Steele Family Romance Collection

by Cami Checketts

  “I … um …” She fumbled for words. She would die to date him as Mae, but she didn’t want to date him under these misguided intentions.

  “I forget myself. You were waiting for someone else, and you obviously want to be with him. What’s he like?”

  Mae studied Slade for a few seconds. “He’s funny, smart, kind, handsome, perfect to me.”

  Slade’s dark eyes reflected pain. “He’s a lucky man.”

  “He would be if he showed up.” She winked.

  Slade laughed. “He’s a fool to not show up.”

  “Thank you.” Rather than risk throwing herself at him, she stored his words to savor later, then asked, “What about you? Why is your night failed?”

  “Would you like to walk for a while?”

  “Sure.” Spending more time with him, even under a presumed identity, wasn’t something she could turn down.

  He turned, and she started forward on the thankfully quiet sidewalk. Cars were still driving slowly past and the restaurants were crowded on this beautiful early summer night, but it felt like they were almost alone. Mae cursed her inability to walk in these shoes. She had to move slowly, but Slade didn’t seem to mind and fell into measured steps next to her.

  “So why is your night failed?” she asked again. She didn’t dare look at him for fear she’d trip and fall.

  “I was supposed to have dinner with a lady I’ve known for a couple of years but have never met in person.”

  “Were you excited to meet her?” She risked a glance at him, and he was smiling to himself.

  “Yeah. She’s really funny and smart, and I like the way she makes me feel.”

  Mae’s heart was walloping against her chest. Tell him who you are! a voice screamed in her mind, but her tongue wouldn’t cooperate.

  “Sorry.” He caught her looking at him and appeared chagrined. “That’s really classless of me to talk about another woman while I’m walking with you.”

  She smiled. “I did the same thing to you earlier, and I like hearing about her. What’s her name?”

  “Mae.” He tilted his head to study her. “You remind me of her.”

  Mae’s heart was racing so fast she’d probably need a defibrillator to reregulate it. “I’ll take that as the highest compliment,” she said.

  “You should. She’s an amazing lady.”

  Mae grinned and bit at her lip. He really seemed to like her, both the fake her and the real her. Was it even possible?

  They walked for a while in silence before Slade spoke again. “It’s odd because I have no relationship with her, and honestly she isn’t the type of woman I usually date, but … there’s just something about Mae that I can’t get out of my mind. Again, I apologize. It’s wrong to talk about her when I’m with you. There’s something about you that makes me want to share all my secrets.” He grinned. “You probably get that a lot.”

  “Oh, yeah,” she said wryly. “Men just want to share all about other women when they’re with me.”

  He chuckled. “I didn’t mean it like that. I’m sure most men have a hard time remembering there are other women in existence when they’re around you.” He glanced at her and kept walking slowly. “I’ve rarely seen such beauty as yours. You sparkle.”

  Mae’s brain was spinning. In one breath he was saying he couldn’t get Mae out of his mind, and in the next he was complimenting Josie. She was confused and happy and wanted to kiss him so badly right now. What would he do if she just touched him? Her body felt drawn to his. He had a magnetic pull she didn’t think she could resist much longer. If she could just get one small touch, maybe his hand or his arm, it would satiate her in the long, lonely Slade-free years to come. She couldn’t let herself dream of a relationship with this perfect man, and after being close to him, no one else would ever do. But there was no way she could admit to Slade that she’d pretended to be someone she wasn’t. Especially since he’d said nice things about Mae to Josie. She wasn’t even sure who she was right now.

  “I shouldn’t be complimenting you when I’m supposed to be with someone else,” Slade said ruefully, “and here you are, wishing you were with the man who’s perfect to you.”

  Dang, he was a good listener. She didn’t mean to push him away, but she couldn’t tell him now that he was the guy she’d described.

  He pushed a hand through his dark hair. “We’re both just a mess, aren’t we?”

  Her thoughts exactly. “A couple of ‘poor, unfortunate souls,’” she sang out.

  Slade stopped walking and turned quickly to her. “Little Mermaid,” he said. “One of my sister Lottie’s favorites.”

  Mae loved that he’d recognized the song. If she sang “Kiss the Girl,” would he comply? She turned to him, but her heel caught on a crack or something in the sidewalk. She slammed against his chest. Reaching out to steady herself, her hands ended up on his muscular shoulders. They felt more perfect and manly than she could’ve imagined.

  Slade reacted quickly, his hands wrapping around her waist to steady her. Explosions seemed to go off in her body at his simple touch. His eyes widened as if he felt the exact same way. Throwing sane reactions to the wind, Mae slid her arms around to his upper back and pulled her body flush to his.

  Slade looked almost in shock, but his hands moved slowly around to her lower back and he cradled her in close. Mae stared up at his handsome face, and he stared down at her as if she were as intriguing and beautiful as he had claimed earlier. She’d had no clue being held by a man could feel like this. Warm tremors raced through her, and she wanted to stay close to him from now until the end of time.

  It was sheer reaction to the tender feelings she’d never experienced anywhere but in novels when she pulled his head down and arched as high as she could on these vicious heels. Slade bowed his head to hers, and their lips met. At first the kiss was soft, tender, and as beautiful as new life. Then Slade let out a quiet moan, his hands tightened around her back, and he pulled her so close she couldn’t breathe, and she didn’t care to.

  She gasped, and he smiled against her lips, then proceeded to kiss her like they’d been designed to fit together. They tasted, they savored, they got so entangled in each other that nothing else in the world mattered to her.

  Time stood still, yet it flew by much too quickly. Mae’s hands came around to frame his perfect face, and Slade lifted her clean off the ground. He devoured her mouth, and she realized that the books she’d read and the movies she’d watched did not do kissing justice. No imitation could be as unreal and fabulous as kissing Slade.

  As his smell and body wrapped around her and his lips took command of her world, Mae knew she’d never be the same. How could she go back to her dull life after this explosion of color, sensation, and joy?

  Slade gently set her back on her feet and trailed kisses up her jawline. She shivered from the incredible thrill. She wanted to tell him exactly who she was and go snuggle on her couch, kissing and talking the night away. Slade was the man of her dreams and more. His kiss told her he returned her feelings and then some.

  His lips reached her ear and he said in a soft growl, “Mae.”

  Mae’s eyes flew open and she released his face. He knew. Somehow, he knew. She was relieved and happy and yet embarrassed all at the same time.

  Slade’s eyes also popped open, but they were filled with … horror. Why was he looking at her like that? He released her so quickly that she teetered on her heels, but miraculously she didn’t fall.

  Slade backed up a step, staring at her as if he had no clue who she was or what he’d just done. “Josie … I am so sorry.”

  Josie? Oh my goodness, he thought she was Josie now? She was as baffled as a pig at the prom.

  “I lost my head when you touched me, then I kissed you like that and you returned it … I shouldn’t have called you Mae. I am so sorry.”

  Mae could only stare at him, confusion and desire for him warring within her. Finally, she squeaked out, “Why did you call me Mae?” Please
let him figure it out, she prayed. Let him say he loves me.

  He pushed a hand through his hair. “I have no idea. I’ve been thinking about her, and then you … You’re irresistible. I’ve never—” He glanced away and licked his lips. “Never felt that way when I touched or kissed someone before.”

  Mae’s heart gave a leap of joy. This was happening. She was special to Slade, and even though he thought he’d kissed Josie, he’d been thinking of Mae. Could he be any more perfect? She didn’t know what to say, where to start.

  “Again, I apologize. I would never take advantage of someone like that. I’m confused, and I was in the wrong. Please forgive me.” Slade looked so out of sorts she wanted to comfort him, right after she told him who she was and kissed him again.

  A taxi pulled up down the street in front of a restaurant. Slade lifted his hand and flagged it. Mae was confused again. Who was he getting a taxi for? Did he want to go somewhere more comfortable so they could talk … and kiss some more?

  The sedan pulled up to them, and Slade yanked open the back door and shoved a couple of twenty-dollar bills at the driver. “Please take her wherever she wants to go.”

  “Sure, man.”

  He held the door for her and stepped back. “I am so sorry, Josie. I wish I could pursue this unreal connection between us, but I don’t feel right about it. Especially after I kissed you and then called you Mae. I apologize.”

  Mae had no clue what to say, how to react. She slid into the car and stared up at him, wishing she could say something to clear up this disaster. He gave her a forced smile and shut the door.

  “Where to, ma’am?” the taxi driver asked.

  Somehow, she rattled off her address, but her eyes were locked on Slade, who hadn’t moved. The car pulled away and Slade lifted a hand in farewell. The torn look on his face about killed her. She should make the car stop, tell him who she was, and then kiss him time and time again. Instead, she craned her neck until she couldn’t see him any longer, sank down into the seat, and somehow held the tears in until the driver stopped at her house.

  She stumbled out of the car and up the sidewalk. Ripping the heels off, she hurried to unlock her door, slammed it behind her, and then slumped to the wooden floor in the entryway. Tears spilled down her face, ruining Kit’s carefully constructed makeup.

  Kit! Her best friend could fix this. Yanking the phone from her purse, she pushed Kit’s name on the recent caller list.

  “Why are you calling me again?” Kit demanded. “You should be with Slade.”

  “Kit!” she wailed. “I messed it all up. Please come help me.”

  “Where are you?”

  “My house.”

  “I’m on my way.”

  Mae dropped the phone back in the purse and banged her head against the door behind her. Messed it all up was putting it mildly. She was socially inept and had ruined her own future. Kit was going to kill her.

  Chapter Seven

  Slade watched the taxi pull away, more miserable than he’d ever been. Life had been good to him and his family, and things typically went his way. Not tonight. He should never have chased Josie out of the restaurant. He couldn’t believe the surge of feelings that had overwhelmed him when he’d touched her, and those kisses … wow. Powerful didn’t begin to describe Josie’s intoxicating kiss. Even her smell had made him think he was on a tropical vacation—lime and coconut. Being with her felt like the best escape he’d had in years.

  If only they could’ve met under different circumstances. He was overwhelmed by the guilt of wanting to be with Mae while he was with Josie and the confusion over being so drawn to both women.

  The taxi petered from his sight, and Slade pulled out his phone to text his driver. Once the text went through, he clicked on the text stream with Mae, scrolling back and rereading some of her funny quips. With a pang of sadness, he reached the part where she’d left the restaurant because he was late and then never responded to his plea to meet later.

  More guilt rippled through him as he realized that if Mae would’ve stayed and had dinner with him, he never would’ve met Josie. He paced along the sidewalk, his mind jumping back to how original, innocent, and beautiful Josie was. It was impossible to forget how it felt to touch her and the kisses they’d shared. He passed a hand over his face. Why had he sent her away in that taxi? She was incredible. He and Mae were not dating, and Mae hadn’t even wanted to be with him tonight.

  He didn’t even know Josie’s last name or where she lived. A heavy weight filled his gut. How would he find her again? But he didn’t want to find her again, right? He was the one who’d sent her away because he felt guilty for secretly wanting to be with Mae, even though he wanted Josie also, and then he’d called Josie Mae in the heat of the moment of their kiss. He was not a two-timer, never, and though he and Mae weren’t dating, he hated himself right now.

  His phone beeped an incoming FaceTime. Lottie. His sister was exactly what he needed at the moment.

  He answered the call, and just seeing her cute face made him feel better. Lottie was sixteen, ten years younger than the youngest of the four Steele brothers, Gunner. The boys were all eighteen months apart and their mother had declared herself “cooked” after Gunner came. The surprise of expecting at forty-two didn’t start out delightful, but as soon as Lottie was born and the light emanating from her filled their family, everyone proclaimed her arrival as the greatest blessing ever bestowed on them.

  Lottie had been born with Down syndrome. Due to his mom’s diligence with the best treatments and therapists, Lottie was extremely high-functioning. She was in mainstream school and could read, loving romance novels. She was well loved by everyone and had been voted Prom Princess at her high school this year. Slade felt indebted and grateful to those kids for doing that for her. He and his three brothers had escorted her, and it had been a fabulous night. Preston and Jex had spent most of the night signing autographs, but they hadn’t minded. Those students had given their sister a gift they couldn’t repay.

  Lottie was absolutely beautiful with her long, dark hair, rounded cheeks, and an ever-present sparkle in her deep brown eyes. His mom kept her dressed perfectly at all times. Slade was certain Lottie’s outfits cost more than his business suits. Slade loved being around her, especially when he had the chance to help her with her charity.

  “Hi, biggest bro,” she said. “What’s up?”

  “I’m in a pretty town called Sausalito.” He panned the video around to show her the quaint street, the ships lit up out in the bay, and the Golden Gate Bridge.

  “Ooh, I want to go.”

  “Okay. I’ll bring you back here.” Maybe then he could finally have a date with Mae, or find Josie again. What would the two women think of Lottie? In high school it used to be his and his brothers’ test to their dates. If the girls weren’t nice to Lottie, the brothers didn’t ask them out again, saying quietly to each other, “Well, now you know.”

  “You look fancy.” She giggled. “Did you kiss a girl?”

  Slade chuckled. He would think his sister was the most insightful person in the world if she didn’t ask him that question regularly. “I did,” he admitted, afraid he might regret saying so. Lottie would go nuts.

  Lottie squealed, clapped her hands, then brought them both to her forehead and waved them, her gesture that she was really excited. “Was she pretty? Where is she? I want to say hi.”

  “I … had to say goodbye to her.” He tried to hide his despair. Josie seemed magical to him, even more so now that he’d lost her by his own choice. “But she was the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. Lit up from the inside, like you.”

  “Was she beautiful as me?”

  “No one is as beautiful as you, my sister.” The brothers loved that they could shower Lottie with words, love, and presents without ever spoiling her. She was angelic.

  She giggled. “When do I meet her?”

  Oh, man. How did he explain this to Lottie? “Um, it’s like …” He couldn’t
think of what chick flick it was like. “One of your movies when a man falls for a woman and kisses her, but he loses her and doesn’t know her name to find her again.” He didn’t even dare get into the mess with Mae and his feelings for her. Lottie would flip.

  Her eyes widened. “Oh, no! You lost her? So it’s like Sleepless in Seattle.”

  His car pulled up and the driver rushed around to get his door. “Thanks,” Slade mouthed, slipping inside. “How’s it like Sleepless in Seattle?” Thank heavens for Lottie. She was helping ease his pain.

  “They love each other, but they don’t know each other.”

  Slade laughed. What he felt for Josie wasn’t love. Yes, he was drawn to her and the kiss had been unreal, but he was also drawn to Mae. What would it be like to kiss Mae? Sadly, he couldn’t even picture Mae’s face, just those obnoxious glasses, but he could remember many of her funny quips and the way she made him feel—happy and not weighed down by the burdens of a billion-dollar business.

  “So, you’ll find her. It’s fate.” Lottie clapped her hands together again. “Yay!”

  Slade felt a rock settle in his stomach. Easy to say in a chick flick or in an innocent girl’s mind that he could find Josie again, but not so easy to do. He didn’t even know if she was from Sausalito, and he lived across the country. He was flying out tonight, his plane on standby for after his date. He would be back home and back to work and his predictable life tomorrow. Most of the joy in his life came from Lottie and his brief conversations with Mae.

  He changed the subject to what Lottie had been doing and got a full report of driving out to the Cape and playing in the freezing water with Gunner, who was on leave from the SEALs for a few weeks. Slade tried to focus on the conversation, but the feel of Josie in his arms crowded out almost everything else.

  Mae slipped out of her beautiful dress and into some sweats and a T-shirt that said, “Bookmarks are for quitters.” She pulled her hair into a ponytail, wiped off a lot of the makeup with a face-cleansing wipe, but didn’t take the contacts out. With the fake eyelashes and the contacts, she thought she looked pretty, even without all the makeup, hair, and the gorgeous dress. Did she dare let Slade see her like this on their next video chat? Would he recognize she was Josie?