Nicky Hilton's Hand-Me-Downs

It must be hard being Nicky Hilton . Every time the "brainy" half of America's favorite sister act wades into the Hollywood dating pool, she can't help but dredge up her older sister's trash.

Nicky, whose 2004 marriage to tycoon Todd Meister fizzled after two months, is reportedly back with her on-again, off-again shorty, Entourage co-star Kevin Connolly. But at the Victoria's Secret after-party at New York's Lexington Avenue Armory last Wednesday night, the diminutive actor was nowhere to be found. Instead, surprised eyewitnesses report that Hilton was getting her gears greased by oil heir Brandon Davis, one of her older sibling's many exes. "The two of them were making out all night," says one observer. "Everyone was watching them, but they didn't seem to care."

The 24-year-old Davis, who has been uncharacteristically sedate since breaking up with longtime girlfriend Mischa Barton, was back in true form, ogling lingerie models over Hilton's shoulder in mid-embrace. Further detracting from the romantic mood, the disheveled Davis kept dashing to the bathroom all night long. "He was sweating like a pig," reports a confused correspondent, "But it wasn't hot in there at all."

The coupling may further strain the Hilton sisters' formerly close bond. Paris, after all, is on less-than-friendly terms with Davis, who called her a "racist plus an idiot" in The National Enquirer after reports of her infamous "N-word" video first surfaced last year. In addition, Hilton confidantes claim Paris has been steamed with her sister ever since Nicky agreed to be a bridesmaid at her Simple Life nemesis Nicole Richie's upcoming wedding to D.J. Adam Goldstein. Is Nicky, who has always tried to distance herself from Paris's wanton ways, sending a message to her big sis?

Asked about Nicky's latest entanglement, her publicist, Victoria Harvie, denied there was anything untoward going on between her client and Davis. "It's one-hundred percent false," she said. "She barely saw him all night and she's very much with Kevin. She obviously knows Brandon, but they're just friends."

Elliot Mintz, Paris Hilton's personal crisis manager, said he "wouldn't even want to speculate" on how his client feels about her younger sister's choice of pals. Davis--who oddly has no publicist--could not be reached for comment.