Stepbrother Anonymous

by Aria Cole

  He caught me before I went careening into him, his hands at my waist and his lips at my ear. “You look so beautiful today,” he whispered, moving us back and forth to the soft crooning music. “Made me think of what kind of bride you'll be.” His words coiled through my insides like snakes. “That’ll be you up there someday, Sky.”

  I sucked in a lungful of breath, the unspoken meaning of his words clear. Someday, I would be up there, but it wouldn't be with him. It could never be with him.

  I couldn’t do this anymore—the passion, the emotion, the separation too much to bear.

  I clenched my teeth, no longer able to enjoy the feel of him against me when I knew he’d be leaving within the hour, heading south and far away from me.

  “I’m sorry. I can’t.” I choked up and dashed out of his arms, running for the exit.

  Eight

  Hudson

  I charged out of the doors after her, the only thing running through my head: catch her.

  I couldn’t let her get away; I couldn't let this be our last moment. We’d shared too much, felt too much, loved too much.

  If I could cut and run on the business and move up here to shack up with her tomorrow, I would. But it wasn't that simple.

  I’d had the custom paint shop for almost a decade now, and business was better than ever. It’d take me at least a few months to close things out in the city, get a place rented or purchased up here, and have everything moved. Just thinking about it made my chest ache.

  I caught sight of her, waves of auburn hair whipping in the wind as she sped to her car.

  Fuck.

  I ran full tilt after her, catching her only when she had a hand on the door and was ready to climb in.

  “Fuck, you run fast in those heels.” I sucked in a breath of air.

  “It’s a talent. I’m going to go home. I'm sorry, it’s just best if we let this end…”

  I swallowed the baseball lodged in my throat, fingers tightening on her elbow as I pulled us together. “Don’t say that.”

  “I can’t figure out how to do this. Did you see the looks my dad was giving me? I thought he was going to have a coronary, I’m sorry, but for them, we can't do this.”

  “For them? For them! What about us, Sky? What about the fact that you make me feel happier than I’ve ever been, that you make me feel alive for the first time? My mom spent my whole life dragging me around from husband to husband. I don’t have much faith in relationships, and frankly, never have, but you and I are different. It didn’t take me long to see that at all.”

  “I know, but, Hudson, it will crush them. My dad has spent his whole life building a business, building a reputation in this community—”

  “And you think we ruin that?” He laughed, a hard edge to his words.

  “No, but…I don’t know.” I finally gave in, realizing that was the whole problem with this scenario; I didn't know what the future held.

  “I won’t beg you to love me, Skylar.” He shook his head, eyes holding mine as they shimmered with emotion. “You’ve got my number. I hope you use it.”

  My heart thundered, my palms sweating, and tears burned trails down my cheeks as I watched him walk away.

  But I stood rooted, speechless, knowing it was the best thing.

  I couldn’t break my daddy's heart. I was his only daughter; he wanted to walk me down the aisle someday—and not to give me away to my stepbrother.

  Hudson slung one leg over his Harley, the contrast of the handsome guy in the sharp suit on the big bike just one of the contradictions I’d come to love about him. The gauge in his ear was the only outward indication he didn’t quite fit in with these people. Hudson had edge, I never knew what would come out of his mouth, and he lived his life unapologetically. No regret, no shame, just feeling.

  I sucked in a ragged breath, turning my head away when his bike roared to life.

  I clutched at the door of my car, willing myself to get in, my heart begging me to take one last look. Just one final look at the man who had altered the very course of my life.

  The bike paused as he waited at the exit, the slow, steady rumble vibrating through the asphalt and straight into my heart.

  “Wait,” I whispered, my voice cracking. “I love you.”

  As if he’d heard me, though it was impossible that he could have, he turned his head, eyes locking with mine one last time as I mouthed the words to him again, “I love you,” and I swiped at another stubborn tear.

  His head angled down, then away, before I did the same, turning my back on the man who’d rocked my very foundations. The engine roared, and just when I was expecting the sound to fade, it grew stronger until it was vibrating through the soles of my feet again.

  I glanced up, finding he was riding straight for me, a determined look in his eye.

  He was coming for me.

  “Hop on, precious. I’m not leaving this town without you on the back of my bike. I’m making an executive decision on this one.” His crooked grin stole my heart.

  “Good.” Fresh tears rolled down my cheeks as I launched myself at him. He caught me in his firm embrace, lips bonding to mine as we kissed until we couldn’t breathe. Kissed like we’d never been kissed. Kissed like it was our very last moment together on earth.

  But it wasn’t.

  It so wasn’t.

  “Told ya you’re stuck with me, Sky. Hope you're ready for that.”

  “Bring it, Hudson.” I grinned up at him when he pulled me onto his lap, sandwiching me between his heavy body and the handlebars and tipping me back, my hair cascading in long waves off the side of his bike. His lips fastened to my throat, working up the column of my neck before landing at my lips and kissing me completely breathless.

  “I’m finally ready,” I announced, eyes unwavering as I held his.

  “Took you long enough. I’ve been ready since the second you started flirting with me at that bar.”

  “Me?” I giggled, circling my hands around his neck. “You were doing the flirting.”

  He shrugged, revving the engine again. “Ready for forever, precious?”

  “Only if you’re in it.”

  “You’d better believe it. You’re not getting rid of me, no matter how hard you try.”

  “Well, I’m done trying.”

  “Just feeling?”

  “Just feeling,” I confirmed. “Someone once said I think too much. So I’m trying it his way for a while.”

  “I like the sound of that.” His hand wrapped around my waist as we pulled out of the parking lot again, this time headed south.

  I didn’t know what the next step would hold for us, but letting Hudson leave had become harder than staying alone without him. Fuck the status quo, I wanted the new, the reckless. I was all feeling, and for the first time in my life, I was listening to my heart—and I could hear what my heart was saying loud and clear.

  Love Hudson with everything in you—because love like that doesn't come around very often.

  There was no going back for us. We were only looking forward now.

  Epilogue

  Skylar - two years later

  “Ready, precious?” Hudson’s words curled my toes.

  I snuggled my arms around his waist, breathing in his warm scent. “I don’t think I’ll ever be.”

  He grinned down at me, one arm wrapping around my shoulders and enveloping me. “I think this little man has something else to say about it.” He grinned broadly as our son toddled a few steps closer to us, his chubby little body decked out in leather motorcycle boots, dark jeans, and a black onesie featuring a little skull wearing a bandanna across the forehead.

  Hudson had picked up that little outfit in honor of our little man’s first ride on the motorcycle with Daddy. Just around the yard, but still, it was a big moment.

  “Don’t you just want to snuggle with Mama on the porch and watch Daddy ride, Blake?” I scooped our darling little boy into my arms and smooched on his cheeks.

  “He’s don
e enough snuggling. This guy was born to ride.” Hudson lifted Blake out of my arms, peppering him with kisses of his own. Seeing the two of them together was without a doubt the greatest gift I’d been given.

  We’d both gotten the surprise of our life with this one. Just a few months after I left the wedding with Hudson, I’d missed my period, and in true Hudson form, he’d taken it all in stride. Shrugged and given me that devastatingly charming grin before hopping on his bike to go buy me a pregnancy test. We waited together in the tiny bathroom of my home, already overcrowded with all of his man-stuff. Then tears of complete joy had burned in my eyes when Hudson had held up the little white stick. Two pink lines.

  If things with Hudson had been good before then, they were incredible after he found out I was carrying his baby. To say I was doted on for nine months straight was the understatement of the century. Hudson took care of the people he loved; he proved that to me and to Blake every single day.

  “Ready to roll, big guy?” Hudson jostled Blake on his hip as our son reached out to the gleaming black Harley that was now a permanent fixture in my driveway. Ever since that kid could crawl, he was drawn to the big bike, and I couldn’t blame him. I loved it too. It was the bike we’d shared our first kiss on and where we were the first moment Hudson’s hands had caressed my skin. That bike was as much a part of our relationship as we were.

  Hudson slung one leg over the bike, keeping our son firmly locked in one arm. The engine turned on, the soft purr coming to life as my son’s eyes grew to the size of saucers. A huge grin followed, and if there’d been any doubt before now, it was obvious he was just like his daddy. I grinned proudly as Hudson slowly backed the bike out of the driveway, one eye on Blake’s reaction the entire time.

  He didn’t have to worry; Blake was already shrieking and clapping with anticipation.

  Once Hudson cleared the bumper of my car, he turned the handlebars and eased off into the grass of our front lawn. I laughed and waved at them as Blake’s eyes followed me then whipped around to see where they were headed. Blake was the definition of joyful, and both of them were the definition of love. My heart was full to the brim with those two men. They would always have my heart, and there wasn’t a day that went by when I wasn’t thankful for them.

  I glanced around, taking in my small house and reflecting on how my life had changed so much in two short years.

  All of our firsts had happened here. So living here, bringing our son home to this house—something felt eternally right about it.

  When I’d hopped on Hudson’s bike with him and left the wedding, we’d only gone back to the city for a few days. I’d called out of work, and as soon as Hudson crossed the threshold of his spacious city-view apartment, he began the process of moving his entire business to my small hometown upstate.

  There hadn’t even been a decision to be made. He was sick of the city life, he said. He’d found everything he wanted in small-town living. He’d said his clients would follow him, and they had. And the entire move had seemed to work out for the better as he’d been able to find more space at a cheaper rent for his shop. Hudson had been able to use the extra income to hire a few more talented artists to take the custom paint business to another level.

  And boy had he. The business was making so much money at this point that he didn’t even have to work as much. He was spending more and more time at home with Blake and me.

  And that was a good thing, because our family was rapidly expanding.

  After we’d found out Blake was coming, Hudson had dropped to one knee that very night, slipping an elegant ring on my finger that he’d already purchased. I loved wearing his ring. I loved being his. I even wanted to share his name, but before we could stop to plan a wedding, I was six months pregnant, and in no way did I want to stuff myself into a wedding dress. Hudson had crooned into my neck that he’d marry me naked, but I still wasn’t ready.

  And so we waited until our mini man was born. But raising the little guy was a full-time job. I struggled with recovering, feeling exhausted and run-down constantly, and so I’d kept pushing the wedding. Hudson was patient, as always. I think, in all reality, it didn’t even matter to him because he knew I was his and he was mine. We belonged to each other, and to prove it, he’d already started wearing a simple titanium wedding band to match my engagement ring.

  We were in love, we were a deliriously happy family, but the timing for a wedding still wasn’t right. Maybe deep down we wondered what our wedding would look like. Would our families really come together to celebrate our engagement? Did it even matter what they thought? And did we really want them there?

  My dad had always been incredibly accepting of Hudson and me, never once judging us or our decisions. But Hudson’s mother held a different view. And so we carried on, happy to make no formal decision and just live and feel, moment to moment.

  The subject had come up again this spring when I’d started to feel depleted, emotional, and then another missed period.

  Our second baby was on the way, my belly protruding at this very moment, five months along as we waited for our family to expand. Hudson had bent down on his knee again that night, tears glimmering in his deep eyes as he cupped my belly with his large palms. “Marry me, precious. Take my name.”

  “I will,” I’d sworn, stroking my fingers through his messy hair. “Not yet, but I promise, soon.”

  His lips had turned up, placing a delicate kiss on the center of my abdomen. “Stubborn woman.”

  I grinned, thinking if I had a penny for every time he’d said that over the last few years… “Think about it.” He stood, and I wrapped my arms around him. “The kids will be old enough that they can be there and understand, share it with us.”

  “Hell if I’m waiting that long.” He nipped at my lips, a growl vibrating from his throat.

  “We’ve waited this long, Hudson. If we do it now, I want it to be perfect. And right now, I wouldn’t feel perfect.”

  “You’re always perfect, precious. Every day spent with you is more perfect than the last.” His hands cupped my face, lips tracing the angles of my cheeks.

  “I love you, Hudson.”

  “Love you back, Sky.” His words lit trails of fire through my heart.

  I heard the rev of the engine coming back around the house, smiling as the two men in my life appeared.

  “How was it?” I grinned. “He looks happy.”

  Hudson pulled the bike to a stop, planting a kiss on our son’s red head before setting him down on the grass. Blake immediately burst into tears and lifted his hands straight in the air, begging to be picked up by his daddy. “Guess he wants to go on.”

  “He’s a daredevil. Runs in the blood, I think.” I placed a kiss on Hudson’s cheek. He pulled our son into his arms, cuddling him close and then pulling me into him, whispering an endless array of I love yous into my neck.

  My life was full, my heart overflowed, all thanks to a stranger who’d stolen my heart and soul one unforgettable night.

  Second Epilogue

  Skylar - four years later

  “I look fat.” I pouted in the mirror.

  “Shh.” Hudson’s hands circled my waist, nuzzling against my ear. “You look fucking delicious. I want to peel this frilly shit off you and taste you with my tongue.”

  “That’s your dick talking. He doesn't get a vote.”

  My husband’s laugh echoed around the penthouse suite he’d rented for us overlooking the city. “Like hell, he doesn’t. He picked you, didn’t he?”

  I rolled my eyes then shifted subjects. “How do you think the kids are? Should we call them?”

  “No way. You’re all mine tonight. I’m sure they’re being spoiled with ice cream and movies with Grandma right now.”

  I sighed, unable to help the worry from shooting through me. I’d quickly learned after having a baby that you were essentially carving your heart in pieces and giving it away to another human being, letting it walk around outside your body. “Do yo
u think the boys are being nice to Claudia?”

  “Boys always pick on their sisters, it’s a thing. Look how I pick on you.” He winked. “Kinky mama.”

  “I can’t believe you won’t let me live it down.” The memory of the night we’d found out we were stepsiblings still came back to me. It wasn’t such a big deal anymore, even Hudson’s mom had grown to accept it and love us together, but I think the grandkids had more to do with that than anything else.

  And now here we were, tied to each other in blood, and now finally in name.

  We shared three gorgeous kids, Blake, Lawson, and Claudia, and we were all still packed like sardines into the house we’d been in since the beginning. I loved that place, but it was time to sell. Hudson had already purchased a large plot of land outside of town for us, and building was set to start on our new, stupidly spacious home the very next week.

  Tomorrow morning, we were flying to Hawaii for our honeymoon, after our parents and children had attended a small ceremony on the rooftop of the highest building in the city. It was small, intimate, so perfect, and my dad was even able to walk me down the aisle, Blake and Lawson giggling behind him in their little man-suits. The most precious memory of my life would always be that one. Claudia had clapped happily on the sidelines in her frilly white dress. Tears had sparkled in my eyes as I exchanged vows to love and honor my husband, our children as witnesses.

  It was the perfect wedding, the perfect moment, and now we were set to take off for the perfect honeymoon. It was just that I hadn’t spent more than a single night away from them yet, so leaving for a week was like another form of torture.

  “You're overthinking again, precious.” Hudson’s palms crawled up my legs under the silky fabric that fell in an A-line down my hips.

  “Mmm, I can't imagine what the cure for that is.” I looped my hand around his neck, finally succumbing to the lure of the first few moments alone with my gorgeous husband.