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“I’m sure it’s nothing,” I eventually say, waving my hand dismissively. “You know what teenagers are like, they do dumb shit. I doubt any of them would be brave enough to actually break into your house, though.”
“You’re probably right,” she sighs. “Maybe the stress of this whole Halloween Ball business is getting to me. I know you don’t care and this is just some joke to you…” Shiloh pauses, sighing. “But I really don’t want to screw it up.”
I struggle not to roll my eyes at her, determined to avoid another verbal knife fight. “Well, now that my name’s on it, it has to go well. I refuse to let you embarrass me, so these ideas of yours had better pan out.”
To my surprise, she chuckles again, a nervous titter that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “So glad to have you on side, Dom,” she says wryly. Something in my chest clenches at the nickname. No one has called me Dom in eleven years. At least, any time some random hookup has made that attempt at familiarity I’ve shut it down.
“Any time, Shy. Now, how about you be a gracious hostess and offer me a drink? Party planning is thirsty work.” I make sure to infuse enough humor in my tone so that she doesn’t immediately lose her temper. It seems to work.
“Sure, I guess. Is Merlot okay? I’m pretty sure that’s all I have.”
I nod once and she ambles off to the kitchen. Her hands are shaking slightly when she comes back in with two overly full glasses, the dark liquid sloshing perilously close to the rim.
“The fuck, Shiloh. Do you have a drinking problem I should be aware of?”
“What? N-no!” she stutters, dumping my drink onto the coffee table in front of me instead of putting it straight into my hand. “I’ve just had a stressful week, okay?”
“It’s Tuesday,” I deadpan.
This time she really laughs, a bubbly, melodic sound that’s more intoxicating than any alcohol. My eyebrows shoot up almost into my hairline when she plops herself back down onto the couch, this time at the end nearest me. I try not to focus too hard on the scant inches left between our knees.
“You know…” She takes a deep breath, and then meets my gaze head on. “Do you really have to torture me all the time? How long are you sticking around for anyway? In town, I mean.” I can tell she’s trying hard to keep her tone casual, but there’s an obvious anxiety in the tightness around her eyes and the set of her shoulders.
The urge to see her submit to me hits me in a fresh wave of heat. I want to see her defeated, succumbing to her own desire to have me near. I know she hasn’t forgotten.
“Always so eager to get rid of me, damn,” I taunt her. “Anyone could think it wasyoutrying to tortureme.”
She scoffs again. “Actually, I was just thinking that it’s kinda nice to no longer be the lone wolf of the family. With you here, dad and Viv might remember that I’m the one they prefer having around.”
I can’t help but raise an eyebrow at her strange choice of words. “I wouldn’t callyoua lone wolf. More like a black sheep.”Innocent. Helpless. Sometimes pathetic.
“Whatever.” She knocks her fist against my shoulder, the unexpected contact leaving goosebumps beneath my shirt. “I just meant, it’s nice to feel like I’m not the only outsider in this weird, disconnected family we’re both part of.”
Her confession hits me straight in the gut, stirring up that guilt I would much rather keep buried. I take a long sip of wine. It’s not pleasant, and is definitely cheap, but it’s a welcome opportunity to compose a response.
“What do you mean?” I press, curiosity getting the better of me.
She goes back to avoiding eye contact, swirling her wine in her glass as she stares into it like some magic mirror that holds all the answers. “It’s just… I moved back here after college so that I could stay close to them all, to try and be a big sister to the little ones. Yet, it feels like each year they all drift further away. Like I’m not…not needed. You’re lucky your dad wants you by his side at the company, Viv and mine couldn’t care less about me. I live close, but they don’t check on me forweeks.”
Now it’s my turn to scoff. “Trust me Shy, there’s nothing lucky about being close to my father.” The bitterness in my tone obviously surprises her, though it’s a taste I’ve long been familiar with.
“What was it like?” she asks softly. If I’m not mistaken, genuine concern shines in those icy blue eyes. “We never heard from you after you left. I just assumed you were having the time of your life, happy to be rid of this place.”
“I was nothing but a necessity to him–his sole heir. He wanted me to be successful, but if I was, it threatened his ego. Every accomplishment was met with criticism instead of praise. I was just another ‘failed investment,’ as he liked to put it.”Never mind the brass knuckles he used asenforcement. She doesn’t need to know about that.
Shiloh winces. “That sounds awful. I’m sorry you had to grow up that way.”
I shrug, not entirely unhappy with the weirdly vulnerable direction this conversation has taken. “It made me who I am today. And when I take over the company, I’ll propel us all forward beyond even his wildest dreams. I hope the sudden realization of his own inferiority gives him a heart attack.”
“I believe it,” she chuckles. “If anyone can do it, you can.”
“If I’m not mistaken, that almost sounded like a compliment.”
“I guess it was.” Shiloh frowns, as if she’s just as stunned by the revelation as I am. “I just, um…” She leans forward slightly, her glass clenched in both hands. “I’m tired of the fighting, Dom. We’re not kids anymore. We could be…friends, maybe. Don’t you want that?”
She lends weight to the question by reaching out a hand and laying it on my knee. The touch is light, barely there, but it sends a jolt through me like I’ve been struck by lightning. I look down at that hand, then up at her face. Her eyes are wide, staring down at where she’s made contact as if she can’t quite believe she’s the master of her own body.
“Shiloh,” I murmur, placing my fingers under her chin and pushing it up until she looks at me. The quiet gasp she lets slip is my undoing. Before I can think better of it, I close the distance between us and capture her plump lips with mine.
