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licked the inside of her mouth until she had to pull away to breathe. 
    When he pulled away, Jansen was breathing as hard as she was.  Every instinct she had was telling her to pull him in for another kiss, but her mind was telling her to stop. She was only setting herself up for failure.  Dammit, she had just promised herself not to do this again and here she was. 
    “Don’t do this to me.  I’ve got to get the party ready before Sky gets here,” Star sputtered the only thing she could think of to stop him from going any further.  Banks was watching too, and she could tell he was itching to get involved, but she walked away.
    When she opened the door, Lilly was picking up a drink from the waiter.  “Hey, where have you been?”  She looked down at her watch.  “It’s almost time for him to be here.  You may want to go out in the main dining room to wait for him.  I will watch for you when you bring him in.  I think everyone is here now.  Oh yeah — who’s the hunk of a man with Mary?” 
    “Long story.  I need a stiff drink.  I’ll be in the dining room waiting for him.”  Star watched as Lilly’s eyes drifted to the kitchen door, where Banks and Jansen were coming out. 
    “Ahh, now I see,” Lilly muttered.
    “No, you don’t.  I’ll explain later.”  Star sounded defeated as she walked toward the main dining room.  She needed a big fat drink before her brother arrived.
     
    ****
     
    Star sucked the vodka on the rocks down as fast as she could before her brother arrived.  He’d only worry if he saw her drinking.  She’d almost gotten the second one down before he walked into the dining room.  “Shit.” 
    Pushing the glass aside, Star smiled as she walked over to her brother.  She could see his reaction to how obviously fake her expression was.
    “What’s wrong?” he asked, then looked over at the bar and back at her.  “Why are you drinking?”
    “Jeez, I just had a drink to wind down from the day.  Nothing’s wrong.  I’m better now that you’re here.  I can’t wait to have a great dinner, and then maybe you can dance with your big sister.”  Star looped her arm around his and escorted him to the private dining room.
    “Why are we eating in here?  I thought Mary was joining us,” Sky asked suspiciously.
    “She is you, big dummy.  She’s already here, and get this — she brought a date.  Not just any date, but one of the best-looking men I’ve ever seen.  Mary has just become my new hero,” Star teased.  “I’m talking a hottie of a man.  Jeez, the woman gets more action then I could ever get.”
    “A date?  We’re talking about Mary, right?” Sky asked as they got to the door.
    “Yep, I can’t wait for you to see him.  It’s going to be an interesting night.”
    Sky went first so he could open the door, but when he stepped in the room the lights came on and everyone yelled, “Happy Birthday.”  Star flinched when she saw the horrified look on her brother’s face.  She’d forgotten to warn everyone not to yell because it would most likely scare him.
    Immediately, Star grasped her brother and hugged him so nobody would see his fear. She whispered, “I’m sorry; I forgot to tell everyone not to shout.  It’s just a party in your honor, and it’s only your friends.  Please don’t be mad.  River and I only wanted to do something special for you.”
    Star could feel Sky trembling in her arms.  She could tell he was trying to stop it, but he needed a moment.  River quickly ran up to him and hugged him.  She must have noticed his expression.  Star was thankful he hadn’t tried to hurt anyone; thank God nobody was close enough. 
    “Sorry, we got so excited about you coming in that we yelled too loud.  Are you okay, little brother?”  River asked. 
    Star hugged her brother too as they huddled together.  When she opened her eyes, she noticed the look of shock on everyone’s face.  Immediately, Reece and Jonas hurried over