Claiming Caroline (Claimed 3)

"No," she says, dashing the tiny glimmer of hope I had. "Everyone calls him that because that's the name he writes under." She frowns, her lips pursing. "At least that was the name he wrote under, back when he still published. His real name is Jared Kingston. His family owns Kingston Publishing, one of the biggest publishing houses in the United States."

"Oh," I whisper, dropping my hand from her arm.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah." I bob my head and give her what I hope is a reassuring smile. It feels thin and brittle, in danger of cracking. "I'm fine."

"See you at home," she whispers and then dashes inside.

I stand right where I'm at for a long moment, too stunned to move. Too stunned to think.

The man who has been making her life hell for the last two months…is the same one I'm pretty sure I fell in love with tonight. The same one I'm supposed to meet here again in the morning.

I can't go.

I can't betray my own sister like that. It would break her heart to find out.

I think it's going to break mine to stay away.

"You knew this night was going to end in disaster," I mutter to myself. It doesn't make my heart ache any less. It doesn't stop the tears threatening to fall either.

Maybe I should have come dressed as Cinderella tonight. Because it's midnight and the ball is over. And all I'll ever have of Jared are the magical hours we spent together here tonight.