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“Okay, great,” Juliet said, giving Ryan a quick kiss on the cheek and heading into one of the rooms I’d set up for them.
“I might just grab a quick rinse to wash off the flight,” Ryan said. “I’ll be five minutes,” he said, grinning and then disappearing into the bedroom behind me. The one Juliet hadn’t gone into, which seemed a little odd, but I was too busy trying to recover my ability to speak to worry much about it.
I tried hard not to think about the fact that he was very likely taking his clothes off in there, stepping into the tiny bathroom for a shower. Ryan McDonnell. Naked. In my house.
Juliet stepped back out of her room, frowning. “I just realized I didn’t really even get to say hi,” she said, pulling me into a hug. “I hope this is all okay, having Ryan and me.”
My sister held me tightly and I closed my eyes, inhaling the scent that I remembered, her nearness erasing all the distance created by the fact that she lived all the way across the country and was more famous than the president. She was still my big sister, and I’d missed her. For a long time, we’d been partners and best friends. And it was good to have her back.
“It’s fine,” I said. “It’s good. Gran will be thrilled to see you.”
“I wish it wasn’t so late. I want to say hi, introduce Ryan.”
“Tomorrow,” I said. “Although she’s going to be pretty pissed off because I moved the game rig to the back of the house.”
Juliet’s mouth formed a little “o.” “She’s still obsessed with that game?”
I lifted a shoulder. “Pretty much.”
“I thought you were going to wean her off of it.” Her eyes narrowed at me.
“She’s so mean when I don’t let her play.” I heard the whining tone in my voice and tried to squash it. “I figure there’s not much harm. She’s ninety years old—who am I to tell her what she can and can’t do?”
“It can’t be good for her,” Juliet said.
“She doesn’t smoke as much pot when she’s playing,” I pointed out. “So I think it’s actually good for her health.”
Juliet shook her head, one blond tendril escaping her messy bun and falling down around her cheek.
“So this thing with Ryan,” I said, walking around one side of her bed to smooth a fold in the duvet I hadn’t noticed before. “Is it pretty … uh … serious?” I hated the way my stomach clenched as I waited for her answer.
She pressed her lips together and glanced to one side before she answered, and then gave a quick shake of her head. “I don’t know.” She threw out a false little laugh.
Something was up. That was the Juliet trifecta. She might be the country’s most popular actress, but I could see through her. The side-glance and the lip press were hallmarks of a Juliet Manchester untruth.
“What aren’t you telling me?” I took a step closer.
“There’s nothing to tell, Tess. Zac was a shit, and now I’m seeing Ryan.” She turned. “I’m exhausted. I’m going to bed. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
“Good night,” I said, my mind still trying to work out what she wasn’t saying. She didn’t seem as excited as I would be to be dating the hottest man on Earth. I left Juliet in her room, and stepped into my own room a few feet down the corridor.
I needed a moment before I could attempt to act like a normal person and help Ryan find something to eat. I stepped into my own room’s ensuite bathroom and closed the door behind me.
I stared into the mirror. I could handle this. I could figure out how to form coherent words around my sister’s new boyfriend, and I could figure out how to stifle the pointless jealousy I felt that of all the men in the world, she had chosen him.
It was ridiculous to be jealous. That’s just how her life was.
But it was difficult for me ever to prepare myself for the churn of feelings my sister stirred up in me. It was like the second she was near, I shrank down and became invisible. Now, as grownups, I felt like I should have been able to hold my own. I wasn’t an insecure teenager anymore, after all. And I loved my sister, I really did. But she had a way of sucking all the air out of a space, of pulling every eye and mind and leaving no room for anyone else.
And God, having her here with Ryan McDonnell? I was going to be a disaster all weekend.
“It’ll be fine,” I told myself. “Once you get past your fanatic crush and see that he’s just a normal person, it’ll be fine.”
He was just a normal, very hot person who, of course, probably loved my sister.
And why wouldn’t he love Juliet? Everyone always had. Hell, even I loved Juliet in a ridiculously overprotective and self-sacrificing way. That was just the effect she had on people. That was what compelled people to her on screen.
It was kind of like the effect Ryan had on me. I would have been happy just to watch him move. Hell, I’d be happy watching him breathe.
