Sierra

“Let me guess, Cameron got his office space?” Kirsty asked as she narrowed her eye at me.

“Shush. He’s excited about it and all I want is for him to be happy. He’s taking us, including you and James, out for a celebratory dinner tonight.”

“I still worry that he’s going to find out what you’ve done.”

“I’m not worried at all. And even if he does, he’ll forgive me once he realizes I did it out of love.”

“If you say so.” She sighed as she rolled her eyes.

“There’s my baby girl!” Don spoke as he flung open my office door.

My eyes glared at him as I cocked my head.

“Hello, Don. I take it Sasha isn’t at her desk?”

“Nope. But I knew you wouldn’t mind me dropping in.”

“I need to go.” Kirsty smiled as she got up from her seat.

I gave her my “you’re fired” look as she grinned her way out of my office.

“Don, you’re getting married tomorrow. Shouldn’t you be doing wedding things?”

“Nah. Milania is taking care of everything.” He took a seat across from me.

I folded my hands on my desk and slightly leaned forward.

“What brings you by?” I asked.

“I have some concerns about my upcoming nuptials.”

“And those concerns are?” I tilted my head.

“I’m not sure I can stay faithful to Milania for the rest of my life, Sierra.”

Why he was coming to me with this was beyond me.

“Do you love her, Don? Wait, let me rephrase that. Are you in love with her?”

“Yes. I actually do love her.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“I just know sex with her won’t be as exciting in a year or two. Then my eye will start wandering and before you know you it, I’ll end up in the sack with some new and fresh pussy.”

I cringed and rested my forehead on my hands. This man was beyond help.

“Sex is a perk, Don. There’s more to marriage than just that.”

“What if after we’re married, she lets herself go? Women do that, you know. They figure once they snag the man of their dreams, it doesn’t matter anymore.”

“I don’t think you have to worry about that with Milania. From what I can tell, she does and will continue to take very good care of herself.”

Her looks were really the only thing she had going for her. I mean, she was marrying Don, after all.

“Listen, I’ll make you a deal. If you ever feel the need to cheat on her, you call me and I’ll talk you out of it. I’ll remind you of all the reasons why you married her.”

I couldn’t believe I just said that.

“Really? You’d do that for me?”

“Yes.” I lightly smiled.

“You’re the best friend a guy could ask for.”

“Thanks. Are we done here? I have a lot of work to do.” I got up from my seat and began walking to the door to escort his ass out.

“Yeah.”

Before I knew it, he threw his arms around me, hugged me, and then squeezed my ass.

“What the fuck, Don!” I backed away.

He laughed. “Sorry, Sierra. I just had to do it one last time before I become a married man.”

“Get the hell out of my office before I kick you square in the balls. How would you explain your lack of function on your wedding night to your new bride?” I arched my brow.

He put his hands up in front of him.

“Okay. Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow at the wedding. Try not to cry when you see me and Milania exchanging our vows. You know you’ll always be my number one girl.” He winked.

I clenched my fist and narrowed my eye.

“I’m going. I’m going.” He walked out of my office.

I finished up my work day and headed home. Kirsty and James stayed since we were going out to dinner and I was making James drive us. I could feel the sense of nervousness wash over him as tomorrow approached closer. I didn’t understand why he was so nervous since he knew damn well Kirsty was going to accept his proposal.

As soon as we walked into the house, Rosa came running down the stairs.

“Senorita, I thought you should know that Ava is here up in the guest bedroom crying her eyes out.”

“What? Why? I didn’t see her car outside.”

“I did,” James spoke. “She parked it around towards the back of the house.”

“Something about Delia.” Rosa rolled her eyes.

“When did she get here?”

“About an hour ago. She told me not to call you and she would just wait until you got home.”

I sighed. I knew exactly what this was about. James and Kirsty headed into the kitchen with Rosa while I went upstairs to talk to Ava. Upon opening the door, I saw Ava lying on the bed, curled up in a ball with her hands tucked beneath the pillow.

“Ava?”

“I hate her, Sierra. I’ve never hated anyone in my life like I hate her.”

I walked over to her, took a seat on the edge of the bed, and began to lightly stroke her hair.

“Is this about the audition in New York?”

“She told me that I can’t go.”

“Did she give a reason?”

“No. She just said ‘you’re not going. End of discussion.’”

“I will talk to her because this is a wonderful opportunity for you. How did this modeling agency find you?”

She propped the pillows against the headboard and sat up. Her eyes red and swollen from crying so much.

“I had a portfolio done. In fact, it was your friend, Lily Gilmore, who took the shots at her studio.”

“Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

“I wanted to keep it to myself in case nothing ever came of anything. I sent my portfolio to three modeling agencies in New York and Wilhelmina called. They said I had the perfect look and they were interested in me, starting with the audition for Abercrombie.”

“Wilhelmina has an agency here in Los Angeles. Why would they want you to fly to New York?”

“That’s where they interview and audition all new prospective models.”

“When is the audition?” I asked.

“Next Thursday. If she’s worried about school, I can fly there and back the same day. I don’t care. I just want to do this so bad.”

“I’ll talk to her, sweetie.” I ran my hand down her hair.

“Can I spend the night here?” she asked.

“Of course you can, but Cam and I are going out to dinner with Kirsty and James.”

“Can my friend Bella come over?”

“Sure she can.” I smiled.

“Thanks, Sierra.” She leaned over and gave me a hug.

“You’re welcome, sweetie. I’ll call Delia and let her know you’re spending the night here.”

“Hey, Ava. Everything okay here?” Cam spoke as he walked into the bedroom.

“Hey, Cam.” She wiped her eyes. “Everything’s okay now.”

I gave her a small smile, got up from the bed, and kissed Cam on his lips.

“Hi.”

“Hi.” He grinned.

I followed him to our bedroom where I watched him strip out his clothes and head into the shower.

“What’s going on?”

“A Delia crisis.” I rolled my eyes. “Ava is spending the night tonight. I’ll tell you more later. I need to call her.”

“Okay. I’ll only be a few minutes and I’ll meet you downstairs and we can head to dinner.”

As I walked down the stairs, I dialed Delia’s number.

“Hello, Sierra. I suppose you’re calling me about your sister?”

“I am. In fact, she’s spending the night here tonight.”

“I see. So you know about our little spat?”

“I do and we can discuss it tomorrow over brunch.”

“There’s nothing to discuss. You are not her mother. I need to go. Clive will be home soon. But, if you want to come over for brunch tomorrow, be here at eleven o’clock.”

“Fine. I’ll be there. Did Clive cut his trip short? I thought he wasn’t coming home for a couple of more days?”

“Apparently, things with the company are under control now. Perhaps that whore he’s with had to come back early. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I sighed as I ended the call.

“Everything good?” Cameron asked.

“We’re going over to Delia’s tomorrow for brunch at eleven o’clock.” I grinned.

“We?” he asked. “I’ve been there enough this week, babe. Whatever happened between her and Ava is really none of my business.”

I cocked my head and raised my brow.

“You are a part of this family now. Everything that happens is your business. Plus, I need you there for support,” I pouted.

He sighed. “Fine. I’ll go.”

“Thank you. And just so you know, Clive will be there.”

“Great. Talk about awkward.”

“It’ll be fine. We’ll get to see Delia in action.” I grinned. “And don’t forget we have Don and Milania’s wedding tomorrow at five o’clock.”

“How could I forget.” He rolled his eyes.

I didn’t dare tell him about Don’s little visit today. He already knew he was one of my suits and I got the impression he wasn’t comfortable with going.

“I’ve got some other great news.” He smiled as he placed his hands on my hips.

“Do tell.” I grinned.

“My parents, Austin, and Jolene are coming for a visit.”

A sick feeling settled in the pit of my stomach.

“Really?” I gave a fake smile.

“Yep. They’re flying in on Tuesday. They’ll be here for a week. I told them they can stay with us to cut costs.”

“Oh.” I continued smiling.

“You don’t mind, right? I mean, it is my family and they’re traveling here from North Carolina.”

“Of course I don’t mind,” I lied. “We have plenty of room.”

Even though Luanne and I left on good terms, I still wasn’t convinced she thought that I was the right woman for her son.