Done tormenting him as he tormented me, I stepped away and watched his whole body relax. “You’re right to keep your distance, Tremaine. Not even your pretty face can make up for your character defects.”

It was a terrible thing to say, but a woman scorned and all that.

“I hurt you,” he surmised. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. It was the last thing I wanted to do.”

“Don’t flatter yourself, Vaughn,” I said, not unkindly this time. “You’re not the first one-night stand I’ve ever had.”

He studied me far too long, until I was squirming. “I was the first man you slept with after your breakup with Tom, however, wasn’t I?”

The personal question made me want to spin around and walk away but I had to find some easy ground with this man. I had to control my emotions and stop acting like a defensive teenager every time he said something to me. “Yes. So thanks for that.” I smirked. “Loosened me up, got me back in the game.”

Oh, God. I sound like a moron.

His expression darkened. “In time for the T. rex.”

And just like that we were back to sparring again. “Rex. He’s a friend. His ex-girlfriend is the woman Tom slept with. We bonded over the betrayal.”

“Wasn’t the woman Tom slept with younger than you?”

“Yes.” I knew what he was getting at. “And yes, Rex is nine years younger than me. What? Too hard to believe that a young, virile man would be interested in me?”

“Any man with a working dick would be interested in you,” he said, throwaway style, as if the comment wasn’t shocking. “So Jessica was telling the truth—he’s pursuing you?”

I blinked, trying to get past his crude compliment. “Um . . . what? Yes. About Rex? Yes.”

The muscle in his jaw popped as he ground his teeth together. I assumed it was to hold back a caustic comment. Instead he looked down at the floor, unable to meet my eyes.

He looked younger and very lost.

And damn it, he tugged at my heart. I remembered how I’d felt the night of the attack. How I wondered what it would be like to have Vaughn confide his worries to me, to understand this complicated, brooding man. I’d wanted his secrets. I’d wanted to salve his wounds. I’d just . . . wanted him.

It hurt that he hadn’t wanted me the same way.

But Jessica’s words kept haunting me, kept giving me that damn hope my dad had always warned us about. “Why do you care if Rex wants me?” I found myself saying, my words, my tone begging him to be honest, and to be brave.

He didn’t look comforted by my kind tone. Instead he looked pissed off. More than that, he looked wary. Like a stray dog who hadn’t seen much kindness in his life. I had to wonder where that came from. I’d met his father, and Liam Tremaine clearly adored his son.

What the hell had happened to screw up Vaughn?

I wished I didn’t care.

“I haven’t any interest in your love life, princess,” Vaughn said kindly. “I better go find the bride and groom.”

Frustrated anger held me in place as he walked away.

Ahhhhh!!! I screamed and raged in my head, so I didn’t slip off my shoe and throw it at his departing head.

That was the second time now that he had reeled me in.

“Fool me twice,” I muttered.

On that thought, I walked out of the ballroom, knowing Jessica would forgive me for my defection from the final preparations.

Marching down the boardwalk to my inn I really thought that Vaughn was the last person on earth I wanted to see at that moment. Hence my running away.

However, when I swung open one of the beautiful stained glass double doors to the inn, walked into the entrance, and saw a very thin young woman with fake boobs arguing with Aydan, I realized I was wrong.

There was one other person on earth I didn’t want to see at that moment. A person I really didn’t want to deal with because this person always invited chaos.

My little sister.

If it weren’t for the fact that underneath her cosmetic surgery we were very alike physically, I would have doubted the relation.

For as long as I could remember Vanessa had been a selfish, spoiled little brat. She wasn’t raised that way, either. It was just innate. Part of her nature. But she hadn’t been all bad. In fact she’d been a soft-hearted kid who was forever finding wounded animals to bring home to nurse, much to my mother’s annoyance. When Vanessa’s impulsive actions hurt someone she felt remorse for the unintentional consequences. More often than not I was the one who felt the brunt of her choices, and afterward my little sister would spoil me with hugs and apologies and kisses.

That was our way. When we weren’t fighting, we were cuddling.

To my regret that all changed as we got older. We were very different people. Whereas I loved Hartwell and the inn, Vanessa considered the seaside town and the inn not good enough for her. She’d wanted to see the world. It wasn’t what I wanted but I understood why she did. I think, however, it made her start to feel like an outsider in our family. The distance between us grew greater, and finally, when she developed a crush on an older boy, an older boy I ended up dating, our relationship fell apart. I hadn’t known about her crush, but that didn’t stop Vanessa’s resentment of me multiplying. I’d hoped she’d get over it, that it was just a phase, but I was sad to say our relationship never repaired itself.

Vanessa had eventually used her looks and seductive powers to seduce an older, wealthy tourist years ago and he’d taken her to Los Angeles. He’d bought her fake boobs, designer clothes, and nice jewelry.