He pointed to the first painting. On the canvas was a childlike princess with a young boy looking up at her. Shane lifted a handkerchief from the top of the pillar, revealing a tiara similar to the one I used to wear as a child. I laughed as he placed it on top of my head.
“You are crazy,” I said.
“I’m sure you recognize the second painting, the rose. That’s the one I was making for your birthday when we were living at your dad’s.”
“You never gave it to me.”
“I never thought it was good enough.”
“You should never think that. It’s beautiful.”
He shook his head, unable to take the compliment. I knew him well enough to not press. He would see how talented he was soon. I had no doubt that everyone would love his work.
As I looked at the different pieces, several of them really stood out to me. The first had a dark background with two white figures twisting together into one.
Another had a harsh red color and had the person from the other painting being ripped apart. He didn’t need to tell me that was when we broke up, I felt his pain from the canvas. It brought all those memories back of how much I hurt him and myself. I still felt bad about that.
The last painting was swirls of colors. I felt the confusion and anger from it. My chest ached thinking about how much pain I had caused him.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I never meant to hurt you. It really was the last thing I ever wanted to do.”
“Please don’t be sad. It’s in the past, our past, but all of my pain is there in the art. That’s where it belongs. And who knows, maybe it was meant to happen so we could be here today.” He kissed my forehead and pointed to the blank space on the wall.
“Where’s the final painting?”
“It’s here.”
He picked up the painting that was leaning against the pillar and held it up. It was similar to the harsh-colored painting but had softer colors. Instead of having two bodies in it, the painting had two hands blending together as one.
“I’ve been working on these for years, but I knew the series didn’t end there. Now I have the ending and I’m hoping it’s the beginning of our life together.”
He put the painting back against the pillar and started to kneel, but the candles were in the way.
“What are you doing?” I laughed.
“I wanted to kneel for my princess, but I obviously didn’t think this through all the way,” he said with a smirk.
Shane reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring. He held it towards me, between his fingers, and smiled. It was a gold ring with a cluster of diamonds that formed a flower. I didn’t know why the ring was familiar.
“I don’t know if you recognize this ring,” he said. “Before we left your dad’s, I asked him for his blessing to marry you. I wanted to make sure he was alright with it.”
“You mean you wanted to know if he was alright with his son marrying his daughter?” I joked.
He laughed. “Something like that. Well, he gave me this ring. He said it belonged to your grandmother.”
I took the ring from him and admired it.
“I remember. She used to wear it all the time. I loved this ring.”
He took the ring from me. “I’m not done.”
“Well, hurry up then.”
He laughed. “This isn’t going how I planned. I had this whole long thing I planned on saying, but fuck it. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“Will you marry me?”
“Let me think about that…umm yes.”
“You had to think about it?”
“I didn't want it to be too easy,” I said.
“Why not? You are easy, you know.”
“Only with you.”
“Good, that’s the way it should be.”
He laughed and slid the ring onto my finger. I threw myself into his arms and we kissed. I couldn’t wait to begin our life together.
~ Epilogue ~
One Year Later
They say you never forget your first love. Well, Shane Ventana was my first crush, my first love, and my first heartbreak. He was my first everything, well, not everything, but he was the love of my life. I had never felt like I was alive until Shane entered my life. The years we were apart I felt empty without him. As sappy as it sounds, he completed me.
He was so much a part of me that I put aside the book I was working on and started a new one, a romance novel. The more I wrote, the more I wanted to tell my own story about falling in love. Eventually the book became more of a memoir than fiction, but only the people closest to me knew the truth.
The book got a lot of attention and my publisher brought Shane and me to New York for a launch party. It was surreal to me that they were making such a big deal about it that they rented a room at an upscale hotel in Midtown for the event.
Shane and I were late getting to the party. The taxi took a sharp turn, pressing me against Shane. I looked up at him and he smiled.
“I always told you you were going to be a famous writer,” he said.
“It’s just a party. There’s no guarantee anyone is going to want to read a book about a girl falling in love with her stepbrother.”
“I’d read it. And I have read it, it’s great. You have nothing to worry about.”
“You have to say that,” I said.
“No, I don’t. Why would I lie?”
“Because you’re my husband, it’s what husbands do.”
He kissed my forehead as I smiled at him. He reached for my left hand and held it in his. Seeing our hands like that reminded me of the final piece of his art series.
As the taxi jolted to a stop in front of the hotel, Noelle opened the door. She held a clipboard tightly to her chest.
“It’s about time,” she said. “You promised you’d be here on time. You wouldn’t lie to your assistant, would you?”
“Blame Shane,” I said, grinning as I stepped out of the car.
“It’s not my fault,” he said. “You were tense so I did what I could to relax you.”
“Oh, come on guys.” Noelle rolled her eyes. “Can’t you control yourselves for once?”
“You’re just jealous,” I said.
“I’m always jealous. Why couldn’t I get a hot stepbrother?” She laughed. “But seriously, Shane, if you ever get tired of Rosalie, you know where to find me.”
“I’ll never get tired of her,” he said as his hand slid over my butt.
“Is my dad here?” I asked.
“Of course he is,” Noelle said. “You know he wouldn’t miss this. He brought Joanna.”
“I’m not surprised,” Shane said. “They’re inseparable. I never understood why they divorced.”
“Me neither,” I said.
The room was filled with balloons and large cardboard images of the cover. As I looked around the room for my dad, he stood up and waved at me. I walked over to where he was with Shane in tow.
“Always late,” Dad said. “You know you were born late, too. That was the best day of my life.” He smiled wistfully as his eyes watered. “I’m so proud of you, Rosalie.”
“Thanks, Dad. It really means a lot to hear you say that.”
“I’ve always been proud of you, you’re my daughter.”
I hugged him tight as tears filled my eyes. After everything that happened with my mother, I knew how lucky I was to have my dad. I blinked back my tears and sat beside him as my agent, Mena, came over.
Mena was very New York with her fancy clothes and perfect appearance. Underneath the façade, she was a fierce negotiator and one of the smartest people I knew.
“Shane,” she said as she extended her hand to him. “I’m so glad to finally meet you. How do you feel about Rosalie naming the hero after you?”
“It’s great. Rosalie has a great imagination.” He laughed then cocked his brow at me.
“And how about you? Rosalie tells me you’re an up-and-coming artist,” Mena said.
“I’m not exaggerating,” I said. “You’ve been in magazines, won two awards, and there’s a wait list of people demanding new pieces from you.”
He shrugged. “I am working on some new things and have another exhibit in a few months. But today isn’t about me, it’s about Rosalie.”
Shane slipped his arm around my waist and brought his lips close to my ear.
“How are you feeling? Still nauseous?” he whispered.
I shook my head, not wanting anyone to hear.
“Good. I hope you didn’t mind what I told Noelle about being late.”
“It’s okay, I thought it was funny,” I said. “Plus I’m not ready to tell everyone just yet. Not until my dad knows.”
“I’m having a hard time keeping it secret.”
“I know, me too. You know I can’t keep secrets. I want to tell my dad in person, but not here in the middle of all of this. We can tell him and your mom tonight at dinner.”
“You are going to be a wonderful mom,” he said, pulling me tight against him.
“Shhh, you talk too much.”
Shane kissed me and we smiled at each other. I couldn’t stop smiling if I tried. We were starting a family and we couldn’t be happier. I looked at the display table with my book as the centerpiece. That was my story, our story. Whether it was fact or fiction, I got my happily ever after.
The End
Thank you for reading Stepbrother Bad Boy! I hope you enjoyed it. Sign up for my newsletter for news about my new releases and updates.
Click to sign up for my newsletter
About the Author
Veronica Daye can't imagine anything else she'd rather be doing than writing. Well except maybe reading, spending time with her family, talking about herself in the third person, or...ooh look at the butterfly!
Sign Up for Her Newsletter for New Releases and Updates
Visit Her on Facebook
Email Her at [email protected]
Table of Contents
Stepbrother Bad Boy
About Stepbrother Bad Boy
Copyright
Part I ~ The Devil You Know
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Part II ~ The Boy Next Door–Literally
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Part III ~ The Heart Never Forgets
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Epilogue
About the Author
Stepbrother Bad Boy Page 10