Page 10 of All He Wants

Nick twirled her and Ember laughed, head tilted back, hands looped around his neck. They fit together perfectly. Her light hair complementing his darker tones, his smile wider than I’d ever seen it, and it hit me then. He was in love with her.

A lump rose in my throat and I turned in the other direction, desperate to scrub the memory of his smile out of my mind. The table along the far wall had been set up with glasses of champagne and finger food. I grabbed two glasses and cursed under my breath when I turned around to find Nick behind me.

“You getting one for Harper, too?” He clapped me on the shoulder and I gave him a strained smile before tossing back both drinks, one after the other. “Oh, getting started on your holiday hangover.”

I snagged another glass and tilted it to him. “You know it.”

He chuckled and stayed standing next to me as we observed the room. Mom had gone all out, like she did every year, and it looked incredible. I probably would have been enjoying myself if it wasn’t for…

“Doesn’t she look beautiful? I don’t know how I got so lucky,” Nick murmured and the knife in my heart twisted in response as we looked over to where Ember danced with Harper underneath the gently sparkling snowflakes that had been hung across the width of the entire ballroom. “Find yourself someone to dance with and come join us.”

He walked away before I could respond and I was grateful for his inadvertent rescue so I didn’t have to formulate a polite way of saying fuck off.

The ball was bustling, friends of my parents’ gathering and laughing like they did every year, and for the first time I wished I could be anywhere else.

“Wanna dance?” A dry voice called out from the other end of the table and I looked up, a grin snaking across my face as relief crashed over me.

“Who let you in?” I teased, gulping the last of my drink as I held a hand out to Leigh. She was one of my best friends and, as far as I knew, was living in Australia now. “I didn’t know you were stateside.”

She grinned, her short blue hair framing her face perfectly as we moved onto the dance floor and she looped her arms casually around my neck. “I moved back.”

I rolled my eyes. “Nice of you to let your only friend know.”

She spun and I caught her. “What do you think I’m here for?”

We laughed as the song morphed seamlessly into Lights by Ellie Goulding and I watched her try to place which cover was playing. “Ugh I give up.”

“We’ve already had Taylor Swift and BTS tonight and I’ve barely been here ten minutes.”

Leigh nodded, clear blue eyes sparkling with mischief. “Did I see your cousin earlier?”

“She’s staying with us for the holidays,” I confirmed and tapped Leigh on the nose. “And she’s still straight.”

“A waste,” Leigh muttered. “And the blonde? Think I have a shot there?” I winced and Leigh’s brow rose. “I sense a story.”

I shrugged. “Nothing to tell. She’s Nick’s girl.”

“What’s that saying? I don’t see a ring on her finger?”

I twirled her to stop her from talking and smirked when she cursed. “He’s my brother.”

When her mouth opened again, I knew something ridiculous was going to come out of it. So I maneuvered us closer to where Nick, Ember and Harper danced.

Leigh wasted no time in flirting with Harper, her grin a seductive curl that I’d seen work on a lot of women — some gay and some… not. “Littlest Hart. What a delight. You look breathtaking.”

Harper snorted. “Hi Leigh. How are you?”

“Lonely,” she pouted and led a laughing Harper away to dance.

Abandoned, I hesitated in place next to Ember and Nick.

“So, who was that?” Ember’s eyes were on me, her voice a little higher than usual and Nick looked like he was fighting a grin. “The, ah, blue-haired girl. You were dancing together.”

She had been watching me? “That’s Leigh.”

Ember rolled her eyes, pink flushing her cheeks. “I got that. But who is she?”

Nick leaned in and murmured something in her ear, making Em’s eyes fly wide, before Nick backed away. “Be right back. Keep her company.”