“I know what I’m signing up for. Jessica isn’t like India. She’s different.”
For his brother’s sake, Sam hoped he was right.
On Saturday, Jessica was shopping with Abby, searching for the perfect outfit to wear to her engagement party that night. Shopping was one of Jessica’s favourite pastimes. When they passed a shop and saw some very glamorous dresses in the window, she decided to try some on.
Abby was sitting in an armchair next to the fitting rooms as she waited for her sister to choose just one dress. Unlike Jessica, Abby wasn’t a big shopper. She did it on occasion when she had no choice, but would never go out of her way to head into the shops at her free will.
“How’s it going in there, Jess?” Abby asked, tapping on her sister’s change room door. It wasn’t that she didn’t enjoy spending some quality one-on-one time with her sister, but she didn’t want to spend all day at the mall. It was a beautiful Saturday morning; the sun was shining, without a cloud in the perfect blue sky. Abby hoped she and Jessica could get some lunch and maybe take it to one of the park sites near where they lived.
“I’m almost done,” Jessica called out from behind the closed door. “Did you find anything you want to wear tonight?”
Abby chewed on her fingernail. “No, she said. “I think I’m just going to go with something from the clothes I’ve brought with me. I have a nice pair of dress pants and fancy top I can wear.”
At that moment the door swung open and Jessica stood in the doorway. She was striking a sultry pose with one hand on her hip while wearing a little off-white number. “So what do you think?”
Jess looked smoking hot! The fact that she had long tanned legs played well with the boat neckline and embellished bead detailing of the dress. She turned around to give Abby a glimpse at the scooped back. “ Wow! That dress looks so pretty, Jess! It’s perfect on you.”
Jessica stepped out into the hall, turning to admire her reflection in the mirror attached to the front of the door.
“I think so, too,” she said with a grin on her face. “I did have another dress to try on—” She stopped mid-sentence. “But I think that dress wouldn’t look as good on me as it might on you.”
Abby rolled her eyes. “I don’t know. I don’t need a new dress. You know dresses aren’t my favourite thing to wear.” She was more of a jeans and t-shirt girl. Dresses were something she had to wear when the occasion called for it. She could get away with not wearing a dress to the engagement party.
“I know that, but I don’t understand why you would prefer to cover up your perfect gams rather than show them off. We’ve both got great legs, even if I do say so myself,” Jessica said, and Abby couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh, c’mon, Abby. It’s a perfect dress. It is,” Jessica pleaded with her sister, clasping her hands together. “You have to at least see it and then try it on before you decide. You don’t even know what it looks like yet.”
And then before Abby had a chance for rebuttal, Jessica skipped back into her dressing room and closed the door. A couple of minutes later, she’d changed back into her skinny jeans and red t-shirt, and then ushered her sister into the room.
Abby obliged her sister’s request, stepping into the change room to try on the dress. Abby glanced at the dress hanging on the back of the door. She was grateful it wasn’t as short as the one Jessica had picked to wear. It was a bit more conservative than Jess’s choice and quite pretty. It might just look somewhat decent on Abby.
After removing her jeans and tank top, she slipped it on, then slowly twirled around. She wanted to examine what she looked like before she showcased the outfit to Jessica. She had a hunch that Jessica would like the dress either way. It was Abby who didn’t feel comfortable wearing the kind of clothes Jessica persuaded her to try on.
“Wow!” Jessica said with a gigantic grin plastered on her face. She clasped her hands together, returning them to her chin. “I was right. That dress is perfect for you. Like it’s made for you! I think you should wear that tonight instead of your daggy dress pants.”
“Excuse me, but my dress pants are not daggy. They’re called dress pants because they are dressy. And I am a hell of a lot more comfortable in them than this.”
“Whatever.” Jessica shrugged her sister off. “Okay, so they may be dressy and they may look good on you, but not as good as this dress. Come on, you’re always wearing pants. Try something different for my engagement party. It’s my party, and I think you should buy that dress. I want my sister looking as hot as I will. Well, maybe not as hot. It is my party, but you know what I mean. You’ll still be gorgeous.”
While Abby loved the compliment, she was reluctant to buy something outside her comfort zone. “Do you think I look okay? Does it suit me? I don’t want to buy something if it’s only going to make me look as though I’m older than I am.” She twirled around, feeling the soft, pleated design of the lower part of the dress around her fingers. She traced along the low-cut neckline while trying to cover part of her leg that was showing from the thigh leg slit. She was almost too self-conscious even to step out in something like this.
“Are you serious? You’re hot! And the belt cinched around the waist is the perfect finishing touch. It looks better on you than it ever would on me. People expect you to be predictable all the time and that’s not always a good thing. Maybe you should surprise them tonight. Who knows, maybe you’ll even catch some good-looking guy? Besides, wearing trousers all the time makes you look older than you are, or that you’re covering up for a reason. You have no reason to conceal.”
Abby shot her a sceptical look. The only men she seemed to catch were those who were only looking for a little bit of fun—she wanted more.
She retreated to the change room and did a double-take in the mirror, hesitant to take her sister’s advice. On one hand, maybe she should be courageous and take a risk tonight. It was her sister’s engagement party. Then again, tonight wasn’t all about her and she didn’t want to stand out in front of people she didn’t know.
After she had finished changing back into her clothes, Abby stepped out of the change room just as Jessica was approaching her. Her purchase was tucked into one of the store’s bags.
“Well?” Jessica asked, showing that smile Abby wouldn’t be able to say no to.
Abby hesitated for a moment, biting her bottom lip before she said, “I’m going to take your advice and try something different. I’m going to buy this dress.” She hoped she wouldn’t regret it.
Later that night, the engagement party to celebrate the forthcoming marriage of Jessica and Justin was in full swing. Abby had arrived wearing the dress she bought earlier that day. As she expected, she hadn’t succeeded in blowing anyone’s socks off.
Men weren’t on her radar now, nor was she on theirs. She didn’t need a man in her life to complete her and be happy. She did have to admit that it might be nice to find a man who only had eyes for her. But that was a long shot.
“How’s your night going?” Abby turned around to find Sam talking to her. She was a little surprised. He hadn’t spoken two words to her since their meeting a couple of days earlier at the family dinner. Despite the party going on for almost two hours now, this was the first time Sam had even approached her to have a conversation.
Abby shrugged her shoulders. “Okay, I guess. And yourself?” Not exactly sparkling conversation, but it was the best she could do given they seemed to have nothing in common.
“Not too bad.” Sam paused, then asked, “Are you not enthusiastic about this wedding either?”
So, she wasn’t alone in thinking her sister was rushing into marrying Justin. Then again, how did she know this wasn’t some setup or something? She decided she’d better stay neutral.
Abby shrugged one shoulder and downed the last of her wine. “Maybe they’re making a mistake, and maybe they’re not. I don’t know Justin well enough to make that kind of judgement.”
“I could say the same thing about your sister. I don’t kno
w her well enough to make assumptions. But I don’t think they’ve known each other long enough to make a rational decision.”
“So, is that what you think about our wedding plans?”
Sam and Abby turned around in shock when they heard his brother’s voice sound from behind.
Crap! Crap! Crap!
“Hey, Justin, you know that’s not what I meant.” Sam tried to justify his words with his brother.
“Save it!” Justin raised one hand at his brother. “I don’t want to hear it. Tonight is about our engagement.” His gaze turned to Jessica. He wrapped his arm around her waist. “If you can’t be happy for my fiancée and me then I don’t want you here. You’ll only bring my mood down and I don’t want that tonight.”
“The same goes for me,” Jessica chimed in, aiming her words towards Abby. “This a happy occasion celebrating the love that Justin and I plan to share with each other. I know you think I’m rushing into this marriage. And considering everything our family has been through, I would have thought you’d at least be able to support me tonight. I guess I was wrong.”
And then, just like that, Justin and Jessica walked away from them. Abby watched them head towards the other party guests. She lifted her glass to her lips and swallowed the last drops of red wine, wishing it would become her anchor for the rest of her night. When she finished, she clunked the glass down on the bar counter, propped one hand on her hip and turned to Sam. “Well, that went well. I hope you’re happy. Jessica doesn’t want me here anymore.”
“Hey, you can’t blame me for it all. You said things too.”
“I did, but they only heard what you said,” Abby was quick to point out. “And now my sister doesn’t even want me celebrating with her.”
“I’m sorry about that, but that’s not my fault.” Sam tucked his hand into the front pocket of his dress pants in a casual manner.
Abby pulled up her dress hem so she wouldn’t trip over it as she walked towards the exit. She needed to get some air—and she needed to get away from Sam—pronto!
“Wait! Where are you going?” Sam called out as he followed Abby out of the party.
“I’m leaving.” She didn’t look at him when she spoke. Her primary focus was on the phone in her hand as she called for a taxi to come and get her.
Abby was not prepared to head home. It was the last place she could even think about going, but she just could not stay here anymore.
“You’re leaving?” Sam asked. Curiosity filled his voice as he tucked his hands into the pockets of his dress pants.
“I am. My sister made it clear that she didn’t care if I was here or not. Why did you follow me outside? I’m a big girl. I can look after myself. Don’t forget I used to live here.”
“I needed some air,” Sam said, drawing in a deep breath of the cold night air. Sydney was beautiful, but there was still a frosty chill seeping through the evening air despite the spring season. “I’m not following you. I’m just checking on you. You did leave in a hurry. Do you believe your sister doesn’t want you there? I know I don’t know her, but I get the feeling that after everything you have been through, family is everything to her. I’m sure she’s just hurt because of what we said.”
Abby didn’t know what to think anymore. Family was everything to Jessica, and it meant more to Abby than she cared to admit to Sam. She would have liked to think Jessica would still want her there, but she knew her sister also wasn’t the kind of person to back down from her words. Abby didn’t want to ruin her sister’s night, any more than she already had.
“I don’t know…” Abby trailed off, running a hand through her thick brown hair that Jessica had encouraged her to curl for tonight. “I think maybe it’s just best I follow through on her wishes and leave. I have to get away before I make the situation any worse.”
“Then I will join you,” Sam said with a smile, showing his white teeth.
“I’m not going home right now.” Abby planned to try as hard as she could to manoeuvre her way out of spending any more time with Sam than she needed to. He’d been rude to her before he knew she was Jessica’s sister, after all. And take away the sandy blonde hair, piercing blue eyes and dashing smile, he wasn’t all that good looking.
Who was she kidding? He was charming as hell, but his charismatic good looks and “Mr Nice Guy” act were not going to work on her.
“I don’t care. Wherever you are going will be interesting to me. I’ve never been to Sydney before. You’ll be giving me an adventure.”
Despite his obvious intelligence, Sam was just not getting it. How much clearer did she have to be? Was she supposed to flat out tell him she didn’t want him there?
Before Abby could protest, the taxi she had called for pulled up and Sam made his way around to the other side of the car.
“So how do you know the happy couple?” a cute blonde waitress asked Steven. She approached the table at which he was sitting alone and began collecting empty glasses onto the tray she was carrying.
“The bride-to-be is my sister,” Steven said with a sulk.
“Why so gloomy then? I would have thought tonight would be a happy occasion for your family.”
“I am happy for her, but weddings aren’t my thing.”
“Yeah, you won’t find me getting married anytime soon either.”
For the first time, Steven directed his focus towards the woman’s incredible smile. She was gorgeous. And he was fairly sure she already knew just how pretty she was. She probably had a boyfriend to tell her. His eyes scanned the rest of her body, the work uniform she was wearing doing little to accentuate her obvious curves.
“Marriage isn’t your thing either?”
“Well, to be fair, I would need to be in an actual relationship with a man to consider marriage. No, getting married isn’t even on my radar right now.” When she talked, her ponytail swung from side to side.
Something told Steven she preferred casual sex to a relationship. He would have to be an idiot to let a sexy woman walk away without at least getting her number. “I don’t do this often but would you want to go out sometime? I’d love to see you again.” The look on her face was one Steven hadn’t seen before. “Did I take you by surprise?”
She nodded her head. “A little, yeah. You don’t even know my name and I don’t know yours.”
“Well, what is your name then? I’m Steven.”
“It’s Alexandra. Alex for short.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Alexandra.” Her name rolled off Steven’s tongue. He cocked his head to the side, showing his trademark smile. “So with that out of the way, would you look forward to having dinner or a drink with me?” he asked her again. He didn’t mean to sound so forward, but he had to have more of Alex.
“Okay then. I guess there’s no harm in having one drink together but I don’t want you to get the wrong impression of me. It’s just one drink. I finish work in half an hour. If you’re still interested, we can meet up then.”
Steven liked the idea of that—a lot.
He wasn’t sure where his sisters were. Normally, he didn’t like his siblings leaving him alone at a function where he didn’t know anyone. Tonight he was glad he had the chance to talk to a hot woman without Abby and Jessica’s presence beside him.
Maybe tonight would be better than he thought possible.
Jessica drifted off from the friends she was chatting with as she turned her focus towards another area of the function room. She smiled when she saw her brother chatting up the waitress. She had to hand it to him—he had guts. Steven couldn’t go anywhere without flirting with at least one woman. She hoped his flirting wouldn’t go farther than right here. She didn’t need her brother hooking up with one of the catering people tonight.
She also noticed that she hadn’t seen her sister for a while. That bothered more than she wanted to admit, despite the angry words she’d thrown at Abby earlier. Tonight was her engagement party and Abby was her sister. Her support meant the world to Jessica. She�
��d hoped Abby wouldn’t take her seriously, but apparently, she had.
Justin approached, wrapping his arms around Jessica’s waist. He embraced her in an affectionate way as he dipped his chin to her shoulder. “Are you okay?” he murmured into her neck.
“Yep,” Jessica said, fighting back tears. She couldn’t cry tonight. She was happy and loving her life right now. She would smile and show everyone around her just how thrilled she was to be marrying Justin.
“They’ll be okay. They’ll realise we’re in love.”
She hoped what he was saying would be true. Jessica didn’t think she could handle it if Abby was a no-show at her wedding.
“Where are we?” Sam asked.
Abby slipped the driver some money, paying for the taxi. “Thank you,” she said, ignoring Sam’s question for the moment.
They both got out of the car. Abby watched the taxi drive away before she turned her attention toward a traditional style one story house. The outside looked the same despite the tall oak tree that once stood just to the left of the front window.
“So where are we?” Sam asked her again.
Abby let go a deep breath she didn’t realise she had held in. “This is where I used to live with Steven and Jess—before our parents passed away.”
“You grew up here?”
Abby nodded her head, unable to get the words out without choking up. She hadn’t been back here since the day she had helped Steven and Jessica move out. That was also the day she had transferred to another country. It had been hard being so far away from Steven and Jessica. She had never lived so far away from them before. She thought it would be good for them, that it would bring them closer together, and she had been right. Even though she was far away, Abby cherished her siblings more now than she ever did.
She didn’t think coming back would churn up as much heartache as she was experiencing now.
“Are you okay?” Sam asked. He reached out to her, but she pulled away from him.
Back to Me without you (Sibling Love Book 1) Page 5