ROMANCE: Mason (Bad Boy Alpha Male Stepbrother Romance Boxset) (New Adult Contemporary Stepbrother Romance Collection) (281 page)

I frowned at her, surely he couldn’t think of me that way; yet as I looked into his eyes I had felt something. “He’s my…my,” I stumbled, not exactly sure what he was to me.

“He’s nothing to you technically,” Penny said simply and I frowned again at her.

“You’ve changed your tune,” I said with a slight grimace, last night she had been all for promoting even the slightest of connections between us.

“You know as much as I do that I would have said anything to get you to ring him and you did,” she said with a small triumphant smile that I knew would have been much bigger had I not have been still frowning at her.

“That I don’t deny,” I said with a forced laugh, thankful that the topic had taken a turn away from my strange feelings for him. I wished that this could truly be the end of it and that our lives could go back to normal, well a jobless version of normal anyway, but now it seemed I had a dinner to prepare for. I hoped that tonight would go well and that perhaps I could walk away in a lot less trouble than what I was in now, the rational part of me however told me that the most likely outcome was going to be a whole lot more troublesome.

Chapter Six

It only occurred to me that I had left the office with no details of our dinner when a woman arrived at the door. Having spent the rest of the morning trawling through newspapers and a large part of the afternoon staring blankly into my wardrobe, the arrival of someone else came as a bit of a shock. With a quick call to me, Penny saw the smartly dressed woman into the apartment and I came rushing out from my room with two old dresses in my hands. The first thought that came into my mind when I saw her crisp business suit was that she was here to collect the rent, or worse. As Penny relaxed beside her and I took note of the large box behind them, I let the worry drain away; for the most part anyway.

“Are you Lucy?” the woman asked a little skeptically as her eyes wandered over my casual attire before landing on my confused expression.

“Yes,” I answered simply and the strange woman visibly relaxed, although the stern expression she had worn before remained.

The woman turned around and picked up the large box from behind her, struggling a little with the weight it seemed. “Then this is for you,” she said, handing the box to me, “courtesy of Mr. Newfield,” she added with a slight smile that looked out of place on her face.

I nodded slowly and took the box from her, releasing instantly as I almost dropped it why she had had trouble with its weight. “Thank you,” I said, the shock obviously coming through in my voice as her eyebrows rose.

“A car will be here at eight sharp to pick you up,” the woman said curtly with a slight nod before turning to leave.

“Car?” I questioned quickly before she disappeared.

“I believe that you and Mr. Newfield have a dinner date, the car will be here to escort you to the restaurant,” she said and if it wasn’t for the slight glimmer of humor in her eyes I knew she would have almost managed to remain professional. I frown a little but thanked her as she left, her rudeness didn’t bother me as much as her words; me and Aaron had a dinner date, the word date being the one that made my body shudder. I prayed that Penny had missed the word or I would again be bombarded with questions I had no answer to. 

As soon as the woman had departed Penny turned excitedly to me, apparently sharing none of the concern that I had. “What’s in the box?” she questioned eagerly, knowing all too well that I had no idea.

Shrugging my shoulders in response I placed the box down on the sofa along with the dresses in my hands; I still couldn’t choose which one I preferred, neither were suitable I thought, but one of them was going to have to do. I didn’t have chance to examine the box before Penny dove in front of me and ripped off the lid and the large bow that held it fastened to the top; I couldn’t blame her for her excitement. Slowly as a gasp fell from her lips she took a step back, slamming her hands to her mouth. Curiously I peered into the large box and my eyes instantly bulged.

“It’s beautiful,” Penny gasped as she walked back towards the box to examine its contents closer.

Inside the box, nestled delicately was the most beautiful dress I had ever seen; its fabric was almost like shimmering water but tinted with green, it reminded me instantly of Aaron’s eyes. Just below the dress was a matching pair of heels again, while I was not normally a person to admire shoes, they were beyond beautiful. Before I could say anything Penny carefully lifted the dress from its box and held it up into the light where the color danced.

“It’s even in your size,” Penny said quietly.

“How?” I breathed, stunned. It wasn’t only the dress that made my mind haze but mainly the fact that I had no idea how he knew where I lived.

“I suppose that’s what happens when you date a billionaire,” Penny said with a laugh that was more out of astonishment than anything else.

I frowned and my brow furrowed. “Date?” I said slowly, trying the word out on my lips.

Penny laughed loudly; it was a true humor filled laugh this time. “I heard the woman just like you did,” she said with a shake of her head; of course, I sighed, I should have known Penny wouldn’t have been so careless as to miss that small, but to me massive, detail.

“It’s not a date,” I said as firmly as I could, I was sure it wasn’t a date. We were just old friends, sort of, having dinner.

“She had to have gotten the idea from somewhere,” Penny said with a shrug as she twisted the dress around in the light. My face flushed as I stared at the color dancing around on the dress, no matter what she said I couldn’t think of this as a date. Whatever my body told me and even in part my mind, I couldn’t honestly be expected to believe that I had a date with a billionaire.

Chapter Seven

The dress fit perfectly and that fact concerned me, not so much because I hadn’t expected it to, but because I had. I should have been more alarmed that it fit, that to me it was so perfect, but I wasn’t. As I stood outside the most expensive restaurant in the city waiting for Aaron it was my lack of nerves that was the source of my true concern. I was excited to see him again and while I had been somewhat glad that he wasn’t around to see mine and Penny’s reaction at the large limo the arrived to pick me up, now I was here I was starting to miss him in a way. I had expected the outside of the best restaurant around to be more busy but as the growing chill in the air whipped at my skin and as I stared out into the passing traffic, I found myself very much alone.

“Lucy,” Aaron said softly. I knew it was him instantly, his voice was something that now I could not easily forget. I whipped around to face him and as soon as I did I regretted it instantly. Despite the darkness I could see him better now than before; he was dressed immaculately in the sharpest of charcoal gray suits and with a tie that not only matched his eyes perfectly but also my dress.

“I didn’t see you arrive,” I whispered, my voice almost lost on the wind. However I was lucky that, as I looked into the depths of his bright green eyes, I was even able to form words at all.

“It’s always better if I arrive out of sight, I’ve heard it causes less of a stir,” he said with a chuckle.

“I understand,” I said, my voice faltering slightly. I didn’t quite understand though, everything about this felt wrong to me, this wasn’t normal in my seemingly ordinary life.

Aaron ignored the stumble in my words and walked towards me. “You must be freezing, I didn’t think you would wait outside for me,” he said and to me he honestly seemed surprised that I would wait for him but to me I wouldn’t have done anything else.

Before I could say anything Aaron quickly pulled off his expensive looking suit jacket, revealing the very crisp white shirt beneath. He moved towards me and gently lifted my hair out of the way before placing the jacket around my shoulders; the warmth of his body immediately eased the chill that had been racing across my skin. It took everything I had not to lose myself in the musky scent of the jacket, the scent of Aaron. It was so unique, so him and not for the first time I felt the flickering in my stomach increase.

“Thank you,” I said quietly and he simply nodded; a smile was on his face, one I had no choice but to return. I knew I looked ridiculous but at this moment as I felt his warmth and scent consume my body I didn’t care in the slightest.

“Shall we go in?” Aaron asked as he looked around us, I wasn’t sure what he was looking for but he seemed a little on edge.

“Sure,” I said as I followed his eyes to a group of gathering people by the restaurant entrance, they seemed to be looking for someone; a little paranoia bit at me as the group gradually got bigger and bigger. It was only when Aaron turned back to me with a smile and his dark brown hair fell floppily over his eyes that I relaxed.

Aaron moved towards me and suddenly his arms were around me again but not in an awkward hug like the last time, no, now his arm snaked around my waist and he held me tightly to his side. His side was hard against my own, so much so that the warmth from his body flooded through me and his scent completely surrounded me. Instinctively I placed my head down on his shoulder as he gently guided me forwards, it was a strange feeling but it more ways than one it felt right to have my head against him. He didn’t tell me to move as my curls cascaded down his back, instead he seemed to hold me even closer.

We had barely reached the front of the restaurant when Aaron slowed down and turned to look at me. He paused whatever it was he was about to say as he looked down at me, a smile tugging at his lips; in the softest of gestures he gently brushed away a strand of my hair. “I’m sorry about this,” he whispered and the strong apologetic tone of his voice made my face crinkle in confusion.

Then it hit me, all at once the dark night was ignited with a bright light as cameras went off all around us. Aaron pushed on, walking faster now than before as we tore through the group of people that was impossibly larger close up than it had looked before. All around us cameras went off one after another and it finally hit me what was happening. They were all here, stood in the freezing cold, for pictures of Aaron. It only lasted a minute before Aaron bundled us into the restaurant never once letting his grip loosen on me, but a minute was more than long enough.

“I’m sorry you had to see that,” Aaron said sadly as we stood in the lobby of the restaurant. I nodded but my body shook slightly, I had not been expecting anything like that.

Aaron pulled me over to the side of the room, out of earshot of everyone else. “Hey,” he said softly as he moved to stand in front of me, gently he lifted my chin up to face him, “what’s wrong?” he questioned and a deep worry tainted his words. His finger dropped from my face before I could even register that he had touched me in such a way. His bright eyes held so much worry for me yet all I could think about was my concern for him.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered as blood rushed to my cheeks and they darkened a ruby red. Aaron’s eyebrows furrowed and he gave me a slight confused smile.

“What do you have to be sorry for?” he questioned, honestly confused. I was so aware of his hand on my arm, of the slow rhythm that his finger traced across my skin.

“That you have to deal with all of that,” I said quietly. Aaron visibly relaxed and the worry melted from his eyes, only to be replaced with something else, something a lot more intense. I knew I was being strange, that it was not my place to feel bad about the attention that he got, but I felt responsible for it. If I hadn’t come to him for reasons I was sure he would hate me for then he would not have to deal with the attention, not tonight at least. Right now, as he held me so softly, I didn’t want him to hate me.

“That,” he said as he gestured to the faded lights outside, “that is of no concern to me, you are the only thing I care about right now,” Aaron said with a smile that told me every word he spoke was the truth and with every word I felt a tug of guilt pull at my heart. I had come to him asking for something, yet he was here out of his own kindness, he was here for me.

Chapter Eight

After my moment in the lobby the evening turned into everything I had imagined it to be and more. We ate delicious food and we talked like old friends who, in a way, were just getting to know each other for the very first time. Aaron kept me close to him, well as close as any two people could be as they ate dinner together, but for each brush of our skin and each little chuckle from us both I was grateful. This morning Aaron had been a stranger, all be it one that I knew through mostly loose and hazy memories, but a stranger. Now he was more than that, he was a man I wanted to get to know.

As the last remains of our dinner got taken away we had little else to do now other than sit together and watch as couple after couple took to the dance floor. Swept away by the glorious display of dancers it wasn’t until I looked up that I realized I had moved into Aaron’s arms. He didn’t seem to mind as his head rested lightly on mine and he seemed equally as absorbed in the beautiful display; they weren’t professional dancers but still there was something about the way the crowd moved together than made me smile.

Aaron turned to me as the slow notes of an old classic died away and another took its place. “Do you dance?” he asked curiously as I looked up into his eyes with a smile. I shook my head; I hadn’t had the opportunity to dance in so long.