ROMANCE: Mason (Bad Boy Alpha Male Stepbrother Romance Boxset) (New Adult Contemporary Stepbrother Romance Collection) (269 page)

“Would either of you like to try the complimentary drink of the night?” the man that let them in asked. “Tonight’s selection is a lovely white wine with a sugar and cherry garnish. Perhaps an odd combination at first glance but one that is quite pleasing on the palate.”

“I’ll have one.” Stephanie grinned.

“Ah, very nice madam,” the man said, leaning in and placing a kiss on her cheek before doing the same with the other. Stephanie curtseyed in response. “And you sir?”

“Oh, um, no thank you, I’m fine.”

“As you wish,” the man said, bowing deeply at them before he began the descent down the stairs to the base of the tower where everyone was.

“What is this place?” Jeffrey asked, eyes scanning the room and landing on a dancing couple dressed as Alice and the Mad Hatter. “And where did you hear about it?”

“A friend of mine introduced me to it. Every week they change the password and you have to pay for the password a week in advance. Jillian first introduced me to it, isn’t it great?”

“It’s amazing,” Jeffrey said, following after Stephanie down the staircase. “Okay, I take back everything I said earlier, you definitely topped my date.”

“Told you,” Stephanie said smugly, smiling at the waiter as he handed her drink as soon as she reached the foot of the stairs.

“I’ll never underestimate you again,” Jeffrey muttered.

Stephanie grinned, finishing off her glass and handing it to one of the other well-dressed attendants making their way through the people in the tower.

“Want to dance?” She asked.

“I don’t know; do you think you can keep up with a stud like me? I think I should warn you; I’ve got moves.”

“I think I’ll be fine, king of the nerds,” Stephanie quipped, sashaying over to the dance floor with a very interested Jeffrey right behind her.

“So, may I have this dance?”

Stephanie smiled coyly, running her hand along Jeffrey’s shoulder teasingly before turning her back to him once again. “Only if you can catch it.”

Jeffrey blinked, unsure of exactly what she meant, when she walked over to another man who had been chatting with someone on the edge of the dance floor, extending her hand to him and pulling the willing guy into a dance with her.

Jeffrey’s eyebrows rose in surprise; he hadn’t realized how confident Stephanie really was. He wondered if it was the outfit or if this was a side of her he just hadn’t gotten the chance to see much of in their alone time together.

He watched as Stephanie drew the man into a sultry sway to the rhythm of the smooth jazz playing in the background, feeling himself becoming just a tad jealous as the clearly-interested man moved with her. But his growing dislike of the man didn’t have time to grow as she soon bid him farewell and moved on to another guy who had just been left by his dance partner in favor of getting a drink from the bar.

Jeffrey shook his head, running his hand through his hair. Well, if Stephanie wanted him to chase her, then he could certainly comply.

Jeffrey walked around the edge of the dance floor, observing all of the dancers while keeping a close eye on Stephanie and her second partner all the while. Finally, Stephanie and her new dance partner twirled over to where he was standing. In one fluid movement, Jeffrey walked over behind Stephanie, put one hand on her waist and the other on the hand that had been resting on her dance partner’s shoulder, and spun her out of her partner’s grasp.

Stephanie gasped, hands falling on Jeffrey’s shoulder as she chuckled. “So, looks like you get your dance after all.”

“I thought we already established that,” Jeffrey murmured, kissing the top of her head before he spun her around. “I never lose.”

“Challenge accepted.” Stephanie smirked, leaning her head back and looking up at the blue painted ceiling when Jeffrey swung her into a dip.

“Oh boy,” Jeffrey chuckled, “this is going to be a competition now, isn’t it?”

Stephanie smiled, looping her arms around Jeffrey’s neck and swaying to the music. “A competition implies that everyone has an equal shot at winning; you’re already way behind.”

“Well, as long as you’re out in front, I don’t find the view entirely unpleasant. I might even lose intentionally.”

“So all your previous loses were just unintentional. Wow.”

“Mhmm, I do live to impress,” Jeffrey said, spinning her once more before leaning in for a kiss.

He quickly pulled away, looking around cautiously and eliciting a chuckle from Stephanie. “Calm down, this place is private, there’s a silent code. And even if you don’t buy that, have you forgotten that we’re in disguise? You can kiss me, worry free.”

“Well, in that case…” Jeffrey grinned, dipping her and kissing her passionately. They received a number of wolf-whistles from the surrounding couples on the floor.

“Always putting on a show huh?” Stephanie laughed as soon as she came up for air.

“You love it.”

Stephanie grinned. “I do indeed.”

They spent the rest of the night dancing and talking with one another. When they got too hot out on the dance floor, they took a break in one of the cozy tables set up with a glass of wine or water depending on their mood.

Jeffrey couldn’t remember the last time he had had so much fun. And he certainly hadn’t had so much fun with a girl he was more than friends with. All his previous dates had been incredibly shallow and entirely focused on the amount of money he had in his wallet. Stephanie was the exact opposite. She came from a poor background and didn’t care in the least about Jeffrey or his father’s money. In fact, given all the negative attention it brought the pair, she quite disliked it.

She was down-to-earth and witty, something Jeffrey couldn’t really say about the other people in his life. And she was beautiful. While every outfit Stephanie picked on their disguised rendezvous were always stunning, her everyday look, even when she was merely wearing a pair of sweats around her apartment, was breathtaking.

“What’s wrong?  Is something on my face?” Stephanie asked at their shared table, getting a bit self-conscious.

Jeffrey chuckled. “No, unless you’d call your beauty something. Then yes, you have something all over your face.”

Stephanie blinked, processing his words for a moment before she laughed. “Did you really just say that?”

Jeffrey blushed. “Too corny?”

Stephanie grinned, rubbing her thumb along the back of his hand. “A bit, but it was sweet.”

He wrinkled his nose; never had he thought he could be described as sweet. He was a bad boy, a badass that raced bikes and wore leather. And yet, he couldn’t help smiling at the words.

“Sweet?”

“The sweetest,” Stephanie cooed, leaning in and pinching his cheek.

Jeffrey waved her off, laughing with her in spite of himself. “Well, I guess I did dress for the part today,” he said, waving at his outfit.

Stephanie chuckled, taking a sip of her water that had been served in a martini glass and smiling at Jeffrey contently. Jeffrey cleared his throat, and Stephanie noticed that the hand she had been holding was getting a bit sweaty.

“Are you okay?” she asked, eyebrows furrowing in worry as he pulled at the collar of his shirt.

“Yeah, I’m fine, thanks,” Jeffrey reassured her, trying for a smile that looked more like a nervous grin than anything else.

“Okay,” Stephanie said hesitantly, looking at him skeptically over the rim of her glass as she took another drink.

“Um, actually,” Jeffrey began, looking up at Stephanie, “there was something I wanted to say, or, I mean ask I guess.”

“Fire away.”

“Okay, so, we’ve been sneaking around for a while like this, and, it hasn’t been easy.”

“No, it hasn’t,” Stephanie said haltingly, suddenly nervous herself. Jeffrey seemed nervous; was he breaking up with her? She knew things had certainly not been easy for them but she had thought it was more than worth it, and had perhaps taken it for granted that he felt the same. Her face paled; maybe he was finally fed up with it and was trying to end it politely.

“Red?”

She couldn’t muster a grin at the nickname he used for her. The tables appeared to be turned; Stephanie was now nervous and Jeffrey concerned.

“Yeah?”

“Are you okay?”

“If you’re going to end things, you don’t have to be all polite about it and dance around the subject, just come out with it and say it.”

Jeffrey blinked. “What? End things . . . what are you talking about?”

“What are you talking about?” Stephanie asked back. “You just, I don’t know, you seemed a bit shifty and said things were difficult; I just assumed that you were trying to break things off.”

“No, no, no, no,” Jeffrey said, chuckling. “That’s not it at all, just the opposite actually.”

Stephanie looked at him doubtfully, but nodded for him to continue.

“God, this is going even worse than when I practiced at home. Okay,” Jeffrey said, taking a deep breath, “well, then I guess I’ll just come right out and ask, considering that my speech is starting to sound like a pretty bad idea.”

“Speech?”

“Forget about it,” Jeffrey said, waving a hand in front of Stephanie’s face as if to expel the thought from her mind entirely. “Okay, here I go,” Jeffrey muttered, running a hand through his hair.

“Just spit it out already!” Stephanie demanded in frustration, drawing the attention of some of the patrons at the surrounding tables.

Jeffrey laughed. “Aright, alright. Here goes. Stephanie, I really like you, will you be my girlfriend, officially?”

Stephanie raised an eyebrow. “Officially?”

Jeffrey grinned nervously. “Yeah, officially.”

“Yes!” Stephanie said, a bit louder than necessary. She blushed at the outburst but grinned in spite of it. “Yes, I’d love to.”

Jeffrey grinned. “Really?”

“Yes you goof, really.” Stephanie laughed, leaning in to plant a long kiss on his lips.

“Awesome!”

Stephanie rolled her eyes. “I feel like we’re middleschoolers on the playground agreeing to go steady.”

Jeffrey shrugged. “Yeah, well, I’m kind of too happy to care right now.”

“Ah, so the whole bad boy persona only comes out when you’re dressed the part.”

Jeffrey winked. “Nah, it’s always there under the surface, you just gotta wait for it.”

Stephanie hummed in response. After that the two sat in silence. It wasn’t awkward, but comfortable. They were happy. The atmosphere was pleasant and they both had a warm feeling in the pit of their stomachs that came with being with someone you cared about.

After about another half-hour of small talk and gentle kisses, the two decided to leave. The dance floor was populated with a few lingering couples slowly swaying to the smooth music.

The waiter that had approached them when they first came in saw them out, shaking Jeffrey’s hand and kissing both of Stephanie’s cheeks before he held the door open for them.

“The drivers should be here soon,” Stephanie said, stepping over the threshold with Jeffrey right behind her.

As soon as they stepped out onto the walkway there was a sudden yell of “They’re here!” from below and the previously peaceful night was lit up with the bright flashes of cameras and loud shouts from paparazzi.

“What were you two doing in there?”

“Was it a sex party?”

“Do you two consider what you’re doing to be incest?”

“What does Joseph think of the relationship?”

Stephanie’s eyes widened as she stood stock-still like a deer caught in the glare of headlights.

“Stephanie, can you turn for a picture?”

Stephanie shielded her face, moving to go back into the tower when the door was slammed, the waiter shouting that he was sorry but they didn’t have a liquor license through the small door window.

“Jeffrey, is she the only one you’re dating?”

“Open the door!” Jeffrey yelled, banging on the door.

“Jeffrey, look this way!”

“Come on!” Stephanie pleaded, banging on the side of the tower with her hand.

“Take a selfie!” Someone from the ground yelled, tossing something up at them. Stephanie only had a second to make out the cheap phone thrown at them before it arced and hit Jeffrey in the side. He whipped around, and everything seemed to move in slow motion.

His body turned too fast, and he lost his footing. Stephanie reached out, but it was too late. Jeffrey seemed to balance on the edge of the tower and hang there in suspension for one panicked second before he toppled over the edge.

“NO!” Stephanie yelled, peering over the rail, terrified, as she heard a loud thump and the paparazzi hush for a moment. She faintly heard the screech of tires and the slamming of car doors as she hastily made her way down the ladder. She got to the ground at the same time as the two drivers who doubled as body guards reached the tower, pushing past paparazzi violently to get to Jeffrey’s crumpled form.

Stephanie dropped to her knees in front of him, hand hovering anxiously not knowing what to do. One driver stood shielding Stephanie and Jeffrey, pushing any paparazzi that ventured too close violently away as the other dropped down beside Stephanie.