“You’re suggesting I leave? Miss the wedding? She’s my sister.”
“That goes both ways. Most people would say she had no business hooking up with your boyfriend.”
The fact that Kyle had been her boyfriend made him that much more desirable for Noelle. It was a strange but undeniable dynamic. Noelle had always coveted what she had. “What good would it do to nurse my resentment? To tear my family apart?” she asked. “Besides, I have to attend the wedding. I’m planning it.”
His thick eyebrows jerked together. Because he’d removed his sunglasses the moment they walked into the house, she could see his eyes. She wasn’t sure that was a good thing. They were so beautiful they could render a woman helpless with a single, smoldering glance—especially a woman who needed to feel desired again.
“You’re planning it?” he said. “Why the hell would you do that?”
The anger in his voice made her stiffen. “That’s what I do for a living. That’s what I’ve been doing since college.”
“Doesn’t mean you had to do this wedding. Why didn’t you say no?”
“To my parents?”
“They had no right asking you.”
“They couldn’t afford anyone else. I have all the contacts. I could do it much more easily than they could themselves. Besides, they want me to forgive her. They want to maintain peace and harmony in the family.”
“That’s bullshit. They should’ve protected you, told her to elope.”
Olivia had never dreamed she’d be commiserating with Brandon Lucero. Apparently their mutual dislike of Kyle had pulled them onto the same team. “Why haven’t you ever gotten along with your stepbrother?” she asked.
“Kyle’s not bad,” he replied. “Not anymore.” He returned to the kitchen a third time and came back with two glasses of wine, one of which he handed to her.
“That didn’t really answer my question.”
“I was fifteen when he came into my life.”
“And?”
He seemed reluctant to continue, acting as if it was in the past and didn’t matter anymore. But she could tell it did.
“Oh, come on,” she said. “He was sleeping with my sister within a week of our break. We weren’t even supposed to be seeing other people. I’m not going to stick up for him.”
“There’s no need for anyone to stick up for him. Everyone knows I’m the black sheep.”
“You’re saying he’s had it easier than you?”
He took a sip of his wine. “By the time he came into my life, it’d been ten years since my dad died.”
“I heard he was in a plane crash. Is that true?”
“It was his own plane. He loved to fly. But there was a malfunction....”
“I’m sorry.”
“I was only five when it happened.” He sat across from her. “But by the time my mother remarried, I was comfortable, no longer craving a father or a brother. My mother and I were doing just fine.”
“Until she met Bob Houseman and everything changed.”
He nodded. “Suddenly I lost the company of my friends and found myself in a new town, a new school. Not only that but I had this father figure who was bossing me around and laying down strict rules. I had a brother, too, who meant the absolute world to him, which meant I could never compete. That made having a dad more of an illusion than a reality.” He studied the wine in his glass. “The worst part was how it affected my mother. She was so eager to please them both that I was quickly relegated to the backseat, expected to understand and adapt.” He fell silent before finishing with, “There were just a lot of changes.”
So he felt that Kyle and Kyle’s father had stolen his previous life and his mother from him. When she looked at it from his point of view, she could see why. It sounded as if Kyle had been in a better position to enjoy the new family dynamic. It would be hard to start over in high school, hard to have your position usurped.
Was that why he’d used his good looks and charisma like a weapon?
“How do you feel about Kyle now?” she asked.
“None of what bothered me then seems to matter anymore. I’ve come to terms with it.”
She got the feeling that wasn’t completely true. Maybe the animosity had died down, but... “Do you think you’ll ever be close?”
“Probably not. Imagine taking two boys with strong personalities, competitive personalities, both oldest sons, and trying to force one to become ‘the little brother’ after years and years of living a different life. Although I was younger, I refused to let Kyle best me at anything, and he resented the constant challenge.”
“I’m sure it didn’t help that you went your own ways so soon after your parents were married.”
“I don’t follow you....”
“You never really got a chance to adjust.” Kyle had headed off to college just two years after the wedding, right after she and Brandon went to Brandon’s junior prom, which was something that had always bugged Kyle—even though he and Olivia weren’t dating back then. By the time he returned, Brandon was gone. Then they started their careers and, with Brandon out of town so much, it’d been easy for Kyle to forget he even had a stepbrother. Most of the time, he hadn’t wanted to talk about Brandon, just his older sister, with whom he was close.
“Actually I think we were both relieved by the separation,” he said with a wry grin.
“If he finds out I’m here, you could be looking at another challenge to your relationship.”
He winked at her. “I’m willing to take that risk.”
She glanced around the room. “You’re willing to take any risk.”
His eyes never left her face. She could feel his close regard, even though she avoided eye contact. “Only if I want something badly enough.”
Olivia’s phone rang, saving her from a response. She was glad. Whether or not he’d meant what he’d said as a pickup line, she’d felt a tingle down to her toes. She prayed her reaction was because her self-esteem had hit an all-time low. She needed to heal before she involved herself in another relationship, especially with someone so likely to use her without a second thought.
She checked caller ID. It was her mother. Nancy had been expecting her and must be getting worried. They were supposed to make the favors for the reception after dinner tonight. Olivia had the supplies in her trunk.
Sending Brandon a look asking his forbearance, she overcame her reluctance to take this call and answered, infusing as much lift into her voice as possible. “Hello?”
“Where are you? I was sure you’d be here by now.”
Olivia allowed herself a grimace. “I, uh, had a little accident.”
“With your car?”
“No. I tripped while loading up and hurt my hand. So I’m running late.”
Brandon was watching her, but she continued to avoid his gaze.
“How bad is it? You didn’t break any bones...”
“I doubt it,” she said, removing the ice pack to take a look.
“Do you need Dr. Harris to x-ray it?”
“We’ll see. I’ll be there shortly.”
“Dinner’s at six.”
She heard the subtle threat in that statement. They’d eat without her if she wasn’t there. “I’ll make it.”
“Good. Kyle and Noelle are here waiting.”
“I bet they are.”
Her mother had to have heard the sour note in her voice, but, wisely, she didn’t react to it. Since the news of Noelle’s pregnancy, Nancy had done her best to minimize Olivia’s previous relationship with Kyle. The way she told the story, Noelle was marrying an “old friend” of her other daughter’s. Never mind that she and Kyle had slept together. Never mind that they’d talked about marriage themselves.
“Hurry. We have a lot to do.”
>
“See you soon.” After she hung up, she returned her attention to Brandon. “It was very gallant of you to rescue me from my imaginary bee attack, but I’ve got to go.”
“You sure you’re ready for what lies ahead?”
“No, but I never will be. It’s like going in for a root canal. Better to get the pain over with.” She rolled her eyes. “Noelle and Kyle are anxiously awaiting my arrival.”
“Lucky you,” he said drily.
“Exactly.”
“Where are you staying?”
“My parents’.”
He made a face. “Isn’t your sister living there?”
She drank the rest of her wine, put her glass on the coffee table and got up. “Until Saturday night, when her new husband whisks her off to wedded bliss.”
“You’re more forgiving than I am.”
“I could pay for a hotel, but I’d be a hundred bucks poorer. How would that bother them?”
“Good point.” He stood, too. “Just don’t let loose on any inanimate objects again. You might break your other hand.”
“I’ve learned my lesson,” she responded, but just hearing her mother’s voice had put a lump in her throat. She couldn’t help feeling betrayed by her parents, too, because they were so eager to throw their support behind this wedding. She knew they had a grandchild at stake, but still...
After using his bathroom to fix her makeup, she found Brandon standing at the window, looking outside. “What do you think? Can you tell I’ve been crying?”
“I never would’ve guessed.”
She suspected he might be placating her, but she didn’t push. “Maybe I should change into something more conservative.”
“Are you kidding?” He whistled. “Let Kyle eat his heart out.”
That almost made her smile, until she imagined the reality of the next few hours. “I’ll probably be the miserable one.”
Although he continued to study her, she could tell he’d shifted gears. “If it gets too bad, you could always come back here.”
She raised her eyebrows. “So we could...”
His grin turned her knees to water. “Sleep. Of course. And I won’t charge you for the room.”
“Maybe you’d let me check out your big telescope,” she said, widening her eyes in feigned innocence.
“If you want to see the stars, I could give you a night to remember,” he said, playing along.
She laughed. “The ultimate revenge?”
“No,” he said, growing serious. “What I’ve wanted since prom.”
“That’s why you dropped me off at the end of the night and have avoided me ever since?”
“I knew I wasn’t what you needed. You’re too sensitive.”
He was right. That had been true then, and it was true now. If someone as trustworthy and admired as Kyle could hurt her so terribly, how would she ever survive the kind of emotional damage someone like Brandon could wreak?
“But I’ll go easy on you,” he added with a grin. “My number’s in your phone, in case you need it.”
“Thanks.” She was surprised he’d taken the liberty. She was a little flattered, too. But she had no intention of returning. She hadn’t been with a man in three months. That wouldn’t have seemed like a long time before her relationship with Kyle, but it felt like an eternity now that she knew what she was missing. She couldn’t come back. She’d only get herself into trouble if she did, because it wasn’t Brandon’s telescope she wanted him to share.
Chapter 3
KYLE’S WORK TRUCK, A FORD F-150, sat in her parents’ driveway. Olivia had expected to see it, but her heart sank all the same.
Taking a breath, trying to bolster herself, she got out of her Acura and started toward the front door, rolling her suitcase behind her with a sense of determination and purpose that belied the pain.
You can do this. Just keep your chin up and try to forget that this is Kyle and Noelle. Pretend they’re no different from any of the other couples you’ve worked with.
It was a wedding, a job, she told herself. But she hadn’t been home since she’d moved away. Her only contact had been through her mother, who shared various details over the phone, like Kyle buying a new car because Noelle “hated” trucks.
Olivia felt strange marching up to her parents’ front door knowing that nothing was as it used to be, that Kyle wasn’t waiting for her in quite the same way as he’d waited for her in the past.
“I’ve entered The Twilight Zone,” she muttered.
She spotted a flurry of movement at the window. Then the door flew open and her mother descended on her. “There you are! I’ve been worried. Let me see what you’ve done to your poor hand.”
Grateful for the distraction, she displayed her injury.
“Oh, dear.” Her mother’s eyebrows knitted. “Look at that. Of all times for something like this to happen. Well, come on in. We’ll get some ice. Maybe we’ll be able to put you on the left side when we take the wedding pictures so the swelling doesn’t show.”
“I don’t need to be in the pictures at all,” she said before she could stop the words.
Nancy’s smile faded. The expression on her face suggested she was about to respond, but whether she was going to warn her not to ruin the wedding, or say she was sorry about what Olivia must be feeling, Olivia never heard because Kyle strode out to greet her.
Olivia thanked God that Noelle wasn’t with him. Seeing him was bad enough. He seemed reluctant yet eager to approach, which added more confusion to the emotions currently assaulting her.
“I’m glad you’re safe,” he said.
Their eyes met briefly before she jerked hers away, but he kept his smile stubbornly in place as he hurried to assist with her suitcase.
Obviously he’d been anticipating this moment and was prepared for it. Olivia had tried to prepare, too. Little good it had done her. Nausea threatened to ruin her calculated indifference.
“I’ve got it.” She made an effort to keep the resentment from her voice, but it was impossible. No doubt he picked up on her tone. They were too familiar with each other for him to miss the slightest nuance. She knew the strength of his arms and how wonderful it felt to have them close around her, the rough texture of his jaw, the fullness of his lips and how soft yet demanding they could be when he kissed....
Why had this person she’d trusted so deeply betrayed her? There were moments, moments like now, when she couldn’t believe that their lives had taken such a dramatic turn.
He attempted to grab her case in spite of her refusal, but she hung on and kept walking, leaving him no choice but to fall back and follow.
“Where’s Dad?” she asked her mother as they reached the front patio, an attractive covelike entrance to her parents’ rambler.
“Out back, grilling some steaks.”
Olivia didn’t ask where Noelle was. She didn’t want to see her sister.
The smell of a home-cooked meal enveloped her as soon as she entered the house—evoking the only pleasant sensation Olivia had experienced since she’d left Brandon’s. Everything else cut like broken glass.
A buzzer went off in the kitchen, and her mother hurried to remove whatever she had on the stove. “We didn’t want to eat without you,” she said, raising her voice to be heard, “but it was getting late. I’m glad you arrived in time.”
Olivia didn’t comment. She’d promised herself she wouldn’t complain, wouldn’t wallow in self-pity, wouldn’t start a fight. But how she wished she could miss this meal. No aroma could be tempting enough to make her want to stay.
Sensing Kyle’s presence at her elbow, she left her suitcase and pivoted to go back outside, already eager for a reprieve from the tension twisting her stomach. “I’ve got the stuff for the wedding favors in my trunk. I’
ll grab it.”
“Not with your hand hurt,” Kyle said. “Let me.”
“No, thanks. I can manage.” She had no intention of allowing him to do anything. But, to her chagrin, he joined her, anyway. So she tried to ignore him. She didn’t want to see him any more than she wanted to see her sister, didn’t want to hear him, either, or confront the reality of what they used to be and what they were now.
Once they were out of earshot of her mother, he caught her elbow to get her to face him and lowered his voice. “I’m so sorry, Olivia. I know...I know how hard this must be. It’s killing me that I’m causing you pain.”
He seemed sincere, but maybe he was just being arrogant. She’d begun to doubt everything she’d ever known about him, except the physical sensations that had been such a major part of their relationship. Looking at him made her crave the familiarity they’d enjoyed. Since Carly, her best friend, had moved to Phoenix to accept a job offer with Southwest Airlines, Kyle had become both friend and boyfriend. Losing his friendship hurt as much as all the rest.
Battling the threat of tears, she manufactured another smile. “You’re not causing me pain,” she said. “As a matter of fact, I’m already seeing someone else.”
Dropping his hand, he blinked in surprise. “Your mother said... I mean, she didn’t mention that.”
“I haven’t told her about him. There’s enough going on around here. This is your week, your wedding. I’ll save my announcements for later.”
Did he go pale? Or was that her imagination?
“Is it someone in Sac?” he asked.
She could’ve said yes and left it at that. She wasn’t entirely sure why she didn’t. Maybe it was because a mere name wouldn’t have the same effect. “No, actually. He’s from Whiskey Creek. Someone you know quite well.”
A muscle flexed in his cheek. “Who?”
She’d already gone too far. But the same desperate compulsion that had overtaken her in the car when she injured her hand seemed to goad her now, until the name that would hurt him most passed her lips. “Brandon.”
The color returned to his face, staining his cheeks a bright red. “My stepbrother?”
Together for Christmas: 5-B Poppy LaneWhen We TouchWelcome to Icicle FallsStarstruck Page 12