Page 49 of Everything After (Everything Trilogy)

LILY

“Holly!” Jack yelled from across the room, waving exaggeratedly at her. Holly waved back and immediately scanned the room for me.

“Look at you,” Holly drawled in her strong Texan accent as she swept over toward me. My grin widened the nearer she came. As usual, her gorgeous appearance and alluring expensive perfume drew the attention of every male present.

“Me? Look at you,” I returned, rushing toward her. We shared an embrace before she held me at arm’s length. “Honey, you look positively delightful. I’d go as far as to say you were glowing. You need to talk me through your skin routine because your skin looks positively translucent.”

“If that’s your way of saying I’m glowing like a vampire from the Twilight movies, you can keep your thoughts to yourself,” I teased.

“Seriously, are you following a new skin care regime? If so, I want all the deets,” she mumbled. Holding my arms, she took another step back to take in the full length of me.

“Hello, gorgeous, you look beautiful,” Brett stated, smiling. Holly’s fiancé Brett stepped in, broke us apart and pressed a kiss to both of my cheeks.

“We’re so glad you could make it,” I gushed, waving Alfie over to say hello.

“It gave us an excuse to pin you down for that bridesmaid dress fitting. Charlotte, the designer, has flown to Miami. I hope you don’t mind but I’ve invited her here tomorrow,” Holly informed me.

“About that…” I began, then looked for Alfie again. He’d stopped talking to Jack and Mya but instead of coming to me, he stepped off the patio and made for the jetty.

“Where is he going?” I muttered, then looked ahead of him. My heart sank in my chest when I saw that Sienna, Kara and Poppy had arrived.

Holly touched my arm, distracting me. “Who’s that?” Initially, I didn’t reply, and we both watched Alfie greet the women off the boat.

“Back in a minute,” Brett mumbled and headed over to Jack.

“Sienna,” I informed her in a flat tone.

“Sienna?” Holly repeated, confused. “Who is Sienna? Which woman are you talking about there’s two and a girl there.”

“The one in the green dress, she’s an old flame of Alfie’s.” The jealousy in my tone was clear as day, even to my own ears.

“And the other two?” she prompted.

“Oh, Kara and Poppy. You remember the girl that Alfie had been helping back in college when I’d thought he was playing me?”

“Right,” she said, frowning. “I thought she’d gone into witness protection or something?”

I chuckled. “It might have been easier if she had from the start with the lengths Alfie went to, to keep them safe. No, she went up north, Oregon or somewhere I think, but she’s back now that the guy and his business partner that threatened them are dead.”

“Jeez and I thought Texas was wild,” she mumbled, sounding sarcastic.

“From your tone I take it Sienna’s our problem. I know you, Lily. What’s with her? You look… unsettled.”

“That’s one word for how she affects me,” I admitted, then shrugged. “It’s silly really. She’s Gary’s sister, you remember, Gary, the soldier—”

“I know who Gary was,” she interrupted. “So that’s his sister… the sexy brunette?”

“Yeah.” I sighed to relieve the heartburn that had begun when I saw Alfie greet her.

Holly and I then watched in silence while Alfie spoke first with Kara and Poppy before he helped Sienna out of the boat.

It had been years since I’d seen Sienna Oliver in person, but I’d have known her anywhere—even allowing for the four hundred yards that spanned between us.

“Ex-girlfriend you say?” Holly tsked. “Well, your man certainly has a type.”

I flashed Holly the side eye when a pang of hurt clenched my chest, because she had voiced my belief as well.

Both Sienna and I were long-haired brunettes, both of us petite, but Sienna had two things I could never achieve, golden, sun-kissed skin to my much paler complexion that mostly went pink in the sun, and as Gary’s sister, she was tethered to my husband in a way I could never replicate.

The Olivers and Alfie had grown up together. Alfie and Sienna had both loved her brother, and their bond of Gary, no matter how much Alfie tried to protest wasn’t there, kept an impermeable, life-long connection between them.

“May I ask what she’s doing here?” Holly enquired, frowning.

“Alfie wanted to reconnect with Kara and her daughter. Apparently, they’re living with Sienna. Kara’s working on cruise ships out of Fort Lauderdale, and Sienna is caring for Poppy when she’s away.”

“I see.” Holly nodded and continued to scrutinize them with narrowed eyes, which suggested she mulled my explanation over.

“Then I’m sure Alfie’s being polite in inviting all three of them.

He could hardly invite those two without her, given they’re living in her home,” she concluded, sounding satisfied with my reasoning.

I nodded. “That’s what he said,” I mumbled as they walked up toward us.

“Listen, Lily,” my friend said in a stern tone. “Alfie Black idolizes you. No matter what she looks like, she’d be a poor imitation to the feelings he has for you.”

If it hadn’t been for what happened between Alfie and me in our recent past, I’d have agreed. Then again, perhaps it was my pregnancy hormones that gave me my sensitive, insecure vibes. “He said the only feeling he has is pity,” I disclosed.

“Then you’ve no need to worry. I mean he’d hardly risk everything you’ve built by giving her a pity fuck now, would he?”

I chuckled at her unexpectedly blunt comment. “I’ve missed you so much, you know that?” I said, glancing up at her. “You always did know how to talk me away from the ledge.”

“Hey, baby. You remember Sienna and Kara?” Alfie said arriving by my side and sliding an arm around my waist. The touch of his warm hand through my dress instantly calmed me.

“Yes, of course,” I said, forcing a warm smile. In truth, I didn’t trust Sienna in the slightest, since our one previous interaction at Layla’s wedding had left me in no doubt what her intentions about Alfie and me were.

“This is some place you have here, Alfie,” Sienna gushed, dismissing me.

Alfie grinned. “Wish I could take sole credit, but it was my gorgeous wife here who found the place and pulled everything in it together.”

“Still, the boy did good,” she said in a flattering tone and flashed him a beaming smile that I read as an attempt to keep his attention on her.

I interrupted her endeavor to control the narrative with my husband. “Glad you could make it,” I said, placing a possessive hand over Alfie’s that was resting on my waist. I then tried to keep my focus squarely on Sienna’s beautiful face and not check her out further.

My move made Sienna’s eyes run the length of me before she raised a dismissive brow and smiled at Alfie again. “This place is…” she leaned back, held her sun hat on her head and glanced up at the magnificent two-story, whitewashed building that we called home. “Amazing.”

While she did this, my curiosity got the better of me and my eyes took her in anyway. I immediately became envious of the straight, glossy, expresso-colored hair, her bronzed tan that made her glow, and her light gray eyes pop.

Then, as if she sensed me staring at her, she stole a glance toward me. Her cherry-red lips stretched into a smug smile, and although I knew it would be ingenuous of me, I automatically smiled back. I didn’t miss the self-assured lift of her questioning brow before she focused on our home again.

Rick came into focus behind Sienna, and then I noticed him and most of the other men present were looking at her. That wasn’t surprising since Sienna’s figure looked sensational in the thigh-high, jade green, figure-hugging dress that she wore.

I’d always been quite body confident, but in that moment, I became conscious that in the weeks to come, Sienna would continue to look as striking as she did now, while my body would transform as my pregnancy progressed.

“Come, let me introduce you to everyone,” Alfie commanded, breaking into my reverie. He held out his free hand and waved his guests forward, toward Rick and Coral.

Once Sienna moved past him, Alfie winked, dipped his knees and pressed a kiss to my temple. His gesture toward me felt like a silent thank you for accepting Sienna with grace. I may have appeared demure but right then, I was glad neither Alfie nor Sienna were mind readers.

After Alfie had done a round of introductions of most of our guests on the patio, we moved inside. There we found Alfie’s sister Layla and her husband, James. It wasn’t until they all squealed in unison that I remembered all three women’s history together.

I stood for a few minutes, feeling like a spare wheel in the conversation while they all reminisced, then Alfie realized I was still standing beside them. He lifted my hand, kissed my knuckles and mouthed, “Sorry.”

“Let me get the last of the introductions finished then you can all have a proper catch up,” he remarked.

As Alfie guided them toward my band, I heard him sigh and briefly wondered if he’d deliberately left them last to be introduced.

When we approached their table, my bandmates appeared deep in conversation. My chest filled with dread the moment Cody caught my gaze and smiled.

I gave him a stiff smile in return, but I felt torn at my reaction because over the years Cody had been good to me. He’d been the support that had gotten me through countless episodes of stage fright, supported me when I was lonely, and now, something had changed.

I then realized that my bandmates were sitting together, even Lennie. Knowing he was usually joined at the hip with Rick and Coral, I sensed the discussion had something to do with me.

When Alfie’s arrival cast a shadow over the table, Digs glanced up, slid back in his seat and held his beer up, acknowledging my husband.

“We don’t want to have to babysit you—” I heard Lennie saying before he abruptly stopped talking. He turned in his seat to see us.

“Lennie,” Alfie muttered, nodding. Lennie pushed his chair back, stood and took in the three people with us.

“I’m not sure you’ve ever met my friend Gary’s sister, Sienna, and his fiancée Kara,” Alfie said, pointing to each of the women.

“Nope never. I’d have remembered two stunning women like these,” he said, clutching Sienna, then Kara’s shoulders and air-kissing them.

“And this is Poppy, Kara’s daughter,” Alfie added, letting go of my waist, and maneuvering Poppy forward.

“How do you do, sweetheart,” Lennie asked, flashing a warm smile.

Shawn and Digs said “Hi”, in unison, but Cody, stood, cleared the table and stood in front of Sienna.

“Hello, gorgeous. I’ve heard a lot about you over the years.

What a shame that we’ve never met. Looks like Alfie’s kept all the gorgeous women for himself.

” My chest tightened as I glanced at Alfie.

As if Alfie believed Cody wanted to get a rise out of him, his jaw tensed for a fleeting moment before he grinned. “Well, you know how it is, bud. I’m naturally protective of people that I care about.”

A wave of hurt swept through me, but I told myself it was Alfie’s way of warning Cody to stay in his lane.

Sienna, oblivious that there was ill-feeling between the two men, immediately struck up a conversation with Cody. This gave me time to study Alfie’s reaction to them talking together.

Relief washed over me when the wary look left Alfie’s eyes as he watched Cody, and I guessed he let his comment slide.

However, since I’d confided my feelings about Sienna and Alfie to Cody on the plane flying back to Miami that day, I took his comment as a blatant attempt to derail my trust in Alfie.

“What’s the matter? You don’t still think I have a thing for Sienna, do you?” Alfie quietly asked, as I watched Cody disappear inside with Alfie’s guests.

Pushing my thoughts to the side, I patted his chest. “No, no, I don’t. I just feel a little light-headed,” I lied.

“Come on, baby.” His eyes bunched in concern. “Let’s get you out of the sun for a bit. You need some sugar. We’ll get you a long lemonade and a seat in the shade until you feel better.”

“I’m fine, but that drink and a quiet moment with my husband sounds like exactly what I need.”