Authors: Elisa Elliot
ROMANCE: Mason (Bad Boy Alpha Male Stepbrother Romance Boxset) (New Adult Contemporary Stepbrother Romance Collection) (271 page)
Jeffrey hummed in understanding. “The guy that threw the phone got fired, fined, and a stint in jail with parole; we don’t have to deal with him. We can choose the reporter, someone we trust, and approve the article before it goes to publishing. I talked to my dad; he thinks it’s a good plan too. I just want things to get easier for us.”
Stephanie sighed. “I know; I do too.”
“So?” Jeffrey asked, prodding her in her side teasingly.
“Okay, okay,” she giggled, wriggling away from his hand, “fine, fine. We can do it, but only one interview, okay?”
“Agreed,” Jeffrey smiled, leaning in to seal the deal with a kiss. “Well then, let’s get this set up.”
Stephanie rolled her eyes, settling back into the comfort of his arms; just what had she gotten herself into?
-x-x-x-
Stephanie couldn’t control the thoughts racing through her head. She and Jeffrey had just given an interview with a top magazine and were now exiting the conference room of the hotel they had had the interview in to head to the waiting car that housed their packed bags.
Jeffrey had suggested that they go away for the week to one of his dad’s properties that he sometimes stayed at for business in order to relax and get away from all the reactions that were sure to come when the article was published.
The car was right at the back service entrance to the hotel, away from the prying eyes of the public. Stephanie and Jeffrey hurriedly got in and sagged back into their seats in an excited sort of relief.
“Well, we did it,” Jeffrey said once they had buckled up, taking Stephanie’s hand and kissing it.
“Yeah, I guess we did,” Stephanie said, curling into him on the back seat. “How do you think the world will take it?”
Jeffrey snorted. “I hardly think the world’s going to be reading it, but, I think we may finally get some peace for a while.”
“Really?” she asked, clearly skeptical.
“Nah, I’m a magnet for danger, and trouble,” Jeffrey grinned, “but I do think we’ll be able to walk outside without security having to pave a way through reporters for us.”
“Hopefully,” Stephanie responded in agreement. “We’ll see.”
“Yep.” Jeffrey grinned, kissing her full lips and pulling her close as they settled in for a long drive. “We’ll see indeed.”
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Stephanie was growing annoyed. She’d been at the restaurant Jeffrey had made reservations at for thirty minutes past the time when Jeffrey said to meet him and he was still a no-show. She was getting pissed. The restaurant was one of the nicest places in town and the food was absolutely mouthwatering. Stephanie loved it and she had gotten dressed up in one of her favorite dresses for the occasion.
She wore a navy-blue cocktail dress that flared at the knees; something she thought may make her look too patriotic with her fiery red hair. The dress was strapless and was accentuated by the small diamond heart necklace Jeffrey had given her on their one-year anniversary. She also wore a pair of modest, but tall, black heels that would put her about an inch above Jeffrey when they were standing beside one another.
“Would you like a refill ma’am?” the waiter asked kindly, referring to her almost-gone glass of wine.
Stephanie was beginning to think that she should have asked for the most expensive bottle and left it for Jeffrey to pay for since he was regular and they had his card on file or something similar that rich people did.
“Yes please,” she replied, smiling at the waiter who began filling her glass. “Thank you.”
“Of course ma’am. Are you ready to order or would you like to wait a few more minutes?”
Stephanie sighed, glancing back down at the menu that she had already selected a dish from twenty minutes ago. “I think I’ll wait just bit longer, there’s just so much to choose from.”
The waiter smiled politely, but she was certain that she could see pity in his eyes. “Of course ma’am. Would you like to hear the specials again?”
“No thank you, but could I have some more bread?”
“Of course ma’am; I’ll be right back.”
Stephanie looked forlornly at the basket now housing bread crumbs, wondering if it was bad form to simply eat bread and butter, drink a glass of wine and leave. She took another sip, striving to simmer her anger. She checked her phone for the fifth time, deciding that if Jeffrey didn’t show up in ten minutes she’d leave and give him a shoulder so cold it would give him frostbite.
The waiter brought her another bread basket, walking away with a sympathetic smile.
She sighed, taking another sip of her wine. She wondered if she could get the bottle to take home with her. She groaned; she’d have to see Jeffrey eventually. They did live together after all.
Just as she was reaching for another slice of the delicious bread that made her feel guilty with every bite, there came the sound of someone clearing their throat right behind her.
She turned, coming to face a sheepish-looking Jeffrey who had his head bowed in contrition and hands behind his back.
Her eyes narrowed. “Oh, so nice of you to finally show up,” she said bitingly.
“I can explain,” Jeffrey said cautiously, walking closer to her slowly, as if approaching a caged lion.
Stephanie crossed her arms. “Yeah, well you better start because you’ve got a lot to do. And what are you wearing?” Stephanie asked, looking down at his pants.
From the waist up, Jeffrey looked like he was dressed for dinner at a fine restaurant with a nice white button-up and a suit jacket, but below the waist was a different story. His pants were black, but that was the only thing that made the outfit mildly cohesive. The pants were shiny sports pants with a white line running down each leg. His shoes were another matter entirely. He wore bright, canary-yellow running shoes with green laces. The shoes also appeared to be at least a size too big for him. Between the gap of the hem of the pants and the bright shoes she could just make out his purple and blue striped socks. Jeffrey had never been known for his great fashion sense, but even this was a bit of a stretch for him.
Jeffrey scratched his head sheepishly. “It’s a long story.”
Stephanie checked her watch. “You have ten minutes, or until I finish my glass,” Stephanie said, holding up her glass of wine. “My patience ran out around the third time the waiter asked me if I was sure I wasn’t ready to order.”
“I’m so sorry babe.”
“Don’t ‘babe’ me.”
“Ah, I see your company has arrived; are you ready to order now?”
Stephanie chuckled at the waiter’s impeccable timing. “No, but I would like a glass of water please, and my boyfriend looks like he could use one as well.”
“Actually, I’d like a scotch on the rocks please,” Jeffrey said.
“Nope, no liquid courage. My boyfriend’s got some explaining to do and he needs to be as sober as a judge when he tells me why he smells like another woman’s perfume. So water is fine.”
The waiter blinked, a bit intimidated by Stephanie’s glare as he nodded. “Two waters it is; I’ll be right back.”
“Thank you Jim,” Stephanie said, smiling politely before turning narrowed eyes on Jeffrey. “Sit.”
Jeffrey obediently took a seat across from her. “I resent being talked to like a dog.”
“I apologize,” Stephanie said, rolling her eyes. “Now, care to explain to me why you’re late and smell like perfume.”
“Funny story actually,” Jeffrey began nervously, tapping his fingers on the table.
“I’m not laughing,” Stephanie said, stony-faced.
“Right, you are not,” Jeffrey said, nodding as the waiter placed a glass of water in front of him. “Okay, so, where to start. Um, well, I was going to the mall, to pick up, well, to pick up a present for you actually. And, I was passing by one of the perfume vendors. You know the ones that stand in the center of the walkways trying to get your attention and get you to try on perfume or whatever they’re selling.”
Stephanie nodded, saying she did indeed know what Jeffrey was referring to.
“Well, I was skirting around one of them when a couple of little kids come running my way out of some store, their mom chasing after them. They plow into me and I fall down, right into the perfume guy. The bottle he’s holding shatters, spilling all over my pants and shoes, ruining the leather I should add.”
Stephanie rolled her eyes; of course Jeffrey was most concerned about the leather. On any given day it was rare to see Jeffrey without his favorite leather jacket; she could only assume that his love for leather extended to the shoes as well.
“The glass from the bottle ended up stabbing the salesman in the leg so I helped him with that; we got him to a first-aid kit and I left him with security. So, my pants were ruined and I stopped inside the nearest store to replace them, which, as I’m sure you can guess, was a sports store. The only pants they had were these and I bought the first pair of shoes I could find on sale and rushed over here. I dumped the pants in the driver’s car and had to throw away my shoes. They were my favorite, and now I’m here. I tried getting the smell off my legs with some of the moist towelettes in the car but it didn’t really work. Hence, why I smell like a bottle of flowery perfume, or like another woman as you put it to the waiter, who by the way appears to have told the waitresses who are now giving me dirty looks.”
Stephanie flushed, chuckling in spite of herself. “Sorry about that; I was just upset. I thought you were standing me up.”
“On our anniversary?” Jeffrey asked, “I had hoped you’d thought better of me dear.”
She rolled her eyes. “I was worried okay. You didn’t answer your phone either.”
“Well, as it turns out, perfume isn’t all that great for phones. I’m going to take it to the store in the morning; at least all my contacts and photos are backed up. I don’t really have anything else important on there.”
“You should really invest in getting a protective case babe.”
Jeffrey laughed, waving her off. “Like I always say: live on the edge. I lived on the edge, and this time I fell off. But, it was an experience.”
“A negative one.”
“Yes, but an experience.” Jeffrey winked, swiping Stephanie’s wine glass and taking a sip.
“Hey!”
“Caring couples share.”
“Well then I guess I don’t care that much.” Stephanie laughed, taking the glass back from him.
Jeffrey pouted playfully, taking her hand in his and rubbing his thumb along the back of it. “Ouch.”
“Oh stop being such a baby; you know I love you.” Stephanie grinned, leaning in to give him a quick peck on the lips.
Jeffrey smiled, tugging her hand gently to bring her into a longer kiss. “God I love you,” he murmured, smiling into the kiss before he pulled away reluctantly.
She hummed happily in response. She grinned, something over his shoulder catching her eye. “Should we order now? The waiter’s looking pretty anxious over there. I think I may have terrified him.”
“Just a bit,” Jeffrey smiled, “but I’d have been surprised if you hadn’t. But, maybe we should hold off a little on ordering.”
“Why?”
“Well,” Jeffrey began, taking a deep breath. “If I get food in me, I may make myself so nervous I’ll get sick, and then I’ll have messed everything up tonight.”
“What are you nervous about?” Stephanie asked, brows scrunched up in confusion.
“Well, I had this whole big thing planned out,” Jeffrey said sheepishly.
“What big thing?”
“It’ll just make it worse if I tell you how bad I’ve already screwed it up, but I wanted to do it tonight so it’d be more romantic.”
“What would? Babe just tell me,” Stephanie said, curiosity making her anxious as well.
“Okay, okay,” Jeffrey said quietly, as if to get himself ready. He let go of her hand to rummage for something in the pocket of his sweatpants, concealing whatever it was in his hand so Stephanie couldn’t see it. After taking another deep breath to steel his nerves, he slipped out of his seat, bending down so that he was on one knee in front of her. Slowly, he held up his hand, revealing a black velvet box that rested quaintly in his hand before he carefully opened it to reveal a ring. The ring was simple, a white gold band with a single diamond nestled in the center.
“Stephanie,” he began, “I love you, more than bike racing, leather, and anything else in this world. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?”
Stephanie was gobsmacked, lips parted slightly in surprise as she stared at Jeffrey in amazement.
As Stephanie continued to remain silent, Jeffrey began to get nervous, pulling at his tie anxiously as his eyes canned her face. “If it’s the ring you don’t like, I can get a new one. You just always joke about you belonging in another time, so I wanted one that was simple, classy and beautiful. Like you. But, I can always replace it,” he said hurriedly. “Or, you know, if it’s not the ring, and it’s just me, then we can just order and pretend like this never happened. Just, say something, please.”
“Oh my God; you were preparing to propose all night?” she asked, eyes wide.
“Um, yeah,” Jeffrey said, not knowing where the conversation was going.
“Oh my God! I was horrible! I practically accused you of cheating. Oh my God!”
“Babe, really, I could care less about that. All I want is your answer.”
“My answer?” she asked blankly.
“Yeah, your answer. You know, will you marry me? That question.”
“Yes.”
“Yes?”
“Yes!” she cried, pulling Jeffrey to a standing position as she threw her arms around him, hugging him so tightly that he feared for his ribs. “Yes, yes, yes! A thousand times yes! Of course I’ll marry you! Yes!”
“Yes!” Jeffrey cheered, arms wrapping around her tightly as he swung her around. “You said yes! She said yes! She agreed to marry me!” Jeffrey cheered, shouting to the whole restaurant.
Stephanie laughed, blushing a bit as the restaurant patrons clapped at Jeffrey’s exclamation.
Jeffrey kissed her, a long and deep kiss full of the happiness he could hardly contain from her answer. Breathlessly, he broke the kiss, scrambling to get the ring out of the box as he carefully took her hand and slid it into place.
She leaned back, holding her hand up to admire the ring in the light. “It’s beautiful,” she whispered, eyes fixated on it.
“Not nearly as beautiful as you,” Jeffrey said, pulling her in close. “You really like it?”
Stephanie smiled softly. “I love it. But not nearly as much as I love you.” She kissed him softly, giddy with excitement. She could hardly believe it. She was engaged! She smiled broadly. It was really happening; she was getting married!
-x-x-x-
Stephanie took a deep breath, staring at herself in the mirror for a moment before she unscrewed the cap of her mascara, taking great care to apply just a little of the black liquid to her eyelashes. After she had finished she screwed the cap back on and picked up her favorite shade of ruby-red lipstick. She carefully traced her lips, gently pressing them together before putting the tube up and checking her teeth in the mirror. She smiled in satisfaction, sitting back and gazing at herself in the vanity mirror of the bridal powder room to ensure that her makeup was exactly as she liked it.
Today was the big day. It was three years to the day that Jeffrey and Stephanie had shared their first kiss, and on this day they were to be married. She could hardly believe it. The man she had once thought to be pompous, flashy and self-centered turned out to be caring, sweet and chivalrous and in less than an hour, he would be her husband.