TEASE ( A Stepbrother Romance ) By Caitlin Daire

16

 

Chapter 16

Jace

“So did you talk to her?”

A feminine voice interrupted my train of thought, and I turned to see Liana standing behind me upstairs.

“Oh, hey. Did I talk to who?” I asked, my eyebrows furrowing in a puzzled expression. “By the way, where’s Rayna?”

After leaving the bathroom earlier, I’d run into some more people I knew, and we’d had a nice long chat before one of them had checked his phone and realized his girlfriend was waiting for him, and he’d headed back downstairs. After that, the group had dispersed, and I’d taken the few minutes alone to check through my emails on my phone.

I hadn’t worried about where Rayna was in the time I’d been upstairs chatting, because I’d assumed she was still with Liana, but Liana was definitely alone as she stood before me now, and she looked even more confused than I was.

“I meant ‘did you talk to Rayna’,” she said. “But apparently you don’t even know where she is. So she didn’t even come to find you?”

“No, I’ve been in the same spot up here for the last twenty minutes or so, and I haven’t seen her come up. I thought she was with you.”

Liana rolled her eyes. “I bet she chickened out.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Chickened out of what?”

“Never mind. She was just…” She trailed off, and from that and the look in her eyes, I could tell she thought she’d said too much.

“Just what?”

“Erm…just talk to her, okay? I shouldn’t have said anything. Sorry, I just assumed you guys would have chatted by now.”

“Did I do something to upset her?”

She shook her head. “No. Look, I really shouldn’t say this, but she seems so bloody bad at communicating with men that I may as well give you a hint. She likes you, Jace. She was coming to find you to tell you that she thinks your whole idea of being platonic friends is rubbish.”

My eyes widened. That wasn’t at all what I’d overheard earlier. Perhaps I’d heard incorrectly or somehow misinterpreted things.  “What? You serious?”

“Don’t act surprised. From what I hear, you’re used to girls falling all over themselves just to get a chance to drop their panties for you.”

I had to grin at that. “Maybe, but Rayna’s not like other girls,” I said.

Liana smiled. “That’s what I like to hear. Now go find her!”

I nodded and headed downstairs, keeping my eyes out for Rayna. I couldn’t see her anywhere, but I didn’t panic—the place was huge and filled with partygoers, so she was probably just blending in with the crowds.

I kept looking, and after ten minutes, I started to get concerned. I’d been around the party five times now and asked a lot of people about her, and I’d even checked all the bathrooms and knocked on every door I could think of. She was nowhere to be seen, and even Liana didn’t seem to have any idea where she’d gone. I wondered if maybe she’d simply gone home, but I figured she would’ve sent me a text if that were the case, just to let me know. Rayna wasn’t the sort of person who would just rudely leave like that.

My heart raced as I did another lap of the main party room, and guilt seeped through every inch of my body. I’d promised myself I’d keep an eye on her tonight, but I’d let her out of my sight for too long, and now she was nowhere to be found. Simply assuming she’d been with Liana wasn’t good enough—I’d fucked up, and if anything bad happened to her tonight, it’d be my fault.