Chapter One
Sienna Dare walked into her half brother Ian’s office in the Miami Thunder Stadium, still in awe of the fact that she had any kind of relationship with Ian at all, given their crazy dynamic. It had taken him years to accept her part of the family in his life, considering Sienna’s mom had been their father’s mistress. In true soap opera tradition, Robert Dare had two families. But they’d been working on making their peace as adults, and here they were now.
Considering how much she needed Ian’s advice on her future, Sienna was grateful. She’d normally ask her older brothers for help, but Alex was away with his wife, Madison, on a business trip, and Jason was in New York City, running his nightclubs.
Her parents? Her father hadn’t been around much lately, and her mother seemed wrapped up in whatever drama followed her father now. Sienna refused to think much about her parents’ personal lives. She had enough to worry about on her own.
She knocked on the door, and knowing Ian was expecting her, she stepped inside.
“What the hell did you do to your hair?”
She’d barely had a foot in the door when Ian raised his voice. And to think, she’d wondered if he’d even notice the change.
“Don’t you like it?” She pulled on the long ponytail, grinning at the dark strands she saw in her peripheral vision.
Ian scowled. “You were blonde last time I saw you.”
“And now I’m not. I dyed it.” She sat down on the couch across the room from his desk, not put off by his typical bluster.
Maybe when she’d first met Ian, he’d frightened her with his gruff exterior, but she’d seen him with his sisters – his full-blooded sisters, Olivia and Avery – and knew there was a heart beneath the brusqueness. And lately, he’d extended that… she wouldn’t call it sweetness… more like caring to her, as well. It helped that Alex worked for Ian at the Thunder team. The family was coming together. Considering she was the reason they’d been torn apart, the rapprochement made Sienna happy.
Ian was still frowning at her dark hair.
“Well, I like it,” she informed him. “It’s part of me finding myself,” she said, not willing to be steamrolled.
He pushed himself to a standing position, looking imposing as ever in his suit and tie, and walked over, joining her on the couch. “Look, I understand you graduated college and you’re confused about what to do with your life.”
She swallowed hard. “You can say that again. I’m twenty-three years old. I lost a year of school when I was sick, so I’m really old enough that I ought to know what I want. But I don’t.”
He tapped a pen on the table in front of him. “You have good choices ahead of you though. You’re an extremely bright woman. You graduated summa cum laude in management and business, and you have an offer for a full scholarship to attend Columbia’s exclusive Digital Business Strategy program. And I happen to know you’ve received an invitation to attend their NYC Weekend Scholars’ Social starting this Saturday.”
She raised an eyebrow at her half brother. “I can see why Avery says you know all and see all.” She’d been avoiding RSVP’ing to the weekend event and she’d let the due date to reply lapse because she’d known then she’d have to make a decision on the program.
He shrugged. “I make it my business to know about my family and those I care about.” He lowered his voice as he said, “You’ve become one of those people, Sienna.”
She shifted uncomfortably. “Because I was the sick one? The baby with childhood leukemia?” She’d been in remission since she was seven thanks to the generosity of Avery’s bone marrow donation.
Her dad, Robert Dare, had gone to his legitimate family, told them about his mistress and family on the side, blown their worlds and his marriage sky-high, and asked the kids to be tested to save Sienna. Her mother had known about the other wife and family all along. The kids had learned when the fallout happened. Not so for Ian and his side of the family.
“No, not because you were once sick,” Ian said with a definitive shake of his head. “Because you’re you and you’ve been nothing but good and kind to my siblings. And to me even when I was a jerk.” His lips twitched, as much of a smile as Ian Dare gave. “So about the weekend in New York. I think you should go. It will give you good perspective on what to expect from the school and an idea about whether you’d like living in Manhattan.”
She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. “I, umm, let the RSVP lapse.”
He rolled his broad shoulders, dismissing her concern. “And I took care of that for you. I told the school you’d be coming and I did you one better. I called an acquaintance of mine who is going to be your escort for the weekend.”