Mine: A Stepbrother Romance: (With bonus novel Bossy!)

by Kim Linwood

  Which brings me back to Amanda.

  Was her win random? Or is there more going on?

  Liz

  From the terrace, the view of the ocean is beautiful. Calm and serene, two qualities I’d like to absorb while I’m drowning my sorrows in fancy comfort food. Somewhere, Amanda and Hunter are probably enjoying their own lunch. I bet she’s charming him with her southern belle act, and he’s lapping up the attention.

  Elena was right, I’m totally sulking.

  “Miss Dreyer? Sarah?” A hand touches my shoulder briefly to get my attention.

  “Hm?” Crumbs drop onto my shirt from the grilled ham and cheese—sorry—croques monsieur Hunter’s chef whipped up for lunch.

  Danny stands there, looking unusually serious. “There’s a call for you. Follow me, I’ll show you the phone.”

  “But I thought we couldn’t contact the outside world? It was in the contract.” Is this a test? I haven’t done anything. Did Hunter’s father change his mind?

  Danny shakes his head. “Mr. Molloy was the one who told me to get you. It’s allowed if it’s serious. Please, they’re waiting.”

  The blood drains from my face. There’s only one person it could be about. “Do you know who it is?”

  “Sorry, no.” He shakes his head as we go into the house.

  As we enter the building, Blaze and a camerawoman join us. “Don’t worry, we won’t show anything too personal. Just making sure you’re not breaching contract while on the phone. We have to protect our production.”

  I don’t believe for a second he won’t use as much footage as he can.

  They lead me to the back sitting room. I’d tried to get in a couple days before, but it was locked. Probably because of the phone. I look around, scanning the walls for the old illustration of the island, but don’t see it.

  Danny picks up a handset from the table and gives it to me. “I’d like to give you some privacy.” He glances over at Blaze and the camerawoman. “But I think this is as good as it gets. I’ll be right outside if you need anything.” He backs out of the room, shutting the door.

  “Yes. Thank you.” Ignoring my remaining audience, I put the handset to my ear. “Hello? This is Sarah.”

  “Miss Dreyer. This is Dr. Kurt Benson from the Mary Wold Clinic. I was told I could contact you in Ms. Bissette’s absence if there was anything important.”

  Good thing I thought to give the clinic my false contact information. I’d almost forgotten. “Yes, that’s right. Is everything alright?” It’s not. I know it’s not. They wouldn’t call if it was. My fingers clench the phone.

  “I’m afraid not.” Dr. Benson sighs. “Are you sure Ms. Bissette isn’t available? I hate passing on information like this to third parties.”

  “No, I’m sorry,” I whisper.

  “This is always a difficult conversation, but despite her time here, Ms. Bissette’s mother isn’t making much progress. While we limit access to alcohol and other unhealthy... distractions here, we can’t keep a full-time watch on the residents. It’s impractical, costly, and at the end of the day, they are adults who, for better or worse, make their own decisions.” There’s a pause as he lets that sink in.

  “Wait, I don’t understand. Is she alright? She’s not—”

  “No!” He’s quick to break in. “No, she’s in no immediate danger. The problem is that we’ve recently discovered she’s been using her trips to town to drink, and to smuggle alcohol back to the center. Not only is it bad for her own health, it puts our other patients at risk. Miss, I don’t know what decisions you are authorized to make on Elizabeth’s behalf, but it takes six months of documented sobriety to be eligible for the transplant list, and unfortunately we won’t be able to keep her here if she continues to flaunt the rules. We can’t help our patients if they won’t help themselves.”

  “I understand.” Shit. I can’t take care of her. I tried that and we almost killed each other. This clinic was supposed to help.

  “Tell Ms. Bissette that her mother is stable for now, but if she continues down this path, it’s only a matter of time before things get worse.”

  My knees shake, and I lean back on the desk for support. We might not get along all that well, but she’s the only mom I’ve got. “What do you need from me?”

  “There are a few prescription changes that her insurance isn’t covering, and also... I’m really sorry about this, but we’re going to have to raise the cost of her stay. She’s creating quite a bit of extra work and it’s unfair to the other residents.” He sounds like he genuinely feels bad, but this isn’t his mother we’re talking about.

  “I—I’m going to have to talk to Elizabeth about it. Do you know how much the increase will be?”

  He rattles off a price that makes me want to throw up. My budget was already on a shoestring. Everything that wasn’t going to this trip, or keeping my apartment was put into the account for her care.

  “Go ahead and charge what you have to.” I try to swallow, but my throat is painfully dry. At this rate there is only enough left in my mother’s account for a few months.

  “Thank you, Miss Dreyer. If you could have Ms. Bissette get in touch with me as soon as possible, I’d appreciate it.”

  “I’ll see what I can do. She might be back sooner than anticipated.”

  I hang up. Tears of anger and frustration sting the corners of my eyes, threatening to burst out, but I force them back. I’m not going to cry in front of the camera. I refuse to. Not in front of Blaze, and not in front of the rest of the world once this airs.

  I’m an idiot. I’ve put every egg I had into this one basket, and I didn’t even think it all through. Even if I find the deed, then what? I can barely afford to get my mother the treatment she needs and put food on my own table. Getting the island back would mean all sorts of legal fees I don’t have the money for.

  Exhaustion seeps into my bones.

  If I win, this will all go away. I’ll have money for doctors, lawyers and whatever else I need. It’s a deal with the devil, and in the stories, that never comes without a cost.

  And that cost might be never having a chance at love.

  Hunter

  Jesus Motherfucking Christ.

  I close the door behind me, shutting the crazy world of reality dating shows behind me and reveling in the silence. What a shitstorm of a day.

  “Gooood evening!” Danny’s chipper voice greets me over the back of my own chair. He’s facing away, drinking in the view of the evening sky, along with my beer.

  “Was kind of hoping you were elsewhere, actually. Like London. Or the Moon.”

  “Oh, God no. Have you seen it out there? Paradise. I checked the weather back home, and it hasn’t stopped raining for three days.” He spins around.

  “I’d have thought you were used to that from middle-of-nowhere-shire, or wherever you’re from.” I root through the small fridge in my office. “Did you at least leave me any beer?”

  “West Bumfuck-borough, actually. Rough date?”

  “You have no idea. She’s sweet. And she talks.” I take a long swallow of pale ale. “And talks. And talks.”

  “Oh yeah, that sounds like Hell. I can barely imagine. A date in paradise with a cute chatty blonde. You do realize I’ve been trapped on an island surrounded by hot women I’m not allowed to touch, don’t you?”

  I laugh and sit on my desk, drinking my beer and staring out the window. In the distance there’s a cruise liner heading towards Tortola. Hundreds of people crammed in together surrounded by food and strangers. I can sympathize a little after the past week.

  “Being the center of their attention isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”

  “Ah yes, poor little rich boy. Forced to do such horrid tasks as kiss attractive women.”

  “Oh, fuck off. You were there, right? There’s no way Amanda won that competition.”

  Danny tips his head in agreement. “She’s a pretty little thing, but you’re right, your secret agent sister stole th
e show.”

  “Stepsister. Ex-stepsister.” The look on her face when Amanda and I were being led away for our date has been burned into my brain all afternoon. I tried to be as charming as I could, but the only thing on my mind the whole date was what Liz was thinking. “How was she? Did anything happen after I left?”

  “Was she torn apart by Elena and the other rabid dogs? No. She held her own, but...”

  “But what?” I slam the beer down on the desk and glare at him. “What happened?”

  Danny hesitates.

  “Just fucking say it.”

  “I don’t know, and it might not be my place to say.” He looks at me and sighs. “Fine. She got a call today from some sort of medical clinic. I don’t know the details, so don’t even ask. All I know is she was in there with Blaze and a camerawoman for about ten minutes. When she came out, her eyes were red, and she looked like someone kicked her puppy. That’s all I know, sorry.”

  The thought of Blaze knowing something I don’t about Liz pisses me off. It drives home how little I really know about her now. She’s still smart, and fun, and beautiful. I know bits and pieces of half truths about her life, but what she’s been doing? Why she’s here? I still have no idea.

  I drain the last of the beer and stand up to do... something. “I’m going to her room.”

  “Far be it from me to stand in the way of true lust, but do you have a plan once you get there?”

  “Not a clue.” I grin at Danny’s head shake. “But maybe I’ll figure it out on the way.”

  She doesn’t answer when I knock. Not the first time, the second time, or after a bit of a pause, the third. “L—Sarah. Are you in there?” I try the door. It’s locked.

  It’s my fucking house. I can break in if I want to.

  I don’t, though.

  I go looking, but she’s nowhere to be seen and it’s getting late. Either she’s sleeping or she’s trying hard not to be found. I sigh.

  If she’s out somewhere on the island, I don’t have a chance of finding her in the dark. She probably knows it better than I do. The island’s safe, so I’m sure she’ll be fine, but it still bothers me.

  She can’t hide forever.

  Liz

  “And the winner is...” Blaze plays up the reveal, reading slowly off his card. “Sarah!”

  There’s scattered applause, and I get a half-hearted hug from Bianca. We’re the only ones who dared dive the full thirty feet from the balustrade, just like Hunter did in the commercial for the show. Everyone else chickened out and used the platform set up halfway down the cliff.

  What they don’t know is that Hunter and I dared each other to dive from the same spot all the time. I’m more impressed by Bianca who’d never done it before.

  I want to believe I won fair and square, but it seems too coincidental that they’d pick a challenge where I have such an advantage. Amanda watches me from across the sand. She doesn’t look angry, but she looks suspicious.

  “You should be glad today’s not an elimination challenge,” Blaze mocks. “If it were up to me, I’d be sending half of you home, but no, you’ll live to fight another day. For now.” He grins. “Still, you’ve let Sarah get away with another victory. It takes more than luck to win that valuable time with our bachelor. Better start asking yourselves if you have what it takes to play for keeps.”

  The glares I get are withering.

  Amanda struts over to Hunter, and puts her hands on his chest, standing on her toes. He leans down, and she whispers something. He laughs, and she walks away with a wink. She might not have won, but she didn’t waste the opportunity to remind everyone who had the last date.

  I stomp down my jealousy.

  I’m the one who really cares about him.

  Blaze claps his hands to get our attention. “Did you think that was it? A little hop into the water?” He shakes his head and tsks. “We picked this challenge specifically to make sure the winner has no trouble with heights, because today’s reward isn’t just any old date, it’s going to require a real leap of faith.”

  Wait, what?

  “You all know Hunter is an accomplished pilot, but did you know he’s equally good at jumping out of planes? With over five hundred jumps under his belt, he’s instructor certified and today, he’s going to take Sarah on a tandem jump over the island!”

  Hunter stands there grinning, and the cameras pan to me.

  “Sarah?” Bianca whispers. “Are you going to puke?”

  Breathe in, one. Breathe out, two. Going up in a plane is bad enough. Jumping out of one? That’s madness.

  I raise my hand tentatively. “Um... don’t I need training first? Lots of training?”

  Hunter steps up. Even in my state of panic, I notice how his black t-shirt clings so tightly to his torso that he might as well not be wearing it. “Don’t worry. I’ll be in control the whole way. You just have to hang on and enjoy the ride.”

  “I bet that’s what you tell all the girls,” I grumble.

  Bianca laughs, and Hunter’s mouth twitches.

  “There are some safety rules to go over, but as Blaze said, I’m a certified instructor. You’re in good hands.” Hunter gently pulls my hands apart and wraps his fingers around mine.

  “Right. Of course.” I look longingly back at the house. “But, um... I should probably go change first.” We’re all still standing around in our swimsuits after the diving, and there’s no way I’m jumping out of a plane in a bikini. What do I look like, a Bond girl?

  As if summoned by my attempt to run for my life, Danny shows up. He hands me a basket with clothes and a pair of sneakers. “Already covered, Miss. Enjoy your flight.”

  “Thanks,” I squeak.

  He shoots Hunter an amused glance and presses his lips together, holding in laughter.

  All too aware of the camera following me, I let Hunter lead me away when all I really want to do is turn tail, run and hide in my room. My stomach is doing flips, and the only thing holding me together is the strength of his hand on mine. His cool confidence calms me—just a little. Very little, but maybe I just need to trust him.

  He won’t let me fall.

  We stop in front of the plane. The open door is a maw ready to swallow me whole, only to spit me back out above the clouds.

  Wait. He will let me fall. Plummet even. Hurtle at breakneck speed.

  “I can’t do this,” I whisper. “I’m sorry, I can’t.” I look up at Hunter, and my terror must be obvious, since he cups my chin in his hand and looks right into my eyes.

  “I know what I’m doing. You’ll be as safe on the way down as you are here on the ground. I promise.”

  “It’s not the falling I’m so worried about. It’s the sudden stop at the end.”

  Hunter takes one more long look at me, and when his lips part, I expect him to try and convince me to do the impossible.

  But no, he kisses me.

  My mind goes blank, and my racing heart skips before racing again for an entirely different reason. His other hand goes to my back, sliding over my bare skin, and under the strap of my top. I close my eyes and lean into him. He smells like the oranges we had with breakfast, and tastes like sugar and sex.

  The next thing I know, I’m inside the plane, and Hunter looks incredibly smug. “See? Nothing to it.”

  I clutch the basket with my clothes and gape at him. “You tricked me!”

  “I like to think of it more as finding the right encouragement.”

  “I... You...” I growl and look around. “Where am I supposed to change?”

  He’s already busy checking a pile of gear that I assume is supposed to keep us from splatting into the ground at a million miles per hour. “Uh. Here?”

  “Turn around and close your eyes,” I order. “And you too!” I tell the cameraman, who seems to forget I can see him.

  They dutifully—but not very quickly—follow my instructions. With a sigh, I check what’s in the basket. What the... “Hunter?”

  “Need a hand?
” he asks hopefully.

  “No! Did you have Danny go through my stuff?” The clothes are perfectly reasonable, cotton shorts and a plain t-shirt, but the underwear is a touch less practical.

  “I told him to take something easy and comfortable. Why?”

  “His idea of comfortable and mine might not be the same,” I say ruefully, eyeing the lace thong.

  Hunter starts to turn around.

  “Hey! The other way!”

  He holds up his hands in surrender.

  I change quickly, leaving my bikini bottom on, because the last thing I need at however many feet is a wedgie. “Okay, you can turn around now.” I kick the basket under the seats.

  We sit down, and Hunter goes over what we’re going to do. A woman in dark shades climbs onto the plane and gives Hunter a wave before sitting down in the cockpit.

  “Oh right, you aren’t flying.”

  He laughs. “I’m good, but that would be a bit too much of a stunt, even for me.”

  I blush and shove him with my shoulder, playfully. “Shut up.”

  “No, you shut up,” he teases.

  I don’t know if I’m getting used to flying or it’s Hunter’s relaxed presence, but I hardly panic at all when the plane takes off.

  The whole way up he’s going over the skydiving procedures. I listen as well as I can, but somewhere in the back of my head there’s a voice repeating over and over, “You’re going to jump out of a plane and die.”

  “You got all that?” he asks.

  “Oh, yeah. Absolutely.”

  “Okay then, tell me what you’re going to do.”

  I grin and look straight into his bright blue eyes. “Scream a lot and possibly pee my pants.”

  His face lights up with a huge smile, and he throws his head back and laughs.

  I love that sound.

  About a half an hour later, we’re at height and circling. He’s gone over the steps until I actually mostly remember them, and I’m strapped into a harness that will attach to his. He’s the one with the full parachute getup on, so I guess he wasn’t totally wrong when he said I just had to hold on and enjoy the ride.