SeducedByTheAntiHero (2 page)

There was only one way to find out. And if her little plan
didn’t pan out, then it was no harm no foul. Worst case scenario, she would get
to visit Chloe for a little while. Nothing ventured nothing gained. So she
squared her shoulders and dialed Chloe’s number.

Emma took in the small town around her as she drove down a
quaint little street heading toward her ultimate destination: Chloe’s
bookstore.

Once Emma had finally gotten ahold of Chloe, her friend had
seemed thrilled with the idea of Emma coming to visit, which was a relief and
had kicked her butt into gear. The very next day Emma had informed her boss
that she would be taking a long vacation starting the following week. Emma
hadn’t used much of her vacation for the year and it was already October so she
decided to take three of her four weeks all at once for this little excursion.
That she felt utterly burned out and could use the time away was justification
enough, not to mention the fact that this trip was bound to help spark her
creativity. From sheer spontaneity alone.

So she had gotten up before the sun this morning to start on
the five-hour drive from the city to Chloe’s hometown. As she took in her
surroundings, she was surprised that Chloe had moved back here after college. Chloe’s
personality and vivaciousness just seemed too big for such a small town to
contain.

But who was Emma to judge? Chloe had obviously found her
happiness here, her niche, so Emma wasn’t about to cast stones. And this place
had a picturesque kind of charm about it. The houses she passed all in a row on
the streets were well kept and had a Victorian-era-meets-
Home and Country
kind of feel to them. The plentiful trees scattered through the various
neighborhoods were tall and proud with the leaves just beginning to turn
announcing that fall was approaching. As fall was by far her favorite season,
she had to admit that the view was lovely.

But from what Chloe had told her over the years, everyone
here knew everyone else’s business and that wasn’t something Emma would want to
live with day in and day out. She enjoyed her privacy and didn’t like the
thought of living under a microscope. This was a nice place to visit but she
wouldn’t want to live here, that was for sure.

When she had arrived in town, she had checked into her motel
and gotten herself situated before heading out to meet Chloe. She didn’t want
to inconvenience her friend for three weeks and if her plan worked, the privacy
of a motel room would be ideal.

As she drove along, she found herself on what seemed to be
the main drag of the town. There were a few small shopping plazas, some
restaurants, a gas station, and last but not least, the bookstore she was
looking for, happily situated right next to a cute little café.

Snagging a spot close to the front of the store, Emma parked
and got out of the car. A crisp breeze ruffled her hair away from her face and
she pulled the lapels of her jacket tighter together. A couple walked along the
sidewalk that connected the little café to the bookstore but Emma was too
concerned with getting out of the wind to pay them any mind. At least until one
of them called her name.

“Are you Emma?” The feminine voice had Emma’s pace slowing
as she turned to face the couple. Emma didn’t recognize the petite brunette.
Still, out of politeness and curiosity she answered.

“Yes, that’s my name.” Emma smiled but felt her eyebrow
arch. “Have we met?”

The woman blushed and gave a soft chuckle. “I’m sorry. I’m
Mina. I work here and am a friend of Chloe’s. I recognize you from some of the
pictures she’s shown me. This is my boyfriend, Tyler,” she said gesturing to
the man beside her.

Emma’s gaze moved to Tyler and he smiled and extended his
hand. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Emma.”

“Finally?” She asked and shook Tyler’s hand. “I guess
Chloe’s been talking about me a lot.”

“All good things,” Tyler said with a wink.

“Oh I’m sure.” Emma rolled her eyes with a smile.

Mina laughed and started moving their little group closer to
the entrance of the bookstore. “Chloe’s been talking about you nonstop since
you called and said you were coming to visit. I haven’t seen her so excited
about anything in a long time. She’s going to be thrilled that you’re finally
here.”

Tyler reached for the door and as the little bell jingled,
he motioned for the women to enter the store. Once inside, Emma spotted Chloe’s
blonde head ducked beneath the counter over by the registers.

Feeling an eager smile tilt her lips, Emma walked over and
propped her elbows up on the counter, waiting for Chloe to resurface. As she
finally came back up, she gave a startled jump when she saw Emma. A broad smile
broke out onto her face.

“Emma!” Squealing happily, Chloe ran out from behind the
counter to wrap her in a bear hug. “I thought you weren’t supposed to get into
town for another hour or so.”

Squeezing her friend tightly for a few seconds, Emma pulled
back to look at her. “Eh, traffic was light and the drive didn’t take as long
as I thought it would. I knew you’d still be at work so I thought I’d come
surprise you.”

Chloe’s eyes danced as she smiled. “I’m glad you did.” Then
her blue gaze shifted over Emma’s shoulder to Tyler and Mina. “Oh hey, guys. I take
it you met my friend, Emma.”

“Yes, we bumped into her outside,” Mina said shrugging her
jacket off and putting it behind the counter.

“It seems my reputation precedes me,” Emma said.

Chloe rolled her eyes. “Excuse me if I was excited. Did you
find the place okay?”

Squinting, she cocked her head to the side. “Well, seeing as
how this is the only bookstore within a ten-mile radius of this town, no I
didn’t have any problems.”

“Oh, you’re such a big city girl, smartass.” Chloe laughed
and just like that Emma felt as if they were right back in college. She had
missed their teasing banter, and the familiar good feeling brought a smile to
her face.

Just as Emma was about to reply, the little bell above the
front door once again jingled, announcing the arrival of two of the most ridiculously
handsome men she had ever seen. The resemblance between them and Tyler was so
striking that they had to be brothers. All were tall and muscular with dark
hair and eyes but these two newcomers had to be twins as the only visible
difference between them was that one of them had long hair that fell to his
shoulders.

“Here come Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum,” Tyler said. “Emma,
I’d like you to meet my brothers. The one who seriously needs a haircut is Adam
and the other douche-nozzle is Ben.”

“Wow. What an eloquent introduction, man. I’m so flattered,”
Adam said tossing his brother a sardonic glare.

Not bothering to respond, Tyler turned to Mina and wrapped
an arm around her waist to pull her to him. “Gotta go, baby. I’ll see you at
home tonight,” he murmured before taking her mouth in a sweet kiss.

Emma didn’t know either of them, but there was something
about the way he held Mina, the way she responded to his nearness that made an
untouched part of Emma’s heart ache. That right there was the kind of thing she
had always dreamed of. It was like the whole world melted away until just the
two of them existed.

Or at least it was until Adam interrupted them with a long-suffering
groan. “For fuck’s sake, Tyler. We’re in a public place with people around. Can’t
you control yourself until you get her alone?”

Tyler pulled back from Mina’s embrace, shot his brother a
lopsided grin and said simply, “Nope.”

“Seriously, Mina. Why do you put up with him groping you all
the time?”

Before Mina could answer, Tyler spoke. “Sometimes she’s just
as bad and you’re the ones who decided it would be a good idea to come pick me
up when I told you I was going to visit my girl at work.”

“That’s because I needed to get out of that bar before
Brandon and
his
girl drove me up the wall. I don’t know what his excuse
is.” Adam jerked a thumb in Ben’s direction.

Ben had been quiet up until that point and when Emma turned
to look at him, she found him staring at her. His gaze held substance, an
intense focus as if he found her presence intriguing. But there was also an
unexpected heat there that felt weighed down and sent tingles down her nerve
endings in a way that she couldn’t define.

The chatter around them had stopped and everyone was looking
at them expectantly as though a response was required of one of them. Ben
licked his full lips then turned to his twin before muttering, “What?”

Adam cleared his throat and turned to Emma. “Anyway, all
this bickering probably isn’t a great first impression. Sorry about that.”

Emma’s gaze shifted to Ben, who was no longer paying
attention. Instead, he was scrolling through his cell phone with a frown. She
felt her own mouth tilt downward until she remembered that Adam had spoken to
her. Shaking herself out of it, she smiled. “No worries. Actually, your
bickering makes me a little homesick. Reminds me of
my
brother.”

“Ah, so you know what it’s like to have a live-in pain in
the ass then,” Tyler said, earning a scowl from Adam. Out of the corner of her
eye she noticed that Ben gave no reaction, just continued to ignore them all.

“Ha, you could definitely say my little brother is a pain in
the ass.” She looked at Adam and smiled. “Though loveable.”

A broad grin stretched across Adam’s handsome face. Though
it was nice, it didn’t have the same effect as Ben’s intense stare. Not that
she had enjoyed it or anything. Because she hadn’t.

“So, you’re visiting from out of town?” Adam asked, then
pointed a glare at Tyler. “Note the subject change. And I’m the older brother,
just FYI.”

Tyler flipped him off.

She decided right then that this trip had been a good idea. If
nothing else happened, at least she was getting to meet some new, interesting
people. And she had to laugh at their antics. Once the sound left her lips, she
felt that heavy, weighted feeling again and she knew Ben was staring again. This
time she didn’t turn to acknowledge it.

“Yes, I came to visit Chloe for a few weeks, get out of the
city for a bit. I just got here a little while ago.”

“Sweet, did you tell her about the bonfire?” Adam asked
Chloe.

Chloe bit her lip. “No, I’m sorry. I forgot to mention it on
the phone. Tyler and Mina are having a bonfire tonight at their house and Brian
and I are invited.”

“I didn’t realize you’d be here tonight, but you’re more
than welcome to come,” Mina said.

“Thanks.” Emma smiled. “Sounds like fun.”

“Oh, it will be,” Adam said with a sensuous tilt to his
lips. “And let me just tell you right now that I make awesome s’mores.”

“Yeah, it’ll be a good time as long as you don’t bring
Captain Weenie with you,” Tyler interjected.

Captain Weenie?

“Hey, leave my dog out of this. I can’t help it if he’s deaf
and stupid. It’s what’s inside that counts. I love him just the way he is.”

“And on that note, we’re leaving,” Tyler said ushering his
brothers toward the door.“ It was nice to meet you, Emma.”

“Yes,
very
nice to meet you.” Adam flashed her that
charming smile once again.

“Likewise, boys,” Emma said with a grin of her own.

As they filed out of the store, Ben surprised her by turning
toward her and giving her one of the sexiest little smirks she’d ever seen,
though it barely passed for a smile. “See you later, Emma.”

And with those four words he sauntered out of the store
leaving a breathless Emma behind. What was wrong with her? He’d hardly spoken
to her at all. In fact, his twin had been the flirtatious one and all it took
was a lopsided grin followed by a simple sentence to get her panties wet?

A thrill of excitement flew up her spine at the thought of
seeing him later. Maybe she could get him to speak a few sentences together.
Watch
out, because Lord knows what will happen then,
she thought with a roll of
her eyes.

Typically, she found his type of behavior rude. He’d made no
effort to engage her in conversation after they’d been introduced. Even a
simple “hi” would have been nice. But no. All she’d gotten was a heated look
that burned intensely for half a second before he’d completely dismissed her to
find something more attention grabbing on his phone.

If anything, she should be put off by him, the hell with how
hot he was. A guy like that didn’t even rate on her list and…

“Hello, Emma.” Chloe gently knocked on the top of her head. “Anyone
in there?”

“Sorry.” She could feel her cheeks heating. “I was lost in
my head for a minute. You know how I get.”

Chloe laughed. “Yeah, the Serano brothers will do that to
you. I remember the first time I saw them all grown up.” She let out a low
whistle. “That much sexy testosterone in one room is enough to scramble any
woman’s brains. Am I right?”

Mina let out a dreamy sigh. “Oh yeah. That is a fact, my
friend. But anyway, I have to get some things straightened out in the back room
before we close. It was nice to meet you, Emma. I’ll see you tonight.”

“I can’t wait,” Emma said with a smile then waited until Mina
was out of earshot before she turned to Chloe.

“That’s not where my mind was,” Emma snapped, instantly
defensive. She didn’t want Chloe to think that the brothers had affected her
like that. Even though they clearly
had
. Well, not all of them. Just
Ben.

“Mm hmm.” Chloe folded her arms across her chest. “You might
want to wipe that little bit of drool off the corner of your mouth, there.”

Emma scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Can we please
talk about something else? Like, I dunno, maybe the fact that I haven’t seen
you in a thousand years?”

“Well, that would eventually bring us to why you came to
visit, which would bring us right back around to the Serano brothers anyway. Same
subject,” Chloe tossed over her shoulder as she ducked back behind the counter.

Inwardly, Emma groaned. It had probably been a mistake to
tell Chloe her exact reasons for needing a vacation. But at the time she’d been
thinking Chloe could help, not shove her in the wrong direction. “What do they
have to do with why I’m here?”