Stepbrother Untouchable (3 page)

CHAPTER FOUR

As Nate walks into my periphery, I watch in slow motion as
he hugs his dad and shakes hands with my mom. I cannot believe this is
happening. Surely I'm in the middle of some strange nightmare and will wake up
soon. I hoped I'd never have to see him again after last night.

“Brynn, honey, this is Nate, Pierce's son,” my mom says,
cutting through the fog of emotion in my brain.

“H-Hi. Nate. Brynn. I'm Brynn,” I stammer as he glances
over at me.

“Brynn, pleasure to meet you,” he replies formally. Wait,
does he not even remember meeting me last night?

“Well, scooch over Brynn, so Nate can sit,” Mom says, waving
me over with her hands.

“Right, sorry,” I say, sliding over so that he can sit next
to me. I stare straight ahead as he sits. I can feel my body betraying me
already. The heat from his leg under the table is giving me heart palpitations.

“Thought you weren't going to be able to make it,” Pierce
says a little tensely to his son.

“Sorry, I was in the library studying. I had my phone off.”

“Well, you missed the big announcement. We were just telling
Brynn that Holly and I have gotten married.”

 I glance at Nate out of the corner of my eye. I see
his eyes widen in surprise.

“Married? I thought you said you'd never get married again.”

“Well, things change. When I met Holly, I just knew. You'll
see when you get to know her. She's a special woman.”

I watch my mom glow like a 1000 watt bulb and can't help but
smile. It's been a while since I've seen her so happy.

“Yeah, I'm…I'm just…” I watch him struggle for words just
like I did. “Surprised. But happy. I'm looking forward to getting to know you
better, Holly.”

Wow, that was…kind. Not what the guy I met last night would
say.

“Oh, me too, Nate,” my mom replies, looking overjoyed. “And
I'm so excited for you and Brynn to get to know each other!”

“Two only children…” Pierce says meaningfully. “You'll have
to learn to share.”

My mom laughs and I join in weakly.

“You always wanted a sibling, Brynn! And now you have one!
Well, a step-sibling, but still.”

A step-sibling that I've had literally dozens of dirty
dreams about. Perfect.

“So, you two have never met, then?” my mom asks, glancing
between us. “Pierce and I were so excited when we realized both our kids were
juniors here.”

“UVA is my alma mater,” Pierce adds proudly.

“No, we've never met,” I break in quickly. I see Nate eye me
for a second before he nods.

“Nope, never met, unfortunately,” he says.

“We thought it best not to tell you guys about us until we
knew it would really be forever. I thought it would have just been so awkward
for you two if we'd broken up and then you have to keep seeing each other
around campus,” my mom explains.

“Yes, that would have been awkward,” Nate says drily, and I
know he's thinking that nothing could compare to my own awkwardness last night.

The waitress comes over with the bottle of champagne that
Pierce ordered. Dom Perignon, I see as I look at the label. Whoa, he must be
loaded.
My new stepdad
must be loaded
.
She expertly pops the cork
and pours us each an elegant flute, placing the bottle into a wine cooler next
to the table.

Pierce takes his glass and raises it. “To a new family,” he
says, looking around the table. We all raise our glasses and clink them together.
I manage to do so without making eye contact with Nate. The champagne tickles
my throat on the way down. I've never wanted to drink a bottle of alcohol more
in my entire life than at this moment, but I keep myself to a modest sip.

“So, honey, you told me you had some news, too?” my mom
asks, as she puts down her glass.

“Oh, yes, though I don't think I can follow that
announcement,” I hedge with a smile.

“Please! You sounded excited on the phone,” she encourages
me.

“Well, I got a lawn room,” I reveal. My mom gasps in
excitement, but I see Pierce glance quickly at his son.

“I thought you said that they hadn't announced it yet,” he
says quietly.

“I…I knew you'd be disappointed. I was waitlisted. It was
difficult, juggling two varsity sports, a double major—” Nate replies. I glance
at my mom and then between the two men. Nate is looking down at the tablecloth.

“I was selected for a Lawn room, too,” Pierce says,
interrupting him and turning to me. “It's an important accomplishment.”

“Thank you…” I say hesitantly. Nate looks so miserable.
“Being waitlisted is impressive, too.”

He glances up at me sharply, his eyes flashing. Shit. I
heard it, too: pity.

“Well, congratulations, both of you,” my mom breaks in. “I
have no idea what I'm going to order! Everything looks so wonderful.” She runs
her finger down the menu in front of her. Having grown up in a family of Irish
immigrants, my mom has always avoided conflict like the plague, though this
time I'm glad for the change of subject.

I decide to order the steak since money doesn't seem to be
an issue, and we each order a cocktail in addition to the champagne. Something
begins to tug at the back of my brain after the waitress leaves to put in our
food orders.

“Pierce, I'm sorry if this is an ignorant question, but were
you in office? Your name sounds so familiar.”

“Yes,” he replies, looking pleased. “I'm a former
congressman—”

“—For Virginia. Now I remember. You helped pass the campaign
finance reforms.” I smile.

“Good memory.”

“One of my majors is Political Science, so I try to keep up
with it.”

“And your other major?”

“Global Health.”

“You know, I run Thornhill and Co. Consulting of K Street,
and we're still looking for a summer intern. Interested?”

“Dad, I thought you were going—” Nate breaks in before I can
respond.

“And I thought you were going to get a Lawn Room,” his dad
replies, keeping his voice light. “So, Brynn, what do you think?”

“Well, um, I was just going to get a summer job back in
Maryland to help pay for tuition,” I murmur. Did Pierce promise his son the
internship? I don't want to start off this relationship with Nate on the wrong
foot.

“You don't need to worry about tuition now, honey,” my mom
says softly. I look at her in surprise. Oh my god—is Pierce going to pay for my
college bills? The thought hadn't even occurred to me. I look between them as
they stare back at me calmly.

“Oh, oh, I didn't think—I mean, I'd love to, but I just—if
Nate wants the—”

“Then it's settled,” Pierce cuts in. “I tend to go into the
office quite early, but we have an extra car you can use.”

“Sorry? I don't understand.”

“Well, Pierce and I are moving in together. I mean, I
basically live there now, but I'm officially selling the old house, now that
we're married.”

“Right. Of course.” My brain scrambles to process all the
new information. Just as I'm working it all out, I feel a hand on my knee. I
look down in surprise to see Nate's arm disappearing under the tablecloth. I
glance at him. He's looking straight ahead as though nothing's happening. I struggle
to maintain my composure as heat travels from his hand and all the way up to…
“So, this summer, I'll be living with you then? All of you?”

Nate turns to smile at me politely. His hand moves another
inch up the bare skin of my thigh. I widen my eyes at him but he doesn't react.

“That's right. We'll all be living at Pierce's house—”

“Our house,” Pierce corrects my mom with a smile.

“
Our
house, in Potomac. It's got tons of space,
beautiful views of the river. It'll be wonderful to have the summer to bond with
each other, and really become a family.”

Nate's hand moves another inch up my leg. I can feel the
rough, calloused skin of his palm. I've never been so turned on in my life, but
I'm struggling against it. What is he thinking? We're at dinner with our parents!

“I know you have some stuff at the old house, but we'll have
it moved to the new one. Everything will be all set up when you get home,” my
mom says, smiling at me.

“Mmm,” I reply, trying to focus on her words. “I wasn't that
attached to the old place anyway,” I add with a shrug. We'd moved a couple
times after my dad left, so no one place has ever felt like home.

Nate's hand moves another inch up my thigh, pushing up the
hem of my dress so his fingers rest under it. My whole body is tingling. Holy hell,
I can barely breathe. I'm shocked Pierce and my mom don't seem to notice that
anything's happening. With his other hand, Nate takes a calm sip from his
champagne flute. Where's the waitress? He'll have to move his hand when the
food comes.

He moves his hand up another inch. I can't take it any
longer—another second and I'm going to start moaning. As my mom moves her head
to Pierce's ear to murmur sweet nothings, I slide my fork off the table and
press it tongs-first into the top of Nate’s hand. I hear him make a sharp
intake of breath and then his mouth twitches as he tries to hold position
through the pain. I press down harder.

Suddenly he yanks his hand away and I just manage to stop my
hand in time so the fork doesn't hit my leg. He turns to me and smiles, a
wicked glimmer in his eyes.

He was fucking with me
, I realize. That’s his way of
taking revenge for me showing him up in front of his dad? What a goddamn creep!

I lean toward him with a fake smile plastered on my face.
“If you’re that pissed about it, bring it up with your dad, don’t take it out
on me. I did
try
to turn it down.” I hiss into his ear.

He turns to me with an equally fake smile. “I’ll do whatever
the hell I like,
Sis
.” He says quietly so our parents can’t hear.

The rest of the meal passes without Nate making another fake
pass at me. The gears in my brain begin to move as I think about how I'm going
to be spending the entire summer, and potentially many other seasons, living
with this guy. My life has been completely upended tonight, and I need some
time to process everything.

After the waitress clears our coffee cups and Pierce takes
care of the bill
with a black Amex card
, we stand up to say goodbye.
They're going to drive back to Maryland tonight since it takes under three
hours. I hug Pierce goodbye, then my mom.

“I know this was a lot to take in, honey. We'll talk
everything over, I promise,” she whispers reassuringly, then kisses me on the
cheek. I smile at her and begin to tear up—I'm pretty overwhelmed.

Nate surprises me by leaning in for a hug as our parents
look on with a smile. “Great to meet you,” he says, then whispers almost
silently in my ear, “Sorry, we'll never get a chance to have that threesome,
Sis
.”

I freeze as he pats my back once and then breaks away. He remembered.
And now he will always know how attracted I am to him. I have a feeling I'm
never going to hear the end of it.

CHAPTER FIVE

“I don't mean to question the relationship, it was just so
sudden,” I explain to my mom as she drives me home from the airport. I usually
never fly to or from college, but Pierce insisted. My biggest worry was that
Nate and I might be on the same flight, but luckily his exams ended earlier
than mine. I want as much time as possible to prepare myself for our
interactions.

“No, I get it, I really do,” my mom assures me. “You can ask
me anything about Pierce, or me and Pierce, and I won't be upset.”

“He treats you well?”

“He's wonderful. He's always surprising me with little
gifts, trips, even. I don't know what I've done to deserve him.”

“Well,
I
think you're pretty great.” I offer dramatically.

“Oh, I didn't mean it like that! I just mean, Pierce treats
me like a princess. And the house is basically a castle,” she adds, pointing to
her right. I gasp at the flagstone mansion we're pulling alongside.

“Shut up. That's his house!? It's huge!”

“I know, right?” my mom replies with a laugh. “It has maid's
quarters! But you'll get used to it, really.”

“There's a
maid
?”

“He used to have a housekeeper/maid who would cook for him,
but now I do most of that stuff. I love having someone else to cook for again.
The maid just comes once a week now to do a really thorough cleaning,” she
explains as we pull through the wrought-iron gates leading the driveway.

“Are you still working at the salon?” She used to support
herself as a manicurist at the tiny salon back in our small town in eastern
Maryland.

“Nope, not anymore. I'm volunteering, though, and thinking
of joining some charitable boards,” she says nonchalantly.
My mom, a lady
who lunches
, I think, shaking my head. I don't know if I can see it.

My mom presses a button on the car's dashboard and one of
the two garage doors opens. We pull inside and I look around at the huge space
as the door closes behind us. If I'm this in shock about the size of the
garage, I can't imagine how I'll feel about the rest of the place.

After the tour, which took over an hour because the house is
so massive, my mom finally leads me to my room. My head is swimming at the
lavishness of my new home. As we walk down the plushly carpeted hallway, I'm alarmed
to realize that I can actually
smell
Nate. He must be nearby somewhere.
I've been dreading seeing him again and hoped I'd have more time to settle in
before our first confrontation.

“Here's Nate's room,” my mom says as we pass a partially
open door. “He's out somewhere right now.” I shake my head at myself. I wish I
could turn off the part of my body that's attracted to him. If anything,
though, my sex dreams about him have only become more frequent and more
alarming ever since he laid his hand on my thigh. “And here's your room.” I
can't believe it's right next door to Nate's room. There are so many rooms in
this place—I would have preferred to have a bit more separation between us.

“Whoa,” I say as she pushes the door open, and my misgivings
about the room are forgotten. A canopy with a delicate white fabric settled on
it hangs over the four-poster bed in the center of the room. A matching
nightstand, bureau, and vanity make up the rest of the furniture. The wallpaper
is a tasteful, blue and white pattern with small birds on it that complements
the light, airy feel of the room. I release the handle of my luggage and head
over the to the window seat and kneel on it. There's a spectacular view of the
Potomac River below—the house was clearly built to play up the amazing
location. I glance to my left. “Is that my own bathroom?”

“Yup—no more sharing!” my mom replies gaily. I step inside
and admire the all-white tile and huge tub. I've never been in a house so nice.
I can't believe I'm actually going to call this place home from now on. “You
want anything to eat?” my mom asks from the bedroom.

“Um, yeah, that would be great,” I call over my shoulder.

“OK, I'll whip something up. You stay here and get settled.
I'll be in the kitchen when you're ready to eat.”

I wander back into the bedroom as my mom disappears down the
stairs. There is one question I have that I can’t bring myself to ask her. It's
just…I know my mom worries about money, about me graduating from school with so
much debt. It's not that I think she would have married Pierce just for the
money, but I worry that it might have clouded her judgment a bit. They got
married so quickly—can she really know him that well?

Maybe I'm just falling back into my usual pattern of
co-dependency and mothering
her
. She's a grown woman, I can’t control
what she does and I’m not responsible for her decisions…not to mention, I
am
hugely relieved to not have to carry around student loans for the rest of my
life.

I kick my sandals off and sink back down onto the window
seat. The Potomac is a dark green sliver barely visible through the bushy trees
that line the back of the estate and continue down to the shoreline. I startle
as a figure breaks the stillness. I recognize Nate's head as he walks up from
the lower lawn to the pool, a lacrosse stick tucked over his shoulder.
Sheesh—is he training already? School just ended!

I bite my lip as I watch him toss the stick on the deck and
peel off his shirt. He uses it to wipe the sweat off his face, then tosses it
on a chair and kicks off his sneakers. His body is just…impossible. I mean, I
guess it makes sense. Two varsity sports are probably enough to give anyone a
body like a Greek god, but he also has the face to match.

He jumps in the pool and I watch him swim a lap, the cool
blue water cascading over his muscular back and shoulders. I need to get used
to seeing him like this—and stop acting like a total freak every time we’re in
the same room. This is my new normal.

“Your food's ready!” my mom calls upstairs, her voice echoing
a bit in the multi-level foyer. I jump up and head downstairs. I turn into a
formal dining room before finding my way to the kitchen. I stop as I realize
the kitchen windows look directly out onto the pool. Great. “I can't believe
Nate's already in the pool. The water's still freezing,” my mom comments.

“Yeah, he’s crazy…” I reply, before I really hear what she
said. I'm too distracted by Nate’s backstroke, his arms cutting cleanly through
the water.

“So you two never once ran into each other on campus in the
three years you’ve been at UVA?” she asks, sliding a BLT onto the glass table
in the breakfast nook. We sit down across from each other and I start eating.

“No, well…we hadn't ever
met
.”

“But?” my mom digs, hearing a slight hesitation in my voice.

“Well, Nate's really well known around campus. He starts on
the lacrosse and crew teams, he's smart, good—” I catch myself and pretend to
clear my throat.

“Good-looking?” My mom asks with a smile.

“Mom…” I groan.

“Well, he is. I'm not blind. Actually, Pierce looked just
like him when he was his age.” I see Nate get out of the pool over my mom's
shoulder and shake himself off. I force myself to look down at my sandwich as
he walks across to a lawn chair and lies down.

“What happened to Nate's mom?”

My mom winces. “Pierce doesn't really like to talk about
it—too painful. Apparently, she cheated on him and then abandoned him and Nate.
They never see her.”

“Oh, that's awful,” I murmur, trying to shove down the
twinge of pity I feel for my new stepbrother.

“I think it's one of the things that brought us
together—raising a child by ourselves.”

My eyes flick to the door as Nate slides it open. He's put
his shirt back on but it clings to his still damp torso, emphasizing his
muscular pecs and shoulders. He drops his sneakers on the mat as he shuts the
door behind him.

“Hey Nate,” my mom greets him. “Would you like a sandwich?”

“You don't have to do that,” he says, a little gruffly.

“I don't mind at all,” she replies, standing to move back to
the counter. He pauses, then sits in her abandoned chair a bit reluctantly.
“It's so funny that you and Brynn never met at school!”

“I think there might have been one time—” he says, glancing
at me, that same devilish look back in his eyes. I feel his knee come to rest
against mine under the table, and I quickly cross my legs.

“In class. We have been in a few of the same classes
together,” I clarify, narrowing my eyes at him.

“We have?” he asks looking genuinely surprised. My mom quietly
spreads mayo on a slice of bread at the marble island.

“Yes,” I whisper, embarrassed. Of course he wouldn't
remember all of the times we've sat in the same classroom—only the time when I
ogled him in the doorway of his bedroom and completely embarrassed myself. I
blush. I want to sink into this seat cushion and disappear. He frowns at me
then turns his palm over and begins to pick at a callous.

“So honey, Pierce says you'll start your internship on
Monday, OK? That'll give you a few days to settle in,” my mom says as she
slides the sandwich in front of Nate.

“Sounds good,” I reply, glancing at Nate out of the corner
of my eye.

“I'm having someone over for dinner tomorrow night,” he
announces rather abruptly.

“Oh, wonderful. A friend from around here?”

“Not a friend, really. A girl I dated in high school,” Nate
clarifies. I keep my eyes trained carefully forward.

“Do you know if she has any dietary restrictions?” my mom
asks, excitedly flying into hostess mode. “I could make this chicken dish my mom
passed down, or…”

I tune out as she offers more ideas, and polish off my
sandwich as quickly as possible so I can excuse myself and go upstairs. I sigh
as I close my bedroom door behind me. So now I have to have dinner with Nate's
ex-girlfriend. Is this what the rest of the summer is going to be like? Nate
punishing me for his father's favor by exploiting my attraction to him? I'd
rather be back in the library, buried in a book.