Lost : The Little Sisters Book One Read online

  Of her parents there was no sign. Had they gone back? Lucy turned towards the twins but found Emily looking stonily away while Cat looked equally lost. It was clear, none of them wanted anything to do with her. It was also clear Lucy had burnt her bridges through no fault of her own. Even Jace looked annoyed with her.

  Hurt and confused, Lucy excused herself, deciding to head off to pack up her belongings in Jace’s room.

  “Aren’t you having any tea, honey?” asked Mrs Neil. Was she pretending to care? Or was she really concerned? Lucy couldn’t tell anymore. She hadn’t eaten all day, but with all that had happened, Lucy was far from getting back her appetite, so she only shook her head in silent reply.

  “Are you sure, honey? You’re looking a little peaked.”

  “She’s fine, Mum. If she says she doesn’t want anything then leave her be.” This coming from Jace prickled her eyes. But Lucy didn’t show weakness. “I am not hungry.”

  Ignoring the heat of his stare rolling off her back, Lucy walked steadily on, only to come to a sudden halt at the door to his room. Then, inching forward, she paused at the bedside to stare down at a pretty pink dress that was still in its package and laid out across the bed. Jace had gone off with Celine, no doubt, to do the shopping without her. Well at least Celine had nice taste. Pity she won’t be sticking around to wear it.

  “What the hell?” exclaimed Jace as he saw that Lucy had started to pack.

  “Where do you think you’re going?”

  “Home… I want to go home,” Lucy said with a sudden vehement longing that she did want to go home.

  Jace sighed heavily and sank onto the mattress beside her. Only he didn’t go down alone. A swift tackle sent her sprawling alongside him. Falling back against its inviting softness Lucy was brought to realise her own tiredness.

  She had been prickly all day, wired up by what she’d learnt about her brother and oddly afraid of what she’d learnt about Jace. Afraid of change, and now, afraid of losing him. Jace had been her pillar for so long that Lucy didn’t know how she could survive without him.

  Feeling drained, Lucy allowed him to gather her to him. She rested her head on his shoulder and settled against him.

  “Why are you behaving this way?” Jace asked finally, after the silence between them had stretched on endlessly.

  “I don’t know,” Lucy said, as quite suddenly she really didn’t. What had she been thinking? If Jace said he was not engaged to Celine, then he clearly wasn’t. He would never betray her that way. Jace was Jace, and her best friend for a reason, and it wasn’t his sly tongue, his sardonic wit, or his wicked grin that made him so. It was his trust in her, and hers in him.

  Jace threw her an incredulous look.

  “I don’t want to go to the party tonight,” Lucy then admitted. She may fit like a glove with Jace but that world of glitter and glamour of his grated on her nerves like terrible.

  “I know. That is nothing new,” he said; this was not the first time Lucy had refused to mingle with his friends. “You’ve never wanted to meet my friends. I thought we were going to give this a try. Give us a try. You’ll have to meet my friends and I yours for this attempt to at least have a chance.”

  He had it easy. Lucy had no friends other than him. Between Jace and the twins, she’d had her plate full when it came to friends. She was just not the type to open herself up to just anybody. How Jace managed to get under her defences, Lucy still didn’t know.

  “Your parents hate me. Are you sure you want to do this? It’s not too late to back out.” Lucy offered, breathing in his luxurious scent. He was all that was male and enticing. It was all she could do not to lick her lips in anticipation. Shivers broke across her skin as his hands carelessly brushed down her back in a soothing caress.

  “They love you. How can they not? They have known you for just about forever. You know they love you Lucy. You know.” Jace reminded her forcefully.

  Guilt ate at her. She did know that. How could she have doubted the Neils so?

  “It’s just that they love money more,” Jace added drily. “They love money more than they love you or me.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “D’Neils fashion line is in trouble. We have been in trouble for a long time now. I’ve told you about this.”

  “Yes, you said the Reeves stepped in to help out.”

  “Richard loaned us money for the Fall Fashion line. Money we are having a hard time paying back. Richard even stepped in to helm the project. But that was three seasons ago; we haven’t recovered, and Richard has become a permanent fixture at our offices. Personally, I think he enjoys all the attention from the models, but I could be wrong.” Jace laughed carelessly, seeming not at all perturbed by the fact that he was heading towards financial ruin.

  There was nothing frivolous about Richard Reeves. Despite his hard-edged playboy image, Richard had a sense of maturity about him that went beyond his years. He stepped up to the helm of his family business in his early twenties to not only pull the Reeves out of financial ruin, but to boost them back into the billions they were so famous for.

  The Reeves Shipping line thrived under Richard’s stewardship and it was only a matter of time before the Neils saw the same turn of events with their fashion house.

  “Dad thought it would be a great way to pay off his debt to Richard. Marrying me off to Celine would clear the debt and that would loosen more funds to help shore up the business. I was counting on the summer sales myself. But from the last report, we were still far off the mark from what is needed.”

  Hearing his side of the matter made Lucy feel guilty in doubting them at all. He seemed geared towards making them work. Was Lucy just searching for excuses to bail the hell out? She didn’t want to be the reason they never happened as a couple. But a niggling suspicion had her asking.

  “How well do you trust Richard? I mean, does he want you to marry Celine? Was it his idea?”

  From what Lucy knew of the Neils, they would never have thought of such a diabolical plan. Marrying Jace off to Celine to pay off their debt was out of character. And now that Lucy was once again thinking rationally, she could see that.

  “I trust Richard, just as much as I trust you, Lucy.”

  That had Lucy jerking her head up to stare at Jace. He was in earnest. Jace really believed in his friend Richard. A friend Lucy didn’t think was at all trustworthy. Not if all she read about him in the tabloids were true. Not because he had malicious intentions towards his best friend Jace, but because he was ruthless in getting what he wanted. The question was—did he want Jace marrying his sister? If so, would he falsify the D’Neils’ financial results to make that happen? He seemed to be in the perfect position to make things happen.

  “Okay, I’ll go to the party tonight,” Lucy said finally. Perhaps it was time she stopped skirting around the world Jace lived in. If only so she could get a better idea of what Richard Reeves was really like. “It’s a pretty dress. Thank you.”

  “Yes! I knew you’d see things my way,” Jace loomed over her to drop Lucy a sweet smile before lowering his head to nuzzle at her neck.

  “Did you really have lunch?” He asked against her neck and Lucy shook her head, feeling suddenly hungry.

  Jace sighed again before easing up on his forearms to mock glare at her. “I want you to make sure you eat. Can’t have you fading away to nothing, can I? Then who will I kiss?”

  And before Lucy could answer, his lips came down onto hers, creating a rush of desire that had her winding her arms and legs about him to clutch him close.

  “You guys are disgusting!”

  They rocked apart in shock to face Emily marching into the room. Moving past them, she slammed the bathroom door shut.

  Awkward.

  But it set Lucy thinking. Did she know about what had happened? That their aunt was dead and that she’d been the one responsible for Blaze’s disappearance? Or was she just upset over Jace?

  “Come, let’s go find you som
e food.”

  Then Jace was hauling Lucy up and tugging her off to the kitchen where he set about putting together a sandwich.

  It was hilarious watching him slap together an edible sandwich, but he managed, and it was delicious. Jace Neil was not without some skills in the kitchen.

  “You know what they say about a guy who can cook?” Lucy queried with a raised brow.

  Jace grinned, immediately knowing a pun that would place him as the butt of the joke was coming his way. His raised brow challenged her to get on with it and make it good.

  “Great chemistry in the kitchen can only lead to great sex in bed.”

  All the oxygen sapped out of the room in a nanosecond. Somehow, that had sounded a lot funnier in her head than how it came out. And the way it came out… the way it came out was… sexy.

  The sizzle in her blood never far at bay when it came to Jace now flooded back with a vengeance. Jace reached out across the counter, looming over her in an insistent manner that robbed her of all thoughts but him. Leaning down, he breathed hard down at her before saying almost weakly, “Lucy!”

  Jerking back, Lucy offered a weak smile of her own before reaching for the lunch he made her and taking a big bite, chewing and swallowing it past the dry lump in her throat.

  Lucy was given the bathroom prerogative to get ready first. Never having had a boyfriend before, Lucy knew instinctively her usual dress sense wouldn’t do. Simply putting on the dress Jace got her wouldn’t work. She would need the whole works.

  Makeup and hair. Even shorn as short as it was, there was still a lot that could be done with Lucy’s hair. If only she knew how. Of the three of them, Emily was the best in that department. Lucy decided to work up the nerve and simply ask for her help.

  Wrapping up in a towel, Lucy surrendered the bathroom to Jace, who made every effort to make her note his lascivious leering as he moved past her into the bathroom. Blushing furiously, Lucy dashed off to hunt for Emily.

  Lucy found her getting dressed in Mr and Mrs Neil’s room. Cat was there and dressed for the party. She threw Lucy a sympathetic smile before she bailed out on her, leaving Lucy to talk to Emily alone.

  “I know why you are here,” said Emily beating Lucy to it.

  “Do you? Jace told you about us?” Lucy asked, wanting to know.

  “He didn’t have to. Mr Neil was venting spleen all morning the moment you took off with Jace. Everyone knows. What I don’t get is why didn’t you just say you and he had a thing going? Why did you let me think I had a chance at all? You knew exactly how I felt about him. You knew and pretended to care,” said Emily, tears rolling down her cheeks. Lucy couldn’t stand to see her cry. Not when she was really hurting. She never could.

  Taking the two steps forwards, Lucy had her wrapped in her arms in a tight embrace.

  “I’m sorry Emily,” Lucy whispered softly. “It wasn’t like that between us. Not until recently. I didn’t know. I would have told you if I thought this could happen. Please believe me, Em.”

  “No, don’t be sorry. I don’t blame you… not really. I just needed to vent a little you know,” she said softly, leaning back to offer Lucy a warm smile. “So, what are you wearing? That little pink number that Jace was sneaking in earlier?”

  Lucy nodded her head.

  “Here, take a seat. I’ll do your make up for you,” Emily smiled softly at her. “And while I am at it, we’ll work something out with your hair. You should really think about growing it out now that you have a boyfriend. This tomboy look is so old.”

  Then the great make-over began.

  “There, that should do it,” Emily stated, returning the blusher back to its casing. Lucy opened her eyes to view the results and was amazed at what she saw. Her usual tawny eyes were smoking hot. A gleam of gold between slits of heavily lined kohl. Her lashes thick, dark, and brushed out long. Her full lips were lush pastel pink and her shorn hair sleeked back in a smooth wave that only accentuated her blond, sun-kissed highlights and natural high cheekbones.

  “Emily, you are incredible. I look… unlike me,” Lucy said finally, when her gaping mouth shut, and her normal thinking process resumed. Never in her wildest dreams had she ever seen herself looking like that. Lucy couldn’t help staring at her reflection in awe. Not noticing even when her mouth fell open again in renewed shock.

  “Yes, you do. You’re still all you, don’t worry. All I did was polish out the rough edges and bring out the sparkle in you. Now you better hurry and get dressed,” said Emily with a smile. Lucy beamed back at her, hardly believing her little sister was so clever. But knowing that didn’t stop her guilt, especially when Emily was being so mature about this.

  “I want you to know, Emily. This… your helping me here, means a lot to me. I am sorry you and Jace didn’t work out like you’d hoped. But I thank you for supporting me for my hopes in us,” Lucy tried a little uncertainly.

  “I understand, Lucy. You tried to tell me he was not meant for me. I just got carried away as usual. I will recover, don’t worry.” Emily offered her a tentative smile.

  “Em? What did Mum and Dad say to you and Cat?”

  “Just that her sister is dead. But it’s not as if we knew her or anything. I mean the woman has never deigned to show her face around here, has she? Or call even?” Emily shrugged. “Didn’t they tell you the same?”

  Lucy nodded her head hesitantly. “Yes. Yes, they did.”

  “If you’re worried that we were supposed to be in mourning, then don’t be. Aunt Stacy left her family long ago. If she wanted us to mourn her passing she should have taken the time to get to know us, and given us the time to know her. As it were, it was only mum’s album of photos and the genuine knowledge of the lack of Photoshop in that era that validated her existence.”

  This came from Cat, who’d overheard their conversation and decided to join in. She moved to stand by Emily to stare down critically at Lucy’s reflection in the mirror. Her lips pursed in deep consideration before she nodded her head. “Brilliant, as always, Em.”

  Her twin beamed back at her proudly.

  “Now if Princess Little is all ready, perhaps you could set your talents to me?”

  Lucy grinned up at Cat, before moving to make way for her. Cat plopped down on the stool and promptly pulled out a book. Not looking up she added, “Right, Em! Do your worst.”

  Lucy and Emily exchanged a devious grin. Then Lucy moved away to leave them to it. Cat didn’t have a vain bone in her body. She was the very last person to ask Emily for her help on her hair. This was just her way of showing she cared. Glancing up to catch Lucy’s gaze mirrored back at her, Cat added, “Enjoy your date, Lucy. You deserve it. Just don’t do anything I wouldn’t.”

  The cheek! Lucy’s grin widened. For the first time, she was starting to feel happy about her and Jace as a couple. Lucy left the twins to it and hurried off to finish her own preparations. Bolstered by new-found confidence, Lucy all but skipped along to Jace’s room where she had left her dress. She pulled out a clean pair of panties and bra and gasped as the bra was pulled out of her grasp. Lucy tightened her hold on her towel and trembled as she turned to face Jace.

  “So hot. I wish I could take you just as you are. Take you to bed that is. No way you’re going anywhere in nothing… but… a towel.” He groaned out in frustration as he said this.

  “Need a hand with the dress?”

  Lucy glanced up to see that his offer was in earnest but shook her head no. “Thanks, but I can manage,” she said a little hoarsely.

  “Good, because I don’t think I could help you without helping myself first, and then where would we be?” He raised a brow glancing pointedly at the bed.

  Lucy turned red.

  “Get dressed, luv,” he whispered then, leaning in to drop a kiss on her cheek before walking out the door. Lucy rushed to shut it after him then moved to pull out her dress from its packaging.

  It was beautiful and daring. Lucy had never worn a halter neck before and this one had a b
ack that plunged down to the top of her ass. Her panties wouldn’t do. The cut was all wrong. Lucy didn’t own a pair of thongs but rummaged about her bag for something she could use instead. It wouldn’t do to go sans bra and panties. No doubt there would be plenty there who did, but that wouldn’t be her.

  Lucy dressed quickly, and finally she slipped on a pair of low-heeled shoes. Looking in the mirror, the outfit practically screamed for some fuck-me-high-heeled pumps, but that wasn’t happening. Shrugging her shoulders indifferently, Lucy stepped out to join the rest in the living room.

  “Babe you look as hot as f—”

  Thankfully, he stopped right there. Lucy shifted uncomfortably under everyone’s scrutiny. Then Emily got up abruptly. “Shall we go?” she asked.

  “Let’s go,” agreed Cat, looking very stylish. Lucy could see Emily had already worked her magic over Cat. They were all looking amazing. But it was Jace who arrested her attention. Always immaculate, he had the added allure of being on edge. The double-edged sword of their unfulfilled attraction rubbed him the wrong way. It was there in his gaze as he slowly drank her in with a look that was almost insolent in its slow but thorough appraisal.

  Lucy tore her own gaze away, feeling more than usually hot and bothered for the encounter. She walked past him and felt more than heard his breath catch at the sight of the low back to her dress. Lucy shivered. She felt half-naked, but that wasn’t why the chills ran down her spine and goosebumps broke across her skin. That was all the doing of Jace’s sultry gaze locked on hers with a predatory light of possessiveness.

  Lucy moved with a sensual grace. The feel of the silky texture against her skin, coupled with the bold design gave her a confidence she couldn’t deny. But still she trembled inwardly, secretly fearing what she longed for most. Lucy paused at the door, turning her head ever so subtly to glance over her shoulders at Jace. Her voice, unusually sensuous, came out husky, “Are you coming?” She tilted her head a bit so that he could see the pull at the corner of her lips as she bared her teeth in a half-grin. But her pun fell flat when all he did was stare on intensely, shrivelling up her own desire to laugh in the wake of the heat flooding through her veins.