We pull up to the house. “Damn.” I get out, grabbing my bag from the trunk. “This place is huge for two people.”

  “You have a five-bedroom home,” Christopher points out, “and a condo in Florida, as well as a condo in Montreal and…” He lists off all my real estate properties.

  “They’re called investments,” I snap. “It’s residual income.”

  “Did you just try to school me because we own practically the same properties?” I don’t bother answering him. Instead, I walk up the steps to the house and walk in.

  I stop when I see Gabriella and Abigail, who is her twin, with her husband, Tristan, in front of me.

  “Surprise,” I say, shaking Tristan’s hand before walking over to hug Abigail. Gabriella comes over to me and gets on her tippy-toes to hug me.

  “Did you come with your parents?” she asks, looking behind me to see if my parents are here.

  “No.” I shake my head. “They don’t know I’m here.” I smile at her and then look over her shoulder at a girl I’ve never seen before in my life. All I can see is this woman in front of me, and my feet are moving before I even realize it. The smile stays on my face as I walk over to her. “I’m Stone, and you are?”

  “Off-limits,” Romeo, Gabriella’s boyfriend, grumbles, and everyone laughs. He’s an up-and-coming actor, who has shifted his focus to producing movies. His father is one of the biggest action stars at the box office.

  “You’re shacking up with my cousin.” I point at Gabriella. “I don’t see why she would be off-limits.”

  “My brother is half wrong,” the woman states. I take in her long black hair with her green eyes that look like they have some blue in them. “I’m not off-limits, but I’m also not interested.” She smiles at me, and I put my hand on the middle of my chest, as if she just shot me.

  “Ouch,” I gasp, still smiling, “that hurt.”

  “It’ll hurt a lot more if you touch her,” Romeo threatens, puffing out his chest.

  “I just introduced myself to her.” I hold up my hand. “If two single people somehow spark a conversation…” I shrug. “It’s on them.”

  “What do you do for work?” she asks. I can see the twinkle in her eye as some specks of blue start to form, making me want to keep her smiling to see how blue they get.

  “I play hockey for Nashville,” I say, and she snaps her fingers.

  “Shucks,” she deadpans, “I already scratched that profession off my list. Besides, Chicago and Nashville are very far apart.”

  I just stare at her, still not knowing her name, when the doorbell rings. “That must be my parents,” Romeo says. Everyone moves to the side as I walk over to stand next to the woman.

  I lean against the doorjamb. “So am I going to get a name or am I going to have to follow you around all night long, hoping someone says your name?”

  She turns to face me. “My parents said not to talk to strangers.” She winks at me.

  “I’m in your brother’s house,” I point out, “and you know my cousin.” I smirk at her. “I don’t think that would put me under the column of a stranger.” Her head moves to the side as she takes in my words. “Besides, all I have to do is google your brother, and I’m sure there is mention of you somewhere on his Wikipedia page.” She throws her head back and laughs, and only then do I see how blue her eyes can get.

  “That’s a good point,” she concedes. “I’m Ryleigh.” She extends her hand as if we just met.

  I take her small hand in mine, moving it up and down for way too long, not ready to let it go. “Ryleigh, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  ryleigh

  One Year Later

  “Ryleigh!” My name is being shouted from somewhere in this monster of a house. “Ryleigh,” again my father calls my name. I smirk at the cereal bowl in front of me as I wait for him to find me. “Ry?” His footsteps come closer and closer to the kitchen, and then he’s walking in. “I’ve been calling you.” He huffs as he walks over to the massive stainless-steel fridge, pulls it open, and grabs a bottle of sparkling water. I’ve been here for two days because my brother is premiering the first movie he produced with my father in the starring role. It’s going to be a huge night for them both.

  “I answered you,” I lie to him, and he leans back on the granite counter. “It’s not my fault you rented Buckingham Palace.” I look around the ridiculous kitchen the size of my whole condo back in Chicago. “I got lost going to the bathroom”—I grab another spoonful of cereal—“in my bedroom.”

  He shrugs as he takes another pull from the water bottle. “Why are you eating now?” He looks over at the stove to check the time. “We’re leaving in an hour and a half, and there will be food at your brother’s house.”

  “You act like I’ve never been to a Hollywood shindig before.” I take another bite full of the granola cereal. “It’s always the same thing: little pieces of food that no one eats because they will look like they are bloated on the red carpet.” My father has been a sought-after action actor since before I was born. My parents met on one of those press tours. From what I read and was told, they hated each other until, well, they didn’t.

  “Have you met Gabriella and her family?” He chuckles as he puts the bottle of water down. “They could give a shit. They ordered enough food to feed an army.” Gabriella has been dating my brother for a little over a year, maybe even two. They actually dated for eight months before he was a dipshit and did her dirty. Finally, he pulled his head out of his ass and went to get her back. Some may say she is a doormat, but you love who you love, and no one should judge someone else’s relationship.

  “You might be right,” I agree but finish the cereal.

  “There you two are,” my mother states, entering the kitchen. “The hair and makeup people are ready for us.” She walks over to my father and wraps her arms around his waist as he slips an arm over her shoulders. “How are you feeling?”

  “Good,” he replies, but I can see he’s a bit nervous. “The movie is amazing. I think people are going to really enjoy it.”

  “Now that’s the supportive dad we all love.” I point my spoon at him before I finish the cereal and walk over to the sink to rinse out the bowl and place it in the dishwasher. “Shall we go and glam ourselves?” I wink at my mother. She smiles up at my father, then kisses his lips.

  “I’ll call Romeo and see if he’s okay,” my father tells my mother, and I internally groan. “It’s his big day.”

  “He’s a big boy,” I remind him, walking to the fridge to grab a water bottle before making my way out of the kitchen toward the massive entryway and to the winding steps to go upstairs.

  “Caw, caw,” I call as my voice echoes through the house, and my mother laughs behind me as she follows me up there.

  “Mom, seriously.” I look over my shoulder. “This is a bit ridiculous.” I wave my hand around the house.

  “It’s because we’re having everyone over here after the movie,” she informs me, and I gasp.

  “What do you mean by everyone?”

  She finally reaches the second-floor landing, pushing me to the bedroom where they have set up the glam station. “To celebrate the big day, we thought it would be better to do the party here rather than go to some restaurant and not have any privacy. You know how the paparazzi can be.”

  “So, like, all of the million family members Gabriella has?” I have to say I love her family, but you really need name tags on people. Also, every time you look around, someone else is pregnant or just had a baby. I think one of her cousins even has like six or seven kids.

  “That would be correct.” She taps my nose like she did when I was younger. “Now, let’s get ready.”

  I sit in the chair next to my mother as someone starts on my hair, and then I close my eyes when the makeup people begin. “What color is your dress?”

  “Black,” I reply, “like my soul.”

  “Ryleigh,” my mother hisses.

  “Just keeping it real.” I giggle a bit. “I want my makeup as natural as you can make it.” I open one eye, and the girl nods at me. “Just make sure the circles under my eyes are covered, and I look semi human.” An hour passes and no one says anything until we are both done. I open my eyes, seeing my makeup in soft tones of pink and gold, and my hair is slicked back but loose, exactly how I wanted it. “I look fierce,” I declare, turning to the side to see how the back of my hair looks.

  “Go get into the dress,” the hairdresser tells me, “and then we’ll put the final touches on you.”

  With a nod, I leave the room and go to my bedroom, where the black dress hangs in the closet. Slipping out of my skirt and top, I grab the black lace thong pinned on another plush hanger in little clips, and I have to laugh at the craziness of my real life back home in Chicago compared to this. Back home, my closet is half this size, and all my panties are in a drawer together. Once my thong is on, I glide the lace dress off the hanger before stepping into it. I slide my arms through the delicate lace sleeves that fit snugly on my upper arm and then widen from the elbow all the way down to over my fingernails, which are also painted black. I reach to the back to zip up the zipper to the waist before I walk out of the room and head to get help. I stop at my parents’ closed door, knocking once. “I need help with the zipper. Are you two decent?”

  “Yes!” my mother shouts from behind the closed door. Even though she said yes, I still poke my head in before opening it and seeing no one is in the room. I find them in the walk-in closet.

  “Hi,” I say, spotting my father zipping up my mother’s black gown. She looks over at me and puts her hand to her chest. “I need help.”

  “Um.” My father looks at me for a second. “Um, the front.”

  “Yes.” I smile at him. I look at the front that plunges down to my navel in a V. “Isn’t it pretty?” I turn around. “Can you zip the back?”

  “Why is there more material on the back than the front?” he mumbles as he zips up the see-through lace that covers the back.

  I turn to check in the mirror to get the final look. The top has the illusion that it’s nude under the bodice, but there is a skin-colored material, so I’m not showing off the girls. It goes tight at the waist and around the hips until it kicks off mermaid style. “I’ve seen this dress before.”

  “I hope you have.” I turn to him. “I took it from Mom’s closet.”

  “Oh my God.” He puts his hand in front of his mouth. “Yes.”

  “I hope it’s not the one she wore when she caught you having sex with someone in the bathroom.” I wink at my mom while my dad hisses.

  “I didn’t touch her.” He holds his hands up. “I would never do that.”

  “Was it the dress she was wearing when she caught you holding hands with your co-star?” I tease him some more.

  “Stop reading the fucking tabloids.” He walks over to his black suit jacket and snatches it off the hanger.

  “I didn’t read that in the tabloids. Mom told me.” His head whips around to look at my mother.

  “What?” She cocks her hip out to the side and folds her arms over her chest. “She asked me how we met.” She raises her hand in the air, waving it. “And I had wine!” she shrieks, turning to pretend that it’s not a big deal. “We were bonding.”

  “Yeah, she told me all the details.” I fake gag. “You attacking her in the elevator after you made out with that girl.”

  “I didn’t touch her.” He points at me. “She was all over me like an octopus.” He pulls out his cuffs as he arranges his jacket. “Besides, I only had eyes for your mother.”

  “Is that why you called your co-star to fuck it out?” I mimic my mother, cocking my hip out.

  “Is nothing sacred?” He raises his eyebrows at my mother. “Did she tell you there was that one reporter who was all over her ass?” My father points at my mother, and I cough, trying not to laugh.

  “Um, yeah, and how you got so jealous that you were, like, peeing all over her leg but still tried to bang your co-star.” I shake my head. “Anyway, it’s time to go. I have to get my shoes and do last-minute touch-ups on my lips.”

  I run back to my room to grab the black heels, purse, and a little bag that holds a pair of flip-flops for after the red carpet. We take about twenty minutes to get on the party bus and make our way over to Gabriella and Romeo’s house.

  The driveway has an insane number of party buses parked in it. “This is going to be a circus.”

  “Yup,” my father agrees. “Try to be nice.”

  I gasp. “I’m a ray of fucking sunshine,” I say, walking out of the party bus and toward the house. I don’t bother ringing the doorbell because there is no way they are running around naked with a million people in their house. They own two homes—one here and one in Dallas, where they live the majority of the time.

  Stepping into the foyer, I stop when I see all the men in Gabriella’s family standing in suits. It’s like one giant GQ shoot. Best of all, they’re unaware of how hot they are. “Hi.” I wave to everyone. “Got to use the restroom,” I lie, running to the bathroom in the back of the house.

  I stop in my tracks, literally, when I see him walk out of the bathroom I was going to use. He looks down for a second before he looks up at me. A smirk fills his face, making a certain part of me pulse. Fucking Stone Richards in all his fucking glory. Wearing a blue suit, as if he wears one every single day instead of sweaty hockey equipment, his brown eyes sparkle in the lights that are on in the house, along with the sun coming in through the window. He doesn’t even try to hide the way he checks me out, his eyes roaming me from head to fucking toe. “Hey there, gorgeous.”

  “Ryleigh,” I remind him, trying not to show him that he’s gotten to me.

  “I know your name.” He stops in front of me, looking down at me, and it’s just like the first time I met him a year ago. The pull to him was something I’ve never felt before. It was also the stupidest thing that’s ever happened to me.

  “Then use it.” I walk around him toward the bathroom before I do something dumb like grab him by his lapels and pull his mouth down to mine. I’m about to close the bathroom door when he stops it with his hand. “What in the world?” I question as he walks into the bathroom. “What the hell are you doing?”

  “Research, gorgeous,” he mutters, turning me so my back is against the bathroom door as he shuts it with his left hand over my head and his right hand locking the door.

  “And what research is that?” My chest rises and falls as he steps even closer to me, almost pressing his chest against mine.

  “It’s better if I show you.” His hands grip my face. “So much better if I show you.”

  I make the mistake of opening my mouth to tell him to step back. Instead, his tongue slides into my mouth as his lips crash onto mine. My body doesn’t listen to my head. My head screams at him to back away, but my body arches into him. My hands grip his lapels as my eyes flutter closed. His hands move from my face to my hips, pulling me toward him, and I feel his hard cock on my stomach. I moan as my tongue rolls around his, and he moves his head to the right side, taking the kiss deeper.

  We hear voices right outside the door and then the jiggle of the handle, but he doesn’t let go of my mouth. His eyes fly open and so do mine. Looking into my eyes, he continues to kiss me. He moves his tongue around mine, not even caring our families are right outside this door. To make matters worse, I don’t care either. I couldn’t care less. Actually, if he set me on the counter and fucked me, I don’t think I would mind. His tongue plays with mine as he stares into my eyes. It’s the most erotic thing I think I’ve ever done. The voices move away from the door, and he lets go of my lips once the steps have faded away. “Fucking gorgeous,” he says as if he didn’t just kiss the shit out of me. As if I wasn’t just going to beg him to fuck me. As if this one fucking kiss didn’t rock my world. “I knew it.”

  As my heart hammers in my heaving chest, I ask, “What did you know?”

  “Two things,” he says, loosening the hold he has on my hips and cupping my ass slightly before he lets go of me. My own hands let go of his lapels as he steps away. “One, your eyes turn green when you get pissed or turned on.” He holds up his index finger. “And two, your lip gloss is still shiny.” His smirk fills his face, and I hate that it actually makes me even more wet.

  “Well, I’ve learned two things also.” I push away from him even though I want to pull him back. “One, you’re a cocky one.” I hold my own finger up. He chuckles, lifting his hand to his lips to wipe the gloss off them, but nothing is there. “And two, you suck at kissing.” Once I step out the door, I look around to ensure no one is there.

  I shut it at the same time I hear him laugh. “You really have to up your lying game, gorgeous.”

  Not one to not have the last word, I reopen the door as I see him smooth down his jacket. “Again, it’s Ryleigh,” I repeat before I close the door again to make sure I have the last word.

  I make my way into the foyer where everyone slides into the back of the room. As Gabriella and Romeo walk down the stairs, people start to move out of the foyer toward the front door. I smile up at her, pretending I’m fine, and I didn’t just have the hottest make-out session in her bathroom. Since she’s gotten back together with Romeo, we’ve become really close. Actually, I’m close to most of her cousins also, and even went on a girls’ trip with them not too long ago.

  I step forward to stand next to my father and feel a hand on my left side as the touch sweeps across my lower back. The touch almost makes me shiver as I look over my shoulder to see who it is. “Sorry, gorgeous.” Stone smiles at me as he walks past and follows everyone out the front door. I watch him go, not moving from the spot I’m in. It’s almost as if I have cement in my shoes.

  “Are you ready?” my father says, and I turn to look at him. “You okay?”

  No. I shut my mouth before the word comes out. Instead, I smile and put on my game face. Stone Richards just started a game I plan on winning—if I even decide to play. “I’m more than okay.” I smooth down my dress. “Let’s do this.”

 

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