Page 62 of All for Love

“Oh, uh, thanks,” I stammered. “They’ve been nice, though. No ass-kicking necessary.”

Her perfectly shaped blonde eyebrows shot up. “Is that true? Kaden and Kody Wagner have been nice to you? Somehow, I find that hard to believe.”

“Well, uh, we’ve had some hiccups, but we’re ironing them out. We’re all trying real hard for our parents’ sake.”

Her exquisite features softened, her high cheekbones shimmering like she was some kind of bronzed goddess having a chat with a subject she was fond of. “Let me know if that changes. Mr. Wagner deserves to be happy, and if they fuck it up for him, I’ll be the first in line to smack some sense into them.”

Surprised by the way she was talking about the family like she was part of it, I couldn’t help but poke around, keeping my questions gentle but unable to keep the burning curiosity out of my voice. “So, uh, how long have you and Kody been together? Do you think you really will become Mr. Wagner’s daughter-in-law one day?”

Marissa’s huge blue eyes flew to mine, and she gaped at me before she started laughing. “Together? God no. Kody is…” She trailed off for a moment, obviously trying to find the right word. “He’s more like a brother to me.”

I frowned. “He is?”

“Yeah,” she replied as she fixed her gaze on him where he stood across the room. “We basically grew up together in the office under his father’s watchful eye. I started working in their mailroom while I was still in high school and the boys were already spending their weekends and afternoons there as well.”

Surprise rippled through me when I realized that she was staring at him, but there was no lust in her eyes. Her posture was relaxed and open, her demeanor more that of someone talking about a family member than a potential suitor.

“Nothing has ever happened between you two?” I asked incredulously. “You’re just so…” I trailed off this time.

Marissa grinned as she finished the sentence for me. “Good together? We are, but we’d never work out as a couple. We are now, and forever will be, just friends.”

“But something has happened between you in the past?” I pressed, even if I wasn’t sure I really wanted to know.

She laughed. “We kissed one time. When we were twenty-one and at an office party. We’d both had a couple too many and we ended up in the file room with a bottle of tequila.”

The very blood in my veins turned sour, but Marissa’s demeanor had remained unchanged. There was no longing in her eyes and not a trace that she secretly harbored a crush on him as she gave an exaggerated shiver. “Even drunk, it felt so wrong. We kissed, but then we both started laughing. We just couldn’t do it. Couldn’t follow through. We decided right there to put it behind us and we’ve never looked back.”

A rush of almost paralyzing relief spiraled through me, and Marissa’s laughter stopped abruptly when she noticed. “Oh. I get it. I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

I froze. “Didn’t know what?”

She lowered her chin to give me an oh-please look. “That you guys are together, obviously. Come to think about it, he should’ve told me. Asshole. I’m going to make him pay for that later.”

“No!” I exclaimed. “He’s—I mean, I’m not… no. He’s my stepbrother. We’re not together. Ew.”

Marissa’s gaze was hooked on mine as she shrugged. “What’s so ew about it? It’s not that weird. You guys didn’t grow up together or share any sibling-like memories or experiences. I’ve had way more of those with them than you have.”

Understanding dawned behind her eyes as she looked at me and the corners of her mouth suddenly turned up. “At least it makes more sense now. That’s why Kody invited me to this party out of the blue. We’ve always kept in touch, but I haven’t seen him for a couple of years. Haven’t even really heard from him, and then he calls me up, asks me to come, and refuses to take no for an answer.”

“You haven’t seen him for a couple of years? Why not?”

“Ask Kody,” she said as she stood up. “Enjoy the party, Mercedes. Mr. Wagner doesn’t have an army of people around him right now, so I’m going to take the gap and go say hello.”

I stared after her and then moved my gaze to Kody, staring at him in turn as I wondered what had happened. My mother caught me staring and I flushed before I stood up myself, hurrying off to look busy at one of the appetizer tables.

Thankfully, Ellora arrived, giving me an excuse to evade my mother as she approached. I took my friend’s arm, steering her firmly out of the room without a backward look at my mother. “Thank god you’re here. How would you like a tour of the house?”

She nodded, blowing out a low whistle as she tucked her arm around mine. “That sounds great. This place is like a palace, but why do I get the feeling that you’re using me to avoid someone?”

I laughed her off, but the sound was too high. She shot me a suspicious look, but I ignored it. I just needed a break. Some time to wrap my head around everything that had happened tonight so far and to let go of the jealousy I felt over the fact that Marissa might be like a sister to him, but she was still his date.

She’d arrived on his arm and they might’ve laughed it off before, but she was still going to be going home with him later. After a couple of years apart, who knew if their sibling dynamic was still as strong as she seemed to think it was?

I knew better than anyone what happened when Kody Wagner took a girl home, and tonight, there was absolutely no chance of that girl being me.