Mine: A Stepbrother Romance: (With bonus novel Bossy!)

by Kim Linwood

  And the ballroom, it’s cleaned, and made up. Even the cathedral ceilings look like they’ve had a wash. The black and white marble tiles are polished. It looks like it’s in regular use, though I can hardly imagine Hunter having lots of balls thrown here when he’s not hosting a crazy reality show.

  “Are your bags packed?” Blaze asks, his smile firmly in place as we walk together.

  “Excuse me?”

  “Just making conversation.”

  Did he really just ask me if I was ready to lose? “Like hell you were. What was that supposed to mean?”

  He ignores me, and I can’t even call him on it because the cameras circle around and the men back away, leaving the four of us standing alone. Blaze takes a glass of champagne from one of the servers, and looks past me, over my shoulder.

  I follow his gaze and find Hunter, striding towards us like a man born to privilege. He’s absolutely poured into his suit. Black and white, the cut is modern but classic. It might seem austere, but he’s left off the tie. It’s the detail that makes it look like he wears the suit, instead of the suit wearing him.

  His hair is styled back, accentuating his handsome face and making his blue eyes stand out. Pools of clear sky on a stormy face.

  He’s not happy.

  “Your date has arrived, ladies. Tonight your assignment is to charm the socks off the island’s most eligible bachelor. He’ll spend time with each of you, and be watching how you handle yourselves. Good luck.” For once Blaze doesn’t oversell the description, he just tips his head in a small bow and slips off into the crowd.

  “Sarah. You look amazing.” Hunter’s voice is flat, like he’s reading off a teleprompter.

  I look up, suddenly unsure about my dress, my hair, my everything. There’s definitely something wrong, but there’s no way I can ask him about it. Not until we’re alone.

  “So do you. Very handsome.”

  “Thank you.” He looks uncomfortable, but he’s saved from having to say more by a server coming by with food.

  I smile in thanks and carefully pick up a tiny cracker with caviar on it. Hunter looks over the selection and grabs a tiny sausage wrapped in layers of filo dough with a toothpick through the center.

  “Expensive tastes?” He asks with a slightly mean grin.

  I narrow my eyes. “What’s up with you tonight?” First Blaze, now Hunter? Is it pick on Liz night and nobody told me? If I’d known, I would’ve stayed in my room.

  He shrugs, looking unfairly suave. “Nothing.”

  “Bullshit,” I hiss. “What happened?”

  “Nothing has changed. We’ll talk later. I need to go do my rounds.” Hunter takes off before I can argue.

  I watch his back as he walks away. A surge of possessiveness hits me as he stops to talk to Bianca. Under that formal suit are the marks of my nails down his back, and a small, wild part of me wants her to know it.

  “That’s a pretty fancy dress for wool gathering.” Amanda appears at my side, her eyes following Hunter as well.

  “Huh?” I give her a glare. “Sorry. Were you saying something?”

  “I said, you look nice. I bet you never imagined you would stay in the show this long.”

  “No, not really.”

  “What changed? When we got here you didn’t seem very committed.” Amanda is being suspiciously friendly.

  Hunter, that’s what changed. Hunter, and maybe a million dollars. “I guess I got caught up in the romance.”

  She doesn’t look convinced. “Mmm, I can see that.”

  The quartet starts a waltz, light airy tones reverbing off the high ceilings as Hunter and Bianca walk out onto the dance floor together. Both of us watch them intently. Their start is rocky, but they quickly fall into a rhythm. It’s obvious Hunter has more dancing experience than Bianca, but he leads confidently and she holds her own. When the song is over, he says something and they laugh together.

  Danny waits to the side, and she goes straight to him with a big smile on her face. It might not be a winning dance, but it looks like they had a good time. I try not to hold it against her that Hunter smiled for her, but not for me.

  Then Megan is up, and as soon as the music starts, it’s clear she’s danced before. With the grace of a professional, she glides across the floor with Hunter. I knew he was holding back with Bianca, but I didn’t realize how much.

  “Holy shit,” Amanda exclaims. “Miss Patty’s Dance Nook did not prepare me for that.”

  “No kidding.” I turn away, not wanting to watch the man I’m falling for dance so beautifully with someone else.

  By the time the applause starts, I’m at the bar, exchanging champagne for soda water. I’ve found that so long as the glass looks right, most people don’t ask what’s in it. The music starts back up for what I’m assuming is Amanda’s dance.

  “Avoiding your mother’s problems? Smart.” Hollister shoulders his way next to the bar and orders a whiskey.

  “Glad you approve,” I say dryly.

  “Oh, don’t be like that. You’ve lasted longer than I thought you would.” He looks me up and down. “And you clean up nice. How’d Hunter take it when he found out who you are? Work out some deep childhood issues? I can’t blame him. You Bissette women must be a family weakness or something.”

  “He’s your son. That’s just gross.” I shudder. “Besides, I don’t know why you think now is suddenly a good time to get all creepy father figure with me, but trust me, it’s not.”

  “Right, I forgot you were drowning your sorrows in water. That Megan girl’s going to be a tough act to follow.”

  “Wait. How do you know for sure that he knows?” I put down my glass and study Hollister Campbell’s craggy face. “Did you talk to him?” Oh, shit. If Hunter found out about the talk I had with his father, that wouldn’t be good.

  Way not good.

  He lifts one shoulder in a lazy shrug. “Not for long. We were just—”

  “Wrong Campbell, Sarah!” Blaze announces to the great amusement of the crowd as Hunter stalks across the room to my side.

  Hunter glares at the two of us. He grabs my hand, and I have to hustle to keep up with him as we move to the center of the dance floor. Instead of a gentle waltz where I might have the chance to whisper to him, they start playing an upbeat tango. Crap. I can barely tango on the best of days.

  It’s bad. Like, really bad.

  Imagine all of the awkwardness from Bianca’s dance, but without the sensitivity on Hunter’s part. He nails it. Maybe he wouldn’t win any competitions, but he’s totally comfortable. Me, I’m barely keeping up.

  We pull together, cheek to cheek. “Stop it,” I whisper.

  “Dancing? The song isn’t over yet.”

  “Punishing me for whatever you think I’ve done.”

  Hunter’s hand is hard on my waist. “Have you done something, Sarah? Is there something you forgot to tell me?”

  I can understand why he might be pissed, but I need the chance to explain. I haven’t actually done anything. He’ll understand that, right? “Can we just finish the dance? We can talk about it later. I promise.”

  “Oh, don’t worry. We will.” He twirls me away, only to reel me back in, staggering on my heels. “But maybe you should’ve thought about talking earlier. Like before we fucked.”

  I can’t keep doing this. I know he deserves to hear the whole truth from me, but I’m not going to let him make a fool of me in front of the cameras. I can do that all on my own. Yanking free of his grasp, I stop and look him in the eyes.

  “Screw you, Campbell.”

  Blaze lights up like it’s Christmas morning, and the cameras circle, sensing blood in the water. Hunter looks shocked that I’m not willing to stick around for his public humiliation. I rush off the dance floor and push my way through the crowd before my bravado runs out.

  Once I’m through the double doors, I lean against the wall and slide to the floor. Tears well up and run down my cheeks, wet tracks of heartbreak, anger and frustr
ation. I knew this was too good to last, but that doesn’t stop it from hurting.

  I’d started letting myself believe this could work out. That all my pathetic scheming wouldn’t matter since it didn’t amount to anything.

  That it was safe to fall in love with him again.

  A camerawoman follows me out the door to film my breakdown for posterity. Great.

  “Well, that was exciting!” Blaze’s voice carries from the other side of the double doors. “The course of true love never did run smooth. Eh, Hunter? Good thing for you there are multiple courses to choose from tonight. Have you made your decision?”

  “Megan.” A single word, short and clipped, like he doesn’t really care.

  Right now, I don’t either. At least she deserved it.

  Megan squeals, and there’s a lot of cheering and clapping from the audience. I stand up, feeling less like Cinderella and more like a girl stood up for the prom. The camerawoman films me leaving, but doesn’t follow.

  One foot on the stairs to my room, I stop. Everyone is in the ballroom.

  Everyone but me.

  Taking a chance, I rush to the game room. If someone finds me, I’ll just tell them I wanted to return the dress. If they don’t, no matter what else happens, I won’t be going home empty handed.

  Liz

  “Why do I have to work out front?” I hold out a tray so Amanda can dish out the soup.

  Bianca snorts. “Because you’re the only one who speaks Spanish. It could be worse. You could be on washing duty.” She holds up her hands and wiggles her gloved fingers.

  I like helping out—I swear I do—but if I can’t talk to Hunter, I’d really rather be eating ice cream and feeling sorry for myself. Whether or not I deserve it.

  “How do you not speak at least a little Spanish? Aren’t you from New York City?” Speaking two languages has never seemed like a big deal to me, not when I grew up with it.

  “Because I don’t need it to order from the taco truck?” Bianca shrugs. “I took French in high school and my parents are Chinese and Scottish.”

  Amanda sighs. “You’re so lucky. This”—she waves around with her ladle—“is the most exotic thing I’ve ever done in my life. In my house growing up? Our idea of foreign food was spaghetti.”

  I serve the next person in line, noticing that her stomach looks rounded with pregnancy. Looking at the woman’s worn but clean clothing, and the way she carries herself with pride, I feel guilty for complaining about my life. My apartment isn’t much, but I’ve always been able to afford a roof over my head and at least something to eat.

  An hour later, I’m on break and take advantage of it to eat a small bowl of the soup. The outside steps are still warm from the sun, even though it’s just disappearing over the horizon. I breathe in the clear evening air. Somewhere out there, Hunter and Megan are having their date. I’m not jealous of Megan, not really, but I can’t help wondering what they’re up to.

  If I could go back in time, I’d tell him everything on our first date. The one at the restaurant with Chef Dominguez. I close my eyes and lean back.

  He’d have forgiven me then. He knew who I was anyway, and I hadn’t talked to Hollister yet. I could tell him about my mom, and how shitty my life has been since we got kicked off the island. He’d have understood.

  That night in the water, we could’ve made love for the first time.

  Hindsight is 20/20.

  I’ve been so dumb. Even in the beginning when we were bickering like cats and dogs, he’d cared. My face is wet with tears I didn’t know I was shedding.

  The door opens behind me. I try to gather myself, but it’s too late. Amanda looks down and sees everything.

  “Sarah? Are you okay?”

  “It’s Liz.”

  She looks at me, not surprised, but confused.

  “You already knew. Didn’t you?” I wipe the tears off my face and laugh sadly. “I bet you all sit around and laugh about it. The stupid girl with the crush.”

  “Liz—wow, saying that’s going to take some getting used to—nobody’s laughing at you.”

  “Really? Because they should.” I stand up and spin slowly in a circle. “Take a good look. I had everything figured out, but it all fell apart because I let myself dream too big.”

  Amanda doesn’t laugh. She sits down just like I was and kicks at the dirt. “You aren’t the only one.”

  “What do you mean?”

  The sun is gone, but birds are still calling to each other, and the buzz of insects never stops. It makes the silence between us all the more obvious.

  “Promise not to hate me?” she asks finally.

  “No, but I can promise not to judge too much, because if this is a competition about who’s fucked up the most, I’m probably still winning.”

  We look at each other and grin.

  “Blaze and I made a deal.”

  My jaw drops. “No way.”

  “Yes, way. It was dumb, alright? So dumb. Before the show started, I got an email...”

  As it turns out, I’m far from the only one on the island with ulterior motives. Blaze made a deal with Amanda to keep her around and help her win, if she was willing to split the cash prize at the end. On top of that, he promised to help her get a job at the network.

  Five-hundred thousand dollars and an opportunity to do something more than just help her father run his local paper was too much for her to turn down. Much like me, she justified it by telling herself that nobody was really getting hurt. The money was going to be given out anyway, right? Hunter can afford it.

  And besides, people don’t fall in love on reality TV.

  She looks over at me, the tension between us from the last couple of weeks is gone. “You really care about him. Don’t you?”

  “I wish I didn’t.”

  “Why? He’s rich and gorgeous.” Amanda hesitates. “And I think he really likes you. Maybe it makes me a bitch, but if I didn’t think you guys had something real, I probably wouldn’t be saying anything.”

  “He likes the person he thinks I am. I’m not sure he likes the real me.” And there’s one of my biggest fears. That Hunter will hear everything, forgive me, but that the woman I’ve turned into won’t match up to the fantasy in his head.

  “How can you know if you don’t give him a chance?”

  I have no answer to that, aside from wondering if I deserve one.

  The door flies open and Bianca comes out, hair up in a net. “Guys? Get your asses back in here so I can get back to washing. I’m running out of ways to say I can’t speak Spanish.”

  Hunter

  Megan stiffens as I carefully move my hand. The evening started awkwardly, but she loosened up eventually, at least until now.

  “Don’t you dare!” she growls.

  I raise an eyebrow. “You think you can stop me?” Our eyes meet, and my fingers tighten around the tiny red nub. “One. Two. Three... Sorry!”

  “Oh, you bastard!” Megan laughs and whacks me in the shoulder with a pillow from the sofa. “That was the only piece I had left to get home.”

  “I know. Why do you think I picked you instead of Danny?”

  Danny flips me off. “Oh, ha ha ha. Pick on the little guy, why don’t you?”

  After the party, Megan and I were left alone together. The last thing I’d been in the mood for was romance. It must’ve been pretty obvious, because she took one look at me standing there in my suit, and asked if there was pizza in the freezer.

  Things got better from there.

  “I’m done after this round. I refuse to be the token whipping boy any longer,” Danny grumbles.

  “Good thing you picked yellow. Very fitting.” I stand up and make a beeline for the fridge. “Anyone need anything?”

  “Soda, please,” Megan asks.

  Danny sighs. “My pride back?” He follows me to the kitchen, heading for the stairs. “You two going to be alright, or do you need a chaperone?”

  “I think I can manage to keep my hands
to myself, thanks.”

  “I meant in case you knock her back to start again and she kicks your ass. I saw her mud wrestle. I think she could take you.” He gives me a warning look. “G’night.”

  “Night, and thanks.”

  He shrugs. “No worries. A night of beer, pizza and board games isn’t exactly a hardship.”

  Thank fucking God for Danny. We haven’t had a chance to talk, so he doesn’t know what put me in a mood this morning, but just like always, he’s there for me when I need him. If it wasn’t for him and Megan tonight, I’d have spent the whole time brooding about Liz.

  Back in the living room, I find Megan flipping through the movies we have available. She’s relaxing on the sofa in a long shirt and yoga pants, hair pulled up in a messy ponytail. Cute, friendly, uncomplicated. I should be flirting with her, but I feel nothing. That insane pull that twists my guts when I hear Liz’s voice or catch even a little glimpse of her, is totally absent.

  “I’m sorry about tonight. Your dance was amazing, and instead of being wined and dined by candlelight under the tropical stars, you’ve had to deal with me and that lug.”

  Megan looks over. One slender shoulder tips up in a shrug. “I didn’t dance because I expected you to fall in love with me. Honestly? After the last few weeks, it’s nice to get a taste of normal again.” She points a finger at me sternly. “Don’t you dare tell them, but I actually miss my brothers.”

  I laugh and hand her the soda. “How many?”

  “Three, but two are enlisted now so I don’t see much of them.”

  “Ah. I guess that explains it.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Her forehead furrows and she looks at me suspiciously.

  I choke a little on my beer. “You, well, don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re tougher than you look.”

  Her mouth curls up in a huge grin. “Why thank you. I ate a lot of dirt to get this way. They couldn’t turn me into a boy, but they tried their damndest.”

  I collapse into a chair while she selects Romancing the Stone.