick leaned closer. “The more for you to choose from, my dear.” With a chuckle at his own joke, he straightened. “Now, where were we? Oh, right. Elton.” He placed his hands on my shoulders and twirled me around until we were facing a certain way. But as soon as I latched my gaze on Christopher—looking more like a general in a French war than Prince Charming—some man dressed as a priest approached him with a smile. Christopher smiled back and took the other guy’s hand before pulling him close and kissing him.
On the mouth.
“Oh,” I said, drawing to a stop. Oh, no.
Christopher Elton was already taken.
CHAPTER FIVE
“Well, shit,” Brick said from next to me. “I did not see that coming.” Suddenly, he scowled. “Now I’m offended he’s never hit on me.”
I’m not sure why his joke caused me to boil, but all of a sudden, I was mad at him. I punched him in the arm. “I'm so going to kill you for this.”
He’d talked me into attending tonight on a promise that had fallen through before I’d even had a chance to try it. Admittedly, I’d forgotten all about the goal of approaching Christopher until we’d arrived, but now that I couldn’t even put out feelers, I had to wonder if the job Brick had promised me would fall through too.
Was I heaping too much hope onto my careless, playboy stepbrother?
Brick laughed even as he fake flinched away from me, lifting his hands as a shield. “Hey, no death threats to your new boss. Besides, how was I supposed to know he wasn’t single… Or straight?”
Rolling my eyes, I mumbled, “A little background research might’ve given you a clue.” Returning my attention to Christopher and his date, I let out a sigh.
Well, there went five months of mediocre pining.
“Not only is he already taken, but he doesn’t even like my type,” I lamented. All hope was gone.
Christopher was currently leading the priest onto the dance floor and spinning him into a circle that made his date laugh. An ache of longing rumbled through my stomach, not so much because I was jealous of the priest, though, okay, there was some of that too, but more because I wanted what they had together. That kind of connection and happiness with another human being seemed as elusive to me as getting my parents back.
Which only made me want it more. I sniffed sadly.
“Oh, no. Don’t cry,” Brick ordered, starting to sound panicked.
I hadn’t been thinking about crying, but I looked up at him solemnly, not that he could see my expression from outside my mask, but he still must’ve sensed it because he sent me puppy dog eyes, silently begging for forgiveness.
Not really in the mood to reassure him, I didn’t respond. Though this wasn’t the end of the world, it was still disappointing.
Brick held up a hand. “Just… Wait right here. I’ll get you a drink from the bar. After a couple Long Island Iced Teas, you’ll forget all about Elton. Okay?”
I opened my mouth to tell him not to bother, I wasn’t going to let this get to me, but he’d already whirled away and taken off.
I sighed. Again. Feeling suddenly alone without him there to talk to, I glanced toward the buffet and idly wandered that way. Finger foods were my favorites, so normally, I would’ve grabbed a plate and started loading it up. But with the mood I was in, I bypassed the plates, and even the savory stuff to head straight for the desserts.
