Step Brother (8 page)

“You have got to be fucking kidding me. That’s gorgeous.”

“Nothin’ to it,” I said, knowing exactly how impressive it looked. “No one will ever know the difference.”

“I think you may just be the perfect man, Reed.”

“Well, perhaps we could discuss that over drinks after dinner?”

“I don’t know. I still feel like it would be a huge mistake to get involved with my stepbrother.”

“Suit yourself.” I wasn’t going to beg her. I did have every intention of convincing her, though. I could be patient when necessary. Tatum didn’t stand a chance.

“You ready?” she asked.

“I am. And you, by the way, look gorgeous.” She really did. She wore a sheer peach-colored top over tan skinny pants with a subtle gold sheen. With her blonde hair and the tan she was acquiring in Las Vegas, she was like a golden goddess. As she slipped on wedge sandals, I couldn’t help but think about peeling every article of clothing off her.

“Thanks. My dad might be in a suit, but it’s ridiculous to get that dressed up for a family dinner at home.”

“Is he really going to be dressed up?” I asked, alarmed. “I mean, I’m still wearing jeans, but I like to know what I’m walking into.”

“I never know. He just always seems ready for an interview, even if it’s a Sunday football game.”

I looked at the clock. “We should hit the road.”

Tatum picked up the pie and walked toward the door.

“That looks good enough to eat,” I said as she walked by.

She turned to look at me. “Well, now it does, thanks to you.”

“I wasn’t talking about the pie,” I answered, looking at her ass.

“Quit it, Reed,” she said as I pulled the door closed behind us.

I opened the car door for her and held the pie while she got settled.

“I wouldn’t have pegged you for an electric car kinda guy,” she said when I got behind the wheel.

“Well, this ain’t exactly a Prius, sweetheart. A Tesla’s a whole different category of car. It’s the most beautiful machine I’ve ever driven.” We pulled away from the curb, and I watched as Tatum looked around the interior.

“It’s a gorgeous car, for sure. My Jetta has been great, but I’m so ready to buy something new.”

“What are you looking at?”

“Oh, I won’t even go to a dealership until I get a job first. I can’t pay bills with my good looks.”

“I don’t know about that,” I said under my breath, looking at her long legs stretched out in the passenger seat.

“I thought for sure I’d have found something by now.”

“Any promising leads?”

“Yes. I’m just frustrated though. I wanted to walk in, interview, and be offered a job the same day. The trouble is the firms I really want to work for appeal to every other attorney in the state. At the interview I had a few weeks ago, they told me I was one of nearly a hundred qualified applicants.”

“Wow, I didn’t realize it was that competitive. I thought the tattoo biz was bad.”

“Vegas has a bit of a lawyer glut, as it turns out.”

“What are you going to do if you can’t find something?”

“Not to sound arrogant, but I will find something. I know I will. I just wanted it to happen more quickly than it is.”

“Confident is sexy, Tatum.”

“I seem to recall having thought the same thing,” she said, giving me a sidelong glance that made me want to pull the car over. “So anyway, changing the subject from my unemployed status, what do you think about my dad and your mom?”

I hadn’t seen Tatum in the couple of weeks that had passed since the bizarre lunch we’d shared with our parents, and when I’d called her to ask if she wanted a ride to dinner, I’d expected her to turn me down—not that it would have discouraged me. I’d given things a lot of thought, and I’d decided that I was going to have her one way or another. Once I set my mind on something, I’m impossible to distract. The fact that she was in my car made me think she might be easier to convince than I’d expected.

“The whole thing’s just weird,” I said. “I mean, they seem pretty happy, and I think mom looks like she’s doing better than she ever has. I mean, she seems pretty … healthy, I guess, physically and mentally. I didn’t think I’d ever see her quite this settled.”

“Has she been married before?”

“Yeah. Once. That didn’t work out so well. The guy seemed okay at first, but the day I came home and found her with bruises that I knew had come from him, I kinda lost control. He had me arrested. Not a good scene.”

“Your stepfather had you arrested?”

“Yeah. They ended up just going their separate ways and the charges were dropped. I was still a minor, and probably nothing would have come of it, anyway, but Mom was worried about me having a record. It was one of the few things she was worried about. She wasn’t exactly a model parent while I was growing up.”

“Yeah, I’ve gathered that. Sounds like she was the opposite of my dad, at least as far as the appearance of a happy family goes. Everything seems to be a big publicity stunt. I have to tell you, I’m seeing some of his old behaviors resurfacing. I think he might try to run for office again.”

“Really? Why would he do that? He’s making a shit ton of money. What more could he want?”

“God, it’s like a sickness with him. He craves the attention, and he doesn’t care whether the other members of his family want the limelight or not. It’s what he lives for.”

I laughed, and I could hear the bitterness in my voice. “Well, he’s met his soul mate, then. Mom is the original attention whore.” I stopped the car to give my name to the guard and pulled away slowly. “So you really resented all of the publicity you had to deal with when you were younger?”

“You have no idea what it was like, Reed. I wanted nothing more than to be able to finish high school here with all my friends, but it just got to be too much. I couldn’t leave the house without reporters following me. It was horrible.”

“Sounds like it.”

“The only good thing was that I really enjoyed living with my mom. She moved to Texas when I was fourteen, after the divorce, and I chose to stay here to be with my friends. I think I was mad at her for leaving my dad, but when I got a little older, I realized why she did. He’s not an easy man to live with.”

Something about the way she said it worried me. “Did he ever hit your mom?” I asked, hoping she’d be honest with me. I wasn’t exactly close to my mother, but there was no way I’d let a man lay a hand on her. Not again.

“Oh God, no. He’d never do that, if only because he wouldn’t want it reported in the news.”

I looked over at her, questioning whether I believed what she was telling me. “You’re sure.”

“Absolutely. He may be vain and a little shallow, but he’s never been a violent man. He would never physically hurt your mother. I’m sure of it.”

As I pulled in front of the house, I felt the weight of Tatum’s hand on my leg, and I forced myself not to touch her. I was afraid if I started, I’d never be able to stop. She was just extraordinary—I wanted her, alone, just the two of us, with days and days to explore one another. I knew that a few minutes alone with her in the car was never going to satisfy me. I wanted so much more.

I stopped the car. “Hang on. I’ll get your door. Don’t damage my masterpiece.” I opened the door for her and took the pie while she unfolded herself from the car. “Tatum, have drinks with me after dinner. I have a situation I’d like your opinion on.”

“Is it a legal problem?” she asked, her tone more professional that I liked.

“Sort of. Is it a date?” I wanted to pin her down before we walked into the weirdness of a family Thanksgiving dinner.

“I don’t think you’re supposed to call it a date. I’m your sister, after all,” she said with a giggle that somehow made her even more irresistible.

I handed her the pie and leaned toward her to press a chaste kiss on her cheek. “Stepsister,” I whispered in her ear, and I could feel the shiver that went through her body.

My heart was still racing from being so close to Reed when my dad opened the door.

“Happy Thanksgiving,” he said, shaking Reed’s hand and moving to give me a hug. He saw the pie and decided to kiss me on the cheek instead. “We’re so glad you’re here.”

Tina was in the foyer, looking like she was posed for a magazine photograph. Her shiny red hair looked like polished copper, and the emerald green wrap dress she wore was very flattering. “What a lovely pie, Tatum,” she said, taking it from me. “Let’s go take it into the dining room.

I followed her. “I had a little help from your son. I was … um … struggling with the topping, and he was good enough to lend a hand.”

“He’s a multitalented young man,” she said over her shoulder, and I couldn’t help but agree.

“Wow,” I said, walking into the dining room. It looked like Martha Stewart had puked up pumpkin prints all over the enormous room.

“I did the decorating myself. Your father thought it might be too much, but I just love the holidays. Having you and Reed here for Thanksgiving just means the world to us, Tatum.” She set the pie on the long side table that was littered with silk leaves in autumn colors. “There. It looks lovely, don’t you think?”

“Absolutely.” Tina was over the top, but she was trying.

“We had a photographer here yesterday, and he thought my decor was delightful. Said he’d never seen such a festive flair in someone untrained before.”

“Why was there a photographer here?” I asked.

“Oh, it was just some local homes feature. With Donald’s company, every bit of free publicity helps.”

“Until you have reporters following you on the way to the grocery store.”

Tina waved her hand, dismissing what I’d said. “Fortunately, I have Brooke to go to the grocery store for us, but even if I was being followed, that seems a small price to pay for such a wonderful life. I try to be grateful for what Donald has given me.”

She left the room, and I stood where I was, hardly able to believe that I’d really just heard criticism in Tina’s voice. Was she actually implying that I wasn’t grateful for the privileges I’d had growing up? If only she knew how awful it had been, she’d rethink her stance on privacy. I shook my head, thinking I must have misinterpreted what she’d said. I needed to give her a chance, rather than leaping to judge her.

“Let’s get started with a cocktail,” Dad suggested when we returned to the foyer. “Tina, have Brooke bring drinks into the den.”

Tina dutifully turned and headed for the kitchen.

“Come with me, kids,” Dad said, dropping his arm over my shoulders. “I’ll show you my favorite room in the house.” He kept talking as we walked, describing how he’d insisted on redesigning the den when they’d moved in. “Tina likes things a little frillier than I do, and I let her do her thing with the holiday decorations, but this room is mine.”

He opened the door to a large, rectangular room that was open to a loft on the second floor.

“Wow,” I said, taking in the spare, modern style that still managed to be quite grand. “You designed this?”

He nodded. “Yup. The architect was ready to kill me, but I had a vision.” He pointed to a tight spiral staircase that led to the loft. “I have my desk upstairs. The skylights give me great natural light for looking at blueprints, and it’s the quietest place in the house. Even when Tina has the ladies over for cocktails—pretending to talk about books—I can find some peace here.”

“Mom’s in a book group?” Reed sounded surprised.

“Yeah. It’s some neighborhood thing. I can never tell if Tina really likes any of the girls, but everyone’s a potential voter. Never hurts to get on people’s good side.”

“Potential voter, eh? That’s sounds like the Dad I remember.” I sat down on one of the leather chairs facing the gas fireplace in the corner. “Something you want to announce?”

Reed looked at me and my father and surprised me by coming to sit on the arm of the chair I occupied. My instinct was to lean into him, but I managed to stop myself.

Dad looked at the two of us. “Nothing yet. When I have something to announce, you two will be the first to know. I will tell you I’ve had some people urging me to get involved in the local scene again. They know how dedicated I was to supporting local business interests. Politics is a calling, Tatum. You should know that.”

I could feel my blood starting to boil. I stood up. “I need the ladies’ room,” I said over my shoulder as I left the den. Passing Tina on my way to the bathroom, I was tempted to ask her if she had any idea what she was in for, but I stayed silent.

“Anything you need?” she asked.

“No. I’m fine. Just heading to the bathroom.”

She smiled brightly and left me to it.

By the time I calmed myself down and headed back to the den, I was determined to keep my mouth shut, get through Thanksgiving dinner, and get out. I figured a cocktail or two couldn’t hurt.

Tina was standing by an entire cart full of booze and mixers. “What can I get you, Tatum?” she asked when I came in.

“What are you having?”

“I’m having a Champagne cocktail, and the men are drinking bourbon.”

“Champagne cocktail sounds great.”

Dad started in on me as soon as I sat down on the love seat. “So, Tatum, tell me about your job search. I thought you’d be established already and changing the world.”

“You and me, both. I’ve been through two rounds of interviews at one firm, and I’m still in contention. There were a lot of good applicants, though; it’s a competitive market. But I’m confident I’ll make it through. Even if it’s not at this firm, there are others poised to hire in the near future, if the rumor mills are correct.”

Reed got up, dropped another ice cube in his drink, and joined me on the love seat. “Whoever manages to hire you will be lucky.”

“Thanks, Reed. I’m sure it will work out. It’s just taking longer than I’d hoped.”

“Do you need any money?” Tina asked, and I flinched at the crass way she’d brought the subject up. “Donald and I would be happy to help you out.”

“No, I’m fine financially, at least for another six months or so.”

Dad looked at me, a serious expression on his face. “Tatum, do you need me to make a few phone calls? You know I have connections in the legal profession here.”