Chapter One

Forbidden Fruit

There are some guys you shouldn't fall in love with, like your brother's best friend, or your best friend's brother. Or how about the guy ten years older than you? And you definitely should never fall in love with one of New York City's most eligible bachelors. It's all a recipe for disaster when you fall for one of those guys.

Unfortunately for me, Jack Preston, the man I'm madly, irrevocably and completely in love with, is all those guys rolled into one.

I knew I shouldn't have looked at him like I did- like he was this walking Sex God that made me go weak at the knees, but ever since I was twelve and the hormones kicked in, my life has revolved around Jack Preston. Not a day goes by when I don't think of him, or how the night sky reminds me of his dark hair, or how crystal clear water makes me think of his sea blue eyes, or how just hearing his name makes my heart beat faster. No matter where I am, or who I'm with, Jack is never far from my thoughts. And it absolutely kills me.

Even now, at my brother's wedding, I can't focus on anything but him, and how he's dancing with a girl who isn't me. She's gorgeous. Blonde hair, blue eyes, legs that are longer than the Nile; she's totally his type, and nothing at all like me.

"Smile, Emilia," Thomas Preston instructs me as he snaps another photo of us together. "Oh, come on. It's not that bad. Luke's not dead, just married. Although, isn't that kinda the same?"

"Hmm," was all I managed to say. I kept my eyes on Jack and the way he twirled his date around the dance floor. That should be me he's dancing with. "Who is Jack's date?"

Tom Preston is Jack's youngest brother and also my best friend. The Preston's and the Keough's are super close, and so, us kids have become best friends. With the exception of my sister Sophia and Oliver Preston; they can't stands each other. Jack and my brother Lucas are best friends, which is why Jack is the Best Man at the wedding. Tom and I were born within a week of each other and have always acted more like siblings than friends, but not even he is aware of how much in love with Jack I am.

"Oh, that's..." Tom's voice trails off as he pulls on his thinking face. Eventually he smiles and snaps his fingers as the answer comes to him. "Taylor something or other. She's his latest fling. Oliver's pool don't think she'll last the month. Want in on it?"

That's the thing about Jack Preston, he's a playboy and everyone knows it. He has a different woman on his arm every month and very rarely will they make it past the four week mark. My brother, Luke, and Jack's brother, Oliver, are always running bets on how long each girl will last. You might think that's bad, but what's worse is the fact that everyone in the Preston and Keough family always place a bet. The odds are great too. Mr Preston won the last stakes, raking in over a thousand dollars. The girl, Hannah, lasted seventeen days.

"How long have they been dating?" I ask.

"I wouldn't exactly call it dating," Tom snorts. He knew as well as the whole of Manhattan just how much of a player Jack was. "But they've been... whatever they are for eleven days. Oliver is already out, as are your parents, my mom and Natalie."

"How much to buy in?" I ask.

Tom calls over his brother, Oliver, who makes his way across the room to us with a smirk on his face. All the Preston boys look eerily similar with their shock of dark hair, beautifully blue eyes and strong jaws. They are all gorgeous and have this undeniable confidence that oozes sex; it's easy to see how girls just throw themselves onto Jack, Ollie and Tom. Plus all the bucks in the bank helps a little too.

Ollie eyes me up and down carefully, his gaze lingering on the way the dress clings to my curves, before he eventually lets his baby blues fall on my face. When he notices that it's me standing with Tom, a slight blush tinges his cheeks and he looks momentarily embarrassed that he had been checking me out.