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Jay was my bodyguard. But Tristan, he was Bella’s, after refusing to work on my security detail. Of course, he didn’t know that I knew. That I’d overheard him and Nicco arguing about it at the beginning of senior year.
There had been a threat. Nothing too serious, but we hadn’t known that at the time. Nicco closed ranks, putting the family under tighter surveillance. He wanted Tristan to be my bodyguard but he flat out refused. I hadn’t waited around to hear his reasons. It was more than apparent he didn’t want to be around the girl who’d tried and failed over the years to hide her silly little crush.
When we were younger, it had been a well-documented joke, the way me and Bella trailed around after Tristan. No one made a big deal about it because we were just teenage girls with a crush on Arianne’s older and insanely hot cousin.
But as I got older, the feelings didn’t go away. If anything, they only intensified. And now here I was, an eighteen year old girl desperately in love with a guy who would never see me as anything more than his cousin’s husband’s little sister.
“Tonight is going to be so good, Sia.” Bella checked her reflection one last time. “Who knows, maybe you’ll even get your first kiss.”
Strangled laughter spilled out of me. “With our entire family right there? It’s not exactly how I imagined it.”
She rolled her eyes. “Because you overthink everything. It’s just a kiss, Sia. Better to get the first one out of the way. It’s usually a disappointment.” With a little shrug, she headed for the door.
I followed, my brows crinkled. I’d always imagined my first kiss to be worth remembering. Butterflies in my stomach, toes curling in my shoes. Maybe she was right, maybe I had worked it up to be something unattainable. But it was my downfall.
I was a dreamer.
A hopeless romantic.
I saw the couples around me—Nicco and Arianne, my cousins and their girlfriends, even my father and Genevieve—and I didn’t see their struggles, I only saw people who overcame the odds and fought for love despite living in a world where love was often perceived as a weakness.
And I wanted that.
I deserved it, dammit.
But the guy, the only guy I saw, the only guy I dreamed of being with…
Well, he didn’t see me.
* * *
“Miss Marchetti.”Jay gave me a curt nod as he opened the door to the black SUV.
“Jay, you’ve been with me what, almost two years… I think we can skip the Miss. Please, I’m begging you, just call me Alessia.”
“Very well, Miss Marchetti.”
Bella shot me a bemused look and ducked around me to climb into the car. “Hey Jay, looking hot as usual.”
He flinched, the way he always did when Bella teased him.
Bella was the opposite of me in every way. Confident. Determined. One hundred and ten percent unafraid to go after what she wanted.
Arabella Bellatoni liked to ruffle feathers and shake up the status quo. I, on the other hand, was all too happy to go with the flow, blending in with the shadows. It wasn’t that I was insecure in my own skin, I wasn’t. I liked how I looked. I liked my long wavy blonde hair and my dark brown eyes and slim figure. But I just didn’t feel comfortable being in the spotlight.
After all, some stars shined brighter than others.
And I was okay with that.
I gave Jay a warm smile and slid into the SUV. He slammed the door behind me and my heart did a little somersault. But it wasn’t just the door banging closed that startled me, it was the trickle of awareness that came from being close to Tristan.
He didn’t even acknowledge me, staring straight, away from me. Aloof but focused. Aware of his surroundings, aware of his charges, and any potential threats in a way only my brother’s security team could be.
“A little something to get the party started.” Bella slipped open her purse and pulled out a small pink hip flask.
“Bella!”
“What? It’s only a spritzer. Besides, what they don’t know won’t hurt them,” she said, referring to our brothers and fathers.
