Step Brother (4 page)

“Mom,” I said, after a few minutes of her nonstop blabbing. “Mom,” I said, raising my voice to interrupt her. “Stop talking. This is way too much to handle all at once, and if you don’t shut up, I’m leaving.”

“Oh, but sweetheart, you promised to stay for lunch and meet your sister.”

“Stop it. Don’t say another word.” I think the tone of my voice convinced her I was dead serious. “First, she’s not my sister. She’s my stepsister, and that’s the last thing on my mind. You’ve just dropped a bombshell, and I need some time to think.”

“Of course, Reed. Would you like me to leave you alone for a while to sort things out before lunch? Donald’s going to meet us on the terrace so we can chat awhile, and the cook has the most wonderful meal prepared. I told her some of your favorites, and the BLTs she makes will blow your…”

I held up my hand and she stopped talking.

“I will take a few minutes to myself, and I’ll come out and meet your husband. I’ll have lunch, and then I’ll leave as soon as possible without being rude. I don’t want you to call me. I don’t want you to come over. I’m having this conversation in private because I don’t want to cause problems with you and your new husband, but you’re going to back the fuck off until I’m ready to see you. Is that clear?”

Mom nodded, and I couldn’t tell exactly what she was thinking.

“Well, I’ll just leave you, then. If you could join us in about fifteen minutes, your sis … stepsister will be here, and you two can get to know one another before we eat.”

She walked out, closing the door behind her, and I sat, stunned, unable to even put together a coherent thought for a few minutes.

My father was Gordon Gentry. I was the son of a rich and famous rock star who’d never bothered to meet me. I was angry. I was hurt, and I wanted nothing more than to slink out the front door and leave, never to return. I’d promised Mom, though, and even if she was completely unreliable, I kept my word when I’d given it.

I stood up, took a deep breath, and left the room, guessing at the direction of the terrace, following a long, dark hallway to the doors that opened to the large yard with an enormous freeform pool. I reached for the door, only to have it open before I could touch it. Startled, I blinked at the bright sun and saw a person step back from the door, obviously as surprised as I was to find someone standing in the doorway.

“Sorry,” the woman said as she moved out of the way.

My eyes adjusted to the sunshine, and I could hardly believe who stood there.

“Tatum?” I said, shocked.

I was utterly speechless.

My first thought was that Reed looked even better in the daylight. My second thought was that I had absolutely no idea what was going on. I looked from him to my father, head to head with Tina over near the pool, completely unaware of the fact that I’d just come face to face with my one-night stand—and in the least likely of places.

Reed managed to speak before I could. “Tatum, what are you doing here?” he asked, looking as perplexed as I felt.

“Huh?” was the brilliant line I decided on.

Reed looked out at my dad and Tina, grabbed me by the arm, and pulled me inside. “Why are you here?” he asked again. He closed the door behind me and looked at me, waiting for me to string together a few coherent words.

“I was just going to get my bathing suit,” I said, hardly thinking about what I was saying as my mind raced to make sense of what was happening. I finally came to my senses and looked at Reed, thinking that it would be so easy to get lost in his eyes—much as I had the night before. Memories of him and the things we’d done flooded me, and I blushed, feeling like the room had suddenly turned into a sauna. I put my hands on my hips and stepped back, feeling like I couldn’t trust myself standing as close to him as I was. “Wait a minute. What are you doing here?”

Reed stepped closer to close the gap between us. “Come here,” he said, taking my hand and pulling me through the huge dining room, down the hallway, all the way to a little room off the entryway. He closed the door and turned to face me. “What the hell is going on?” he asked. “I’m here to see my mother. I was going outside to meet her new husband and my new stepsister, and I have a feeling I know how this is going to go.”

“Oh. My. God,” I said, sitting down in one of the expensive leather chairs. “My dad just married your mom?” I shook my head as the implications of my father’s quickie wedding hit me. “I just slept with my stepbrother.” I buried my face in my hands as waves of embarrassment, confusion, and—strangely enough—a little arousal washed over me. “Oh my God, have I fucked up.”

Reed sat in a chair facing me and took hold of my wrists, pulling my hands away to uncover my face. “Wait a minute, Tatum. We didn’t fuck up. One: We didn’t know our parents had gotten married. Two: It’s not like we’re blood relatives. And three: I had a fantastic time and can’t wait to do it again. I was disappointed when I woke up and you were gone, to be honest.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“Nope. I had plans for how I wanted to wake you up today. Nice and slow.”

“No. Seriously? You don’t think this is a big deal? Are you crazy?”

Reed put his hands on my thighs and slid them up so his fingertips were just under the hem of my skirt. “Maybe I am crazy, but that has nothing to do with this. We didn’t do anything wrong, and I want to see you again. It’s pretty simple.”

I stood up and pushed his hands away. “Reed, I’m about to have to go outside and have my father introduce me to my new brother—who, coincidentally, had his dick inside me just a few hours ago. That’s more than a little awkward.” I turned around. “I think I’m just going to leave. I’ll text my dad and tell him I didn’t feel good and had to leave.” I turned back to face Reed, and I simply couldn’t understand how he could sit there so calm. “That’s what I’m going to do. I’m outta here.”

Reed stood up slowly and put himself between me and the door. “Hang on a minute. There’s no reason for you to leave. It’s not like your dad’s gonna know we slept together. There’s no reason we have to tell them. We can just act like we haven’t seen one another since school, and everything will be okay.”

“How did I not know Tina was your mother?” I asked, still shell-shocked.

“She wasn’t exactly in the PTA. Mom was young when she had me, and she kinda partied a lot. She wasn’t around very much.”

“She seems pretty together now,” I said. “Wait a minute. I can’t believe I’m standing here discussing your mother’s parenting when all this shit’s going on. Do you really think we should just go out there and act like nothing happened last night?”

Reed crossed the room toward me and pulled me toward him. The heat he radiated made my face flush, and it made me think about the lines of his muscular naked back and how good it had felt to have him inside me.

“Tatum, you and I know what happened. There’s no need to put our business out there. I had a great time with you last night, and I have every intention of getting to know you better.” He slid his hands around me. “In every way I can think of.”

I wanted to melt into him and have the rest of the ridiculous house and my father and new stepmother just vanish, but I couldn’t afford to let the fact that I was horny distract me. I pulled away. “Whoa, Reed. Give me a sec. So you really think we shouldn’t say anything?”

“Not a word. It’s really none of their business.”

“Okay. I guess I can get through the afternoon and sort things out later. I haven’t seen my dad in a couple of years, and I think he’s really trying to make an effort to fix our relationship. I’ll stay, but you need to understand something.”

“What’s that?”

“There’s no way I’m going to sleep with my stepbrother.”

“Again, you mean?” Reed asked with a ridiculously sexy smile.

I sighed. “Yes, I mean again. We have to promise never to talk about this again, and it’s never going to happen again. Deal?”

Reed looked me up and down, and I could feel the heat of his gaze, making me feel like I wasn’t completely dressed.

“Tell you what, Tatum. I’ll agree to say nothing about it today, but I’m not going to agree to anything beyond that. Last night was too good. Let’s not make a decision we’ll regret.”

“Oh, there’s no way I’m sleeping with you again, Reed. I shouldn’t have done it in the first place. There’s a reason you shouldn’t have one-night stands.” I shook my head. “Okay, so should we go out together or separate?”

“Doesn’t matter to me.”

“You go first. I’m going to find a bathroom and splash some water on my face. I’ll be out in a minute.”

Reed looked at me with a serious expression. “Tatum, it’ll be fine. I’m here for the same reason you are. I haven’t always seen eye to eye with my mom, and I think she’s trying to make up for it. Things will be strange at lunch, but we’ll get through it together, okay?” He reached up and brushed my cheek with his finger. “You ready?” he asked.

Head spinning because I couldn’t decide if I wanted him to kiss me or not, I just nodded. He opened the door, and as I walked through it ahead of him, he smacked me on the ass.

“Always wanted a sister,” he whispered, breath warm on my neck.

Reed walked past me as if he didn’t have a care in the world, and when I heard the back door close, I started wandering, in search of a bathroom. I ended up in the kitchen, where I found a woman just a few years older than I was, hard at work on what looked to be a fantastic meal.

“Um, excuse me,” I said, timidly. “Sorry to disturb you, but I’m looking for the bathroom.”

“Oh, no problem. You must be Tatum, Mr. Monroe’s daughter.”

I smiled at her. “I am.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. He’s been looking forward to your visit.” She rinsed her hands at the sink. “Follow me. I’ll show you where the bathroom is.”

She led me to a powder room that was roughly the size of my bedroom. I thanked her and she returned to work, while I looked at myself in the mirror and tried like hell to figure out how I’d managed to get myself into the mess I was facing. Even though I felt like I’d been physically turned inside out in the half hour or so I’d been in my dad’s house, I still looked far more composed than I expected. I smoothed my hair, tucked it behind my ears, and gave myself a mental talking to.

You will be fine. You can handle this. You will go out there and act like you don’t have a care in the world. You will be polite. You will let your father try to make amends for all the shit he put you through, and you will give his new wife a chance. You will ignore Reed if you can, and you will wait until you get home to completely freak the fuck out about the fact that you slept with your stepbrother. You will get the hell out of here as soon as lunch is over, and you will never, ever, make the same mistake with Reed again.

“Understand?” I asked my reflection. I nodded and headed out to the terrace, bracing myself for the weirdness I was sure would follow.

“We know one another,” Reed said, when his mother introduced me to him.

Tina and my dad shared a puzzled look.

“From school. We were friends until Tatum moved to Texas.”

I sat down at the round table next to the pool, focusing on getting settled, smoothing my skirt, and taking a long, slow drink of the lemonade Tina had poured me.

My father shook his head. “I’m sorry, Reed, but I don’t think I remember you.”

I started to blurt out a comment about how uninvolved my father had actually been in my childhood, but in the spirit of mending fences, I moderated what I was going to say. “Dad, you were pretty busy with your campaigns and keeping voters happy. Mom would remember Reed.”

Dad looked at me, and I couldn’t tell if his feelings were hurt, but I’d told the truth. There were years when it felt like the most time we ever spent with him was at public appearances.

“I guess you’re right, Tatum,” he said. “I think I have a lot to make up for in the father department.”

“That’s what today’s all about,” Tina said, taking my father’s hand. “I wasn’t always the best mother, but those days are over. I know you are both adults now, but better late than never. It bothers both Donald and I that we’re not closer to our children. We want to end that here and now.”

The last thing I wanted at that moment was to start a trip down memory lane—rehashing past wrongs and listening to my dad promise me things I doubted he’d ever deliver on. Even though I was trying to keep an open mind, part of me didn’t entirely trust him. And I didn’t know what to think of Tina. Reed had been kind of a tough guy in school—he’d been a partier, and I knew his mother had been too. I was having trouble reconciling the young single mother with the calm, somewhat polished woman who sat next to Dad. I was mentally chastising myself for having noticed that her grammar wasn’t quite perfect, but I really couldn’t help it. I was at a loss for words—not the first time that day—and I was grateful when Reed came to the rescue.

“Mom, I don’t want to drag up old bullshit. Tell me about what you’re up to these days.”

It was a masterful change of subject. People always loved to talk about themselves, and something told me Tina would be no exception to that rule.

“Oh, goodness, I’ve been so busy since we got married. It’s been quite a whirlwind. I’m teaching yoga part time over at a new studio a few miles from here, and I’m starting a charitable foundation that provides maternity yoga for poor pregnant women. It’s been a challenge, I can tell you.” Tina was quite animated as she talked, but something about her made it feel like she was reading a script.

My dad smiled at her. “Yes, Tina’s work with low income”—he emphasized the words “low income”—“women has been very inspiring.”

Tina nodded to my dad to indicate she understood his correction of her word choice, and I resolved to pay closer attention to what was going on under the surface. Something felt odd to me about their interactions.

“So where did the two of you meet?” I asked, wanting to keep the focus on the two of them, rather than on Reed and me.

The newlyweds smiled at one another.

Dad put a hand on Tina’s leg. “We met in Costa Rica. We were both staying at this little eco resort for one of their yoga retreats. I was solo, and so was Tina, and since most of the people there were couples, we ended up eating dinner together and working together for the partner yoga sessions. I knew the moment I laid eyes on her that she was the one for me. She’s so strong and so inspiring. I think her story is one that many people will be able to relate to.”