My eyes scanned one side of the road, and then the other. She wasn’t near the car. She wasn’t walking down the street in either direction that I could see.
“Katherine!” I shouted. “Hey, Katherine!”
No response. Where could she have gone?
“Have you seen a pretty blonde in a white dress?” I asked a dark haired little boy.
He stopped licking his ice cream cone long enough to point down the street, and I took off in that general direction.
The streets in this neighborhood were lined with small stalls and shops. They were full of families shopping and eating and laughing. Most of the residents seemed to be Hispanic, but I didn’t let that deter me. I knew a lot of them could speak English just as well as I could. I continued asking if anyone had seen a blonde in a white dress.
“Excuse me,” I said to a young woman at a flower stall. “Have you seen a pretty blonde woman in a white dress?”
“Can you be more specific?” she asked, shrugging.
“She was upset… crying.”
Her eyes narrowed knowingly, and she frowned.
“What did you do?” she asked.
“Me? Nothing! We were having dinner, and… well, I said something that upset her, but I had no idea it was a sore spot, and…”
She interrupted my rambling to say, “Take her some flowers.”
“I don’t even know if she likes flowers…”
“Every girl likes flowers,” she said.
“You just want to sell me some flowers,” I challenged her. I was ever the cynic.
“Here,” she said, thrusting a bouquet into my hands, “take them. No charge. Just find your girl and apologize.”
“She’s not my girl. I actually just met her.”
“Take her these flowers and maybe she will be your girl soon.”
I snorted. Even if the flowers were enough to unfreeze The Duchess’ heart, I wanted no part of it. I didn’t do relationships, and I certainly didn’t do them with spoiled little rich girls. Hell no.
Still, I owed it to my father to be nice to her. I didn’t have to see her much after the wedding, but until then I figured I could try to be friendly.
I pulled out my wallet and pushed a twenty toward her. She threw up her hand and shook her head.
“Keep it,” she said. “If she turns out to be your soul mate, maybe you can come back and pay me then.”
Soul mate. Yeah, right. I didn’t believe in soul mates, or even love. I started to walk away, and when she turned to help another customer, I slid the money under her cash box and left.
Chapter Five
Katherine
The sound of the fountain was rather soothing. I sat on a bench and pulled my knees up, wrapping my arms around them and resting my chin atop. I’d managed to wrangle the tears back into my eyes and calm down a little, but I was horrified at my behavior. This was a big day for my mother, and I’d ruined it.
So Luke was an incorrigible bastard. That wasn’t Mom’s fault. I should have pulled an Elsa and just let it go, but no. I’ve never been able to do that kind of thing. I always make a bigger deal out of things than I should, no matter how many times that got me into trouble.
Berkeley was on the horizon. All I had to do was deal with everything until fall. Then I’d be off to college, and I’d only see Luke at the occasional holiday dinner. One summer, and it would all be over. I could handle that, right?
Sammy, the skinny, black stray cat that hung out on the patio looking for scraps, jumped onto the bench beside me and yowled. I reached over to scratch him on the head, and he hissed and swatted at my hand. Yep, that’s exactly how my day was going. I tried to be nice, and I paid for it. Maybe I really should be the stuck-up bitch everyone seemed to think I was. After all, if they were going to judge me without knowing me, why not act the part?
Then I sighed. I just couldn’t do it. No matter how upset I was, I just couldn’t play the diva. More like the wounded puppy.
The mouthwatering scents coming from the restaurant did little so soothe me. I hadn’t eaten breakfast, and the one taste of empanada I’d managed to get still lingered. My stomach rumbled ominously.
“Fuck,” I muttered.
“That’s not a very ladylike thing to say.”
I turned to see Luke standing by the fence, the corner of his mouth quirked into a silly grin. His hands were behind his back.
“Maybe I’m not a lady,” I shot back.
He bridged the distance between us and bowed politely, pulling a bouquet of mixed wildflowers from behind his back and pushing it toward me. Out of politeness, I took them.
“I’m sorry for upsetting you,” he said. “I had no idea your father bought you the dress.”
I softened slightly.
“It’s fine,” I said. “You didn’t know.”
“Will you come back to the table?” he asked.
“Sure.”
I followed Luke back into the restaurant. Mom and Steve said nothing. They were absorbed in one another, and in their meal, and I guess they were trying to be nice by ignoring my little tantrum.
My empanadas had started getting cold, so I set the flowers on the edge of the table and picked one up. At least it wouldn’t burn me this time.
“Those any good?” Luke asked.
“Now that they aren’t like molten lava?”
He laughed and said, “Yeah, now that they aren’t like molten lava.”
I picked up a fresh one and put it on his plate.
“Here, try one. I never eat a whole order by myself,” I told him.
“You sure?” he asked.
“Yeah, of course.”
He picked up the pastry and sniffed it suspiciously. Then he took a small bite. I could see his face light up.
“Wow,” he said.
“I know, right? It’s pretty much all I ever order here, but every once in a while I’ll change it up and get the carnitas.”
“What are these things called again?” he asked.
“Empanadas.”
He took another bite and I had to force myself to turn away. The way his jaw was clenching repeatedly as he chewed had captured my attention far more than I cared to admit. His jaw was angled and masculine, and I hated the fact that I was beginning to find him attractive. Maybe it was the flowers, maybe it was the food… but it was infuriating. How could I be so inexplicably attracted to such a jerk?
Then again, maybe I was judging him too harshly. He had brought me flowers, after all. He’d apologized to me for his comment about my dress, and I had overreacted to that, anyway. But he still hadn’t said he was sorry for calling me a stuck-up bitch.
After dinner, Mom suggested we all take a walk on the beach. I had a feeling she was still trying to make her point about having the wedding reception on the beach, but since Steve agreed, I figured it wouldn’t be so bad. It had been a few weeks since I’d been near the ocean, and I was actually pretty excited about it.
I was so glad I’d worn my sundress and sandals. Mom was wearing heels, and I had to bite my tongue to keep from commenting on the fact that she’d dressed so formally and we had ended up eating at a dive and walking on the beach.
Steve parked about a block from the beach, and we all left our shoes in the car to walk barefoot. The pavement was blazing hot, and Mom and I stopped at a gift shop to buy some flip-flops. When we exited the shop, I had to clutch at my mother’s arm to steady myself. Luke had taken off his shirt, and his broad, tan chest glistened in the sun. It was mottled by a range of dark, smoke-like tattoos that stretched across his chest and down his arms like sleeves, and another peeked from his pants and snaked upward toward his navel.
“You ladies ready?” Steve asked.
“Yeah, now that our tender feet are protected,” Mom chuckled.
Once we made it to the beach, we realized it was absolutely packed. It was just a sea of people, and there was hardly room to even turn around.
“Wow, I never realized how crowded
the public beaches are,” Mom said.
“Have you never been on a public beach?” Steve asked.
“No, I honestly haven’t,” she admitted. “We’ve always had access to private beaches.”
“Do you want to leave?” Steve asked.
She shook her head and said, “Let’s just make the most of it.”
Mom hooked her arm in Steve’s, and the two of them began to make their way through the throngs of people. Once we reached the water’s edge, they turned to walk arm-in-arm along the surf.
Luke followed along behind them, and I hung back, a few paces behind them all. My eyes couldn’t help but stay fixated on the deep ridges of muscles that lined his back along each side of his spine and led my eyes in a path toward a remarkably firm ass. His body was magnificent. His skin was tan and smooth, and it glistened lightly with a few droplets of perspiration.
“Look!” Luke suddenly gasped, pointing out to sea.
My eyes turned in the direction he was pointing, and we watched as two dolphins jumped and played in the surf not far from the beach. They kept leaping over one another and chattering, like two young lovers enjoying the thrill of being together.
“They’re beautiful,” I said softly.
I glanced at Luke, and his head whipped away. Had he been watching me? For some odd reason, the thought of that elated me, and my heart felt as thought it would sail away.
“Oh, let’s get a snow cone!” Mom pleaded, tugging at Steve’s arm. “Come on, Kat, it’s been forever!”
Mom skipped toward a little stand like a teenager, and Steve chuckled and let her pull him along. I began to soften slightly toward the idea of them getting married. I hadn’t seen my mother so happy or so alive in… well… forever.
“What can I get you?” asked a bubbly blonde as we approached the stand.
“I’ll have a pink lemonade snow cone,” Mom said.
“Same,” Steve said.
“Blue raspberry for me,” I added.
She turned her eyes toward Luke, batting them rapidly and flashing him a glittering smile. “And you, gorgeous?”
I cringed and resisted the urge to scratch her face off.
Luke shrugged and said, “Grape, I guess.”
Luke jammed his hands in his pockets and let his gaze travel down the beach. I smiled inwardly at the look of disappointment on Blondie’s face as she went to get our order. Maybe she was used to guys falling all over her, or maybe she’d thought Luke and I were siblings out with our parents.
I couldn’t believe my reaction. I’d just met this guy. Why in the world did I suddenly feel so viciously possessive of him?
We took our snow cones and headed back down the beach. As we walked, I became aware that nearly every female on that beach was looking at Luke. Not just looking, but staring. I knew he was a good-looking guy, but I guess his comment about me being a stuck-up bitch had temporarily blinded me to it. Now I was beginning to really notice just how gorgeous he really was.
Not only did he have a tremendously sexy body, he was also just beautiful. His eyes were pale, and seemed to change colors between a soft, crystal blue and a light golden hazel. His hair was brown and perfectly disheveled, a little longer than it should be on top, short in the back, and a deep, dark chestnut that probably appeared jet black when wet.
His nose was long and narrow, and it led my eyes down to full, pouting lips that seemed to beg me to kiss them. He had the faintest hint of scruff sprinkling along his upper lip and jaw. He could have been a model for Abercrombie.
“Katherine?”
Startled, I turned in the direction of my name. Luke was looking down at me as if waiting for a response.
“Huh?”
“Are you alright?”
I noticed he was looking downward, and a quick glance let me know exactly what he was staring at. A dribble of blue liquid was streaming down the side of my snow cone, over my hand, and onto my foot. I guess I’d been lost in thought, and I’d frozen in place. I must have looked like a complete idiot. I felt heat rise to my cheeks and flood my ears.
“Sorry,” I muttered, slurping the blue juice from the back of my hand.
Luke shook his head, but I could have sworn I saw the glimmer of a smile tug at the corner of his lips as he turned away.
I nibbled absently at my snow cone, but my mind was consumed with the women constantly casting him smiles and winks. I had never known women could be so shamelessly flirtatious, but after seeing everyone from tweens to grandmothers ogling him, I realized this man could have any girl he wanted. My growing attraction for him would lead nowhere, and I had to nip it in the bud before I ended up getting hurt, especially since he was about to be my stepbrother.
“Can we go home soon?” I asked.
My mother stopped and waited for me to catch up with her. She draped her arm across my shoulders and said, “What’s wrong Kitty Kat? I thought you loved the beach.”
“I’m just not feeling well,” I said, cringing inwardly at the nickname.
“You do look a bit flushed,” Mom agreed. “Steve, we should get her home.”
Steve shrugged and said, “Alright, let’s go.”
I chucked the soggy remnants of my snow cone into a trashcan as we passed by it and tried to keep my mind off the ever-growing knot in my stomach. I noticed Luke tilt back his paper cone and gulped down the last of his before wadding it up and tossing it into the same can.
“Luke! Hey, Luke!”
Our heads turned in unison as a gorgeous redhead in the tiniest bikini I’ve ever seen jogged toward us, her huge fake breasts jiggling. I could have sworn we’d just been tossed into an episode of Baywatch. I heard Luke mutter an obscenity under his breath.
“Ashley,” he commented darkly.
“What are you doing here?” she chirped. “You’re awfully far from home!”
“So are you,” he replied.
“My parents have a beach house just up there,” she said, pointing down the beach. “Gosh, it’s been ages since I saw you. What have you been up to?”
“Avoiding you,” he said. “Now if you’ll excuse me.”
I watched gleefully as the smile faded from her face when he turned to walk away, and she huffed in his direction.
“Still slumming it, I see!” she called after him, looking down her nose at me.
“Slumming it?” I spat at her. “I know you’re not referring to me! I don’t know who you are, but…”
I felt strong arms close around my waist, dragging me away from the scene. I started to kick and flail my arms, trying to get away, and he lifted me into his arms and strode quickly after our parents.
I wasn’t going to let some ginger bitch talk to me that way. Slumming it? Me?
“Who the fuck does she think she is?” I demanded when Luke finally deposited me into the sand.
“Ashley is a bitch who thinks she’s better than everyone on the planet,” he explained. “She still hasn’t gotten over the fact that I dumped her ass.”
“So you dated her?” Like I was surprised.
“Briefly. Very briefly.”
“What happened?”
“Like I said, I dumped her. Let’s just leave it at that.”
He didn’t want to talk about it. Fine. I guess I’d touched a nerve.
We made it back to the car, and I resumed the same position I’d taken on the way to the first restaurant. I leaned my head against the window as Steve drove, silently watching the world whiz by.
“Are you alright?” Luke asked quietly.
“Mm-hmm,” I muttered.
I saw him shrug out of the corner of my eye, and then I turned my attention to a blur of red headed straight for us. I screamed, but the sound was lost amid the squall of tires and the grating screech of twisting metal. I felt a shockwave rush through me, and then I was lifted into the air. The world spun, and a secondary impact jolted me. The high-pitched shriek of metal against pavement and the tinkling sound of glass shards addled my brain for several
long, terrifying moments, and then there was nothing but a constant hissing noise.
“Mom?” I called weakly, but my voice was nearly lost in a gurgle. I coughed and sputtered, struggling to breathe.
I could hear voices, but they sounded as though they were far away, echoing through a tunnel. I clawed at my seatbelt, desperate to free myself, but I couldn’t locate the buckle.
Crash: A Bad Boy Stepbrother Romance Page 3