Stepbrother's Gift

As soon as we got to the dorm lobby, I saw James waiting for us. He was sitting awkwardly in one of the warn, gray chairs that no one ever actually sat in. He stood up as soon as he saw us. Nicole had taken another hour to get ready, so it was no surprise that he looked a little nervous by this point. He might have even thought that we had sneaked by him.

Immediately, his eyes went to Nicole. He gave her a once-over that there was no mistaking. Yep, I thought. After tonight, I won't have to worry about him anymore. I couldn't decide if it was relief or horror that was flopping around inside of me.

He smiled and gestured us over to him. “The limo is waiting outside,” he said.

“Oooh, a limo,” Nicole said. I rolled my eyes. She was definitely the type of girl who was wowed by money.

I looked at James. The once-over of Nicole had been unmistakable, but now his eyes were on me. The same hungry look that was on his face was on there now. I immediately felt myself start to melt under his gaze.

Nicole kept looking at him, and she could follow his gaze as well as I could. I knew that, to her, it would be a competition, one she was sure she was going to win. He was my stepbrother after all. It just meant that she would be willing to press the boundaries because she thought she was a shoe-in. I was just someone to show off her skills. I looked away from James' beautiful eyes and toward the limo. Despite how I felt about James, in this arena, I wasn't allowed to compete. Not really. Nicole was going to throw out all the stops while I had to play the dutiful sister. Even if I didn't have feelings for James, watching her throw herself at him would be difficult. Throw in my mixed up emotions, and it was torture.

This was going to be hard.

Chapter Nineteen

James helped the two of us up into the limo, then crawled in after us. The inside was spacious, definitely meant for a party more than twice our size.

Nicole and I settled in next to each other. James opened a drawer under a bar and pulled out a bottle of champagne.

“A little Dom Perignon before we get to the club?” he asked.

For a moment, my hand went to my belly. I hadn't felt any different over the past few days, but I knew that didn't matter. Women's intuition told me all I needed to know. James had gotten me pregnant that first time we had sex, in his office in Boston. It already seemed like a lifetime ago, but it had only been Tuesday afternoon, three days ago.

I knew that I shouldn't drink while I was pregnant. However, even though I knew Tessa would make fun of me for being baby crazy, I also had spent some time on some pre-natal care websites. Doctors said that a glass of wine per day wasn't bad for the baby and also good for the heart. And a glass of champagne was pretty much a glass of wine, right? I'd only have a sip.

Nicole answered before me. “I've never had Dom. Of course I'll take some.”

James grinned and pulled out two glasses. He pulled out a third and gestured to me. I had one last moment of hesitation before I bit my lip and smiled. “I'll take one for a toast.”

He smiled and set the three glasses down, then poured each one of them to the brim with the bubbly liquid, spilling very little even as the car started to move. As he reached out to hand me the glass, I brushed my hand up against his. The feeling of his skin made my heart start to race immediately, and I knew he could tell what effect he had on me.

He raised his glass and so did Nicole. “To a night of drinking and dancing,” Nicole said before either of us had a chance to say anything. I was still holding my glass close to myself, but James reached out and clinked glasses with me before doing so with Nicole.

Nicole raised the glass to her lips and took a quick sip, all while looking at James. “Delicious,” she said.

I took a sip as well. I was never very good at telling champagnes apart, but this one tasted the same to me as all the others did. I remained silent as James continued to watch me.

Suddenly, he broke from looking at me. “Nicole, how much did Allie tell you about me?” I was sure he was fishing for whether I had told her that we were stepbrother and stepsister.

Nicole stole a quick glance at me and then smiled. “Nothing, really, but I have seen a few of the status updates that Allie has liked on myFace.”

At least we were all on the same page, now. “Is that right?”

Nicole nodded. “Though, I don't see you liking too many of her status updates. You should know that we're going out to cheer her up, she's been mopey all week.”

James cocked an eyebrow. “Mopey, huh?”

I was glad the limo wasn't well lit, because I was blushing hard core. I didn't want him to know I had been mopey. But now it was out. Nothing I could do about it now. It was hard not to chug the champagne sitting in my hand, but I knew I couldn't. I tucked it into a cup holder so I wouldn't be tempted.

Nicole nodded. “That's right. Some boy broke her heart a few days ago. I think your sister gets attached too easily. Me?” I swore that she pressed her cleavage out even further and fluttered her eyelashes. “I don't have that problem.”

James' eyes went right to her chest. Hell, my eyes went straight to her chest, so I couldn't blame him. Is this how she always acts? I thought to myself. I only had myself to blame, of course. I could have put the kibosh on this evening before it even started. Now, watching her throw herself at him, I wanted nothing more than to start making out with him right in front of her, to show her who James really belonged to. She would freak out, but at the same time it would be soooo nice.

“Is that right?” he asked again, same tone as last time. He took another sip of his champagne. I could tell that he wasn't nearly as interested in Nicole as she thought he was. That was a relief. I could tell that all he wanted to do was talk to me, but with Nicole there, we wouldn't be able to talk about what we really wanted to talk about. I knew that I'd have to keep an eye on the situation.

Or just let him go completely, I thought sadly. I was such a mess of contradictions, even in my own head. Did I want him, or did I just want him to stop torturing me with wanting him?

“Tell me, Nicole, what are you studying?” James asked. I smiled. I recognized the question for getting a girl to talk about herself. It was James' go-to question to get a girl talking. And if there was one thing Nicole liked to do, it was talk about herself. I was able to sit back as Nicole talked about her fashion marketing and how she was going to change New York fashion forever. James refilled her glass several times, but I kept mine clutched close to me or in the cup holder for the rest of the trip to the club. I did my best to just act uninterested in the both of them.