“What in the hell?” Lucas said, moving away from the articles of clothing in the drawer.
“Well, looks like May had a fetish for naughty knickers,” I said with a giggle.
“Why is that crotchless? Oh God. Oh God.”
“It was so they could use the restroom, you perv. But, by the time May used this chest, she wouldn’t have needed these panties. These are old, maybe May’s mom used it or something.”
Lucas let out a gruff laugh. “Ha! Trust me, any man who knew a woman’s underwear contained an opening like that took full advantage of it. I know I would.”
I looked at him, heat hitting my cheeks as I pictured him doing just that. To me.
Ugh. Paige, you are taking it slow, just as friends, don’t go there.
An evil smile spread over his face. “Want to try them on?”
Slapping him on the chest, I cried out, “Lucas Foster! That is gross!”
He raised a brow. “Why is that gross?”
“It just is! Those are your grandmother’s, or great-grandmother’s undergarments.”
He snarled. “There goes that image in my mind. Thanks a lot for that cock block.”
Laughing, I shut the drawer and pulled open the next one. It contained stockings.
The next drawer was empty, and the bottom contained a few journals, some books, a feather pen, and an empty jar of what had most likely been ink.
Lucas stood and looked down at the trunk. “If this was Grams’, where did she take it? When did she use it? Or maybe it was her mother’s and that’s why they didn’t want us touching it?”
I looked over some of the jewelry. “I think you need to have this all looked at, Lucas. For sure, show your father. These are family heirlooms.”
“They’re half yours.”
With a quick glance at him, I shook my head. “No. They are not. They’re yours.”
Lucas looked at me and something passed over his face. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but the way he stared made my insides go all crazy again as my stomach flipped.
“Do you have any idea what an incredible person you are?”
I stood and grinned. “I do. I’m a rare one, for sure.”
His expression softened even more as he placed his hand on my cheek and smiled. “You most certainly are.”
Lucas
PAIGE AND I stood in front of the old trunk staring at one another. I wanted to kiss her again. Tell her I thought she was the most magnificent creature ever. Here she was, half owner to some pretty expensive-looking jewelry, and she was telling me it was mine. Most women wouldn’t have reacted that way.
I closed my eyes and cursed. God, I wanted her so fucking badly. Snapping my eyes back open, I gave her one last look before I dropped my hand and looked about the attic.
“While this is all fun, looking in the forbidden wardrobe of crotchless bloomers, we need to find the chest.”
“You don’t find this so crazy, learning all these things about your family?”
With a shrug, I looked around the area where we were standing. There was so much shit in this attic, it would take us weeks to go through it.
“Sure, loads of fun, but I’m on a mission.”
I heard Paige chuckle behind me.
“Well, I for one find it fascinating.”
“Of course, you would. You’re a woman.”
“Psh, that has nothing to do with it, Lucas. This is your family’s history up here. Who knows what else we’ll find!”
“Earlier you were afraid to look.”
Paige walked up next to me and looked down at an old sofa. “That was before we found what very well might be a ruby necklace in a vintage wardrobe trunk.” She pulled the white sheet that was half-covering the sofa. “Do you remember this sofa?”
I smiled as I looked down at it. “Hell yes, I remember it. It was where I first kissed you.”
Paige ran her fingers over the fabric and smiled. “I was so nervous.” She looked up at me. “Were you nervous to kiss me that first time?”
“Yes,” I answered honestly. “Mostly because I thought we would get caught making out and Grams would never leave us up here alone again.”
She laughed and sat down on the sofa.
“Do you want me to kiss you again? For old time’s sake?” I asked in a deep voice.
Her mouth parted, and her tongue darted out to wet her lips. If that wasn’t a yes, I didn’t know what was. I sat down next to her.
“A peck?” she asked, a smirk on her face.
Quickly grabbing her, I pulled her onto my lap so that she straddled me. If she sat down, her heat would be pressed on my ever-growing dick.
“Lucas.”
My name on her mouth almost sounded pleading. I wasn’t sure if she was asking me to not kiss her, or begging for me to kiss her. Either way, I was going with the best-case scenario.
I cupped her face in my hands and gently brought her mouth to mine. And we kissed.
Holy mother of all kisses. Paige deepened the kiss as she sank down, pressing herself against my cock.
Grabbing her hips, I lifted up, needing more contact. Her fingers jammed into my hair, and she gave it a tug, causing me to suck on her tongue and pull her closer to me.
“Yes,” she whispered while she rocked against my hard-on.
“Fuck, this isn’t slow, Paige. This is so not slow,” I said forcing my mouth from hers.
Without a word, she pulled my mouth back to hers. Our first kiss was nothing like this. It was awkward, messy. Unexperienced tongues trying to figure out how to move together in a fluid motion. This kiss said a million unspoken things.
I love you. I’ve always loved you. I want you. I fucking need to be inside you.
“Son-of-a-bitch, Paige.”
I pressed my cock to her as she wrapped her legs around me, a moan moving from her mouth to mine.
“Lucas.”
“Stop saying my name like that or I’m going to fuck you right here. And then there goes slow right out the window.”
She bit down on my lip. My hand slipped up her shirt and teased her nipple through the lace of her bra.
“Don’t stop, Lucas. Please don’t stop.”
“We said slow.”
“Just a little more. Please.”
Who was I to deny her?
“I want to make you come, Paige.”
“I won’t argue with that,” she panted, her hands moving over my hard cock and making their way to what I hoped was her hand in my pants.
“I will.”
I froze, as did Paige.
We drew our mouths away from one another and turned to find Tom Miller standing in the middle of the attic.
Her fucking brother. Holy shit. I had stopped by the Miller ranch to talk to him, but he hadn’t been there. And now he was here. Watching me dry hump his sister.
“Oh my god!” Paige whispered, pushing me off of her. “Tom!”
I stood, not even bothering to hide the raging hard-on. The way he was looking at me, I had no doubt my dick would shrink by the second.
Yep. There it was, the ultimate cause of a deflating cock. The brother. The father would do it, too.
Paige frantically looked at me, then to her brother.
“What, why are you, I didn’t know you were coming over,” she finally managed to say.
He stared at me with pure anger. Or maybe it was hatred. I wasn’t sure. Either way, things were not looking good for me.
“After this dickhead stopped by the ranch to talk to me, I tried calling your cell, and I haven’t heard from you. I got worried, so I came over.”
“Sorry about that. I must have left my phone downstairs. Everything is fine.”
“What are you doing up here?” he asked, his gaze and words directed solely to me.
“We were, uh, trying to find a chest.”
He raised his brow. “Seems like you found it.”
“Tom, please. Let’s go back downstairs. I’ll make you some tea.”
“What is your game, Foster?” he asked.
“There is no game, Tom. I stopped by to talk to you. Tell you I was sorry about how things happened between me and Paige.”
Paige looked at me with a stunned expression. “You did?”
I gave her a soft smile. “My dad told me Tom was angry with me.”
“Ha,” Tom said. “That’s putting it lightly. If you think I’m mad, just be glad you didn’t run into my father.”
Walking toward her brother, Paige said, “Tom, let’s go downstairs.”
He turned to her. “He has a girlfriend, remember? Have you forgotten how he treated you? How he hurt you?”
Guilt clawed at my chest and into my throat.
“We’ve talked about things, and he doesn’t have a girlfriend.”
“Why is he here?”
Paige looked at me, utter panic in her eyes. Holy shit, she hadn’t told her family yet.
“He lives here.”
With that statement, I quickly looked for an escape because Tom Miller was fixin’ to kick my ass.
I leaned against the counter in the kitchen and tried not to let my fear show. Tom was currently sitting at the table, shooting me death rays from his eyes.
“When were you going to tell us he’s living here?”
“The next time I saw you and Daddy. You know he owns half of the house.”
“Yes, just like I knew he lived in Austin with some fancy model in some fancy apartment and dressed like a damn hipster. I also knew he couldn’t have been bothered to show up for his own granddaddy’s funeral.”
“That’s enough, Tom. You don’t know the whole story,” Paige said in a matter-of-fact tone.
It felt like déjà vu. Except the last time I stood in a kitchen with a man staring at me like he hated me, I was much younger. Paige was trying then, like she was now, to convince her father I had only good intentions. The only problem was, I had been well on my way to stripping her naked and taking her, and if her father hadn’t showed up, things would have gotten complicated. Now it was her brother in the role of her dad.
“Then tell me the story, Paige. Because what I just saw didn’t look innocent.”
“We got caught up in old memories,” I said.
He glared at me, and Paige shot me a look that said stop talking.
“So the truth is, Lucas and I both live in the house. You know about the letter William left me, and he left one for Lucas too. We’re trying to find a chest that William said contains answers as to why he left us both the house.”
Tom laughed. “Ah, for Pete’s sake. You’re both smart enough. The only reason William left you both this house was to force the two of you to come together to work out a solution. Everyone knows that. And his little plan is working, considering this dickhead just had his tongue down your throat and hands under your shirt.”
I looked away and cleared my throat.
“Yes, I’m sure that was part of William’s intention, but I think there’s more. He wanted us to find something together.”
“Paige, he didn’t. Ever since you were a little girl you’ve been enamored with this house. Hell, you’ve been enamored with him.”
He jerked his chin my way.
“William knew that. He forced the two of you together. That is not how you mend a relationship. He forced your hand and now you’re letting another Foster take advantage of you.”
“Wait one minute, Tom,” I said, pushing off the counter.
“My granddad knew how much this house meant to Paige. He left it to her for that reason and that reason alone. No one can force Paige to do something she doesn’t want to do, and I’m not taking advantage of anything.”
“Then sell her your half of the house.”
With a warning look, Paige said, “Tom, please stay out of this.”
“No, Paige. If this jerk truly cares about you, truly wants to see you happy, then he should walk away.”
“It’s my family’s house!” I protested.
“And word on the street is you want to sell it. Make a hefty profit and head back to Austin and probably take your model on another trip to Europe.”
Paige groaned while she buried her face in her hands.
“Is that what people are saying about me?” I asked, dread settling in the pit of my stomach.
“Of course they are, Lucas. You left Johnson City and never looked back.”
“Because the life I wanted here—”
“You let go. You made that choice. You. You gave up your chance.”
“I made a mistake, which I’m trying to make up for.”
He scoffed. “You want this house, plain and simple.”
“Tom, I’m asking you to please stop,” Paige begged.
I stared at Tom, then looked at Paige. Her brother’s words hit me like a brick wall. Had I really lost my chance with Paige? Could we forget the past and figure out a future together? Or would everyone think I’d simply seduced her to get the house? Even if I never sold it, people would whisper behind my back.
“I’ll let you and your brother talk.”
Standing, Paige reached for my arm. “Lucas, wait.”
With a quick step back, I forced a smile. “It was nice to see you, Tom. Please accept this as my apology to you for the way I treated your sister in the past. I truly do regret it.”
“Lucas!”
Paige quickly followed me. I grabbed my keys and wallet from the small table in the foyer and headed out the front door.
“Please, don’t go. Please.”
I walked to my truck and opened the door.
“Stop!” she yelled. “You promised me.”
Slowly, I faced her. “Everyone in this town is going to think exactly the way he does!” I said, pointing back toward the house. “I’ll never be able to convince anyone any different.”
“They don’t matter. The only thing that matters should be me. What I think.”
“What do you think, Paige? Because just last night I was the enemy.”
She slowly shook her head. “Lucas, you’ve never been the enemy.”
I swallowed hard. “I sure as fuck feel like it.”
Paige stepped back as I slipped into the truck and started it.
“Where are you going?” she asked.
With a slight smile, because I really didn’t want her to think I was upset with her, I said, “My folks’ place. Maybe go for a ride. I just need to clear my head. I don’t regret earlier, kissing you. And all.”
She nodded. “Neither do I. Be careful, don’t ride angry.”
God, this woman. She was worried about me. I truly was a stupid idiot to ever let her go.
“I promise, and I’m not angry.”
As I pulled away, I glanced in the rearview mirror to see her standing, watching me. We had taken two steps forward today, only to be pulled back three.
With a curse, I hit my steering wheel as I drove away from the woman I loved.
Paige
LUCAS KICKED UP dirt as he drove down the driveway. That had been twice today we had been stopped before things got carried away. Even with a promise to each other that we’d go slow, I was beginning to wonder if that was really the smart thing to do.
Turning, I headed back into the house. I wanted to throttle my brother.
He stood in the middle of the living room, looking around.
“What in the heck happened in here?” he asked.
“It’s a long story. Tom, I need you to understand something.”
He faced me, concern etched on his face.
“You love him still,” he said before I could utter another word.
“I’ve never stopped loving him. I don’t honestly think it is possible for me to not love him. Lucas is a part of me, he owns a part of my heart, and I’m not sure what is going to happen. I don’t know what the future holds for us.”
“You have a future. The flower shop.”
“Lucas would never stop that.”
He
let out a bark of laughter. “He tried to stop you before.”
I threw up my hands and let them fall to my side. “That was the past. This is now. This is today. This is me and Lucas trying to find some common ground.”
“And you think sleeping with him will help?”
My face heated. “We got carried away. We have a lot of memories between us, Tom. More good times than bad. Feelings that neither one of us really ever let go.”
“He seemed to let them go. He was with that model long enough.”
“I really wish people would stop bringing her up. He broke up with her. He said he never saw a future with her.”
“You believe him?”
The corner of my mouth rose slightly. “Yeah, I really do.”
He scrubbed his hands over his face and sighed. “Paige, I know he hurt you.”
“Yes, he did.”
“I’m just worried.”
I walked up to my brother and wrapped my arms around him. “I’m a big girl. I know what I’m doing. Will you please trust me to handle this?”
“Will you promise you won’t get back with him?”
My shoulders slumped, and I stared up at him. “I can’t, and I won’t promise you that.”
“Fine, I won’t ask you to. You know, I did like him at one time. So did Dad.”
“I know you did, and Daddy adored him. And so did Momma. We got lost, and I don’t know where this journey will lead us. On more than one occasion we’ve had divided interests, and I’m positive we will in the future, but I feel it in my heart that no matter what, I need to try harder this time. We both need to try harder. We’re not eighteen anymore.”
With a big inhale, my brother closed his eyes. “If he hurts you, so help me God.”
“If he hurts me, you’ll have to stand in line. I’m first.”
With a chuckle, he wrapped me in his arms and kissed the top of my head. “I love you, sis.”
“And I love you, too. So very much.”
When he let go of me, I smiled. “Hey, you wouldn’t happen to know a jeweler, would you?”
After my brother left, I changed and put on my running shoes. I had another hour or so before the sun went down, and I’d wanted to get in a run before it got dark. Tom had helped finish up the painting in the living room, then he cut around the carpet to make it easier for me and Lucas to pull it up.
Divided Interests Page 15