Stepbrother Bastard (25 page)

“
I
guess we
’
re
both a couple of sex fiends,
”
he grins, circling his arms around my
waist.

“
Might
as well accept ourselves for who we are,
”
I sigh, brushing the
curls away from his face. The stubble along his jaw is darker than I
’
ve
ever seen it. As if he couldn
’
t bring himself to be
bothered with self care these past several days. The empty whiskey bottle
sitting on his desk only fuels to my notion that he
’
s
been aching every bit as much as I have. But I get no satisfaction from knowing
that we were joined in our misery. All I want is for him to be happy.

“
Why
do you look so concerned all of a sudden?
”
Cash asks, giving me a
playful tug.

“
I
just feel so badly for how I left things,
”
I murmur,
“
It
was wrong of me to leave you back there at the house. There was just so much
going on
—”

“
That
’
s
for fucking sure,
”
he says, shaking his head,
“
But
you
’
re
here now, aren
’
t you? We don
’
t
need to drag all that shit back up.
”

“
I
’
m
sorry, is all,
”
I
tell him,
“
I need you to know that.
”

“
Well.
I
’
m
sorry too,
”
he
says,
“
The
ultimatums, the big talk
…
you didn
’
t
need that from me. Not after the bomb our parents dropped on us that night.
”

“
Have
you, uh
…
heard
anything else? About their plans?
”
I ask him, tracing my
fingertips absently across his chest.

“
I
left that place about two seconds after you did,
”
Cash tells me,
“
Haven
’
t
heard a word since. Luke
’
s back at Sheridan, now.
And Finn
’
s
pissed off back to Portland, or so I hear. You never can tell with him. Good
old Mom and Dad are on their own to fuck their shit up however they like, now.
”

“
God.
How did everything get to be so messy?
”
I ask, shaking my head.

“
Maddie
…
we
’
re
out of there,
”
Cash
says softly, running his hands down my arms,
“
Let
’
s
just put it behind us. I like the view right in front of me much better.
”

“
I
can
’
t
just forget everything that happened at that house,
”
I tell him,
“
Everything
that
’
s
still happening between our families. Our parents. I mean, they
’
re
already moving in together. What if things go even further? What if they want
to get married, or
—”

“
Slow
down, would you?
”
he cuts me off,
“
First
of all, take a breath. Nothing like that is going to happen, Maddie.
”

“
How
can you be so sure?
”
I ask him.

“
Because
there
’
s
no way my dad is going to get married again,
”
he says simply,
“
That
’
s
the one thing I know to be true in this world. Hell, he
’
s
been driving it into my head since I was in the single digits that marrying my
mom was the biggest mistake of his life. My brothers and I were raised to
believe that monogamy and marriage are bullshit.
”

“
That
’
s
encouraging,
”
I
scoff, raising an eyebrow.

“
I
said we were
raised
to believe that. Not that we actually do,
”
Cash laughs,
“
Do
I seem like a man who can be told what to think?
”

“
Not
in the slightest,
”
I reply, lowering myself to the couch next
to him and curling up against his side.
“
I
just wish I could put the whole thing out of my mind. Focus on this. On us.
”

“
Why
don
’
t
you try it?
”
he
says, putting his arm around me.
“
Don
’
t
think of me as part of that whole Hawthorne-Porter shit show. Think of me as a
sexy stranger you met in a bar. A sexy stranger you had your coworker track
down like some kind of creep so you could get a little more tail
…”

“
That
is
not
what happened,
”
I laugh, giving him a little shove.

“
Oh
no?
”
he grins,
“‘
Cause
it sure seems like
—”

“
Allie
tracked you down all on her own,
”
I tell him,
“
And
to be honest, she was acting more as my best friend than my coworker at the
time.
”

“
Ah.
So the best friend already approves of me? I
’
m
knocking this one out of the park,
”
Cash says.
“
Does
she know about our, uh, situation?
”

“
Not
really,
”
I admit,
“
I
mean, I told her about that first night. She has photographic evidence, for god
’
s
sake.
”

“
Ohh,
”
Cash says,
“
She
’
s
the one who made the one night stand bet with you? Remind me to thank her when
I meet her.
”

I
sit up straight, looking at Cash with surprise.

“
When
you meet her?
”
I
ask him.

“
Well
yeah,
”
he says, settling back on
the leather couch,
“
For this ad campaign or
whatever the hell you
’
re working on.
”

“
You
mean
…
you
’
d
actually be interested in taking the Asphalt job?
”
I ask him incredulously,
“
For
real?
”

“
Why
not?
”
he shrugs,
“
You
’
re
gonna pay me, right?
”

“
Of
course, but
—”

“
And
from what your friend said, all I have to do is come to some parties and let
you film me doing the job I
’
m already paid to do
anyway?
”
he goes on.

“
That
’
s
…
the
long and short of it, yeah,
”
I smile slowly.

“
Then
I don
’
t
see why I wouldn
’
t take it,
”
he says simply, lacing
his fingers behind his head.
“
This is my shop. It
’
s
not like I have to ask for permission. Besides, how could I deprive the good
denim-buying people of America a look at this kisser of mine?
”

“
You
know that most of the events will be in Seattle?
”
I ask him tentatively.

“
How
convenient,
”
he
says,
“
I
’
m
pretty sure I
’
ve got a place to crash there.
”

I
look away from him, shocked at this turn of events. I admit, I haven
’
t
had a chance to think past this afternoon. I figured I
’
d
get to use this
“
interview
”
as an excuse to see Cash
again. But past that
…
is it really a good idea
to involve him in my work life? What if that added stress just brings this
thing crashing down? A crease crops up between his eyebrows as I fall into
silence.

“
What
is it?
”
he asks, cocking his
head.

“
I
’
m
just. I wasn
’
t
—”

“
Do
you not want me to come or something?
”
he asks bluntly.

“
What?
No! I mean yes, I think,
”
I blather,
“
It
just never occurred to me that you
would
.
”

“
You
need to stop trying to figure out what I
’
m
gonna do next,
”
he
laughs, standing up and striding toward the fridge across the office.
“
You
’
ll
be wrong nine times out of ten.
”

“
Yeah,
I
’
m
starting to get that impression,
”
I say, as Cash pops open
the fridge and pulls out two bottles of beer.

“
Let
’
s
say that I
’
m down to take this little job of
yours,
”
he goes on, opening the
beers with his belt buckle.
“
What happens next?
”

“
Well
…
I
was
supposed
to come here today solely to get a
‘
yes
’
from you,
”
I laugh.
“
And
your signature on the dotted line, of course.
”

“
Guess
you got a little more than you bargained for,
”
he grins, handing me a
beer,
“
No
shame in that. You
’
re a, uh
…
shrewd
negotiator.
”

“
Or
something,
”
I
laugh, taking a swig of beer.

“
So,
you
’
ve
got me on board,
”
Cash goes on,
“
Now
what?
”

“
Now
…
I
guess you come to Seattle and meet the ReImaged team,
”
I tell him.
“
That
is, the people I work with
…”

“
You
don
’
t
sound too excited about that,
”
Cash observes, raising an eyebrow.

“
It
’
s
not that,
”
I
rush to assure him,
“
I guess it just feels
like asking for trouble. We already have plenty of baggage between us with our
family situation.
”

“
The
way I see that, me coming to work for you could solve all that,
”
he replies.