Page 61 of Beauty
A lead weight settles in my gut. “Sienna, as in your sister, Sienna?”
Brooks nods. “Have the two of you met yet?”
I work to keep my expression neutral. Sienna is my new boss? This can’t be…fuck.
“Not formally,” I force out.
Shit. I can’t exactly tell him that I’m familiar with his sister biblically. That I know every inch of her body and the sounds she makes when she comes. And I definitely can’t admit that I’ve been dreaming of the day I can do all those filthy things to her again for longer than most of these guys have been with their wives.
“I saw her at the wedding, though. And a game or two, I think.”
Hannah’s eyes light up, and instantly, I know I’ve made a terrible mistake. Same as I did the day of Brooks’s wedding when I spotted Sienna and admitted that I felt like I’d seen a ghost. Fortunately my sister was too caught up in Daniel that night to notice when I disappeared.
I threw up the second I hit the parking lot. Then I got wasted,alone, at a bar down the street. I missed the dinner and the cake and the dancing, but if I’d stayed another minute and had to watch Sienna in the arms of another man, I’d have lost it.
I’ve avoided looking her up since then. Though I earnestly hope she’s happy, I can’t stomach the idea of witnessing how good her life is without me in it.
The wheels are still turning in Hannah’s mind when the door to the tattoo shop jangles open and Lennox appears. “Are you guys ever coming in here?”
Relieved as hell and more fond of Lennox than ever now that she’s saved me from my sister’s scrutiny, I stride in first. I’ll tattoo whatever these idiots want on my body if it means steering the topic of conversation away from Sienna.
“Are we doing this?” Hannah asks as she steps in behind me. “Or are you gonna chicken out again, Baby Hall?”
He chuckles as he brushes a kiss against her shoulder. “Not nervous, Mrs. Hall. And of course I’m coming. I always do when I’m with you.”
With bile rising in my throat, I take a giant step away from them. “Why the fuck am I here?”
They’re too caught up in one another to pay me any mind. Brooks passes me, slapping me on the back on his way, and Ava steps into the shop next.
War is the last to enter. He stops beside me and grasps my shoulder. “You okay?”
I blink, my mind still spiraling. “What does Sienna Langfield know about hockey?” I ask stupidly.
“She’s a Langfield. I’m pretty sure she doesn’t need to know anything.” He frowns, his brows pinch together. “Why do you care anyway?”
I blow out a breath and shove my hands into my pockets, going for casual. “Just strange, don’t you think?”
He lifts one shoulder in an easy shrug. “If one of my kids was struggling, and I ran a business like Beckett and Gavin do, I sure as shit would offer them a job. And if Bray was the one running things, I’d hope he’d do it too. It’s what siblings should do.”
“She’s struggling?” The words slip out before I can think them through. I’m showing too many cards. Fortunately, War’s attention has caught on his wife, so he doesn’t notice how bothered I am by the idea.
With a heavy sigh, he drags his hand through his dark hair. “Yeah, more fucking fallout in the Xander saga.”
“As in your stepbrother? What does he have to do with Sienna Langfield?”
War blows out a breath. In college, he hated the guy with every fiber of his being. And that was before the asshole dated Ava. Though, last I heard, Xander was awaiting trial, and if I remember correctly, he was remanded in custody because he was a flight risk.
My stomach sinks. Fuck. Did Sienna get caught up in the Ponzi scheme? Is that why she moved back from Paris?
“The short story is that Beckett introduced them when he still thought Xander was a family friend. You know how Beckett is. He’s always trying to bring people together. He thought he was doing me a solid by helping out my brother. I guess Xander and Sienna hit it off, and her company invested a ton of money. Then Xander lost it all.” He shakes his head, his fists clenching at his sides.
“Shit.” It’s the only word that comes to mind.
When I met her, she was so eager, so excited about what came next in her career. I didn’t know the specifics, but I knew she was taking a big step.
Now that I’ve found her again, now that I know she’s a Langfield, I’ve done a little research. In Paris, her design company flourished and her reality show was a huge hit. When I discovered that little tidbit, I cursed myself for not being the kind of person who watches TV.
She had a few successful years, though I haven’t found time to research what happened from there. I’m sure she’s devastated. I can’t imagine what I’d do if I lost hockey. Before Ollie, it was all I had.
