Chapter 1
Lizzy Stevens sat in the window of the room she was staying in and looked down over the rolling green hillsides as she rested her head against the thick glass that was held in place by lead seams. She loved London, but the estate in Kent had always made her feel out of place. It had never been her home, and it had never felt like home, even though she and her six brothers had spent a large part of their childhood running across the open parkland.
She rubbed her forehead; she had the beginnings of a nasty headache that she wished was due to illness so she could escape the upcoming events, but it was only stress induced.
Sighing, she rose and moved towards the dressing table. It was time to get ready, she had delayed it as long as she could. She could not shirk her bother's wedding. It was amazing that in four years three of her brothers had found their mates, and it made Lizzy excited and jealous all at the same time. Why did they get to find their happiness when she didn't?
She had been close once. She stopped with her make-up brush halfway to her cheek; Brian, it was a wish and a curse all rolled into one word.
Brian, Bryce's best friend. Brian, the man she had loved since she was fifteen. Brian, the man who had broken her heart. She should hate him, but she didn't.
Lizzy finished her make-up and moved on to her hair. It had been eight, almost nine, years since she had seen him, so she was determined to look her best. So far she had been able to avoid Brian during all of the festivities, but tonight was the rehearsal dinner, and avoidance was no longer an option. Lizzy was determined that neither her family nor Brian should sense of her distress.
As far as she knew, Bryce was the only one who had ever guessed her feelings for Brian, and although he had known she was smitten, he had never known the full scope of their relationship. That had always remained between the two of them, at least that was what she had hoped.
She reached for her dress. It was a simple baby blue dress and it brought out the color of her eyes. The top was strapless and ruched with a sweetheart cut. The skirt was short and stopped mid-thigh in gauzy layers. She had bought matching three inch heels that made the most of her legs. Taking a look at her reflection, she nevously changed her mind about her hair and went back to the dressing table so that she could pile her thick blond tresses on top of her head. It left her neck and shoulders bare and it suited the dress better.
Once she had finished, she took a deep breath and noted that her legs were trembling as she slowly stood. It was amazing how the mere thought of the man manged to still get to her after eight long years. She would finally see Brian, and she hoped to God that he had changed to the point she no longer even recognized him. Maybe a beer gut or receding hair; both would be great.
She slowly opened her door while taking another deep breath.
"Well, you clean-up nice." Lizzy jumped, not expecting to see her brother Rainer standing in the hallway outside of her room.
"What are you up to?" Lizzy joined him at the edge of the gallery.
The house was built in the 17th century and it looked like something right out of a movie set. The main hall was massive and had two large fire places on one wall that were large enough for a family of four to stand. At one end on the space was a set of massive entry doors and at the other was a wide staircase, the hall was three stories tall and had a gallery that ran around three sides with an ornate wooden rail, and off of the second floor gallery were some of the guestrooms, one of which was Lizzy's.
The two of them looked down on the crowd gathered below. "I thought rehearsal dinners were supposed to be for family only," Rainer groused.
"We seem to share the same mood tonight brother." Lizzy linked her arm through his.
"I'm missing the story of a lifetime. What's your excuse?" Rainer looked over at her.
He looked so handsome in his tux. His light blue eyes were hard to read even though his face clearly expressed his displeasure. He had golden red hair that had always reminded Lizzy a little of a lion and tonight, for a change, his jaw was clean shaven. Out of all of her brothers Rainer was the one she felt she knew the least. Primarily, because he was never really around, he was always out chasing the next story.
"Headache." She looked away back towards to crowd. "Let's stick together."
"Are you all right Lizzy?" Rainer asked, watching her closely.
Lizzy nodded. "But I would rather be anywhere but here right now."
Rainer considered her for a moment and Lizzy met his eyes directly. There was no way he would guess about her and Brian. He had been on another continent that summer.
"We all have our secrets I guess." He grinned. "If I promise not to ask you about yours, do you promise not to ask me about mine?"
Lizzy itched to know his secrets, she always had, and she had tried on numerous occasions to get him to spill, but as with all of her cunning brothers, he had seen his chance to get her to back off and he had taken it. She had been backed into a corner, out played.
"It's killing you isn't it?" His grin broadened.
There was no one like Rainer at getting people to spill their secrets. If he really wanted to he could have hers out of her within minutes.
"Fine!" she said testily. "You win."
Rainer laughed and its warm sound made people below look up at them.
Their little brother Davis's camera flashed somewhere below. Davis was an up and coming photographer and lived for family occasions so that he could practice his craft.
He put his arm around her and drew her close to his side.
"You know, I thought for sure Grace would choose you and not Bryce," Lizzy said as she spotted the two standing close together talking to a group of people.
Rainer shook his head. "Nah, she knows too many of my secrets."
Lizzy gasped. "Rainer! I'm your blood sister, I should know at least some of your secrets."
"Nope." He laughed again. "A deal is a deal." He started to walk away from her.
"Pain in the ass," Lizzy said as she started to follow him.
He took her arm as they made their way down the central staircase. "At least I am entering the party with the prettiest girl."
So now he was going to be a sweetheart and charm her. "You can't charm me big brother, I have seen you in action too many times."
"That was only so you would recognize-,"
"A wolf on the hunt?"
He held his hand to his chest in mock injury.
"This is so boring," Mason whined, sliding up next to them. "Let's go into the study and do a few shots."
"Mason!" Cassie hissed from Rainer's other side.
"What, I was only joking."
Cassie glared at him not buying it for a second.
"Just a little joke."
Cassie's eyes narrowed.
"O.K. not really. So please, can we at least sneak a few beers up to the roof like when we were kids?" Mason all but threw his hands in the air.
Mason and Cassie had been married for four years and they were perfect for each other. Cassie was one of only a few people who could rein in Lizzy's twin brother.
"Excuse me Mason, can I have your autograph?" a shy young woman asked.
Mason turned to her with his award winning smile and chatted with her like she was the only person in the room. It was pure charisma and Mason had it in droves. All of her brothers did to a certain extent, but Mason and Caleb had won that lottery. It also helped that they loved women. All women; all shapes and sizes.
Mason had chosen to go into acting and for him it had been a natural fit. His wife was a singer whose warm whisky tones could send shivers up anyone's spine.
As if she had conjured him, the youngest brother Caleb appeared behind them on the stairs. His eyes were scanning the crowd. "Has anyone seen Brian? I need to talk to him."
Lizzy's tummy did a somersault and her heart raced at the sound of his name.
"Not business I hope," Cassie said she started to scan the room.
"Just a question."
Rainer joined in the search. "What am I looking for?"
"That's right, you and Brian have never met, have you?" Mason joined in the search.
"He's as tall as Bryce but has silver hair and the bluest eyes you have ever seen. He is..." Cassie sighed unable to find the right word to describe just how attractive Brian was, and as much as Lizzy wanted to help her out she kept her mouth shut.
Mason shot Cassie a look that said he would talk to her later about her over appreciation for Brian.
"A girl can look." Cassie shrugged not at all concerned with Mason's displeasure.
"Incoming," Rainer said as he turned his back towards the crowd.
Lizzy looked up to see their mother approaching them at a rather quick pace. Elizabeth Stevens was a sight, in her late sixties she had snow white hair that was wound in a tight chignon, and her statuesque height and slim frame did not look in the least like it had given birth to seven children. When she reached them her sky blue eyes, which all of her children had inherited, scanned their little group.
"This is too many of y'all together in one place. Y'all need to scatter, now!" Her Texas twang only came out when she was upset or stressed. "Last time y'all did this I found all of you on the roof drunk."
They all looked at each other, then at the floor, anywhere but at Elizabeth Stevens, their mother. At that moment they ceased to be grownups with fabulous careers that had even made a few of them famous, but teenagers getting an earful from their mother.
"Now," she commanded again.
Rainer took Lizzy's arm, Mason took Cassie's, and Caleb took their mother's."
"Mamma's boy," Mason muttered to Caleb.
Elizabeth looked at Mason and then at Cassie as if to say 'he's yours now, control him'.
"Forty-five minutes... the roof..." Mason hissed as he was dragged away.
Lizzy, used to her brother's antics, had tuned it all out, still focusing on Cassie's description of Brian. It was obvious her hopes of him having not aged well had been futile. If Cassie's awe was anything to go by he was just as handsome as ever.
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