“I forgot. I’m sorry. But you haven’t mentioned it in months, and you know this isn’t my thing.”

Nan threw down the bag in her hand.

Great. We were going to have a temper tantrum with articles of clothing that cost me a f**king fortune. Blaire was working her ass off daily, and my sister was buying shoes with my money that cost more than Blaire could make in two weeks. Fucking unfair. I hated this. I hated not being able to give Blaire everything she wanted.

“Are you saying you won’t take me, Rush? I have no father here to take me. You’re the only brother I have. My escort has to be a family member who’s also a member of the club. I have no one else. Just you.” She wasn’t yelling anymore. She sounded hurt. The lost little girl who needed her big brother to save the day.

“Of course, I’m going to take you, Nan. I just forgot. And you started yelling at me before I had any f**king coffee,” I said, not wanting to see the sadness in her eyes.

She sniffed and nodded stiffly. “OK. Thank you,” she said, then bent to pick up the bag she had thrown down. “After you have coffee and are less mean, could you please bring my other bags up?” she asked as she continued up the steps.

She didn’t need me to answer. She knew I would do it. I went to the kitchen. I had to get my anger under control. Going to this thing tonight mad wasn’t fair to Nan. It was just one night. I would explain it to Blaire. She would understand, because she was . . . Blaire. She didn’t expect me to do anything. She didn’t require anything from me. She was the first person in my life to just want me for me. Not for favors.

My chest tightened. She would probably be asleep by the time I got home. I wanted her in my bed. I didn’t want her going to sleep in the other bedroom. I wasn’t sleeping without her.

I poured my coffee and downed it, then poured another cup, before heading back to the foyer to pick up all the shit Nan had brought in. She was coming down the stairs when I started up.

“Do you have the combination to Mom’s jewelry box? I want to wear her sapphire necklace that she bought at Tiffany’s that Christmas.”

“I’ll unlock it for you.” I wasn’t going to tell her to call Mom. There was a good chance Mom would say no, and then Nan would break down, and I would have to clean that mess up, too.

Nan grinned. “Thank you! I’m going to wear one of the Marc Jacobs dresses, and that necklace will go perfectly. I think she bought those earrings that go so well with them, too. Or she borrowed them.” Nan waved a hand as if it didn’t matter. “No biggie. The necklace will go with the diamond teardrops.”

I left her prattling about jewelry, took the bags to Mom’s room, and dropped them on the bed. I had several tuxes here; I would just pick one. What I was wearing wasn’t an issue. But I needed to talk to Blaire first. Let her know where I would be tonight.

It turned out she’d be working. My calls had gone straight to her voice mail, which meant her phone had been off or dead, which wasn’t surprising, knowing Blaire and the importance she put on having a cell phone. When I had called the club, I had gotten Woods on the phone. He’d informed me that Blaire was busy. They were slammed getting ready for tonight. Then he’d told me Blaire would be working and warned me that if Nan said one thing to Blaire, he would have her escorted out. Then he’d hung up on me.

Fucker.

I was arriving at the club in a tux and with my sister on my arm, dressed like a princess. Dealing with the fact that Blaire would be serving tonight while I stood there dressed like this, highlighting our differences, was screwing with my head. I f**king hated this. I wanted Blaire in a dress that I’d paid a ridiculous amount of money for and smiling with excitement. I wanted the world to see that she was mine. That she was with me. But tonight was about my sister. If I could just get through it, then I would never be in this position again. Blaire would never serve at another event that I was attending. She’d be on my f**king arm, where she belonged.

“Remember what I said about Blaire. You do not speak to her unless you are going to say something nice. Woods will have you escorted out, and I will help him. Do you get me? I’m not blowing smoke, Nan.”

Nan nodded stiffly. “I won’t say a thing to her. I swear. Now, could you please stop making this about her and let me enjoy my night? You haven’t even said anything about the way I look.”

She was beautiful, but she was always beautiful. Nan had an elegant beauty that was impossible to hide. “You look gorgeous. No one will compare,” I assured her.

She beamed at me, and I felt guilty for not thinking about the fact that I hadn’t mentioned how she looked earlier. I had been so focused on Blaire that I hadn’t thought about it. Nan needed me tonight. I had to think about her. For a few hours. This was for Nan. “Thank you,” she said, smiling like the princess she knew she was.

“Let’s go,” I said, holding out my elbow for her to take. We walked up to the entrance, and a man in a tux smiled at us and nodded. He announced our names as we stepped into the room. All eyes turned to us. This was Nan’s moment. She wanted to blow the other girls out of the water on first impression, and she did. I had no doubt.

When Nan saw one of her friends, she squeezed my arm and went to join her. If only that was it. I had three more hours of this shit.

“You spoke to her?” Woods said, stopping beside me.

I nodded. “She’ll be on her best behavior. If she says one thing, I will help you escort her out. She knows that.”

Woods looked over the room and nodded. He started to leave but stopped and fidgeted with his cuff links before looking at me. “I hope you know what you’re doing,” he said simply, then walked off to greet some of the older members standing nearby. Woods was here as a host tonight. He wasn’t with anyone.

I didn’t let his words bother me. He was bitter, because I had been the one Blaire chose. I wouldn’t let his comments get to me. I had to prepare myself to see Blaire working. Serving these pompous ass**les and their spoiled daughters.

I made my way over to the farthest wall and hoped I wouldn’t have to talk to too many of these people. Several stopped and spoke to me, and I nodded, forcing a smile. Glancing at my phone, I realized I had two hours and forty- five minutes left.

Then I saw her. She walked into the room, holding champagne flutes and with a smile on her face. The entire room seemed to light up with her presence. The members either ignored her and took a drink or spoke to her with a friendly smile. I realized most of the older golfers wanted to speak to her. She was popular with them, no doubt. Their wives even smiled fondly at her.

Once she was finished circling the room, she left, and I felt lost. She hadn’t seen me, nor had she seemed to be looking for me. I had hoped she would scan the crowd for me. But she hadn’t. Not once. Did she not want to see me? Did she think I didn’t want to see her? Fuck . . . did she not know I was here? Would seeing me with Nan be a surprise? Hadn’t Woods told her I’d be here?

Before I could get too worked up, Blaire walked back into the room, carrying a tray of martinis this time. She made another round. When she finally turned and her eyes met mine, I felt like my breath left me. A small smile touched her lips, and I fought the urge to take the damn tray out of her hands and shove it at the people reaching for drinks. I forced a smile I didn’t feel, and then someone spoke to her, and she turned to smile at them. She didn’t look back my way again before she left the room.

“Rush,” Nan called. I saw her motioning me over to where she was standing. She was with the Drummonds and their daughter, Paris. Nan and Paris had gone to boarding school together. I was sure that at some point, I had made out with Paris when she had been at our house. I wasn’t sure we had actually had sex. She’d still been seventeen, and I didn’t mess with the illegal ones.

Nan grabbed my arm as I approached and reintroduced me to people I had already met. I nodded and listened to Nan and Paris talk about their last skiing trip together. When Nan tensed beside me, I turned to look at the door, knowing Blaire must have entered the room. Bethy was talking to Blaire, but Bethy wasn’t working. She was dressed up. Confused, I watched as Jace stepped from a crowd to join Bethy.

He’d brought Bethy as his date.

I hadn’t expected that. He was making a statement that she was more than a f**k for him. The smile on Blaire’s face didn’t surprise me. She was never jealous. She was happy for people. Bethy was here as a guest because Jace had brought her, but Blaire was serving people, while I stood in a f**king tux.

Did she think I didn’t want to acknowledge her as anything more than just a f**k? My stomach felt sick. She had to know the truth. Blaire never looked my way, but she knew I was watching her. The tense set of her shoulders told me she was ignoring me. Shit. Motherfucker.

She was reading the wrong thing into this. I hadn’t wanted to come. I was here to escort my sister. I wasn’t not acknowledging her. I was protecting her from Nan, but I wouldn’t keep doing that if it meant I was hurting Blaire.

“Isn’t that right, Rush?” Nan said, her overly bright voice sounding too high-pitched. She was pissed. She didn’t want me watching Blaire, and that made me angry. I was here with Nan like she wanted. I was pretty sure she was wearing about ten grand’s worth of clothing and accessories I had paid for, not counting our mother’s necklace. And she was going to control whom I watched and spoke to? Fuck, no. She wasn’t.

“Excuse me,” I said, meaning to walk away, but Nan’s nails dug into my arm.

“I was just saying that Mom and Abe should be home soon from Paris. They can’t honeymoon forever,” she said with a fake smile.

I didn’t want them home. “I hope not,” I said. Nan’s nails dug deeper into my arm. I jerked free of her death grip.

She laughed and slapped at my arm. “He’s a grouch at these things. Doesn’t do tuxes well.”

“He’s a rock star’s son. I doubt that requires you to wear a tux often,” Mr. Drummond said in an amused tone.

I didn’t point out to him that my rock-star father could buy him and his company several times over. I wasn’t going to waste my breath. “No. Not a lot of reasons to wear one.”

“What is Laney saying to that server? She looks like she’s about to—” Paris slammed her hand over her mouth, and I turned to see what was going on.

Blaire stood in the middle of the room with escargots all over the front of her clothing, and the tray she’d been carrying clattered loudly at her feet. She was frozen with shock and horror. Laney, Nan’s friend, was cackling with laughter.

“Oh, and look, she’s super clumsy. Woods should be pickier about his employees,” Laney said loudly.

Nan’s hand grabbed my arm, but I threw her off and stalked toward Blaire. That Laney bitch would pay for this.

“Move,” I roared, shoving Laney and her friends out of my way so I could get to Blaire. Grabbing her by the waist, I stared down at her. “Are you OK?” I asked, checking for any harm done to her body other than the buttery slime all over her. She nodded, but her eyes were glistening with unshed tears, and I was ready to start tearing limbs from bodies. No one was allowed to touch her. No one. I couldn’t turn to look completely at Laney. I was too close to hurting her. “Don’t come near me or her again. Understood?” I said in a voice meant for Laney and anyone else standing around who thought messing with Blaire was acceptable.

“What are you mad at me for? She’s the clumsy one. She dumped the whole tray all over herself,” Laney said in a high-pitched, annoying voice. God, she was a bitch.

“If you utter one more word, I’ll threaten to remove all my contributions from this club until you are escorted out. Permanently,” I warned her.

“But I’m Nan’s friend, Rush. Her oldest friend. You wouldn’t do that to me. Especially for the hired help.” Laney sounded shocked. I was about to give her something to be shocked about.

“Test me,” I said, leveling my furious glare on her so she knew not to go there with me. I turned back to Blaire. “You’re coming with me,” I told her.

I glanced back to see Bethy standing there, ready to take Laney down right in front of everyone. “I have her, Bethy She’s OK. Go on back to Jace,” I said. Then I turned back to Blaire. “Watch out for the snails; they’re slippery.” I had to get her out of here. Safely. She had gotten hurt. I hadn’t protected her again. I should have been here with her. I f**ked up. This was my fault. I always failed her.

When we stepped out of the ballroom and into the dark hallway that led back to the kitchen and offices, Blaire broke free from my hold and moved away from me. She crossed her arms over her chest in a defensive move. She was upset. I had let this happen.

“Blaire, I’m sorry. I wasn’t expecting something like that to happen. I didn’t even know she had issues with you. I’m going to talk to Nan about this. I have a feeling she had something to do with it—”

“The redhead hates me because of Woods’s interest in me. Nan had nothing to do with it, and neither did you.”

That didn’t make sense. Why was Laney pissed over Woods? “Is Woods still hitting on you?” Blaire’s eyes went wide, and she spun around and started to leave. I reached out and grabbed her arm. That was the wrong thing to say. Damn jealousy. I had to get a grip on that. “Blaire, wait. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked that. That isn’t the issue right now. I wanted to make sure you were OK and help get you cleaned up.” It sounded like I was begging, which I was, to an extent.