OVERLOOKED TO IRRESISTIBLE

Chapter 4: The kiss

"Aria!"

Sienna's voice could cut glass when she wanted it to. She glided over, Ethan trailing behind her like an accessory, and pulled Aria into a hug that was more performance than affection.

"Ethan's little friend from Brooklyn," Sienna said, stepping back with a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "How quaint that you came."

Aria forced herself to smile back. "Congratulations. The venue is beautiful."

"Isn't it?" Sienna's hand found Ethan's arm again, fingers wrapping around his bicep with practiced ease. "We wanted something classic. Timeless." Her eyes swept over Aria's dress with barely concealed judgment. "Though of course the actual wedding will make this look like a rehearsal."

"I'm sure it will be lovely."

Ethan looked uncomfortable, his eyes darting between Aria and Sienna. "I'm glad you made it," he said to Aria, his voice softer than Sienna's. "I wasn't sure you'd come."

Before Aria could respond, Sienna turned to Ethan with a brilliant smile. "Darling, we should show everyone how happy we are. Don't you think?"

She didn't wait for an answer. Sienna grabbed Ethan's face and kissed him hard, her hands sliding into his hair, pressing against him in a way that was definitely more private than public. The kiss went on too long, Sienna's hands caressing his shoulders, his chest, making sure everyone, especially Aria, saw exactly what she was claiming.

Aria's stomach turned. She couldn't look away even though every instinct screamed at her to run.

When Sienna finally pulled back, her lipstick was smudged and her smile was triumphant. "Sorry," she said, not sounding sorry at all. "I just can't help myself around him."

Ethan's face was flushed, and he looked like he wanted to disappear. "Sienna..."

"What? We're engaged. We're allowed to be affectionate." Sienna's hand trailed down his arm possessively. "Right, baby?"

"Right," Ethan said weakly.

Dominic had been watching the whole display with an expression that suggested he'd seen this movie before and found it boring. "That was subtle," he muttered to Aria.

Aria couldn't respond. Her throat felt too tight, and if she opened her mouth, she might actually scream.

"Well," Sienna said, her attention back on Aria. "It's so sweet that you came to support us. I know it must be difficult, seeing Ethan so happy with someone else after all those years of... what was it? Friendship?"

The emphasis on the last word was deliberate. Cruel.

"Sienna," Ethan said, a warning in his voice.

"What? I'm just saying it's lovely that Aria can be mature about this. Not everyone could watch their childhood crush marry someone else with such grace." Sienna tilted her head, faux sympathy dripping from every word. "You were so obvious about it in high school. Everyone knew."

Aria felt like she'd been slapped. The room suddenly felt too hot, too crowded, too suffocating.

"If you'll excuse me," she managed, her voice barely steady. "I need to use the restroom."

She walked away before anyone could respond, keeping her head high until she was out of sight. Then she practically ran to an empty corner of the terrace, as far from the party as possible.

The tears came before she could stop them. Hot, angry, humiliating tears that she'd been holding back since she opened that damned invitation. She pressed her palms against her eyes, trying to force them back, but they wouldn't stop.

Everyone knew. All those years she thought she'd been subtle, protecting her heart, and everyone had known. They'd probably laughed about it. Poor Aria Castellano, in love with a boy who would never choose her.

"That was quite a performance in there."

Aria spun around to find Dominic leaning against the terrace railing, holding two glasses of champagne.

"Go away," she said, wiping frantically at her tears.

"Not a chance." He handed her a glass. "My sister's always been territorial, but that was excessive even for her."

"I said go away."

"And I said not a chance." Dominic took a sip of his champagne, studying her with that infuriating calm. "Look, I'm going to make this really simple for you. You have two options right now."

"I don't want to hear it."

"Option one: you stay out here crying while Ethan and Sienna celebrate their perfect engagement, and everyone inside whispers about the sad girl from Brooklyn who never got over her high school crush."

Aria flinched.

"Option two," Dominic continued, "you use me to make him regret every cowardly decision he's ever made. We walk back in there together. I touch you the way he wishes he could. I look at you the way he's too scared to. And we watch him lose his mind."

"That's insane."

"That's effective." Dominic moved closer. "I saw his face when we were talking earlier. He was jealous. Actual, genuine jealousy. First time he's probably felt that in years."

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't I?" Dominic's smile was sharp. "I know exactly what I'm talking about. And I'm offering you a chance to take back some power in this situation. Unless you'd rather keep crying in corners while Sienna parades him around like a prize she won."

Aria wanted to tell him to go to hell. She wanted to walk out of this party and never look back. She wanted to stop feeling so pathetic.

"I need a minute," she said instead. "Alone."

Dominic shrugged. "Your funeral. But my offer stands. When you're ready to stop being a victim, come find me."

He walked away, leaving her alone with her champagne and her tears.

Aria stood there trying to pull herself together, wiping her face and taking deep breaths. She could leave. Just call an Uber and go home and forget this whole nightmare.

"Aria?"

She froze. Ethan's voice.

"Hey, I've been looking for you." He stepped onto the terrace, and his expression shifted the moment he saw her face. "Are you crying?"

"No." Aria turned away, trying to hide the evidence, but it was too late.

"Aria..." Ethan moved closer, his voice heavy with guilt. "I'm sorry. About that kiss. Sienna, she... she gets insecure sometimes. She was just marking her territory."

"Marking her territory?" Aria laughed, the sound bitter. "I'm not a threat, Ethan. You're marrying her."

"I know. But she..." He ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. "She knows we have history. She gets weird about it."

"We don't have history. We were friends. That's all we ever were."

"That's not true and you know it."

Aria finally turned to face him. "Then what were we, Ethan? Because from where I'm standing, I was the girl who followed you around like a puppy while you dated the girl you actually wanted."

"That's not fair."

"Isn't it?" Aria's voice cracked. "You knew how I felt. Everyone apparently knew. And you just... you let me keep hoping while you chose someone else. Every single time."

Ethan's face crumpled. "I was a coward. I know that now. I was scared of what my family would think, scared of ruining our friendship, scared of so many things." He stepped closer, his voice dropping. "But seeing you again, it's made me realize what I gave up. What I lost."

"Don't." Aria backed up, but the railing stopped her. "Don't do this. Not now."

"I have to." Ethan moved closer, so close she could smell his cologne, see the flecks of gold in his eyes. "That kiss in there, I didn't want it. I don't want any of this. I want..."

His hand came up to cup her face, thumb brushing away a tear. The touch sent electricity through her, years of longing condensing into this single moment.

"Ethan," she whispered, but she didn't push him away.

He leaned in, his other hand sliding to her waist. Their faces were inches apart, his breath warm against her lips. This was it. The moment she'd dreamed about for over a decade.

"Ethan!" Sienna's voice cut through the moment like a knife. "Where are you? Your mother wants to make a toast!"

Ethan jerked back like he'd been burned. The guilt on his face was immediate, devastating.

"I should..." He stepped away, hands dropping. "She's... I have to..."

"Go," Aria said, her voice dead. "Run back to her like a good dog."

"Aria, please. Just let me..."

"Ethan!" Sienna's voice was closer now, impatient.

And just like that, he was gone. Running back to Sienna without another word, leaving Aria alone on the terrace with her almost-kiss and her shattered dignity.

Something inside Aria snapped.

She was done. Done crying. Done hoping. Done being the pathetic girl who waited for Ethan Blackwell to grow a spine.

She stormed back into the party, scanning the crowd. There. Dominic was talking to a couple near the bar, looking bored.

Aria marched straight to him, not letting herself think about what she was doing. Not letting herself care about consequences.

"Your offer," she said when she reached him. "I accept."

Dominic's eyebrows rose. "Right now?"

"Right now."

Something dangerous flashed in his eyes. "You sure about this?"

"Absolutely not. Do it anyway."

A slow smile spread across Dominic's face. "Your call."

He reached out, one hand sliding around her waist, the other cupping the back of her neck. Then he kissed her.

It wasn't gentle. It wasn't tentative. Dominic kissed her like he meant it, like they'd done this a hundred times before, like she was his and everyone needed to know it.

Aria kissed him back just as hard, her hands fisting in his jacket. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she registered the room going quiet. People staring. Whispers starting.

She didn't care.

When they finally broke apart, Dominic was smiling like he'd just won something. "Well then. I assume this means we have a deal?"

Aria's heart was pounding, her lips tingling. Across the room, she found Ethan standing frozen mid-conversation, his face a mask of shock and something darker. Dangerous. His champagne glass was forgotten in his hand, and he was staring at her like he'd never seen her before.

Sienna was beside him, her mouth literally hanging open, her eyes wide in surprise and anger.

Good, Aria thought viciously. Let them feel a fraction of what I've felt.

"Yes," she said to Dominic, loud enough for people nearby to hear. "We have a deal."

Dominic's arm stayed around her waist, possessive and public. "Then let's give them a show they won't forget."