The Broken Vows: Zane and Celeste’s Story (The Windsors)

“Are you sure you’re okay?” I ask over the phone as I cross the road to my favorite coffee shop, my gaze drifting to the two women who seem to be following me, both dressed in sunglasses and baseball caps that don’t match their expensive outfits and high heels.

Zane sighs. “Celestial, how many times do you need me to tell you? Archer, your father, and I just had a chat, and everything is fine. Just focus on prepping for next week’s conference, alright? I have to make a good impression on your grandfather, especially now that your parents know about us.”

I sigh as I queue up, only to glance behind me and notice both women hover by the glass door, clearly debating whether to enter. “I’m worried because you won’t tell me what they said to you. It’s weird how the three of you walked back in acting like nothing happened. Even my mom thought it was weird.”

He chuckles, and the sound makes my stomach flutter. “Don’t worry, baby. I promise it’s all good. If there truly was something to worry about, I’d tell you, okay?”

“Hmm, sure,” I murmur as I place my coffee order. “Speaking of something we may need to worry about. I think I’m being followed.”

“That’s impossible,” Zane says, followed by the sound of typing. “I have two bodyguards on you that provide round-the-clock protection.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

Zane clears his throat awkwardly. “They, um, they protect you, but they don’t report to me about what you do,” he tells me, and I sigh, not even as surprised as I probably should be.

“Don’t you think that’s something you should’ve mentioned at some point?”

“Yeah, and you can be mad about that later, but you’re right to say there’s something for us to worry about. According to the Windsor security team, you are being followed.” He groans, piquing my curiosity. “Celeste, it’s my sister and her best friend. Fuck.”

I suppress a laugh and lift my coffee cup to my lips, my gaze dropping to my sheer nude nails, another shade I bought for Zane. He couldn’t stop grinning when I told him it was called BBF Best Boyfriend. “Interesting. Is this payback for what Archer did?”

Zane chuckles. “Absolutely not. My sister is just fucking psychotic. Give me five minutes, and I’ll have our security team intercept her so you can get back to the office uninterrupted.”

“No,” I tell him, oddly curious about Sierra Windsor. She’s a couple of years younger than us, so I never had an opportunity to get to know her, but from everything I’ve heard, she’s incredibly smart, if not a little intense. Out of all the Windsor siblings, she appears to be the most eccentric. I can hardly blame her — her five older brothers must be so overbearing. “I’ll handle this.”

“Celestial, that’s not a good idea,” he begins to say, but I merely grin as I walk back to the exit.

“Gotta go. Love you, bye!” I say before ending the call and walking out. Sierra pulls her cap further down her face, like that could possibly hide her long dark glossy hair and that aura all the Windsors have. Even as she tries to shrink herself to evade my attention, she’s dripping power. So does the woman standing next to her. I raise a brow when I realize it’s the model I saw Zane with a few months ago — the one I’d been so insanely jealous of, only to find out that he wasn’t lying. From everything I’ve heard about her throughout the last few months, she truly is like a sister to him.

“So,” I say, glancing between the two women. “Sierra Windsor and Raven Du Pont, right?”

They both tense, and Sierra sighs before pulling her cap off. Her sunglasses follow, and I smile when I notice her eyes are a perfect replica of Zane’s. There’s something odd about the way that instantly endears her to me.

“Sorry about that,” Raven says, following her best friend’s lead and pulling off her cap. “I tried to discourage her, but it’s really hard to make her change her mind once she’s decided on something.”

Sierra crosses her arms and stares me down, her gaze unexpectedly intimidating for a girl who’s barely even in college. She’s what? Nineteen? “So you’re the reason my brother has a large bruise across his jaw,” she says through gritted teeth. “I’ll give you exactly three minutes to explain before I give you a matching bruise.”

I try my hardest to suppress a smile, but she clearly notices the way the edges of my lips twitch, because her expression turns stormy. She’s surprisingly adorable. Zane mentions her every once in a while, and I wondered why he adored her so much. I can see why now.

“My brother and parents caught Zane and me having sex in my kitchen.”

Raven slaps a hand over her mouth in an attempt to stifle her startled laughter, and Sierra looks positively horrified. “Oh,” she says, her eyes widening. “Oh.”

I shrug, unsure what else to say. “Honestly, Zane barely got his boxers on in time before my brother walked in. I’m pretty sure you can imagine what happened next.”

Raven begins to laugh in earnest now and hooks her arm through mine. “You’re going to buy me a drink since I can’t buy one myself, and then you’re going to tell me all about this,” she says, pulling me along. “I’m going to tease Zane about this forever, but I’ll need all the details first.”

Sierra trails behind us, her expression unreadable now. She’s quiet all the way to the rooftop bar Raven insists on going to, despite it barely being noon. It’s clear Sierra’s mind is whirling — Zane gets like that sometimes, when he’s thinking about a new project.

Raven places our order seconds after we’re seated, taking the liberty to choose our cocktails for us. All the while, Sierra just studies me, and I let her. If she’s anything like her brother, she’s thinking about the words she’ll choose.

“How long has this been going on?” she asks, eventually. “And what exactly is going on?”

I smile at her, uncertain what to say. “Shouldn’t you be asking your brother that?”

“I did. He just smiled and ignored my question.”

“Then it’s probably none of your business.”

She leans in, a wicked grin on her face. “Is that so? Perhaps I should just ask my grandmother then. I’m sure she could find out in a matter of minutes.”

My eyes widen a fraction, and I can’t help but admire her guts. She’s threatening me. That’s… oddly cute. I place my elbow on the table and rest my chin on my fist as I study her. She tries to hide it, but this isn’t mere curiosity. She’s genuinely worried about her brother.

“I’m madly in love with Zane, and we’ve been in a formal relationship for a little over seven months.”

Raven knocks her shoulder into Sierra’s and shoots her a look. “I told you it was serious. Zane asked me to design a pair of shoes for a girl last year. She’s wearing them right now.”

“Celeste,” Sierra says, her expression pained. “What are you both thinking? You’re a Harrison.”

“I know,” I murmur, my expression falling. “I know.”

Sierra grabs her cocktail and knocks it back before reaching for mine and immediately emptying my glass too. “Well, you’re going to have to win my grandmother over, and you’ll need our help.”

I smile at her conspiratorially. “I was hoping you’d say that.”