Never happening again.
The sound of her nervous voice calling for Everett broke through my thoughts as he climbed toward the landing. I followed behind him but waited at the bottom, anxious. A few minutes later he appeared, chuckling.
“What?”
“I’ll let you decide. My sister is looking rather”—he grinned and winked— “smashing, I think you’d say.” He turned his head. “Come on, Beaker! Show yourself!”
“Don’t call me that!”
I gaped at the vision that appeared at the top of the stairs, one hand on her hip as she glared at Everett.
I blinked as I took her in.
Where was my fresh-faced, pink-cheeked Shelby?
A woman stood there who resembled her, but who was so beyond beautiful and sexy, my throat hurt trying to stop the wolf whistle that wanted to escape.
Bloody hell. She was beyond smashing.
She was exquisite.
Her dress was long and red, her bare shoulders glittering under the lights from the crystals that rested over them, her skin gleaming. Her waist was cinched tight with the same glittering beads.
And her hair.
Long, dark tresses rippled freely over her shoulders, swaying as she walked down the stairs, one hand clutching the railing as her other one bunched and unbunched the deep-red fabric of her dress nervously. Whatever Lily had done with her makeup made her blue eyes seem huge in her face, and her lips were entirely kissable with the red stain on them.
I blinked.
What was I thinking?
Kissable?
Shelby?
Everett’s sharp elbow into my side made me exhale hard. “Liam,” he hissed. “Quit eye-fucking my sister.”
I glared at him, keeping my reply low so I couldn’t be overheard. “I am not eye-fucking—” I stopped, shaking my head.
Holy crap. I was.
What was I doing? It was Shelby. Dressed up or not, it was still my best friend, Shelby. I didn’t eye-fuck my best friend.
But he was right. I was doing exactly that. She was stunning.
I frowned at him, refusing to admit it. He was much bigger than I was and could hurt me easily. Manager or not. “Am not.”
I stepped forward, reaching for Shelby’s hand as she drew closer. Gently, I pulled it away from her dress.
“Shelby,” I breathed out. “Thank you.”
She looked shy as Lily grinned beside me, almost giddy with glee. “Isn’t she perfect?”
I squeezed Shelby’s hand in reassurance. “She is.”
“You look amazing, Liam.”
I disagreed. Beside her, I was plain. She was the amazing one tonight.
Lily suddenly clucked and lifted Shelby’s hand, taking something off her wrist. “Sorry, Shelby. The bracelet doesn’t work. The gold doesn’t go with the silver crystals. I don’t have anything silver with me.”
Shelby shrugged. “It’s fine, Lily. I’m not much for jewelry anyway.”
Lily sighed. “I wanted one show-off piece.” She held up the gold cuff. “This simply won’t work, though.”
Inspiration struck, and I held up my finger. “Wait!” I hurried to the den, returning in a few minutes with a small case. I opened it for Lily. “Will this work?”
She clapped her hands. “Liam, it’s perfect! Where did you get it?”
I grinned as I lifted the shining antique bracelet from the case. “It was my nan’s. My grandmother’s,” I added in case they weren’t familiar with the term Nan.
Shelby gasped when I took her hand and snapped the bracelet on her wrist; the tiny diamonds glittered under the lights, matching her shoulders in their brilliance. I loved how it looked on her. Like it was meant to be there.
Her eyes were wide as she looked between it and me. “Liam, I can’t—”
“You can. And you are. Lily is right. It’s perfect for you. Your outfit, I meant.”
“I’ll guard it with my life,” she said, running her fingers over the intricate designs in the metal.
“One more thing,” Lily chirped as she tucked a deep-red square into my tuxedo jacket pocket. “Now you look like you belong together.”
For some reason, I agreed with her statement. I looked over at Shelby again, unable to take my eyes off her. The heels Lily had Shelby in made her taller, but she still fit perfectly under my arm as I tucked her into my side. “Ready?”
She swallowed nervously. “Ready.”
I kissed the top of her head, inhaling her calming scent deeply. “Thank you for doing this. I’ll be right beside you, Shelby.”
“I think that’s my line, Liam. I’m here for you, remember?”
I tightened my hold on her. “Quiet, Shelby. We’ll look after each other, okay?”
Her smile could melt icebergs. Big ones.
“Okay.”
I had to look away before Everett saw me.
I was eye-fucking her again.
Bugger.The crowds were huge. Security lined the red carpet, holding them back. I looked out the tinted window at the crowd and shuddered, fighting the panic, knowing I had to signal Everett when I was ready and to open the door.
The screams were loud.
It was the screaming that hit me the hardest all the time. There were times I wanted to weep with the noise level constantly pounding at my ears. I hated this part of my life.