“Okay, let’s start over.” I took the Bluetooth earpiece out of my ear and thrust it into my pocket so the steady stream of notifications I was getting from Jane couldn’t interrupt me. “You’re clearly having a bad day, and there’s a café I like about a block from here. Let me buy you lunch.”
She opened her pretty mouth, and for a moment, I was sure she was going to deny me. But then she nodded, lifting her fingers to her face to brush away the tears still brimming in her eyes.
“I am hungry,” she admitted softly.
I smiled. Realizing we’d been holding one another in the middle of the sidewalk for several minutes now, I released her and swept her up beside me, pressing my hand into the small of her back. Maybe that wasn’t an appropriate brotherly reaction, but it was instinct and I was new to this whole stepbrother thing. Besides, I’d touched my share of pretty girls that way.
One thing was different with Maddy, though. When I touched her, I felt something stir inside of me, something like tectonic plates moving and shifting under the surface. And below that, there was something flowing and hot, something that made me notice suddenly the smell of her hair, the smoothness of her skin, the way her ass just barely brushed the side of my hand as we walked, the fabric of her stylish pencil skirt clinging to both those ripe, gorgeous swells above her shapely calves and thighs.
Those heels, too—my God. If they didn’t scream “fuck me,” I wasn’t sure what did.
But those were just thoughts. Silly thoughts. The kind of thoughts that came to a man at inappropriate times. Like when he was hanging out with the one girl in the entire world that was completely off limits. Totally normal.
Right?
Either way, I needed to get rid of them. This was probably my only shot at actually getting my stepsister to like me, and I wasn’t about to let my traditional male stupidity fuck it up.
It didn’t take long to reach the place, and I was already starting to relax as I led Maddy in through the front door. Without saying a word, the hostess had noted our arrival and ushered us in to my regular booth.
“I thought you said this place was a café?”
I looked around. I’d been to this place dozens of times, but somehow it seemed as if I’d never really looked at it before now. The walls were paneled in dark cherry wood with accents of crimson damask paper that looked like it had been imported from Europe. I’d have bet that if I’d touched it, it would’ve felt just like silk. The gold highlighting the pattern was probably genuine too, and looking at them now, I had no doubt that the amber crystals adorning the chandeliers were Swarovski-made, or similar.
I shrugged, handing one of the menus our server had provided over to Maddy. “It is. Just a ritzy one.”
She looked around at the tables surrounding us and fingered the neckline of her blouse. “I feel like I’m underdressed…”
“You’ll be fine,” I assured her. “You look fine. I mean, beautiful. You look…” I ground my teeth, trying to regain my composure. “You’ll fit right in.” Then I opened the menu and buried my nose in it, inwardly kicking myself for how utterly stupid everything I’d said today had thus far been.
“What should I order?” Maddy said, and I realized she probably had no idea what half the things on the menus were. I set mine down and began to unbutton my blazer to drape it over the back of my chair.
“If you like lighter fare, anything with chicken is a good bet.” I finally freed myself of the constraining jacket and sighed in relief. Finally I could feel my biceps again. “If you’re more in a dinner mood, there’s always the beef bourguignon.”
“I think I had the TV dinner version of that once,” she laughed, her eyes flitting over the myriad of items listed for her. “Um… I’ll go with that, I think. Yeah, that sounds good.”
I smiled. It felt good to see her without tears in her eyes. “And some wine?”
“You pick,” she said, shaking her head. “I wouldn’t even know where to start.” She slid her menu over to me and I took it, stacking it on top of mine.
“You can start by telling me what happened with your job,” I offered. Even though it was mid-day outside the mood lighting inside cast shadows over Maddy’s face, shadows that seemed even darker when I mentioned the dreaded j-word. “I mean, if you want to, of course.”
“I do,” she said. “I’m just so embarrassed…” She took a sip of her ice water. When she pulled the glass away, I marveled at the tiny beads that had formed on them.
She licked them away, and I watched the progress of her tongue, hoping she mistook the intensity of my stare for interest in her story.
“It wasn’t a good job,” she said, meeting my gaze. “But it was all I had. It paid the bills and the rent… and frankly, not much else.” She laughed again. This time, it sounded bitter. “That was enough for me, though. At least until I found something better.”
I nodded, parroting what I’d heard others say. “It’s hard out there right now.” I had no real idea about any of that, of course, and Maddy called me on it.
“Yeah. Not all of us can have an in with the CEO of one of the world’s most profitable companies.” But then she swallowed her anger, even though it lit up her face in a very sexy way. “Well, anyway, I’d been putting up with a lot of shit over there. More so recently, though the past few years hadn’t exactly been a walk in the park, either.” She looked at me. “Do you know that the first day I was there, the receptionist who was supposed to train me left for lunch and never came back? I had four hours’ worth of training before they threw me to the wolves.” She shook her head in amazement. “It’s a wonder I survived my first six months, let alone four years…”
“Sounds like they don’t have a clue what they’re doing,” I said, and that much was a genuine commentary on the matter. I had learned enough from my father, not to mention Harvard, to know an incompetently-run business when I saw one. Or, in this case, heard of one. “You were probably lucky to get out.”
Maddy snorted. “Yeah, in one way, but what about the other? I’m broke, Preston. Or I will be once I handle my bills and rent this month. My lease isn’t up for another eight months, and if I break it early, I’ll owe my landlord thousands.” She continued to fret until the waiter came over to take her order. As she struggled with remembering the name, I interrupted.
“She’ll have the beef bourguignon with your Chateau Musar 2011 Jeune Rouge. Bring the bottle.”
Maddy finally seemed to relax some at the promise of wine. Or at least, she did until the waiter turned to me and asked, “And for the lady’s date?”
I laughed. It wasn’t meant to offend Maddy, but I could see her cheeks flush. I waved my han
d. “No, no. We’re not… she’s my sister. Well, she will be, anyway.”
“I see,” the waiter said. “My apologies. What can I get for you, Mr. Harvey?”
“The twelve-ounce Wagyu A5 Kobe, served New York strip-style,” I said. It was one of my favorites. Most people were told to order a day in advance, but I wasn’t most people. “With the regular sides.”
“Very good, Mr. Harvey,” he said. It seemed strange that he knew my name but I couldn’t remember his face, let alone anything else about him. The hostess probably tipped him off. That’s just good service. The waiter took our menus and hurried off in the direction of the kitchen while I turned my gaze back on Madison.
“Where were we?”
She blinked. “You were ordering five hundred dollars in beef, and I was telling you about how broke I am.”