by Lisa Scott
“We had a wonderful time in Hawaii. But I must say, the food at the luau was horrible. Where do you keep your sheets, honey? In the closet here?”
Carly ran out, brandishing her hairbrush. “No! In the hall.” She set her hand on her chest, trying to calm her heart.
Her mother’s eyes widened. “What, you think I haven’t seen your messy closet before?” She went out into the hall and raised her voice. “So, I guess Rob’s seeing someone.”
Her heart dropped for a moment, but she realized it couldn’t be true; she’d been spending all her time with Rob. “Who?” Her voice cracked.
“Some Samantha person. Maybe he met her at the wedding. Is that a friend of yours?”
She fought back a smile. “No.”
She snapped the sheet open over the bed. “Well, he talked with his father a few times while we were on vacation and told him he’s crazy about her.”
“Really?”
Nodding, she slipped a pillow into a new case. “Which is remarkable, because I guess he’s quite the ladies’ man. Who knows, maybe you’ll be in another wedding soon.”
Carly put on her bra and shirt in the bathroom while her mother chattered away. “I just wish you could meet someone.”
“I did.”
Her mother dropped the pillow. “Who?”
She looked at herself in the mirror, satisfied with her quick fix-up. “Clark. I met him at the charity ball the night before your wedding.”
Her mother rushed over and hugged her. “Oh, that’s such good news. I was starting to worry about you. Is it serious?”
She glanced at the closet. “We can talk about this over lunch.”
“No. You sit down and tell me all about it now.” She pulled her onto the freshly-made bed.
“Well, he’s very good-looking. And nice.”
Her mother waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, skip that business, is he good in bed?”
Carly started choking. “Mother, that’s not something I want to talk about with you.”
Her mom gave her a playful push. “Darling, you’re not a little girl anymore. You’re in a relationship, why not talk about it? Wayne and I got this wonderful lovemaking book as a wedding gift: 365 Positions of Passion. I could lend it to you. Although we’ve only gotten through the first twenty-five.”
Carly heard a groan from the closet.
“What was that?” her mom asked.
Carly rubbed her belly. “My stomach. I’m hungry. Let’s go.”
“Put on something nicer than that.” She stood up and headed for Carly’s closet.
“No! I’ve got a jacket downstairs.”
Her mother opened the door. “Where’s that nice cardigan I got you? And what in the world did you do in here?” She pointed to the mound of clothes on the floor.
Carly rushed over and pulled the sweater off its hanger. “I was sorting through some things. Let’s go.” She slammed the closet door shut and led her mother downstairs.
***
Rob waited until he heard the car pull away to climb out of the closet. His knees hurt like hell from being curled up in a ball under the clothes he’d pulled off the shelves behind him. He held up a slinky blue shirt that probably looked damn sexy on Carly.
Heading for the bathroom, he thought about washing his ears out after their discussion of 365 passionate positions. But hearing Carly say she was really into him made it all worth it. He got dressed and left her a note to meet him at his place.
Two hours later, Carly showed up on his doorstep.
He kissed her and led her inside. “Hey, Samantha. Where’s Clark?”
“Very funny.”
“Why did you make up a boyfriend? Isn’t that going to make it harder to tell her the truth about us?”
“I know. I panicked. But I’m glad to hear you like Samantha so much.” Her big grin delighted him.
“You know me, the womanizer. Juggling the two of you has been hard.”
She gave him a look that threatened no fun later unless he knocked it off.
The doorbell rang, interrupting his plans to pull her into the bedroom.
“Maybe it’s Samantha. Be right back.” He dashed to the front door, unlocked the deadbolt and found his father and Delilah on the other side carrying Panama Jack bags from Hawaii. “Dad, Delilah!” Guess this is how they find out. “What a surprise!”
“Hi, Rob,” his father said. “Your step-mother just couldn’t wait to bring you some of the goodies we got on our honeymoon.” They walked in without exactly being invited.
“Yes, I visited Carly earlier—” she looked up, surprised. “Carly?”
Carly said nothing and just held one hand up in greeting. He was waiting for her to spill the beans, but she kept her mouth clamped tight.
Her mother’s eyes darted back and forth between the two of them and Rob figured she was working out exactly what was going on. A big smile unfurled on Delilah’s face. “I’m so glad to see you spending time together. This is working out just like I hoped it would. How does it feel to have a sister after all these years?”
Rob rubbed the back of his neck. “Different than I expected.”
Carly nodded in agreement. “I should go. Thanks for inviting me over.”
“Don’t you want to stay and get the folks caught up on everything?” he asked with a big smile.
She shook her head, no.
Delilah grabbed Carly’s hand and led her over to the couch. “Yes, stay, honey. We just got here.”
“Please, sit down,” Rob said. “Let me get us some wine.” It might help us all.
“How’s your girlfriend, Samantha?” Delilah asked.
Rob caught his breath. “Oh, she’s good. Real good.”
Delilah clapped. “That’s so exciting. Carly has a new boyfriend, too. We should all go out together. Wouldn’t that be fun?”
He almost dropped the wine glass he was filling. “Sure. We’ll have to do that sometime. A few months from now or something.” Why wasn’t Carly speaking up?
“How about this Friday?” Delilah asked.
He rubbed the back of his head. “I’ll have to check with her. With Samantha.” Damn, they should just get it out in the open now before they dug themselves in deeper. But he wasn’t going to be the one to do it. He wanted to be sure Carly felt comfortable enough to share the news.
“Good. Carly, do you think Clark can make our triple date?”
“I’ll have to see,” she stammered.
Delilah pulled out her cell and punched in the information. “Good. Let’s say Friday at six.”
“So, what’s this Samantha like?” his dad asked. “Pretty?”
“She’s beautiful.” He handed Carly her glass of wine and got caught in her gorgeous green eyes that looked scared as hell.
“And in bed?”
He looked down at the floor. “Um, not in front of the ladies, Dad.”
“Oh, Wayne. Tell him about our book.”
Rob held up his hand. “I don’t want to hear about the book. Please.”
They stayed for an hour, and when he closed the door behind them, Carly started gathering her things. “I’ve got to go. I can’t do this anymore.”
He snaked his arms around her waist, but she pushed her way out of his embrace.
He sighed. “Let’s just tell them the truth. We’re dating. Is it that big of a deal?”
Collecting the empty wine glasses from the room, she shook her head. “My mother calls you her son. I don’t want to ruin things for them. They just got married. And when we break up, they’ll blame each other. It’ll be horrible.”
He took her by the shoulders. “Are you sure this is really about our parents?”
“Of course it is.”
He took her hand. “I think you might be afraid we really do have something special going on. And it scares you enough to send you running.”
She let her fingers slide from his and headed for the door. She looked back at him. “I’m sorry. It’s been fun
. That’s what I asked for, right?”
“Take the time you need to sort this out. Just tell me when you’re ready. I’m not going anywhere.”
She wouldn’t look at him. “I can’t.” And she walked out the door.
***
Carly missed him so much it hurt. Two weeks had passed since she’d last seen him. She’d been dodging her mother’s requests to bring Clark along for a triple date. She hadn’t had the heart to tell her she’d broken up with Clark. Her mother had been easing off the suffocating concern ever since Carly had “gotten a boyfriend” but she could only put her off so long.
Rob’s words haunted her, though. She wasn’t entirely sure why she’d been so spooked. Maybe having the four of them in the room together had been too much. The whole thing had “mistake” written all over it.
She finally agreed to come to dinner, and planned on showing up without her date. She wondered how Rob was going to handle “Samantha.” The two of them had to get used to just being friends in front of their folks. This was an important first step.
She put on her best little black dress, blew out her hair and wondered why she was bothering.
Her mother peered behind her expectantly when she walked in the restaurant. “Where’s your date?”
Rob stood up and pulled out her chair for her. She sat down and said, “He got called to an emergency meeting.”
“Well, poor Rob here has been dumped. Can you imagine? The nerve of that girl!” Her mother patted his hand.
Carly looked up at him from under her lashes. “What happened?”
Rob frowned. “Things were going so well that she got spooked and ran.”
“Is that the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever heard?” her mother asked.
Carly swirled her wine and took a drink—a very long drink.
“You’ll find someone else, don’t worry,” his father said.
He finished off his beer and set it down. “Yeah, but I really liked Samantha. I thought we had a shot at it.”
Carly stood up. “I need to use the restroom.” Locking herself in a stall, she tried to gain her composure. Should she just tell her mother she and Rob were a couple? But what if it didn’t work out? That could really drive a wedge between her mom and Wayne. The situation still seemed too impossible to consider.
She went back to the table but couldn’t eat much of her dinner. She was too aware of Rob’s eyes on her, remembering every touch, every place they’d made love.
As Wayne fished out his credit card to pay the bill, her mother planted a big kiss on Rob’s cheek. “If she means that much to you, I think you should go after her.”
“Really?”
Rob looked at Carly. “What do you think I should do?”
She looked at her half-eaten plate of food. “Sometimes, things just aren’t meant to be.”
Her mother nudged her shoulder. “Hey, show your brother a little more support.”
“You’re right. Sorry, brother.” Carly stood up. “I have to go. Thanks for dinner.”
Rob was at her door half an hour later. She opened it a crack. “Please go home. It’s pointless to prolong things. You’re my stepbrother now, and we’ll just have to be happy with the memories.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to push you, but I don’t want to give up on you, Carly.”
She nodded. “I’m sure.” She didn’t let him say another word before she closed the door on him. She peeked out the window and watched him shuffle back to his car. He sat there for a while before driving away.
She looked in her freezer and realized there was no amount of chocolate or ice cream to deal with this heartache. She went to bed and wrapped herself in her bedspread, trying to find a whiff of his scent.
But every trace of him was gone.
Her mother called with an invitation to Wayne’s birthday party the following Saturday night. Wayne had sold his condo and moved into her childhood home with Mom. It was their first big shindig as a married couple.
“I can’t. I have plans with Clark.”
“Oh, honey. Your stepfather will be so disappointed. Please? Bring Clark. This is our first family event together. We want both our children there.”
Carly was quiet and finally gave in. It’s not like she’d be able to avoid Rob for the rest of her life. “I’ll see what I can do.”
She was tempted to dress up, but what was the point? She settled on jeans and a sweater, and fussed just a little with her hair and makeup. If she were lucky, Rob had met someone new.
She walked into her mother’s house and spotted him right away. Their eyes locked, and she ran her fingers over her lips. The person he was talking to turned around to see who had captured Rob’s attention, so Carly scooted to the kitchen, away from his view.
“Darling!” Mom rushed over and gave her a hug. “Where’s Clark?”
“He couldn’t come.”
“That’s too bad,” Rob said behind her.
She jumped. “Oh, hello.”
“Rob’s solo, too. Guess it’s a good brother-sister bonding night,” her mother said.
“Maybe we’ll play Twister,” Rob said.
“Good idea,” said her mother. “I’m off to mingle. Have fun you two!” She left them alone in the kitchen.
“How have you been?” He reached for her hand.
She stepped back and tried to force a smile, but she felt tears coming instead, so she turned around. “Not so great.”
He ran his fingers down her hair and rested them on her shoulder. “Me neither. I really miss you.”
She nodded. They heard someone coming and stepped apart.
It was her mother. “Honey, I forgot to suggest you should give him a tour of the house. He’s never been here before.” She shooed them out of the room.
Carly gulped and led the way. “Well, you’ve seen the kitchen. The family room’s packed with people, as you can see.” She led him through the crowded room into the empty dining room and then the living room. “Exciting stuff,” she said, as they stopped in front of the fireplace.
He pointed to the stairs. “I suppose the bedrooms are up there.”
She nodded, hoping she could control herself around him once they were up there alone.
He followed her up and she showed him her mother’s and Wayne’s room, the guest room, and the bathroom, and then her old bedroom. “And this is where I lived for eighteen years.” She pushed the door open and led him inside. The same flowered, pink wallpaper covered the room, and her white canopy bed sat in the same place. Her pictures and posters from high school still hung on the walls.
“’N Sync. Really?” he teased, pointing to one of her posters. He looked around, smiling. “It’s like a Carly shrine.” He closed the door behind them. “I’ve missed you. So much.” He held out his hand. “Come here.”
Stepping back and pressing her back against the wall, she tried to protest. He came to her, twining his fingers through her hair.
Her insides tumbled as he touched her. She sucked in a deep breath. “I’ve been miserable without you. Let’s tell them. Whatever happens, happens.”
His hands moved down to her shoulders and he pulled her into a hug. “Thank God.” He kissed her.
Tears stung her eyes as she squeezed his arms. “We’ll tell them after the party. It’ll be easier after a few drinks.”
“I’ll follow your lead.”
His tongue was skating a swirling path across her lips when the door opened. “Kids, it’s time for cake…” Her mother’s voice trailed off, and they pushed off the wall, rearranging their clothing and hair.
She dropped her wine glass. “What are you two doing?” she asked in a whisper.
Rob stood up. “Delilah…”
Wayne walked in the room behind her. “Did you find them?” He did a double-take. “What’s going on up here?”
Her mother’s mouth flapped open and closed, but nothing came out.
“She caught us kissing,” Carly said.
&nb
sp; “It was more than that,” he mother shot back. “What about Clark? You told me you loved him and you’re cheating on him? You said he could be the one! And you’re with your…your…” She couldn’t get the words out and she pressed her eyes shut.
Rob looked at Carly. “You love Clark?”
She nodded and leaned into his chest. Rob kissed her head. “And I love Samantha.”
Her mother’s chest was heaving. “So then why are you kissing…your sister?
“Stepsister, mother. We’re not related, and Rob is Clark.”
Her mother straightened up and cocked her head. “What?”
Carly nodded. “I met Rob the night before your wedding and we…” she bit her lip. “Let’s just say I was very surprised to find out he was my new brother the next day.”
Rob wrapped his arms around her from behind. “And Carly is Samantha.”
Carly shrugged. “He was my lover before he was my brother.”
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Wayne asked.
“We weren’t sure it was more than a fling. We didn’t want to cause a rift between you two if things didn’t work out.”
Rob nodded. “But it’s definitely working out.”
Her mother stood there in a daze. “I never imagined…” She shook her head and shrugged. “I guess…I guess it’s fine. No, it’s great.”
Carly ran to her and grabbed her arms. “Are you sure? I don’t want this causing problems with you and Wayne.”
“Hey, if you keep Rob from moping around like he’s been the past few weeks, I’m all for it,” Wayne said.
“It’ll make for an interesting family photo,” her mother said quietly, reaching to hold the door for support.
“What are you going to tell people?” Carly asked.
“That our kids fell in love?” She threw up her hands.
“And we might as well go tell everyone now, since most of the family’s here,” Wayne said.
Carly’s eyes went wide. “Now?”
They walked into the dining room, where everyone was gathered to watch Wayne blow out the candles on his cake. The room hushed and he looked at the crowd and smiled. “Want to know my birthday wish?”
“Yeah, sure!” called out a few people.
