The Wrong Bride (The Windsors, #1)(22)

I eat my food quietly, my gaze moving back to Raven and Lex every few minutes. She’s barely said hi to me today, and she’s only taken her eyes off Lex whenever Sierra talks to her. It’s like the rest of us don’t even exist.

I breathe a sigh of relief when dinner ends peacefully, with no talk of my upcoming wedding and no lectures from Grandma.

Raven rises from her seat with a smile on her face, and I watch as she disappears through the veranda doors, no doubt heading for Grandma’s swing.

Lexington looks around in confusion, clearly searching for her. Before I even realize what I’m doing, I find myself following Raven. I’m not sure why, but I don’t want to leave her alone with Lex.

I find her sitting on the swing, her gaze on Grandma’s countless plants, a soft breeze making her hair dance. She looks up at the sound of my footsteps, her eyes widening in surprise.

“Oh,” she says. “Ares.”

“You sound disappointed.” I sit down next to her and push the swing into motion. She looks enchanting tonight, in that yellow summer dress, the shoulder straps nearly nonexistent. Did she wear that for Lexington?

“No, not at all.”

I glare at her inadvertently. “Were you waiting for Lex?” Her eyes widen just a fraction, and I tilt my head in question. “Hmm?”

“I… no.”

I nod. “Good. I love my brother, but he’s not for you. He’s a fuckboy. He won’t get serious with anyone other than the woman Grandma chooses for him.”

Raven bursts out laughing and shakes her head. “Um, are you worried about me?”

I nod.

“Don’t be. Besides, what makes you think I’m after a serious relationship? How much longer are you going to see both Sierra and me as children?”

I grit my teeth and turn to face her. She smiles provocatively, and I lean in, placing a finger underneath her chin to lift her face to mine. “Don’t you even fucking think about it, Raven.”

She merely smiles at me and lifts her brow. “I’m an adult, Ares. So is he.”

I see fucking red at the thought of her in his bed and grab her chin, keeping her captive. “I don’t give a fuck whether or not you’re an adult, Raven. You’re not fucking my brother, you hear me?”

She looks at me defiantly. “Or what? You might be Sierra’s brother, but you aren’t mine. You have no right to interfere in my sex life.”

“And I won’t — so long as the person you’re fucking isn’t one of my brothers.”

She narrows her eyes at me. “Why would you care?”

I let go of her and look away, caught off guard. Why do I care so much? “Family is important to me,” I end up saying. “Grandma loves you, and so does Sierra. You’re as much part of this family as Hannah is, perhaps more so. I don’t want you to mess up our family dynamics because of lust. Once things end, it’d be awkward for both of you, and it’d affect us all.”

She looks at me as though she’s trying to read me, and for a moment I worry she’s seeing straight through my lies.

“Oh,” she says eventually. “Right.”

She sounds hurt, disappointed. Fuck. Why the fuck couldn’t I just keep my big mouth shut? Why is it that I always lose my cool around Raven? Ever since we met, she’s always brought out the worst in me. She makes me act fucking crazy, and I can’t figure out why.





Chapter Thirteen





Ares





“We’re planning to acquire the following streaming services,” Dom tells me as he gives me a high-level summary of the deals on the table, but I can barely focus on him.

I run a hand through my hair as he prattles on about my schedule, movies I should invest in, sponsorship deals, and who knows what else.

I’ve always loved my fast-paced and high pressured job, but I need a fucking break. I haven’t felt like myself for weeks now, and I can’t pinpoint what’s thrown me off so much. Is it my constant arguments with Hannah and our approaching wedding?

Or is it Raven?

I keep trying to forget, but every time my thoughts wander, I find myself thinking of the way she sat in my lap, her entire body on display for me. I’ve never seen her look at me the way she did that night, and it’s a sight I can’t unsee.

I wonder who it is that had her so messed up that night. I’m not an idiot. It was obvious that she wanted to fuck someone out of her system, and I can’t stand the thought of anyone causing her that much pain. What would have happened if I hadn’t been there? Would she have gone home with someone?

Would she have gone to the man she can’t seem to forget? The one she said she loves? Who the fuck is it, anyway? I haven’t seen her with anyone in a long time. I sigh and force myself to focus on my work, taking my time to read through the reports in front of me.

My office door opens unexpectedly, and Dom and I both look up in surprise. Hannah walks in, a tight smile on her face. “I checked your schedule,” she tells me. “And it seems you’re free, right?”

I nod as she walks toward me and sits down in the chair on the other end of my desk. Dom gathers the documents he brought with him and excuses himself, leaving the two of us alone.

“Hannah,” I say, surprised to find her here. I can count the amount of times she’s come to my office on one hand. Being told that she owes her career to me is one of her biggest fears, so she’s never allowed any rumors to form at all.