Billionaire Stepbrother: Spring (Our Forbidden Year Book 4) (2 page)

Oh, really?

I stood with my hands on my hips; I wasn’t going to throw a tantrum, but I wasn’t going to let him off the hook that easily. “I’m not sure why you keep buying me clothes, when you just keep throwing them away.”

“You don’t need clothes, my darling. You’re perfect the way you are,” he said as he gently pinched my exposed nipple.

“Fine then,” I said and held out my hand. “I want your shorts then.”

Lex’s eyebrow arched in amusement but he quickly handed over his boating shorts. I frowned.

“Not what you were expecting?” He laughed and took me in his arms. His naked form, solid muscles sculpting every part of him, squashed up against me. “Don’t you get it? I want every day with you to be like this. I want you to be mine, forever.”

He reclaimed the shorts from my closed fist and threw them overboard to join my bikini top. I couldn’t help but giggle.

Lex’s head tilted as if he was trying to figure out what I was thinking.

“Please say yes?” he asked, catching me off guard.

I looked into his longing eyes and sighed. He’d literally shown me the world. That, and so much more. I finally felt like I could let my guard down with him, I could be myself. And not to mention, he’d grown so much in these short months and I truly thought that I could trust him.

So why hadn’t I said yes yet? Why was I stringing him along? Why hadn’t I accepted his marriage proposal?

Undeniably, the life we would live together would be an extraordinary one, but what could I bring to the table? I had no wealth, no skills and no decent family to speak of. Hell I was only nineteen. Surely this wasn’t a decision you made in haste?

He’d asked me in the throes of passion, in the spur of the moment. My heart had screamed at the top of its lungs to say yes, but the word had never left my lips.

What the hell was wrong with me?

He was everything I ever wanted, and yet I couldn’t bring myself to say the words.

Did I want the ring, the romantic proposal? Of course I did.

A small part of me knew that was shallow, but I also knew I needed him to really mean it. I couldn’t let myself be a flash in the pan, and him getting down on one knee would go a step towards proving that. But he kept standing… waiting for my answer.

My phone buzzed against the wooden deck, demanding my attention, and I pulled away. Lex stepped back and fixed his gaze towards the horizon. The moment was broken, and a pang of guilt filled my throat as I picked up the phone.

Chapter Two

“W
hat’s wrong, Phoebe?” I asked as she spluttered nonsense down the phone. She was crying, there was no doubt about that; she gasped for air between sobs. Her anguish travelled over miles and miles through the receiver.

A stiff breeze blew across the deck, making it difficult to catch any words Phoebe had managed to form. It also reminded me how very naked I was. With a quick tug, I readjusted my bikini bottoms and then grabbed a once fluffy white towel from the lounger – pools of suntan oil had soaked into the terrycloth in sporadic places – and wrapped it about my chest.

Lex was still standing with his back to me, watching out to sea, giving me the cold shoulder. I might as well have tossed his heart overboard. I shook my head; I’d deal with Lex later, but for now Phoebe needed my full attention.

One drama at a time
.

“Phoebe, take a breath and tell me what’s happened.”

She struggled to get the words out as she fell apart again, but I managed to hear, “… gonna get kicked out—”

“Kicked out of where? Your flat?” I frowned, trying to make sense of her mumblings.

“No… School!” she cried, as another violent sob took her over.

“What are you talking about? You have fantastic grades. What on earth has happened?”

Her wailing was beginning to grate on my nerves; there was no way I was going to get any sense out of her like this. So I did the only thing I could do, being so far away from her: I yelled at her.

“Phoebe Kildare, you will stop crying right this minute!”

I heard a sudden stifled choke as she held back her cries and stopped making a racket. I smiled and took a deep breath myself.

“Now, tell me what’s happened. We can figure this out together.”

***

I came off the phone to find Lex inside, on the next level down below the sundeck, sitting on the U–shaped couch in the yacht’s lounge, nursing what looked to be a rather stiff drink. He took a sip, regarding me as I sat down beside him. He sucked air between his teeth as he swallowed the burning liquid.

His blue eyes were distant, as if he had the whole world piled heavily upon his shoulders.

Why can’t I give him what he wants? I sighed, not knowing where to start and was grateful when he prompted me.

“What was that all about?”

“I think I need to go home,” I replied and pried the glass from his hand, taking the last swig of whiskey for myself. I probably shouldn’t have just said it like that, and I berated myself for being so inconsiderate.

When I looked back at him, his forehead was crumpled into a frown, and the side of his jaw pulsed. I waited for him to ask more, to ask me why, but the questions never came. It looked like he was doing his best to keep his cool, but his face was more sad than angry.

When no inquiry came I attempted to explain.

“Phoebe needs me. She’s in trouble.”

His face inclined as he chewed over my words.

“The same Phoebe that almost broke us apart? The same Phoebe that thinks I’m scum?”

“That’s not fair, Lex.”

Ever since that night at Club Empire, when Phoebe had so boldly defended my honour by giving Lex a good slap, he’d never been able to stand her. Not to mention the time she came around with the full intention of seducing him so that I would, she hoped, see sense and dump him. Simply put, he didn’t trust her.

“I know you don’t like her, but she’s my best friend. I know this getaway was so we could get to know each other properly without any prying eyes or interference, but she’s going through some real shitty stuff right now, and I’m all she’s got.”

We sat in silence and I listened to waves as they sloshed up against the hull of the boat, trying to figure out a way to make him see sense.

“Look, I’m going to go with or without you,” I said as I took his hand. “I can’t leave her in the lurch.”

“I understand,” he grumbled, “but you’re not going anywhere.”

“Lex! We’ve been over this… You know I’m yours, but you can’t control every single part of my—”

“Will you let me finish?” He smirked as if he’d just baited me.

I held off my anger and waited, nodding for him to continue. The next thing that came out of his mouth almost made me fall in love with him all over again.

“I was going to suggest that we fly her out to us, to you. Maybe some time away from whatever’s going on will do her some good?”

My mouth dropped open. Finally the generous and kind man that I knew, who had done his best to bury himself under snark and arrogance, was coming to the surface.

“But if you don’t like the idea…” he trailed off, teasingly.

“No! I love it,” I replied and threw my arms around his neck and smothered him in kisses.

Lex was amazing and proactive, and with a couple of phone calls he’d managed to organise all the transport that was necessary to get Phoebe to our location that evening.

While we waited for her arrival, the crew got the yacht underway and we travelled the short journey, a few miles down the coast, to Monaco and docked in its stunning harbour. Glittering white vessels surrounded us – yachts and ships of varying sizes – and I could only imagine the combined wealth of all these ships put together; billions just floating upon the water.

I wasn’t the only one to be stunned. A couple of short hours later Phoebe stepped on board The Pearl to join us. Lex held out his hand to steady her as she followed him up the wiggly gangplank.

As she came into view, I saw her eyes go as wide as the wheel that steered the yacht. But when I looked closer underneath all that amazement, her eyes were sore, red–rimmed, and she looked positively drained.

I quickly closed the distance between us and took her in my arms in a hug and held on tight as Lex moved off to one side to give us some privacy.

“It’ll be ok,” I whispered into her ear.

A tiny sob escaped her but she quickly gained control over it; forcing it back down to where it came from.

I stepped back and released her. She was no longer her usual bubbly self but a paler version in comparison, and it looked like she’d lost a few pounds from all the worrying. God, I knew exactly how that felt.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner? I would’ve come home,” I said and led her to one of the plush sofas.

Phoebe shrugged and her head bowed as shame washed over her face. Her eyes darted from me to Lex, who stood over in the corner.

“Stop that,” I said and took hold of her chin. “You have nothing to be ashamed of.”

“I know,” Phoebe said quietly as she shook her head.

“Oh my god! I thought you’d gone mute for a second, too!”

“Fat chance of that!” She grinned at me and we held onto each other as we fell into a fit of quiet giggles.

We quickly recovered, remembering the seriousness of the situation, and Phoebe looked over towards where Lex was now standing.

“Have you told him?”

I shook my head. “No, but I think we should. He might be able to help.”

“How on earth would he be able to help?” A quick scowl flashed across her face.

“You underestimate him… give him a chance?” I asked and she nodded an OK.

“Lex?” I called. He’d obviously been listening – the yacht was only so big – but ever the gentleman, he pretended that he hadn’t, and I had to shout a bit louder to get his full attention. “Join us, will you?”

He turned and walked over to us. He was dressed in some new white shorts – the others, of course, had never been recovered, drifting to the bottom of the Mediterranean I imagined – and a simple sky–blue t–shirt that made his tan seem darker than it actually was.

“How was your flight?” he asked, doing his best to make friendly conversation. I caught his eye and smiled at him for making the effort.

“Amazing, I’ve never flown first class before.” After a beat Phoebe took in her surroundings and said more softly, “and I’ve never been on a yacht before, either. Thank you for this, Lex.”

“No problem. Anything for a friend of Aimee’s.” A hint of awkwardness filled the cabin, but it was quickly dispersed by Lex’s full smile.

“How about I get us all a drink and we can figure this thing out, whatever it is, together?” he said and got up.

“I can’t,” Phoebe said, interrupting his stride towards the mini–bar, “that’s the problem… I’m pregnant, and I think I’m about to get kicked out of Oxford.”

Lex fixed her a glance and arched his eyebrow and said, “More for me then,” as he filled his glass.

His lack of a response, no sudden gasp, seemed to calm the room, and I watched as Phoebe visibly relaxed. With a few simple words he’d told her that she was not in enemy territory.

“Aimee? You want anything?”

I shook my head, and he quickly re–joined us.

I didn’t know where to start. How could I help Phoebe? I wanted so badly to make everything OK for her. She’d been there by my side when I needed her, but now that the tables had turned, I felt I had little to offer her – no words of wisdom, no proper course that I could guide her onto.

So instead I just took her hand and waited for her to open up.

“Well, at least we all know it’s not mine, ‘cause that would’ve been awkward,” Lex said, breaking the silence. He lifted his glass in the air. “So, cheers to that!”

I smacked him hard on his upper arm, causing his drink to slosh over the sides of the glass.

“Too soon?” he asked, grinning like a man who’d just gotten away with murder. Phoebe’s mouth dropped open into a wide circle, but suddenly her eyes creased with glee, and she started laughing. It was just what we all needed, and I sat looking at them both and rolling my eyes.

“So, OK. You’re up the duff… who’s the father?”

“Lex!” I interrupted. He really did not have any tact.

He put his hand up, “Look, you know I don’t beat around the bush. Phoebe can get all the sympathy she needs from you. But I’m sure if I leave you two to come up with a solution to prevent her from getting kicked out of school, nothing will get done. Plus, I can be a straightforward sounding board… no bullshit tolerated. I solve billion pound problems for a living remember.”

Phoebe sucked in a breath as if she was steeling herself for an oncoming onslaught. “He’s right, Aimee. My head has been spinning in a thousand directions, I need to get serious about this. And to answer your question; no one special. A one–nighter,” she replied blushing.

Lex looked at me with a smug half–smile as if to say
See?,
and I resisted prodding him in his ribs.

“I haven’t even been able to talk to my mom about it. She’s going through her own crisis right now what with the divorce –”

“Lot of that going around at the moment,” Lex mumbled, smiling over the rim of his tumbler.