Forbidden: Ultimate Stepbrother Collection (28 page)

Chapter 20

Dani

“Hello.” I couldn’t keep the waver out of my voice. The scene in the infirmary with Tommy had left me shaken.

“Hey, babe.” Axel always called me babe, and it had never meant anything to me. He could have been calling me
pencil
or
tree
, and it would have had the same effect. “Guess what? We just signed on for a tour through Europe.”

I paused and tried to work up some enthusiasm for him. “That’s great. I’m sure it’ll be a lot of fun for you guys.”

“What do you mean? You’re coming too. The record company is paying your way.”

“I can’t, Axel. I told you, I’ve got a good job waiting for me when I get back. They’re anxious for me to start. It’s a position I really wanted.”

“There’ll be other job offers. You’re awesome at your job. Come on, babe, it’s Europe. You’ve always wanted to go to there.” He paused. “I miss you, Dani. When are you coming home?”

The entire weight of what I’d done hit me like a sack of bricks, and the tears flowed again. The last time I’d spoken with him, he’d been out partying and dancing and having a good time without me. It had pushed me into thinking it was my turn for fun too. But now, he was being attentive and loving. “I don’t know, Axel. We’ll have to talk about this when I get home.”

“Are you crying? Don’t fucking cry. There’ll be other jobs. It’ll be a blast.”

He was certain I was crying about the job and, naturally, he assumed that I was just going to skip the great job offer, my dream position, just so I could follow him as he followed his own dream. “We’re coming home early, Axel. I’m flying back on Monday. I’ll email you the flight info, so you can pick me up.”

“All right. Glad you’re coming back early, babe. We can plan out our trip.”

He hadn’t heard me when I’d told him I didn’t want to lose the job. He’d only heard his own excitement. And why the hell did the word babe sound so flat and meaningless when he said it?

I made my way back to the infirmary and the cabin. Dinner smelled good, but I wasn’t in the mood for food. In fact, a few shots of tequila sounded better than anything. And I knew exactly where the chef kept a stash of booze in the kitchen. Then I could avoid seeing anyone.

I pulled on my sweatshirt and hood as if it might act as a camouflage, a thought that made me smile, my first smile since we’d gotten back onboard the Sea Queen.

I heard Max’s deep voice and Olivia’s distinctively sharp tone in the dining room, but I didn’t hear Tommy or Crystal. Maybe he’d decided to let her ease his pain like I had on the island. That thought made my stomach twist into a cold knot. I couldn’t let my mind think about Tommy with other women. It would make me crazy, especially considering the parade and all. In the future, I would have to avoid the topic when I talked with Nana. In fact, I’d have to avoid the subject of Tommy altogether.

I grabbed the bottle of tequila and decided to forego the nuisance of a shot glass. I headed out the back kitchen door and walked up to the top deck. I plunked down on a lounge and pulled the bottle out from under my sweatshirt. I shot back a swig and then scrunched my entire face up as the burning, bitter liquid trickled down my throat. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and tried one more swig. The same face scrunch followed as if it might help relieve the acrid taste in my throat.

“I’ve never seen anyone in so much pain from a few guzzles of tequila,” the deep voice floated across the deck, nearly causing me to drop the bottle.

Immediately, my hands trembled. Why the hell had just the sound of his voice made me tremble? I was going to be paying for my bad decision with my heart and soul for a long time. “A gentleman would have made his presence known before he secretly watched a lady drink tequila.”

He got up and walked over to the lounge. “You’ve made it more than clear that you don’t consider me a gentleman.”

I put the cap on the bottle. “And, considering I’m drinking straight from the bottle, it probably makes the ‘lady’ label a little lofty too.”

He sat down on the lounge next to me.

“How’s your head?” I asked.

“Still on my neck . . . unfortunately.”

The tequila was already spreading through my veins and making my limbs feel warm and heavy. I turned to face him without lifting my head from the lounge. “I’m sorry I lost it in there. I guess I’m just not as strong as I thought.”

“That’s bullshit. You’re strong. I’m just a selfish idiot.” He took a long slow breath. “The truth is, Dani, I’ve been wanting you for a long time. Shit, since I was a horny seventeen-year-old watching you from behind the cereal box.”

I sat forward and laughed. “No fucking way. I was watching you around the corn flakes too.”

“You were?”

“Yep.” Suddenly, that tequila sounded tasty. I picked up the bottle and swigged some. Nope, still just as foul. Only now, the buzz it was giving me made it go down easier. I offered him some.

He took the bottle and drank some. Too late, I remembered that he’d been taking painkillers.

“Some medical professional I am. I just handed alcohol to someone who has painkillers in his bloodstream. You should be feeling that shot soon. And I might be giving you a piggy back ride to the cabin.”

“I’m going to sleep out here tonight. Crystal makes my head hurt even more.”

“Then I guess I’ll stay out here and wake you every few hours.”

He smiled at me. “Said the girl with the tequila coursing through her body.”

“No, I’ll wake. You’ll see.”

We sat quietly for awhile listening to the soft churning of the motor and the water lapping against the hull.

“Dani, I wanted you to know, I never really considered it just a day of fun. It meant more to me than that.” His voice trailed off, and the sleep potion I’d given him by topping off painkillers with tequila, pulled him into a deep sleep.

I gazed over at him, his handsome face illuminated by the small lights running along the railing. He was just as heartbreaking as he had been sitting behind the cereal box.

Chapter 21

Tommy

Sunlight was stabbing my head, but I felt better after a night of sleep. I glanced over at the lounge next to me. It was empty. Strangely, my chest felt heavy at not seeing Dani next to me. She’d stayed with me all night, and as promised, had roused me from my drug induced sleep several times. Each time was a blur, but I remembered distinctly, the sound of her soft voice as she leaned over to wake me.

Having her with me all night at my side seemed so damn right that not seeing her this morning when I woke made my mood darken. I’d started something, and I wanted to kick myself. I’d convinced myself that being with Dani would finally end the urges I’d had to kiss her, to hold her, to touch her. But now those urges had only intensified. All the years of fucking around without any commitments or responsibility to another person had always worked just fine for me. But now, I felt lonely, as if I’d been missing something all along. But the boat was heading back to port, and we’d all be climbing onto airplanes to head back to Los Angeles. Dani lived just miles from me, but we would, once again, lead completely separate lives.

I could hear Crystal’s high pitched laugh come from the dining room. I got up to get some coffee and toast. My stomach wasn’t going to need much more than that. It took me a second to gain my balance. I walked inside.

Max looked up from his breakfast. “Holy shit, Hawke, you look like shit. Have some breakfast. Chef made eggs Benedict.”

I held up my hand to assure him that that was the last thing I needed. I walked through to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. I returned to the dining room, pulled out a chair and flopped down on it.

“Where’s Dani?” I directed the question toward Max.

Crystal was nibbling on a piece of bacon. She rolled her eyes and huffed. “Really? She’s the nurse. Where would she be? And since when are you interested in girls like her?”

I wasn’t even completely sure why I answered. “Girls like her? You mean smart and pretty as opposed to bitchy and selfish. I’m just wondering what the hell I ever saw in you.”

She threw the bacon down. “Asshole.”

“Yep.”

“Well, at least I managed to put three thousand dollars on your credit card in Antigua yesterday while you were balling that dull little slut.”

“Good for you. Consider it your goodbye gift.”

She got up from the table in such a hurry, the chair fell backward.

Max was grinning behind his piece of toast. Once she was out of the room, he put the toast down. “So, what’s going to happen?”

“What do you mean?”

“You know, with you and Twiggy?”

“Told you, she’s engaged. He’s the singer for that band Steel Wire. They’re going to be big.”

“Steel Wire? Yeah? Huh? Twiggy as the wife of a rock star.” He paused. “I’m not seeing it. Of course, the only guy I ever pictured her with was you.”

I looked up from the cup in my hand. “Really?”

“Shit yeah. Always thought you two would make a great couple, except for the whole weird sibling connection and all.”

“Told you, we’re not really siblings.”

He took a bite of toast and chewed it as he stared at me across the table. He swallowed and took a loud gulp of his orange juice. “Really? Then what the hell are you waiting for?”

I looked at him, my best friend, the guy who knew me better than my own brother. I pushed the chair out and headed to the infirmary. The door swung open before I could knock.

Robert was on the other side with a sizable bandage on his hand. He lifted it. “A little argument with the boiler in the engine room.”

“Yeah, I see. Well, I guess it’s convenient we have such a good doctor on board.” I patted him on the shoulder as he walked by me.

I stepped into the infirmary. It was empty. I could hear the sink running in the bathroom in Dani’s cabin. It turned off, and her footsteps sounded on the floor. “Robert? Did you forget some—” She stopped when she saw me. It took her a second to speak, and every word I’d had in my head on the way to the infirmary had vanished. “How are you feeling?” she asked.

I didn’t answer. I wasn’t there for small talk or to discuss my head. It was my heart that was feeling pain. I walked toward her, and she back up against the wall. I put my hands on each side of her, trapping her between my body and the wall.

“Don’t marry him.”

She peered up at me. It took all my self control not to kiss her.

“I don’t want you to marry him. Stay with me, Dani.”

“Tommy, you took a blow to the head. You’re not thinking straight.”

I smacked my palm against the wall. “No, I’m thinking straighter than I have in a long fucking time. I want you to stay with me, Dani. I love you.”

She grew quiet and dropped her gaze. “I’m engaged to be married.”

“You don’t want me then?”

Her eyes were glassy with tears as she looked up at me. “I didn’t say that—it’s just. Oh, fucking hell.” She ducked under my arm and dashed into her room and slammed the door shut.

And that was that. Karma, just like she’d said. I’d been an asshole for so long. Now I’d finally poured my heart out to the woman I loved, and all I got in return was a door slammed in my face.

Chapter 22

Dani

The airport was a flurry of chaos as usual. I’d been relieved to get off the plane and back on solid ground. I’d spent the remainder of the time onboard the Sea Queen locked in my cabin alternating between crying and wondering why I was in such despair. I was still engaged to the man who I’d been with and loved for a long time.

Tommy and his friends had come in on a different flight. I caught a glimpse of them standing over at the luggage carousel. My heart sped up just seeing him. It was just nerves from knowing that I’d cheated on Axel, something I’d have to confess eventually.

Axel was standing over in the luggage pick up area, so I had no choice but to walk past everyone. Max saw me first. “Later, Twiggy.”

I waved and hoped to sneak by before Tommy looked around. Didn’t happen that way. His gaze met with mine. That strange magnetic connection that made it seem as if we were alone in the middle of the busy airport struck me. My throat tightened, and I found myself fighting back tears.

I hurried past and met up with Axel. He kissed me. “Hey, babe, where’s the luggage? I need to get going. We’ve got a gig tonight.”

I glanced back toward the carousel and tried my hardest not to look Tommy’s direction. He was watching me.

Axel turned away from me to answer his phone. That was when I saw it, a red mark on his neck. He spoke to someone quickly and hung up.

I pointed to his neck. “Huh, look at that. A hicky. Don’t think I’ve seen one of those since high school.”

He laughed it off, and I wondered if right then would be a good time to blurt out my little indiscretion. But I didn’t have the energy. I watched as Tommy and his friends walked out with their luggage. A stretch limo pulled up to the curb to pick them up. Tommy glanced back through the windows. Once again, we locked gazes. He pulled away first. They piled into the limo.

“Did I tell you? We got the tickets,” Axel’s voice drew my attention away from the window.

“What tickets?”

“To Europe. We leave next Sunday.”

“Axel, I told you I have a new job. I want this job.”

He laughed. “It’s just a job, babe. You’ll get another one.”

“I’m not going.” I blinked up at him. My life was now going to be in the shadows of his music career.

“Fine,” he said angrily. “I’ll find someone else to go.”

I pulled the ring from my finger. “Yep. And you can give this to whoever goes with you.”

He stared down at the ring on his palm before looking up at me.

I kissed him. “Axel, this just isn’t going to work. You’ve got your career, and I’ve got mine.” I pressed my hand against his face. “I wish you all the best, Axel. Really.”

I raced out of the airport. The limo was still in the line of traffic. I ran up to it and knocked on the window. My heart was racing, and I was nervous as hell. What if Tommy had rethought everything? What if he’d changed his mind?”

The door opened. Tommy climbed out.

I crossed my arms around myself to stop the shaking. “So, I was thinking about cereal boxes and stuff.” I took a deep breath. “And, it occurred to me that the only person I want to see when I peek around my corn flakes is you. I was kind of hoping you felt the same way. Doesn’t have to be corn flakes. Rice Krispies are fine.”

He smiled. I jumped into his arms. And, there in the center of traffic, I kissed the man who I’d loved since the first time he’d called me an annoying, little stick figure.

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