The Stepbrother (Red's Tavern 5)

But even that glimmer of a hope—that fucking delicious tease from Fox—was enough to rile me up completely. I spent the rest of my shift like I was walking on a cloud, floating from customer to customer, stopping to talk with Fox whenever I could.

“Guess who’s getting married in a few months, though?” Fox asked.

“Are Mom and Greg renewing their vows again?” I asked.

“Not quite yet, but I’m sure they will a few more times,” he said. “But Mariya Morozova sent me a message last night. She’s engaged.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Already? Didn’t she proposition you just a few months ago?”

“She did, indeed,” Fox said.

Fox and Mariya had become good friends after he turned down her job offer. She was a shrewd businessperson, but she hadn’t taken anything personally, and had actually understood completely when Fox said he wanted to get out of the game.

Ben Chamberlight hadn’t been so happy. But honestly? He’d never seemed like much more than an asshole, anyway.

I was happy that Fox had a friend to confide in now, too. Mariya was smart as hell, and had connected Fox with friends of hers in the U.S. who were experienced with charitable foundations.

“I’m sure Mariya proposed to this guy just like she did to me,” Fox said, smiling softly. “But honestly? For her, I think a marriage run like a business will work just fine. I want you to be my plus-one for her wedding, by the way. It’s going to be in Paris.”

“Holy God,” I said. “Paris?”

He nodded. “I want to take you everywhere, Sam,” he said. “I think you’ll love Paris.”

“You’re too good to me,” I said.

“And I want to be better.”

When my shift ended, Fox was outside waiting for me in his Tesla. It was the same one he’d sent a picture of for Christmas, but now, it was something I was used to. I didn’t see it as some overt way for a rich guy to brag. I saw it as Fox’s car.

A car he’d kissed me in. A car he’d blown me in.

God, the last few months had been good.

“Ready for bed?” he said as I slid into the passenger seat.

“I’m exhausted,” I told him. “But I think I’ve got more left in me before I fall asleep.”

He moved in, pressing his lips to mine in a slow kiss. He leaned back, looking me in the eye. “I’m sorry if I went a little too far earlier,” he said softly. “I know I can be too much.”

I squeezed his shoulder. “Fox, it wouldn’t even be too much if you were on the rooftop of the bar shouting my name,” I said. “I love all of it.”

“Really? You wouldn’t be embarrassed to have me screaming on the roof? I doubt that,” he said with a smile.

“Okay, maybe if you were screaming on the roof, naked, and waving your ass around, it would be a little too much for the public,” I said. “But nah, I’d still love the view.”

He chuckled. “I can’t wait to live here permanently,” he said.

I let out a slow breath. “I can’t wait, either.”

He took off down the road, heading to my place, a light rain falling on the car as we drove. It was chilly outside now, and the streetlights illuminated the night like a beautiful, blurred painting. I knew when we got back we’d be naked immediately, curled up and cozy under the blankets together.

“When I get the keys to my house, you’re getting a copy on day one,” he said. “You know that, right?”

“I’m going to have the keys to your fuckboy mansion?” I asked.

“Only one person I’m going to be fucking, and it’s you,” he said.

“Because I’m marriage material,” I said, leaning back on the passenger seat a little further.

“You know you are,” he said.

With Fox, I was learning to trust. And every little time he’d asked me to trust him, he’d delivered on his promises. He’d done more than that, even.

I was going to take the leap. I was going to believe that what we had was the type of love that could last, because somewhere deep in my heart I knew it would.