“It’s their last-ditch effort to land you before you go off to A&M.”
“You make me sound like a fish.”
“Aren’t you?”
“I prefer to think of myself as a mammal, thanks. But it doesn’t matter. I’m not planning to hook up with anyone here and it’s not because I think I’m too good for the Edison girls.“
“Is it the curse?”
“The one that if a Justice man falls for a woman, she’s dead before she’s thirty? No. I don’t believe in that.” Although my eldest cousins used to.
“Then what is it?”
I run a hand through my hair in frustration. I can’t really articulate it or maybe I don’t want to because it sounds dumb. Rather than give Tyson an answer, I opt to go on the offensive. “Why are you holding on to your virginity like it’s the last piece of gold in the world?”
He scowls. “You know why. I’m waiting for Rory.”
“And you plan on telling Rory when?”
Tyson’s frown deepens. “Fuck you, man. I’ll tell her when I’m ready.”
“And when Rory’s ready, I’ll take her. Until then, I’m keeping my pants zipped tight.”
Tyson compresses his lips, but he’s not going to argue. No one does with me anyway. I’m stubborn as a mule and can be just as ornery. It’s why even though half the girls are dropping their skirts in front of me, I’ve not taken one peek. I’m not interested, and I won’t be—for my own reasons that I don’t need to share with anyone.
CHAPTER 2
MARIA
“What do you think of this one?” I ask Glorianna when I come out of the dressing room.
I stand there waiting for her to finally lift her head from staring down at her phone in her hand. She is always glued to that thing. I keep a smile on my face to hide my irritation. I know she’s busy. Her acting career has taken off a bit these past few years. Papa never kept her on as tight a leash as he has me.
I think it’s because he feels bad for her or something. I don’t know why but I do know it’s unfair. But I don’t focus on it because I’m glad that at least one of us gets to be out experiencing the big world around us.
Glorianna came to be my older sister when my father married her mother a few years after my mama passed away. We’d both been heartbroken, but I think Papa thought I needed a mother figure in my life. I’m not sure why.
It wasn’t as if I was left alone to fend for myself. I still had Teresa. She wasn’t my mama, but she’d been my nanny for as long as I can remember. I also had Nonna Lucia. Still, my Papa is always trying to do what he thinks is best for me so he married again. I’m almost positive that he didn’t marry for love this time around, but I’d been excited to get a sister out of it.
I didn’t think having a sibling would ever be in the cards for me. I have to admit that I latched on to her a bit when she first arrived. She always seemed so beautiful and worldly. I recall hanging on to every word of her stories about her travels. I might have burst into tears the day Papa adopted her, giving us all the same last name. Life is supposed to be about family, and I’ve always believed the more the merrier.
It’s not often that Glorianna comes into town, and I want to spend some time together. Her husband Edgar doesn’t like it here and prefers to be back home in the States where they live now. She drags him back over every now and then. Usually for some sort of event that she’s been invited to.
This time I also have an invite to the wedding she’s here for. It was a nice excuse for Papa to let me out from the estate to go shopping. Most people would be upset that the wedding is so last minute, but I consider myself lucky.
Normally, Papa would call for the stylist to bring gowns out to me, but now there is no choice but for me to go into the city to find one. As soon as I found out, I immediately sent Glorianna an excited text asking her to go with me.
“Pink, Maria? Really?” She finally says when she lifts her head.
“You don’t like it?” I turn to face the mirror. I adore the color. My mama actually got married in a pink dress. Some tried to talk her out of it, but Papa told her she could wear whatever dress she wanted.
“Pink is for little girls. Don’t you want to be a sexy woman?”
“I love pink.” I run my fingers down the front of my breasts that are pushed up from the tight fit of the top of the dress. I hadn’t given much thought to wanting to be sexy. It’s a wedding. Why do I need to be sexy? I don’t think my body naturally screams sexy like Glorianna.