The Stepbrother (Red's Tavern 5)

“Appease you?” Fox said. “I didn’t even know if you’d speak to me, after how I left.”

I softened a little. “Of course I’ll speak to you. I’ll always be here for you, Fox. But you don’t have to worry about my feelings. I’ll be okay, even if you go back to New York and only see us every five years again.”

His eyes were earnest as he looked at me, more open and genuine than I’d seen. “I don’t think I would be okay with that, Sam.”

I swallowed hard. “So you’re not just here because you were worried about my sorry ass being pouty when you left?”

“It broke my heart to leave,” Fox said. “And you pouting at me could probably convince me to do a million things, to be honest. But no. I’m here because I had to be.”

A flicker of heat moved through me. Usually when I felt this hopeful, it meant I was about to get hurt. But I wanted it to be real. I wanted it so, so badly.

“You couldn’t ruin anything,” he said. “I think I’m just done just chasing more and more money. What’s the point of me doubling, even quadrupling my income, if I’ll be there all alone in some ivory tower in the city?”

“But it’s your dream,” I said quietly.

He pulled in a slow breath. “Lately I’ve been having different dreams. Very different. Dreams I like a whole lot better than my old ones.”

He reached out and held my hand in his free hand, and I realized I was shaking, just a little.

And then he leaned in, kissing me softly but deeply, breaking the tension I’d felt ever since he had walked out onto the rooftop.

My whole body ached with wanting. He smelled so familiar, now. The scent of his cologne, his hair, his skin. Like a place my body had been slowly learning to call home.

He gently brought an arm around my back, pulling me in closer, holding me like I was something precious. Everything felt so surreal. Too surreal. Like if I blinked, at any moment, I might wake up.

“Not fair,” I whispered against his lips. It felt like every cell of my body was magnetized toward his.

“What’s not fair?” he murmured, running his lips gently along the soft skin below my ear.

“How you still smell so good after being on a plane,” I said.

I loved the sound of his soft chuckle near my ear. “I’m glad you’re thinking about how good I smell and not how damn crazy I am for flying back.”

“No. I am very, very glad you’re crazy enough to fly back,” I said. “If that’s crazy, then please, please keep being crazy.”

“Believe me, I don’t think I can stop, at this point,” he said, squeezing my body a little closer for a moment before drawing back and looking me in the eyes again.

I felt so safe with him. I never could have guessed I’d ever feel that way about anyone so quickly, but certainly not Fox.

“How did you even get up here?” I asked.

“I got a room for the night,” he said. “I knew this was where you were staying. And I know you love rooftops, so I figured I’d check here before I let the family know I was back.”

I hummed. “So is that why you came back?” I asked. “You wanted a goodnight kiss?”

“That is one of the reasons,” he said, taking a deep breath. “But the biggest reason is that I need to tell you something. Something I’m very scared to tell you.”

“Oh God,” I said, my heart doing a little somersault in my chest.

A small smile passed over his lips. “You can’t be nervous,” he protested. “I’m nervous enough for the both of us.”

“Right. Yes. Sure,” I said, standing up a little straighter, squeezing his hand in mine. “I’m not nervous at all. Cool as a cucumber. Don’t you even worry about me.”

He knew I was full of it. In reality, my mind was running wild with all of the things he was probably going to tell me.

He was going to say that this had been fun, but we had to call it off.

Or maybe he’d say that even though he enjoyed hooking up with me, he’d decided to get married to Mariya Morozova, and that our days of kissing surreptitiously on rooftops were about to come to a swift end.

Worst of all, maybe he’d say he wanted to keep doing it, but totally in secret, preserving his image for the financial world. And if he told me that, it would break me completely. I’d never love in secret for the rest of my life. I couldn’t do it.

“You okay?” he said. “For sure?”

“I’ll be fine,” I said. But my chest was tight with worry. “Please, just tell me what you need to tell me before I explode?”