whatâs new with my sis and her furry friends.â
She crossed her arms and stood before him, impatiently tapping one sensibly-soled foot. âRyderâs not furry.â
âOh, yeah. Thatâs right. Heâs just life-challenged?â He cocked an eyebrow.
Diana tried to see around him, but Sebastian dodged left and right, blocking her view. With a huff, Diana finally said, âYouâre not hacking me, right? I mean, I know you could do it, but you didnât. Right?â
He grinned and stepped aside to show her the frozen scene in the game. âI could, but I wonât because youâd have to bring me in.â He held his hands out in front of him, pretending he was about to be handcuffed.
His sister slapped his hands away. âCut it out, hermanito . Concerned brother slash hacker extraordinaire that you are, you wouldnât put me in that difficult a position.â
Sebastian joined her on the couch as she kicked off her shoes. He watched his sister intently as he said, âThings are tough enough, arenât they? What with Ryder and stuff.â
Diana met his gaze squarely. âIâm assuming Melissa came by?â
âShe did. Explained her problem. Iâm not sure what to do,â Sebastian admitted.
âAbout her or the project?â
âThe project and nothing but the project.â
âFunny. My radar hinted the two of you had connected.â
Sebastian tried to laugh off the suggestion. He was hesitant to admit he and Melissa had shared a night together. âYeah, like a wrong number kind of connect.â
Diana rose from the sofa and placed her hands on her hips, drawing open her suit jacket slightly. She scrutinized him much the way she would a suspect. âGuess I was wrong.â
âYep. Major League error.â
His sister smirked, confirming she recognized the lie for what it was. She playfully chucked him on the chin. âLittle bro, you may fool some women with that pretty-boy face, but not this girl.â
Ruefully shaking his head, Sebastian said, âWeâve been through too much together, huh?â
And wasnât that an understatement of gigantic proportions? In the year after their fatherâs death, Sebastian had tried to help his sister cope with the pain. His sister had always been the strong oneâuntil their father had been killed and Diana had fallen apart.
Diana had entered a dark and dangerous world, and Sebastian had thought he could somehow keep her from totally going over the edge. So heâd gone with her to clubs for those who liked to live precariously; been by her side on many a late night. Tried to make sure that in the numbing haze created by one too many tequila shooters, Diana did nothing that would harm her.
The defiant streak inside of him had responded to the make-no-excuses, take-no-crap kind of life. In that blurry world of alcohol and angry music, heâd finally discovered peace. Heâd realized there was nothing wrong in walking his own path, rather than toeing his fatherâs line. His dead father, who heâd never been able to please anyway.
Rebellion suited Sebastian and gave him a place where he was free of his pain. But the freedom had been an illusion, and a dangerous one at that. The partying and drinking had only numbed his guilt over never having lived up to his fatherâs expectations.
It had taken great strength to untangle all the conflicting emotions within himself, to deal with Dianaâs pain, and his own, and find a way back to who he really was. It hadnât been easy, but it had made him a stronger man.
Years later, he had finally accepted that he could never have been the son his father wanted. The best he could do was be his own man.
âThereâs a lot going on now, and Iâve dragged you into it again, havenât I?â There was an edge of anguish in his sisterâs voice that Sebastian hated to hear.
âYou love