The Carrero Heart - The Journey (Book 2 of Heart Trilogy)

Chapter 5

"Sophiee, you know I lurve you a million times over babes." Leila slurs over the top of me, alcohol breath almost flooring me with its sheer toxicity, captured in her crazily strong embrace as we both sway. I'm a little worse for wear too, having drunk one too many champagne cocktails. The party is wearing down, but Leila is beyond wrecked and slobbering a gush of emotion all over me as I try to say my goodbyes to her.

"Baby, come on, Sophs is being suffocated by the fumes coming off you." Daniel is trying to extract his wife's arms from me and guide her towards the door, "trying" being the word, as he fights with octopus limbs in a bid to coax her away. A lot of guests have departed already, and Leila is being taken home to pass out or get up to whatever they get up to when drunk and childless in an empty house for the night. I do not even want to know what my sister and her husband are into if I am being honest, the thought terrifies me.

Daniel moves in a little closer, pulling her into his embrace and brings her face gently to his.

"Come on, beautiful, we have some drunken sex to be getting on with, to celebrate another year of marriage without killing each other." He smiles down at her before planting a kiss on her smudged red lipstick. Not caring if he is now sporting a matching shade and gazing at her as though she is still the most beautiful girl in the world. Despite all me seeing is a makeup smudged hot mess, who can barely see straight.

"I know! God, I love you ..." She pauses to kiss him back a little harder, groping him openly in full view and I turn away rolling my eyes, used to the naughty behavior of my overly sexed sister and Daniel over the years. Yet it still is not something I want to witness when I am practically attached by clingy limbs. Leila breaks free with a giggle and another sway my way.

"I just need to make sure my baby sister is okay, you know, cos I love her more than life, and the world, and the earth, and the ..." She breaks off as something catches her eye, swinging under Daniel's arm, she grabs a passing dark suit and hauls them towards us backwards.

"Arree!" She chants and startles him half to death with her ninja-style maneuver. Arrick stumbles a little with the sudden backwards force, righted by Daniel with a quick reaction and turns to face us all completely confused by the sudden assault. It isn't hard to tell he is probably as drunk as Leila, unusual for him, well, at least it was three months ago, and the swaying he has going on matches the completely out of whack look in his eyes as he clears his throat. His eyes immediately come to me and scan me in one obvious swoop before looking back at my sister. I try to ignore the goosebumps or internal fluffy sensation it triggers and keep my eyes locked on Leila.

"What, Leeloo?" He sways in, bopping her on the head adoringly and almost bangs noses with her, pretty much falling into Daniel who shakes his head in my direction, as if to say "drunks". He pushes them apart and keeps hold of Arrick's arm too, to keep him steady on unstable legs.

"Take Sophie home and look after her. She needs a real man to take care of her, not that gay guy she hangs about with, making moon eyes at my husband." Leila is slurring so much worse now, barely coherent, but Arrick frowns, leaning in with a severe look of "what?" on his face. My face gets hot and I try not to react, hoping he assumes my sister is crazily under the influence.

"What gay guy?" He's slurring too and genuinely confused. Daniel starts pulling Leila in the direction of the door once more, in a bid to control her wandering body and throws me a deep frown.

"Christian! He's lovely and all, but Sophie needs a real boyfriend, Arrick. Why don't you love my sister? She's awesome and beautiful, and she adores you. You would make such cute babies and look; we would be like a real brother and sister." Leila grabs his face clumsily and plants a kiss on his nose, in a mortifyingly cute, yet kind of gruesome way. Daniel has obviously had enough, and a wary glance my way which reminds me that he is Jake's best mate, for like the past twenty-odd years, and probably aware that Arry has no clue that I am not dating Christian. I suddenly realize what Leila has said in letting the cat out of the bag and the tell-tale blush hit my cheeks as it dawns on me that he might get pissed about this little facade. I was never good at maintaining this kind of deviousness and kind of care that he just caught me out, even if I shouldn't.