Borrowed Beauty

Chapter Nine: Wishful Thinking

OLIVIA

All things considered, my day was fantastic. I had a nice jaunt around the lake, a long, comfortable soak in the wooden tub, and I had a binge-read through about half of my new novel. My good mood was fully restored. I dressed in a long loose skirt that was a mad patchwork of bright colors, along with a teal, sleeveless blouse. I pulled my hair back from my face with a wide headband and applied just a little bit of mascara.

I smiled at my reflection. I thought I looked pretty good, even if I couldn’t compare to Renee. I didn’t stop to ask myself why I was putting so much uncharacteristic effort into my appearance as I inserted my favorite dangly earrings and a colorful necklace that may or may not have matched my crazy outfit, and marched down the stairs for dinner. I didn’t do dainty, marching was my modus operandi.

My sister was sitting on the couch in the living room looking bored and petulant. She was dressed in a black cocktail dress with a slit that cut all the way up to her hip, and a neckline that plunged down to her navel. She’d somehow taken her shoulder-length hair and arranged it into a fancy twist, and her earlobes were dripping with diamonds. She would have been absolutely gorgeous, if not for the sour look on her face.

I stopped and chewed on my lip a moment before I asked her, against my better judgment, “Everything okay?” She might not be my favorite person, but she was, after all, my sister. There was never any point in asking if she was okay - more often than not I would get attacked for even trying to be considerate, but it never stopped me from trying.

She turned her phone over in her hands and checked the screen again. For a moment something flickered across her face, something that looked oddly vulnerable. “Everything is fine,” she said, her tone of voice negating whatever I thought I had seen on her face. “The guys are just running a little late.”

“Oh,” that didn’t seem like that big a deal to me, but I knew my sister had a very low threshold for boredom. “Why don’t you join us in the dining room while you wait,” I suggested, “you could have a glass of wine.”

“That’s a good idea!” She said, surging to her feet. I had a sneaking suspicion it was the idea of sitting with the alpha that made her eyes light up as she went ahead of me, sashaying on her impossibly high heels. Sashaying was also not built into my walking apparatus. I marched in after her.

Alpha Josiah was already seated, and Vero had evidently just entered and was pulling out her chair. I sat in the empty seat to the left of the Alpha, while Renee sat across from me on the right. I couldn’t help but notice that she slid her chair even closer to the alpha as she sat down. She smiled up at him sweetly.

I felt something unpleasant twist in my gut, but I refused to acknowledge it. Of course, the alpha would be charmed by my sister. Of course, his eyes would become heated when they followed that plunging neckline down between her breasts. Every red-blooded man did, and behind his powerful alpha status, Josiah was still just a man. Heck, even hot-blooded women couldn’t avert their eyes from my sister.

My mood slipped a little as I ducked my head and concentrated on tuning out their conversation. I wasn’t interested in being privy to their flirtations. I wondered what the twins would think if they walked in and saw the way she was putting her small hand on the alpha’s well-muscled forearm. They were cool with sharing a woman between the two of them, so maybe they would welcome their older cousin to get in on the action.

That thing in my stomach tightened to the point of pain, making it difficult for me to enjoy the crock of French onion soup the server had placed before me.

I was caught off guard when the conversation turned toward me. “How do you like the soup, Olivia?” Josiah’s smooth, deep voice tickled my ears. “Your sister tells me you are quite the gastronomist.”

I looked across the table at my sister in surprise. They had been discussing me?

“Actually what I said,” she clarified with a mean twist of her lip, “is that you like to eat.” The tone of her voice and the expression on her face told me that what she really meant to insinuate was that I was a glutton, and my love of food clearly showed in my too-fat figure.

My cheeks flamed in embarrassment, but I lifted my chin and turned to look the alpha right in the eye, almost daring him to insult me to my face. “That’s right,” I said, forcing my voice to be calm and light. “I love fine food, and this soup is delicious. My compliments to the chef.”

“Clarice will be happy to hear that,” Vero said with a smile. “She’s not a trained chef, but she tries her best.”

I thought that would be the end of it, but Josiah was still staring at me with those unreadable azure eyes. “Do you like sushi?”

It was such an odd, random question, but easy enough to answer. “I love sushi!” I replied. “I spent a couple of weeks in Japan, and I couldn’t get enough of it.”

His eyebrows climbed in surprise, but I couldn’t tell if he was surprised that I liked it, or surprised that I had traveled internationally. “It just so happens that there is a great Japanese restaurant downtown. Would you like to join me for lunch tomorrow?”

Before I could quite comprehend that Alpha Josiah had just asked me out on a lunch date, the twins breezed into the dining room, dressed in their identical Armani suits. Personally, I thought the matching outfits were stupid, but I understood that it was part of their brand and calling card.

“Sorry we are late, darling,” Aaron came and leaned over Renee’s shoulder to press a kiss against her cheek. “Give us five more minutes to change and we will be ready to go.”

“Where are you headed tonight?” Josiah asked, casually swirling the wine that was left in the bottom of his glass.

“We are taking her out to Paulito’s,” Brock smiled down at Renee exactly the way an adoring, doting boyfriend should. “It’s this little Italian place next to the theater, you are going to love it.”

“Sounds great,” She smiled up at them like she hadn’t just been putting the moves on their cousin. She was good, I had to give her that. She left the table to go ‘freshen up’ while her dates were getting ready. When they had cleared out I found myself once again sandwiched between Josiah and his aunt.

Vero seemed to have gone cold beside me. I sensed more than saw that her demeanor was much less friendly than it had been earlier. I got the distinct feeling that she did not approve of Josiah’s invitation.

I turned back to Josiah and was once again pinned to the chair by his intense gaze. Just having his eyes on me was making my heartbeat accelerate. “So, what do you say? Will you join me for lunch tomorrow?”

“Um,” Something deep inside told me that I should refuse. This alpha was much too potent and much too dangerous to handle lightly. Not to mention that my sister also seemed to be eyeing Josiah with more than a little interest. The last thing I wanted to do was challenge my sister over a man. But when I opened my mouth, “Sure,” slipped off my traitorous tongue.

It wasn’t a big deal anyway. It wasn’t even really a date. It was just lunch with a new friend who apparently shared my passion for good food. I could surely sit down and enjoy a meal without acting like a total s*x-starved fan girl. Yes, I could. I forced a smile and picked up my spoon to finish the soup that had already gone cold.

I was reading too much into this, probably wishful thinking on my part. It’s nothing, just lunch with a friend.