The Promises We Keep (Made for Love Book 1) (45 page)

“
And make it snappy,
”
says Claire with a playful scowl.
“
It
’
s almost ten o
’
clock and these girls have only had
one
drink! It
’
s time to get this party started.
”
Avery and I exchange a nervous glance before we burst into a fit of giggles.

“
I
’
ll say something.
”
Beckham speaks up and my giddy laughter stops immediately.
“
To the birthday twins,
”
he begins, looking from me to Avery and then back at me.
“
Here
’
s to another year of you. I hope, no matter what, that you appreciate every single day and embrace life
’
s surprises. I believe God
’
s got something in the works for both of you
—
so cheers, to all that is yet to unfold.
”

I don
’
t realize that I have stopped breathing until Ave squeezes my hand and pulls me from my trance. His words are sweet and I have to stifle the urge to get up and race over to him so that I can smother him with affection for all the special things he
’
s managed to do for me on my birthday. I blow out the breath I was holding as I will my eyes away from his so that I might focus on my sister. She offers me an understanding smile before she clinks her glass against mine.
“
Cheers,
”
she says, and then we both throw back the shot.

“
Lemon, lemon!
”
Sarah calls out as we set our glasses down.
“
Suck the lemon and it
’
ll taste like chocolate cake.
”
We do as we
’
re told, but the taste in my mouth is horrible and doesn
’
t remind me of chocolate cake
at all
. I can tell by the look on Avery
’
s face that she agrees. We laugh and soon we
’
re all smiles and Claire and Sarah are trying to think of what drink we should have next.

“
I
’
m feeling kind of warm inside. Do you feel that?
”
Avery asks. I stop to assess how I feel and notice that I know what she's talking about. I nod and then hear a chuckle from behind the bar.

“
This is going to be amusing,
”
says Roman when my eyes find him. I bite the inside of my cheek when it dawns on me that, along with the warm feeling that seems to be heating me from the inside out, Roman is starting to look more attractive than usual. Gray and Jack were teasing us about
beer goggles
earlier, at dinner, and I think I'm starting to understand what they meant...

“
Christ
, Rome
—
I thought you said it wouldn
’
t get busy until later. It
’
s practically standing room only up here.
”

Roman
’
s attention is pulled away from me as he addresses the woman who now has my attention, as well.
“
Word choice?
”
he chastises.
“
And by the looks of it, you managed to grab a stool.
”

“
Yeah
—
but Logan
’
s going to have to stand until some of the masses disperse,
”
she responds before I can assess the tone with which Roman speaks to her.
“
Unless,
wait
, is this the Corny fan club? Is this VIP seating? Am I in someone
’
s spot?
”
she teases with a grin.

I sit up straighter at the sound of his nickname.
This is his sister, Daphne!
Didn
’
t he say she is the only one who calls him that?
I study her for a moment, trying to find the family resemblance. It doesn
’
t take me long to find out that there really isn
’
t any. Aside from her dark brown eyes and matching wavy hair
—
which is cut into a drastic asymmetrical bob, her generous bangs, died hot pink and pinned to the side, out of her face
—
they don
’
t look anything alike. Roman has the kind of physic that demands attention
—
she doesn
’
t. In fact, she
’
s kind of like a human pole. I can tell she
’
s about average height, but her tight white jeans and silver, sequin tank top extenuate her tiny bust and non-existent hips. Roman has a sort of natural beauty that
’
s effortless, but I can tell she thinks she has to work for hers. She wears
a lot
of makeup, mostly eyeshadow, and it looks really good
—
her smoky eye in contrast to her pink hair calling attention to her face, along with the small nose ring and another in her lip
—
but it makes me wonder what she looks like underneath it all.
Okay, maybe the alcohol is going to my head a little and I
’
m judging her a bit harshly
—
she
’
s just not what I expected. She appears to have a very nice smile
—
but she doesn't look anything like Roman.

“
Hey, birthday girl. Is there something I can help you with?
”
she asks, not unkindly.

I
’
m startled when she addresses me and then my jaw drops unbecomingly when I realize it
’
s because I was staring.
“
I
’
m sorry, I
—
wait, how did you know it was my birthday?
”

“
Well, I certainly hope it is. You don
’
t generally wear tiaras when you go out, do you?
”

I giggle, because I can't help myself, and shake my head.
“
No. You
’
re right. Oh, and sorry for staring. I didn
’
t know you lived here.
”

She furrows her brow in confusion but I can tell she
’
s amused by me. I
’
m not sure why or how I feel about it.
“
Have we met?
”

I gasp as I turn back towards Roman, who is watching our exchange with a grin on his face.
“
Roman!
”
I cry, smacking my palm against my forehead.
“
How could you just let me start blabbering like that. You know we
’
ve never met and I am
apparently
under the influence and
obviously
don
’
t care.
”
I huff out a breath as I press my palms against the counter and lean closer to him. He meets me halfway and I whisper,
“
She's going to think I'm crazy!
”

“
Oh, you mean like Avery when I thought she was you?
”

Another giggle escapes me.
“
Touch
é
,
”
I concede with a grin.

“
Are you two done with your lover
’
s quarrel? Is someone going to tell me what the hell I missed?
”
asks Daphne as she leans her forearms against the bar, anxious to be included.

For a fraction of a second, I
’
m distracted by the script I see tattooed across the inside of her right forearm. I wonder what it says
—
and then I register that she just implied Roman and I are lovers.
“
We
’
re not lovers,
”
I insist.

“
This is Addie,
”
Roman speaks the same time I do.
“
She
’
s a friend of mine,
”
he tacks on before he continues.
“
Addie, Daphne
—
my baby sis.
”

“
I just graduated from college. Do you think I can also graduate to just
sis
?
”

“
I don
’
t think so.
”

Daphne rolls her eyes before extending her hand to shake mine. I reciprocate the gesture.
“
It
’
s nice to meet you.
”

“
Same here.
”

“
Hey, handsome,
”
Sarah calls for Roman and I know my next drink is on its way. I decide that whatever it is, I'm going to drink it
very
slowly.

“
So how do you know my brother?
”

“
I work here. Oh! But we met at yoga,
”
I remember aloud.

“
Mmm, a fellow yogi. He
’
s been trying to convert me ever since he moved up here and started teaching it. One day he
’
ll learn that his efforts are futile and he
’
ll give up. He
’
s been trying to get me to stop swearing for a while now, too,
”
she admits, speaking with the back of her hand propped against the side of her mouth as if she's telling me a secret.
“
If you couldn
’
t guess, he doesn
’
t approve of that either.
”

I nod, studying her once more. There are quite a few details he left out when describing his sister. Then again, despite what we may know about one another, we
’
ve only been acquainted for a couple weeks
—
what do I expect?
“
He loves you very much, regardless.
”
I tell her.

She props her head against her fist as a small smile pulls at her lips.
“
He told you that?
”

“
Yeah. He said you two are very close.
”

“
We are,
”
she states matter-of-factly.
“
It
’
s just not something I know him to share with just anyone. He must like you.
”

Before I can respond, a pretty, frozen, pink drink is placed in front of me. It
’
s big, which makes me remember that I am going to take this one at a snail
’
s pace. Claire gives the next toast
—
because apparently there has to be a toast with every drink tonight
—
and then I turn back to Daphne, hoping to address her last comment. Daphne, however is no longer alone. Her friend, who looks like she just walked off a cover of a magazine, is standing in the small space between us.

When I say she looks like a cover girl, I
’
m not exaggerating
—
and it
’
s not my beer goggles talking
. If her hair
—
which is thick, straight, and grown out to her shoulders, like mine
—
wasn
’
t blonde, I might mistake
her
for Roman
’
s sister instead of Daphne. She
’
s skinny; not in a gross way but in the
every-guy-(and-girl)-most-certainly-checks-me-out
way. She
’
s wearing a printed mini skirt and a silky blue tank top and heels, gorgeous purple heels, that make her a good four inches taller than me
—
even with
my
heels on. I can tell, as she leans against the bar and flirts with Roman, that her eyes are green.