Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 23382 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 117(@200wpm)___ 94(@250wpm)___ 78(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23382 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 117(@200wpm)___ 94(@250wpm)___ 78(@300wpm)
Cheeks flushing, I focus on his impeccable bowtie. “Yes.”
“You can ask, my queen.” He lowers his head, breath warm on my ear. “But I won’t answer. I’d rather keep you in suspense.”
Liam appears behind Vance and grabs the doctor’s attention with a tap on the shoulder. “Mind if I cut in?”
“She’s all yours, Chancellor.” The man from the House of Cancer steps back with a secret smile, and that’s when I spot him.
Sebastian.
And he’s not alone.
“Who is that?” I ask as Liam pulls me into a sway. My gaze remains on the dark-haired beauty in the red dress, who’s leading Sebastian onto the dance floor.
“Who?”
“The woman with Sebastian.”
Liam follows my narrow-eyed stare. “That’s Lilith Astor.”
I falter, mid-step. “Astor…as in the House of Gemini?”
Liam urges my feet into a graceful pace again. “She’s his sister.”
“Landon has a sister?”
Liam laughs. “So like him not to mention Lilith.” He casts another look across the dance floor, where Sebastian and Lilith move in tandem to the romantic notes coming through the speakers. “Landon and Lilith are twins, but they don’t always get along.”
Twins…which would explain her sudden presence. The charity ball is in honor of Landon’s birthday, after all.
“I didn’t realize the House of Gemini took their baby-making duties so literally.”
“Twins run in the Astor family. About every other generation produces a set.” Liam pulls me closer, and I rest my head on his shoulder. “Have I told you how sexy you look in that dress?”
No, but his sharp stare from across the table at dinner said it for him. “It’s not too revealing?”
“Way too revealing, Novalee. But I can’t find the will to complain.” He runs his nose along the slope of my neck. “If I had permission to touch you, I wouldn’t be across the room dancing with Lilith Astor right now.”
We fall silent, but my mind won’t stop spinning with questions.
Why didn’t Landon tell me he had a twin sister?
Why didn’t she tell me who she was in the hallway?
And why is she clinging to Sebastian like she belongs in his arms?
Something foreign simmers in my blood, casting my vision in the same hue as the woman’s mermaid dress. She’s gorgeous, older and experienced, and carries herself better than I ever could in a pair of stilettos. Despite the risqué nature of the dress I designed, everything about me screams innocence while she’s a walking advertisement for what men want.
I’m inexperienced and childlike…and I’m utterly jealous.
“Stop watching,” Liam whispers. “It’ll hurt less.”
Turning my head, I blink. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He tilts my chin up. “You forget I’ve had plenty of experience watching you lust after him, my sweet girl. I know what’s going through your head right now.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. It’s not your fault.”
“I thought I was better at hiding my feelings.”
He cradles my cheeks between his warm hands. “Your beautiful face spills all your secrets.”
Not all of them. He doesn’t know about my relation to the Astors. I bite my lip as it dawns on me.
Because if Landon is my brother, then that means the woman across the room—with her silk-clad body plastered to Sebastian’s—is my half-sister.
And I already hate her.
Chapter Twelve
Halfway through the auction, Sebastian disappears into the hall with Lilith. Unable to focus on anything but where they might have gone, I fake a headache and tell Landon I’m heading back to my quarters for the night.
As the elevator approaches Sebastian’s floor, I’m tempted to stop the car and exit there, but doing so would cause unbearable torture. Because I know they’re together, and I can’t stand the thought of what they might be doing behind the emblem of that fancy lion guarding the entryway.
So imagine my shock when the elevator doors slide open on the ninth floor, and Lilith steps inside alone. Her sleek locks aren’t so sleek anymore, and though she hides it well, her eyes hint at the threat of tears. Casting a glance my way, she reaches for the eleventh floor button, and her fingers halt as she realizes it’s already lit.
“Looks like we’re headed to the same place,” she says, standing back with a lift of her chin.
“It appears so.”
“I guess things didn’t go well with my brother?” She gives me the side-eye. “Since he’d rather marry your lady.”
She has no idea we share the same blood. I wonder if her attitude toward me would change if she knew. Considering which floor she just left, I assume the truth wouldn’t make a difference—not with whatever history she shares with Sebastian standing in the way.
It kills me that I know nothing about it.
“Elise’s happiness is all that matters,” I say, keeping my voice level as endless speculations plague my mind. A muted ding announces our arrival on the eleventh floor. I gesture for her to exit first before following her through the entrance and into the main sitting room.