He does the opposite and steps closer. “I saw the way Nora was with you. She doesn’t believe it either, does she?” His nostrils flare. “Should be proof right there when a mother knows someone is impersonating her daughter. She knew right away with the last girl too.”
He’s so close that I feel his breath on my lips. He’s a predator, drawing you in with his good looks and sweet scent only to slit your throat. His gaze drops to my lips, and I lick mine. I think he might kiss me, but his arm darts out, grabbing my phone from the nightstand.
I can’t believe I went all stupid for a second. If he would have tried to kiss me, I don’t think I would have stopped him. “What the hell?” I lunge at him, trying to grab my phone back but he’s too quick. I somehow end up flat on my back on top of the mattress with his body pinning mine. The fact he was able to get me into this position so easily has me pissed the hell off.
I shove his chest, almost pushing him off. He drops my phone to the mattress and grabs my wrists with his left hand to pin them above my head. His forearm comes down to my throat, and his knees move between my legs as I struggle to get free.
“Stay the fuck still.”
“Fuck you!” I hiss but that’s all I do because I can barely move. My whole body is heated, and I feel like snapping his neck. Using everything I have, I strain against him and then collapse, breathing heavily as he smirks down at me.
“Such dirty words for a princess.” He wets his lips. “I thought you were a black belt in karate?”
“Fuck off.”
Shifting to straddle my waist, he keeps my hands pinned above my head while removing his arm from my neck to grab my phone. He swipes across the screen, and I begin to buck, but all I end up doing is pushing my hips up between his legs, practically grinding against him. I still my hips but continue trying to get my arms free.
Concentrating on my phone, he tightens his grip on my wrists and squeezes my body between his legs. “You must really like dick,” he says, not taking his gaze off the phone.
That has me pausing. Does he think I like this? I’m fucking pissed. My phone is personal, and he has no right to go through it. I might have been a little starstruck when I first met him, but anyone would have been.
He shoves the phone at my face, the bright light making me squint. He must be reading my text messages because he found one of the many dick pics Trent sent. I never saved them to my phone nor asked him to send them.
Nick brings the phone back to face him and swipes at the screen several times. “You only have ten contacts in your phone, and half of those are family members. Seems like someone can’t get along with others.”
I want to slap the smirk off his face.
He drops my phone to the bed. “James is digging into your past and everyone you know. Are you prepared to destroy this family when the lie comes out?”
“Why don’t you think I’m Anna?” Maybe he knows something I don’t.
His eyes burn into mine as he slides off of me and gets to his feet. “You have to have at least one memory.” Crossing his arms, he takes a step back. “Tell me.”
My throat constricts. I squeeze my eyes shut. If I’m Anna, one of my foster families were my blood and not the ones I’m told were. So many different faces bring up emotions that I don’t want to resurface. My eyes snap open when I hear my door slam shut. Nick’s gone, and I’m breathing heavily. I get up from the bed to push the lock into place only to swing it back open and march across the hall to Tilly’s room. No way am I leaving my sister unprotected with a deranged lunatic living here.
***
When I wake up, Tilly’s room is bathed in sunlight and I’m alone. I stagger out of bed, grabbing my phone from the dresser to see what time it is.
Fuck.
It’s already noon. I’m sure Tilly’s been up for hours and who knows what she’s getting into. I swear if anyone fucks with her, I will kill them.
I have a hundred texts from my co-workers. Looks like Lisa announced I won’t be back. I type out a text to Angie telling her I’m staying with family in Florida for a while. She’ll pass the message to everyone else.
I move to my room to get dressed but my bags are empty. Nora had said something about someone putting mine and Tilly’s things away, so I move into the closet. The walk-in closet is long and wide. Clothes hang on both sides, and there’s a dresser against the back wall. Along the bottom left wall is a long rack filled with shoes I’d never willingly wear. Most of them either have heels or sparkly glitter covering them.
I bypass bright colors and frilly fucking things to where my clothes have been moved to the very back of the closet. I throw on my black New York tank and maroon skintight jeans and run my fingers through my hair as I head for the stairs.
Assuming Tilly might be in the kitchen, I head in that direction, but I don’t remember exactly where it is and end up at a door that leads outside. I retrace my steps back to the stairs and try again. A minute later, I’m lost once more. I spin around, walk down the hall, and then take a right. I pass the library for the second time and end up in the foyer where a woman dressed in a maid’s uniform is arranging a vase of flowers on a round table.
“Excuse me. Can you point me toward the kitchen? I’m lost.”
“Yes, ma’am. Make a left out of here and then take a right at the end of the corridor. The kitchen will be halfway down on the left.”
“Got it. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” She goes back to arranging flowers and I make a left.
At the end of the hall, I make a right. That’s what I was doing wrong. I kept making a left and that leads to a small patio near the pool. I make a left, and bingo. Aiden, Tilly, Rocco, and Nick are gathered around the kitchen island. Ugly wooden cabinets line every wall making the room feel smaller than what it is. The tile is a dirty yellow and the marble countertops are a mixture of color: cream, yellow, and brown. A mural of what looks like an Italian village is painted on the wall behind the double range.
Tilly’s face lights up when she sees me. She abandons the pizza everyone is huddled around to skip over to me. “We’re headed to the beach in a minute. I was going to wake you up after we ate. Come with me! I went down this morning and it’s amazing. There are beautiful shells everywhere, and the water is perfect.”
I love how her whole face is lit up. I want to snap a picture so I can always remember her like this. “I’ll come for a bit.”
She wraps her arms around me and then bounces back over to the boys to pick up her slice of pizza.
“Hey, An—Hayley,” Aiden says. “Want some pizza?”
I glare at Nick as I brush past him to grab a piece of pizza, and then I shuffle back a few feet to lean against the sink. The large window behind me shows a nice view of the white sandy beach. I expect Nick to say something about last night or accuse me of some bullshit, but he’s not even looking at me. I guess we’re pretending he didn’t threaten me last night.
“So, what are we supposed to call you?” Rocco asks me. “Tilly calls you Hayley, but Nora is calling you Anna, and Aiden…” He laughs. “Aiden seems confused.”
“She wants us to call her princess,” Nick says with a smirk.
I glare at him. “I’m not a princess.”
“Technically you are,” Aiden says.
“Told you,” Tilly says with a satisfied smirk.
“What name do you feel most comfortable with?” Aiden asks.
I swallow the food in my mouth. “Hayley.” I don’t know why he’d ask. Hayley is the name I grew up with.
Aiden looks disappointed by my answer, so I look away from him. I eat my pizza while drowning out Rocco as he recounts a trip to Mexico that he took last week. I watch my sister hang on to his every word. Her hair and makeup are on point, and she’s wearing the shorts she thinks makes her legs look long, therefore making her taller. Her red, crochet crop top leaves her shoulders bare, and her flat belly on display.
Rocco keeps throwing her little grins. Sh
e’s too young to be starting anything with boys. I bite my lip. At least she’s aiming high, I guess. Tilly is the type of girl that ends up marrying a doctor, lawyer, or businessman. I’ll end up with a blue-collar boy, or alone, and there’s nothing wrong with either.
When Rocco finishes his vacation story, Tilly grabs my wrist. “Come on. Let’s go change.”
I let her pull me out of the kitchen. On the second floor, we split up. I move into my closet and trade my jeans for frayed denim shorts, and then slip on slinky white sandals that are too fancy for my taste but the most casual beach shoe out of the others.
While I wait for Tilly, I flick through the clothes seeing at least a quarter of them aren’t half bad. I guess in a weird way this could be Nora’s way of showing affection. To possibly mend whatever is going through Nora’s head, I pull off my shirt and bra and slip one of the new shirts on. It’s a tight and silky cheetah print crop top. It’s not my style but I know Tilly will like it because of the Prada tag.
“Ready?” Tilly chimes, from the closet door. “No way. She already filled your closet?” Tilly pushes past me to search the goods and then begins to excitedly shout off brand names I’ve never heard of.
I lean against the doorframe. “Tills, are we going to the beach or are we playing dress up?”
Laughing, she hangs a shirt back up that she was admiring. “Beach now, dress up later.”
Making our way to the beach, Tilly recounts every detail of her morning. It sounds like everyone has been nice to her, even Nick.
Deciding to walk barefoot in the white sand, I slip my shoes off on the patio. The sky is light blue and cloud-free. It’s one of those perfect days people gush about. Rocco and Aiden are already in the water tossing a ball back and forth, and Tilly quickly removes her clothes to join them. Her hot pink bikini shows off her slim body.
“Come on, Hayley,” she calls over her shoulder before catching the ball Aiden tosses her way.
“I’m gonna chill here and watch,” I say, dropping down to the warm sand and relaxing back on my forearms. I watch the three of them toss the ball back and forth until they decide to pull out skimboards. Rocco is too hands-on as he shows Tilly how to ride the little waves.
An unexpected body dropping down next to me has me shifting to the side. Using my hand to shield my eyes from the sun, I stare at the newcomer as his gaze skates over my face. He’s wearing dark blue swim shorts and nothing else. His upper body is thick muscle. A thin line of hair runs from below his belly button to disappear beneath his shorts. Dammit, this guy is a twenty on a scale of one to ten. Even better than his pictures.
He smirks. “You look like him.” He laughs. “Is it creepy I think you’re hot?”
I snort. “What?”
He shakes his head, and his wavy auburn hair falls into his eyes. He pushes the pieces away, green eyes shining. “I’m Casey, Aiden’s friend.”
I nod. “I know who you are. I have the internet.” I can’t remember what his family is famous for, but I do remember his name—Casey Brooks. I almost wish I paid attention to celebrity gossip, so I knew more about him.
“Why aren’t you out there?” He nods to the water.
I shrug. “Not feeling it.”
He chuckles. “What? Fun?”
I narrow my eyes and then focus on the water. I’ve never been eager to let people in. Spending time like that leads to connection and then attachment. People aren’t permanent, but the feelings they leave behind are. I’m not so worried about myself. I’ve been burned too many times to give in to this temporary situation. I can tell Aiden’s already getting attached and so is John. The more distance I put between them and myself, the easier it will be for them when I leave.
“Not very talkative, huh?” His gaze drifts back toward the water. “Who’s the chick?”
“My sister.”
With a cocky grin, he turns his whole body to face me. “Oh, yeah?”
“She’s only fifteen, so hands off.”
Casey’s gaze moves over my shoulder. “Yo, Nick!” Grinning, he gets to his feet, brushing sand from his shorts with one hand while waving Nick over with the other.
They both hover above me, and I don’t like feeling like a sitting duck, so I hop up. Nick is just as built as Casey if not more so. His shorts are black, and his smooth skin is tan. His pecs and abs are fully defined as are the muscles in his arms. His chest glistens in the sun from sweat or maybe baby oil. He looks so fucking solid, like his muscles have been replaced with sculpted stone.
His eyes meet mine, and he smirks. I pick my mouth up and turn to focus back on the water. I grind my teeth, mad at not schooling my emotions better. I was practically drooling.
“Casey!” Aiden hollers as he jogs toward us. “You made it.”
Casey grins, hugging Aiden when he makes it to us. Rocco and Tilly stay behind in the water, wrapped up in their own little world. Laughing, Tilly falls off the skimboard, and Rocco hauls her up from the water by her waist, keeping a hold of her a little longer than what seems necessary.
Aiden plants himself next to me, draping his arm around my shoulders. The water from his arm drips down my back, helping to cool down my heated skin.
I turn away from the water to smack Aiden’s stomach which is all hard abs. “I saw you dunk my sister.”
He laughs. “She sent a wave at my face. I had to get her back.”
I laugh and shake my head.
“Nick, tell me this isn’t freaky as hell,” Casey says, waving toward me. “They look so alike.”
Nick’s eyes narrow, and his nostrils flare but he doesn’t say anything. It looks like Dominick Cabot hasn’t shared his feelings about me with his friends. That’s interesting.
“We do look alike. It’s pretty fucking cool. When I first saw her, I just knew,” Aiden says.
He’s grinning so wide that I can’t help but smile. He seems proud to be my brother. He could have taken one look at me and been a preppy prickly dick. My stomach flip flops because if I’m not Anna, I think he will be the most upset out of his family.
“She’s a hotter badass version of you, bro. You need to step up your game. Maybe get some tattoos or something.”
I forgot the shirt I’m wearing shows off part of my tattoo. Aiden’s gaze follows Casey’s to my torso. His eyes widen as he takes in the ink there.
“My mom would lose her shit if I got one.” Smiling down at me, Aiden rolls his eyes. “If you haven’t noticed our mom’s big on appearances.”
“Oh, I’ve noticed. I’ve got a whole closet full of girly outfits from her.” I hold up my phone. “And she messaged me about a hair and makeup appointment.”
I can’t help but to discreetly admire Nick’s body again. Are all insanely rich people drop-dead gorgeous? If I’m Anna, why don’t I look perfect too? I’m not ugly but I’m not a knockout either. It must be the expensive things they had growing up, like organic food and beauty creams or whatever.
Nick catches me staring at him and narrows his eyes. “She’s got to get the royal princess ready for her debut. What did you expect, Your Highness?” Aiden and Casey laugh like he’s joking, but he’s being a dick.
“I guess the queen will find out the princess isn’t some little doll she can play with,” I say, smiling sweetly at Nick.
“Nora’s a princess, not a queen,” Casey says and then laughs. “I always forget that, dude. You guys are royalty. Weird I get more chicks than you, Aiden. Your royal dick must not be that great.”
“Casey, man, shut the fuck up. My sister,” Aiden says, his arm dropping away from me to shove Casey’s shoulder.
A laugh bubbles out at how red Aiden’s cheeks turn. “I’m all grown up, Aiden. I know boys and girls have sex.”
Casey throws his head back and laughs.
“I bet Hayley Anna knows all about sex, right? You look like the type.”
I open my mouth to tell him off, but Aiden steps up to him, and says, “Dude, what the fuck, Nick? You can’t talk to my sis
ter like that.”
“She looks like you, but so do hundreds of other girls. I think you should do a second test. This is too big not to be a hundred percent sure. It happened before.”
Here we go. Let out how you really feel, Nicky. He might be a dick to me, but I can respect he’s being real with it and looking out for his friend. I might not like him, but I’d expect the same from Grace if I were in Aiden’s shoes.
“This is completely different, and you know it,” Aiden says.
“I think a second DNA test is a good idea. Like I told you before, I’m not convinced. Something could have happened at the lab. Hell, maybe even do a couple more tests. And run my sister’s sample too.”
All three guys stare at me with confused expressions, but Aiden’s face morphs into disappointment.
“Why your sister’s?” Casey asks.
“Like a placebo. It would probably be best to surprise the lab with multiple anonymous samples. Secretly slip mine in and see what happens.”
“You don’t think you’re his sister? You don’t believe you’re Anna?” Casey asks, brows dipping low.
I shrug, my gaze darting between all three. “I just want to be sure. It’s all a little crazy.”
“I assumed you had memories. You don’t remember?” Casey asks. “Nick and Aiden remember you.”
My gaze shoots to Nick and then Aiden. Could the memory I have of one of my foster brothers be Aiden? That doesn’t make sense. I thought the foster family that screwed me up was after running away from the people the cops said were my biological parents.
“I’ve had a few foster brothers, but…” I bite my lip. “The earliest one I remember is Dean.” My brows furrow as I concentrate on the memory. “I was on a bike, my foster dad running behind me. I crashed into a parked car. I could hear Dean crying and that made me cry even though I wasn’t hurt.”
“That was me, Hayley. You called me Dean. And that was Nick’s dad’s car you ran into. I remember it. See, I told you, you were Anna.” His smile is so wide and eyes beaming.
“It could be a coincidence,” I say, my voice a tiny whisper. “Lots of kids wreck on their bikes.”
Everywhen: (Savage Princess book 1) Page 9
