THE TENTH SECOND

Theo Calloway's wedding had reached the point where his friends had apparently decided that embarrassing the groom was more important than letting him enjoy his own celebration.

"You know," Marcus said, handing Theo a glass of water, "most people spend their wedding day smiling."

"I've been smiling all day."

"That wasn't a smile. That was you trying not to strangle us."

Theo gave him a look. "You know me too well."

"Unfortunately."

A few of their friends laughed. They had known Theo long enough to recognize every expression on his face, including the one that meant he was two jokes away from walking away from the conversation.

One of them glanced toward the entrance.

"Speaking of people who know you too well, where's Aria?"

Theo looked over.

"Aria?"

"Yes, Aria. Your sister. The person you've been talking about since we were teenagers."

Another friend joined in. "Seriously. Where is she? I thought she'd be here before the groom."

"She probably has something important going on," Theo said.

"That's it?"

"What do you want me to say?"

"It's your wedding."

"I know."

"Her brother's wedding."

Theo smiled. "If she could've come, she would've."

His friends exchanged looks.

"You really aren't angry?"

"Why would I be?"

"Because she missed this."

Theo shook his head. "She wouldn't miss it unless she genuinely couldn't make it."

One of the girls from their old school group sighed dramatically. "I was actually looking forward to seeing her. I haven't seen her in years."

"Same," another added. "You two disappeared after graduation and left the rest of us to deal with adulthood."

Theo laughed. "I didn't disappear. She did."

"She travels more than she stays anywhere."

"That's true."

"Does she even live in one country anymore?"

"Depends on the month."

They laughed.

There was something almost fond in the way they talked about her. Aria hadn't just been Theo's friend. She had been part of their school group too. They had met her at the same summer camp where Theo had first become friends with her, and over the years she had become one of them.

The camp had started it all—team games, treasure hunts, competitions, ridiculous challenges that had forced students from two different schools to spend enough time together to stop being strangers.

Theo and Aria had simply clicked.

Then, somehow, they ended up in the same high school.

After that, there was no separating them.

They weren't siblings by blood, but most people who knew them never thought twice about calling them brother and sister. They understood each other without having to explain much. A look across a classroom could be an entire conversation. A raised eyebrow from Aria could tell Theo that she had an idea. One glance from him could tell her whether he was going along with it.

Their teachers saw two intelligent, polite students with good grades.

Their closest friends knew they were capable of considerably worse.

The pair had perfected the art of looking completely innocent while quietly arranging some harmless piece of mischief.

And somehow, they always got away with it.

After school, life had taken them in different directions. They went to different colleges, and Aria eventually moved abroad for higher studies. Later, her work kept her travelling from one place to another, but the distance never changed her relationship with Theo. They still spoke regularly, shared almost everything, and turned to each other whenever life became complicated.

So when Theo said she had something important keeping her away, nobody questioned whether he believed her.

He did.

Still, one of his friends sighed.

"I can't believe she actually missed your wedding."

Theo glanced toward the entrance again.

"I'll admit, I would've liked to have her here."

"See?"

"But I'm not going to blame her for something she couldn't control."

Marcus smiled. "You're such a good brother."

Theo scoffed. "Don't tell her that. She'll become unbearable."

A familiar voice came from behind them.

"Too late."

Theo turned.

He froze.

Aria stood near the entrance with a small travel bag over one shoulder, looking as though she had walked straight out of an airport and into the wedding. Her wavy brown hair fell loosely around her shoulders, a little untidy in a way that somehow suited her. She wore a beautiful peach dress, simple enough not to look overdone but elegant enough to make it clear she hadn't accidentally wandered into the wrong event.

Her warm brown eyes found Theo almost immediately.

She smiled.

"Brother."

Theo stared at her for a second.

Then he walked straight toward her.

"You came."

Aria laughed as he pulled her into a hug. "I did."

"I thought you weren't coming."

"I wanted you to think that."

"You couldn't have warned me?"

"And ruin the surprise?"

He pulled back and looked at her. "When did you get here?"

"About ten minutes ago."

"You've been here for ten minutes?"

"Yes."

"And you just stood there?"

"I was watching."

Theo narrowed his eyes. "Watching what?"

"You."

"Why?"

"Because I wanted to know how long it would take you to notice me."

He stared at her.

"You've become annoying."

"I learned from you."

He laughed and hugged her again.

By then, their old school friends had already noticed who had arrived.

"No way."

"Aria?"

"You're actually here!"

She barely had time to respond before three of them surrounded her.

One of the girls hugged her tightly. "You disappeared."

"I've been busy."

"Busy for years?"

"Apparently."

Another friend looked at Theo. "You knew she was coming?"

"I didn't."

Aria smiled innocently.

Theo pointed at her. "She did this deliberately."

"Of course I did."

Everyone laughed.

For the next few minutes, the wedding seemed to turn into a small reunion. Old classmates crowded around Aria, asking where she had been, what she was doing, how long she was staying, and whether she had finally decided to live in one place.

She answered some questions and dodged others, just as she always had.

Theo stood beside her, looking far too pleased with himself now that his missing sister had appeared.

Across the room, Rhys Calloway had stopped paying attention to everything else.

He had noticed the woman the moment she entered.

At first, he had only looked because she had walked into the room and immediately drawn Theo's attention.

Then she smiled.

And something in him shifted.

He knew that smile.

He knew the way she pushed a loose strand of hair away when she was distracted. He knew the slight tilt of her head when she was listening. He knew how her eyes narrowed when she was trying not to laugh.

He knew her.

Not Aria.

Blake.

The name came to him instinctively.

For a moment, he simply stared.

What was she doing here?

He had spent years without seeing her. Not enough years to forget her, apparently, but enough to believe that whatever had existed between them belonged firmly in the past.

He watched her laughing with Theo's friends.

Then with Theo.

Then he saw her greet people he knew.

His confusion deepened.

Why did Blake know everyone here?

He watched as Theo put an arm around her shoulders and led her toward his parents.

Rhys's expression changed.

Blake knew his family?

His mother hugged her warmly.

His father shook her hand with the kind of familiarity reserved for someone they had known for a long time.

Rhys stood completely still.

Something wasn't making sense.

Then Theo turned and spotted him.

"Rhys!"

Rhys looked over.

Theo waved him closer.

He walked toward them, still trying to understand what he was seeing.

Aria was speaking with Theo's parents when Theo reached her.

"There's one more person you haven't met."

She smiled. "Who?"

"My brother."

Aria's smile remained for half a second.

Then she turned.

And saw him.

Everything in her expression changed.

Rhys stopped.

She knew him.

Of course she did.

There was no mistaking the man standing in front of her.

Adrian.

The name surfaced in her mind before she even heard Theo speak.

Her heart gave an uneasy beat.

She had spent two years believing she would never have to see him again.

And now he was standing at Theo's wedding.

Theo looked between them, completely unaware of the history sitting silently in front of him.

"Aria, this is my brother, Rhys."

Aria's eyes widened slightly.

Rhys looked at her as though he had forgotten how to speak.

For a second, neither of them moved.

Then Theo smiled, waiting for them to acknowledge each other.

Aria swallowed and forced herself to look away from Rhys long enough to face Theo.

"Your brother?"

"Yes," Theo said, laughing. "The one I told you about."

She looked back at Rhys.

He was still watching her.

And suddenly the pieces fell into place.

The woman Theo had talked about for years.

The sister he had always described as though she were part of his family.

The person whose absence had been such a disappointment to everyone.

Her.

Aria Sinclair.

Rhys's eyes remained fixed on her.

Blake.

The woman he had once loved under a name that wasn't hers.

The woman who had walked into his life because of a stupid bet and left six months later with more of his heart than either of them had planned to give.

And now she was standing in front of him as his brother's sister.

Neither of them said a word about it.

No one around them noticed.

To everyone else, this was simply the first time Aria Sinclair and Rhys Calloway had ever met.

And for the first time in years, both of them had absolutely no idea what to say.