ROMANCE: Mason (Bad Boy Alpha Male Stepbrother Romance Boxset) (New Adult Contemporary Stepbrother Romance Collection) (265 page)

It was just not like her to be so concerned with Jeffrey of all people. So, deciding that she was tired, and that perhaps the champagne was taking effect, she postponed questioning herself and returned to bed to sleep. And, when she woke up in the morning, she was resolved not to think about how she was clutching the jacket to herself as she drifted off, and that Jeffrey’s scent was the last thing she thought about before falling asleep.

-x-x-x-

“Well you look nice,” Dianne said as she looked her daughter up and down.

Joseph had decided to pick Jeffrey and Stephanie up for brunch in his limo, and Dianne had offered to go up and collect Stephanie from her fifth floor apartment.

“Well, I assumed that we were going to some fancy restaurant; I didn’t think jeans and a t-shirt were appropriate attire.”

“I guess,” Dianne said, “but even so, you look just a bit more dolled-up than usual.”

Stephanie looked away, choosing not to respond to her mother’s comment as they walked towards the long stretch limo in front of her building.

She had gone through five different outfits before she had decided on her current one. She thought it was fairly simple considering some of her previous choices. She wore a simple blue strappy sundress and white sandals. She supposed that she had gone through a bit of extra effort to curl her hair, but she told herself it was only for her own benefit since she liked the look, and no one else’s. Certainly not Jeffrey’s.

When they finally reached the limo, Dianne waved off the driver who rushed to get the door for them and smiled politely before opening the door for herself. Stephanie let her mother slide in to sit next to Joseph before getting in herself, having no choice but to sit next to Jeffrey.

“Doesn’t she look lovely boys,” Dianne said, smiling at her daughter’s mortification.

“As always,” Joseph said kindly.

“Definitely,” Jeffrey whistled, “like something out of a dream.” He winked, letting Stephanie know just what type of dream he was referring to.

Stephanie blushed, looking out the window and hoping to hide it behind her hair as she waited for them to leave for the restaurant.

“So,” Dianne began, and Stephanie held her breath. That was her mother’s ‘you’re in trouble’ voice. “I hope you know that I haven’t forgotten about your little adventure last night during the fundraiser. Just where did you two little criminals sneak off to?”

“Criminals?” Jeffrey said in a faux offended voice. “I have a sparkling record and have never so much as stolen a cookie from a cookie jar.”

Stephanie let out a combination of a snort and a laugh with just how inordinately funny she found that statement, and then blushed as all eyes, including those of the driver’s through the rearview mirror, looked at her.

“Aww, baby I haven’t heard you snort when you laugh in years.”

“Yeah, baby,” Jeffrey smirked, pinching her cheek playfully, which she swatted with a tiny frown, “it’s adorable.”

“Alright, alright you two,” Joseph broke in with a chuckle, preventing a less-than-polite comment from the still blushing Stephanie. “Let’s not get too distracted then. Back to Dianne’s question, where did you scoundrels go during my fundraiser; I was very disappointed in you both.”

Stephanie hung her head in shame, for some reason hearing that she had not only disappointed her mother, but Joseph as well humbled her a bit. Jeffrey’s arm brushed gently against her, and, while it could have been an accident, Stephanie was certain that it was an intentional gesture in an attempt at comfort.

“Well, father, as I’m sure you’ve forgotten, and it’s okay because I know how busy you are with all of your important work over at the company headquarters and the fundraising stuff,” Jeffrey began, laying it on thick, “but I’m quite allergic to cats and some of your esteemed guests brought them. So, I asked Stephanie here if she would go out ahead of me and get my bike ready, and I would follow her so we could ride and get some medication from the nearest drug store. Right Steph?”

Stephanie was rolling her eyes internally at the ludicrousness of it all but nodded, picking up where he left off, “Yes, but you know me Mother, I can’t navigate to save my life, so we got horribly lost until-”

“I saved the day like the dashing hero that I am-”

“And got us to a drug store that was already closed,” Stephanie said, cutting him off before he could go on with the whole hero speech. “So, I googled one that was open, Jeffrey navigated, and we got there in one piece to get his allergy medication.”

“Yep, that’s what happened,” Jeffrey grinned, “and by the time all of those events unfolded, the fundraiser was unfortunately already over. But I was just glad to be alive.”

This time Stephanie visibly rolled her eyes at the ridiculousness of the whole statement, earning a tiny elbow from Jeffrey. She made a mental note to make sure to step on his foot at brunch.

“Cat allergies huh?” Joseph asked, the skepticism clear in his voice. “Well, you did have allergies when you were a child, and I must admit that was more of your mother’s area of expertise. . . . Alright, I’ll let you off the hook for now. But don’t get used to it.”

“I sure hope not,” Jeffrey grinned, “the pharmacist assured me that the medication would clear everything up.  . . at least if its cat related. We should really discuss this dolphin-saving fundraiser you have next month.”

“Don’t push it,” Joseph muttered, ignoring Stephanie and Dianne’s quiet laughter.

Finally, they reached the restaurant and walked inside. Stephanie shook her head, still incredulous that Joseph could just walk into any restaurant without a reservation and still get instantly seated, no matter how many people were with him.

They were led outside to a table on the balcony. Within a minute of sitting down they had waiters bringing them water and mimosas and asking them if they’d like to have them keep coming. Stephanie declined but Jeffrey said he’d like more of them and even flirted with the waitress a bit.

Stephanie’s eyes narrowed, feeling an inexplicable sense of jealousy at the interaction.

“I told you,” Jeffrey murmured as Stephanie was perusing the menu.

“Told me what?” she asked, not bothering to look up and dignify him with eye contact.

“That you couldn’t resist me.”

“Mhmm,” Stephanie hummed, stamping his foot under the table and earning a high pitched yelp for her action. “The attraction is magnetic really, always have to touch you. Shall we test your theory again?”

“Uh, no, no that’s alright,” Jeffrey muttered, attempting to hide his expressions of pain.

“You know, she seems like your ordinary type, and we all know how well those relationships worked out.”

“Oh come on, she’s cute.”

“If bleached-blonde bimbo is your type then yes, she’s cute,” Stephanie muttered, crossing her arms and sitting back as she finally decided on ordering the French toast.

“I knew you were jealous,” Jeffrey smirked.

“Really? Do you really want a repeat of what happened two minutes ago?”

“No, sorry; forget I said a word.”

Stephanie smiled, taking a drink of her mimosa as Joseph started up a conversation about his latest investment, Stephanie only listening with half an ear.

After about ten minutes of discussing the pros and cons of manufacturing mechanical pencils, the wait staff finally came back, a waiter assigned to each of them to take their orders.

Stephanie smiled at hers; he was a charming man, a few years older than her with a brilliant smile and black hair.

“Can I get you anything else Miss?” he asked after she had ordered.

“No thank you,” Stephanie smiled.

“Alright, well please let me know if I can do anything else for you.”

“Thank you,” she read his name tag, “Cameron; I certainly will.”

“What was that?” Jeffrey asked after Cameron had left, a sour look marring his face.

“What was what?” Stephanie asked, not sure what he was referring to.

“I certainly will Cameron,” he said, giving a poor mimicry of her as he pitched his voice several octaves higher.

“Oh please, I do not sound like that and you know it.”

“You were flirting with him; it was sickening.”

“That was sickening?” Stephanie laughed, “Have you ever seen how you behave around some women?”

“That’s not the point. Are you really into that guy? I mean come on, are you honestly saying that he’s your type?”

“And what if he is?” Stephanie shot back, smirking at the clear hints of jealousy Jeffrey was giving off.

“It’s just, he’s clearly subpar.”

“Subpar?” Stephanie asked, raising an eyebrow.

“He’s like a seven, an eight at best; you’re a ten.”

Stephanie was surprised that her cheeks flushed at the compliment as her finger circled the rim of her glass.

“You know that, don’t you?” Jeffrey asked, bending down to catch her eyes.

“Know what?” Stephanie asked, feeling as though she had finally managed to control the blush creeping over her cheeks.

“That you’re a ten.”

Stephanie didn’t know what to say. Luckily she didn’t have to say anything as the wait staff returned, bringing them their food. She was amazed at how quick the service was. She guessed it was just a perk of being rich.

“Thank you,” she said quietly, this time not flirting with Cameron as much as she had earlier. She was surprised when Jeffrey didn’t so much as glance at his waitress, instead focusing solely on Stephanie’s interaction with her waiter.

The food was delicious, the French toast melted in her mouth and no one at the table bothered to talk because they were so engrossed in the meal.

“I love this place,” Joseph said, when he finally came up for air from his crab benedict.

“It really is delicious,” Dianne murmured her agreement, taking another bite of her omelet.

Jeffrey, however, while devouring his food eagerly, didn’t seem to be enjoying it as much as the others. He was certainly shoveling his pancakes into his mouth, but every few seconds his eyes kept darting to the side to look pensively at Stephanie.

After they finished eating, Joseph ordered them a round of cappuccinos saying that it was ‘the French thing to do’ and they all reclined in their seats to marinate on just how good brunch had been.

“So, what are you two’s plans for the day?” Joseph asked, eyes on Jeffrey and Stephanie.

Stephanie shrugged, “I don’t know, I don’t really have any plans for the day. I’m off work until Monday.”

“What about you Jeff?”

“I think I might go to the batting cages, hit a few balls, get a workout in.”

“Oh, sounds fun,” Dianne said, “why don’t you go with him Stephanie, it’ll give you a chance to bond. Unless it’ll cramp your style Jeffrey.”

“Cramp your style? Mom, you know this is the twenty-first century right?”

Dianne rolled her eyes, “You all know what I meant. Anyways, how about it you guys? Why don’t you go and get to know each other.”

“We know each other,” Stephanie challenged.

“Yes, but not well,” Dianne argued, smiling at the waiter when he set her cappuccino in front of her.

“You don’t know that.”

“Ouch,” Jeffrey cut in, “if I didn’t know any better, it would sound like you’re trying to avoid me.”

“That’s not it,” Stephanie said.

“Well, then it’s settled, since you don’t have anything else to do, you can come to the batting cages with me. We can stop at my apartment to get my bike and head over once we finish up here.”

Dianne tsked, “You know, I’ve always hated those things; they’re not safe.”

“They’re perfectly safe,” Jeffrey and Stephanie said in unison, both smiling at the humor of it.

“Fine, you two have fun then, just don’t do anything reckless.”

-x-x-x-

Stephanie was starting to regret her choice of attire for the day. When she had gotten dressed in the morning she had not planned on playing sports of any form. And it was harder than she had expected to swing the bat in proper form while in a dress. Not to mention that the helmet she was wearing was messing up her hair.

“Alright, are you ready for this?” Jeffrey asked from behind the ball machine.

“I was born ready baby, just watch out.”

“Aww, so soon with the pet names, I love it,” Jeffrey grinned, bending down and turning the machine on.

Stephanie squared her shoulders, preparing for the first ball. When it came out she swung, missing the ball altogether, making Jeffrey laugh.

“So you can ride a bike but you can’t hit a ball?” Jeffrey teased.

“Oh please, just wait,” Stephanie said, preparing for the next ball.

The next swing went a bit better. She hit it, but it tipped off the top and went up and over her head to land somewhere behind her.

“Nice shot,” Jeffrey mocked.

Stephanie’s eyes narrowed, not bothering to respond as she waited for the next ball. Stephanie waited patiently, rolling her shoulders and preparing for the next one. The ball came shooting out down the line straight at her. Everything seemed to slow down as she honed in on the ball; she prepared and swung. She grinned victoriously as she made contact, laughing at the wonderful sound of the ball making contact with the aluminum bat.