Sean: A Stepbrother Romance (Coded for Love 3)

Annoyed at the turn of events, Rowan went after Nan, meaning to put her straight.

Nan stopped in the hallway and put up her hand. “I don’t need any help, thank you very much.” She then barred the kitchen door and sent Rowan back to the sitting room with a wave of her hand. “The food is ready. Gladys and I sorted it while you were upstairs primping for his arrival.”

“I was not primping!”

“…and the teapot is warming.” Nan folded her arms over her chest. “No arguments. You’ve waited long enough for this reunion. He’s here now. Go. Get reacquainted.”

Reunion? “I don’t want to get ‘reacquainted.’ You’re wrong about what’s going down here, Nan.” Rowan stepped closer and dropped her voice to a whisper. “I have no intention of any big reunion. It’s too late for that. Besides, you heard him, he’s only passing through. It’s clearly the same old story from Sean. As you said three years ago, he’s a drifter, get over it. Well…I did! Well and truly.”

Nan laughed. “Maybe I was wrong, seeing as he’s come back.”

Rowan’s jaw dropped, but before she had a chance to reply, Nan turned away into the kitchen and closed the door behind her, quietly but firmly, giving her no option. Rowan glared at the door, but left it shut. The ladies had been good to her and Pixie and she respected their rules, even if she didn’t agree with their opinions a lot of the time.

The sound of his Irish brogue reached her though. Reluctantly, she headed back to the sitting room. Probably just as well, because she could hear Gladys laughing and wanted to know why.

“Oh I do understand,” Gladys said amidst laughing, “I was young once, believe it or not.”

They both looked at Rowan, but made no effort to enlighten her.

Fuck ‘em, Rowan silently declared, realizing she’d have to keep eyes on him at all times or this could get out of hand very quickly.

“I must say,” Gladys said, “I nearly didn’t recognize you. You’ve scrubbed up well for your visit.”

“I did my best.” Even while he answered Gladys, his eyes scoured Rowan.

It was hard to ignore such scrutiny.

Nan quickly rejoined them with a tea tray carrying the best cake stand, which was stacked high with sandwiches and cupcakes. The best cake stand was usually only brought out at Christmas. “So, what are your plans?” Nan asked, while unloading the tray. “Now you’ve had time to think things through?”

All eyes were upon him, but Sean just smiled, seemingly conformable under their interrogation. “Yup. Lots of time. Lots of plans.”

Again he eyeballed Rowan.

Annoyance shot up her spine. All she wanted to do was give him a piece of her mind and then boot him out. Apparently she’d have to wait her turn because the ladies were enjoying socializing far too much. Plying him with tasty treats they chatted, enlightening him on local news in between not-so-subtle questioning on his ‘intentions.’ They even made suggestions about trades he could look into.

Surprisingly, he didn’t laugh in their faces. “I gained a few skills while I was doing my time,” he informed them, while chomping through delicate sandwiches by the plateful. “Some of them useful.”

“I bet,” Rowan muttered, thoroughly annoyed. Knowing him, he meant new ways to crack code and land himself back behind bars.

“Basic accountancy, for example, which will help when I set up my own business.”

Jesus, he was serious. And the ladies were impressed, encouraging him. Meanwhile he sat there, charming them, while she felt unaccustomedly awkward. This wasn’t how she thought things would pan out. It was like a proper tea party, and he was playing along. She felt the urge to laugh, manically. It was like some ridiculous scene from a Jane Austen novel with the hero winning over the chaperones. This was not how it was supposed to be at all.

At one point he even started talking about setting up a fencing company. Where the hell had that idea come from? Her imagination immediately flickered to him working, those muscles of his in action, and she had to force the image away. It was doing bad things to her. He looked so gorgeous, all hard and masculine and revved up. Rowan couldn’t keep her eyes off him while he fielded the questions from Nan and Gladys.

Nan started talking about government grants he might apply for to start his own business. What the hell were they doing? This was beyond politeness, and Rowan didn’t want them to encourage him to stay around here.

“I’m sure Sean will soon be on his way again,” she stated. “He’ll have bigger fish to fry, being a computer wizard and all that.” She meant to sound sarcastic, but even to her ears it sounded as if she was encouraging him and she could have slapped herself.

“No, that’s not my intention,” he replied, seemingly just to her. “It’s time for a change of direction. New beginnings and all that,” he added, with a slow, suggestive smile. “Keep the best of what there was before…” He paused, as if to emphasize a point, “…and make a new life.”

He was looking at her with such deliberation, he wanted her to listen. Her chest tightened. It would be so easy to believe him, to slide into it again. But she couldn’t risk it. He’d be gone again, just like before. It wasn’t worth risking her heart for it to be broken all over again. But at the pit of her belly desire fluttered, her heartbeat erratic as she tried to break eye contact with him. It was hard. He was watching her so intently, communicating in the old way. Silently.

Thankfully he continued with the conversation, freeing her.

Her gaze dropped. The T-shirt he wore was tightly stretched over his massive shoulders and the look of it made her ache to get closer, to lock her hands over his shoulders while she wrapped her legs around him and...

Sean had stopped speaking.