A Stranger Like You

by Milan Watson

  “Hmm, let me think, dear.” Aunt Viv was quiet for a moment before almost shrieking, “You’re in town! Are you coming to visit?”

  “No, Aunt Viv, I’m in Wilmington. I attended the reading of my father’s will this morning.”

  “Oh, honey, I’m so sorry to hear about his passing. Are you alright?” Aunt Viv was concerned before her surprise registered. “Wait, how did you find out about Abe, Ali?”

  “So you did know?” Ali accused.

  “I’m so sorry, Ali, your mother made me promise not to tell you.”

  “Tell me what? That the father I’ve always wanted was alive, and she failed to mention it?”

  “It wasn’t that simple. Your mother met Abe during a summer holiday, they hit it off from the first night, but their relationship wasn’t easy sailing.”

  “I’m listening,” Ali said gruffly. She expected the truth now that she was old enough for it.

  “They fell in love fast and deeply, but they soon realized although they loved each other, they were too different. Your mother was a perfectionist, Abe wasn’t. Abe was easy-going and fell from job to job, your mother wanted stability. When they found out about you, Abe proposed and your mother said yes.”

  “So they got married?” Ali demanded.

  “No, they never got that far, dear. The months leading up to the wedding brought their differences even more to light. About a week before the wedding your mother came to me in tears. She had made the most difficult decision of her life. She was going to take you back to Chicago and raise you there. She didn’t want you growing up in a home where the parents were constantly fighting or, even worse, spending your life traveling from parent to parent not having a real home at all.”

  “But people do it all the time.”

  “Not back then, dear. Your mother did what she thought best at the time. In retrospect, it might’ve been wrong and I believe she regretted it. Shortly before her passing, she told me she wanted to tell you.”

  “She didn’t.”

  “I know, dear, she didn’t want to spend her last few months with you mad at her, though it would’ve been right. I understand from your point of view it might’ve been selfish of her, but it remained her decision.”

  Ali sighed heavily. “Fine. But why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Be reasonable. Even if I were to tell you, I hadn’t seen the man in twenty-four years, where would I go looking for him?”

  “Wilmington apparently, he never moved.”

  There was a long silence on the line before Aunt Viv spoke again. “Ali, I know you’re upset, and you must be mad as hell at your mother right now, but did you ever think that Abe could’ve tried to find you?”

  It was Ali’s turn to be quiet. It was all just so messed up. She answered in a small voice, “He left me a letter, he wanted to but he was afraid I’d reject him.”

  “See,” Aunt Viv said almost triumphantly. “No one’s perfect.”

  “I know.”

  “So why did you have to be at the reading of the will?” Aunt Viv’s curiosity got the better of her.

  “He left me half of his estate,” Ali muttered.

  “What! Well, I’ll be ... you’re one lucky girl.”

  “I don’t feel so lucky.”

  “You will, dear, you will. Besides, now you can get to know him a little better. Who got the other half?”

  “His stepson Gabe.”

  “Well, if he’s anything like your father I imagine he’s a right nice fellow.”

  “Sure,” Ali grunted. “Thanks, Aunt Viv, talk to you soon.” Ali didn’t think it was a good idea to mention to Aunt Viv that Gabe couldn’t get out of the house soon enough.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  It was the middle of the night when Ali woke. She had taken a long time to fall asleep in the strange house. The foreign settling sounds had unnerved her, and the fact that Gabe didn’t bother to come home unnerved her even more. It might’ve been a good idea to ask when he’d be back when he left, but Ali hadn’t thought of it at the time.

  Knowing she was alone in the house, Ali didn’t bother with her robe, or pants for that matter, as she ambled to the kitchen in the dark. She wore only her panties and a light cotton vest she liked sleeping in. Not bothering with lights, she walked through the house relying on her memory.

  She had almost reached the kitchen when her foot connected with a table leg in the dining room with a loud thump.

  “Ouch!”

  She lifted her foot, holding it in one hand, hobbling into the kitchen cursing under her breath. Her big toe was throbbing from the impact as she opened the fridge and pulled out the milk. She had the carton to her mouth when she heard a voice behind her.

  “What happened?”

  Gabe’s deep voice gave her such a fright she spilled milk all over her vest.

  “Shit! You scared me!” Ali said as she hunted for a dish cloth in the faint light coming from the fridge. “Sorry if I woke you, I came to get some milk and bumped my toe.” Finding a cloth, she wiped the milk from her shirt.

  The fridge door closed and Gabe stepped closer. “Since it’s no emergency, I’ll get back to bed.”

  Ali looked up and the throbbing in her toe moved to the apex of her thighs as she took Gabe in. He wore boxers, leaving his chest bare, all hard planes and lean muscle. His deep blue eyes focused on her through the soft light of the moon shining in through the kitchen window.

  As their eyes met, Ali knew she was in trouble. She was standing there with a white and wet cotton shirt wearing nothing underneath.

  Gabe’s eyes cruised over her body, pausing slightly over her damp top. The atmosphere in the kitchen turned heavy as neither moved, merely watching each other silently.

  Ali felt her heart beating faster and wanted to get away before she did something stupid like kissing her step brother, but she didn’t get a chance.

  Gabe stepped forward hesitantly.

  Ali didn’t move.

  Slowly he inched forward, watching her reaction; Ali remained in place. A question briefly crossed his eyes and when Ali didn’t object, his lips crushed against hers with a hunger Ali recognized. It mirrored her own.

  That was what had been missing with Todd. That unmistakable taste of desire. How did she miss it?

  She didn’t have a chance to think about Todd again as Gabe swept into her mouth, demanding more. Sensations overloaded Ali, the pain in her toe forgotten as Gabe’s hands reached under her vest. She gasped at the feel of his rough hands on her soft skin.

  Gabe pulled away as suddenly as he started and glared at her through narrowed eyes, irritation clear in his voice. “Next time keep it down.”

  As Gabe walked back into the darkness Ali didn’t know whether to kick Gabe or herself. The last thing she needed was to be kissing her step brother in the middle of the night, especially since they hadn’t spoken more than two coherent sentences after her arrival that morning.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Gabe climbed out of his red pick-up and stalked towards the construction site. He felt like a bear with a sore tooth. He shouldn’t have kissed Ali. But finding her in his kitchen in the middle of the night wearing next to nothing was hard to resist, especially since he had spent all evening trying to avoid the attraction he felt toward her.

  “Morning, Boss,” Peter shouted as Gabe walked into the house.

  Gabe grunted a greeting before moving past Peter. He didn’t want to talk to his friend; he would undoubtedly start asking questions that Gabe himself couldn’t answer. Questions that haunted him the rest of the night.

  Ali hadn’t said a word about what had happened, but he sensed her anger as he entered the kitchen this morning. She had glared at him over her bowl of oats before depositing the bowl in the sink with a loud thud and heading outside.

  What the hell was he thinking? This was Abe’s little girl, the least he could do was show her some respect out of respect for her father; instead, he basically pushed himself on her in the night.
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br />   Obviously, celibacy had a nasty way of biting you in the ass. Pushing all thoughts of Ali and his dry spell aside, Gabe focused on the one thing he knew he was good at - construction.

  The day flew by amid the thuds of hammers hitting nails and the crew joking back and forth. As everyone knocked off for the day, Gabe thought of Ali for the first time as he climbed into his truck and headed home.

  He pulled into the driveway and closed his eyes, mentally preparing himself for what was waiting inside. Gabe had never dealt well with female anger, not when it was Peggy-Sue, who he had known for years, and definitely didn’t know how with a woman he barely knew but had inherited a house with.

  He headed inside determined not to kiss Ali again. The house was quiet, eerily so. He walked through the kitchen and found her in the living room, fast asleep.

  She was curled up on the couch that Abe used to sit in when he watched TV. Did she know that or was it merely coincidental?

  Not wanting to give her a fright he softly touched her shoulder. “Hello.”

  Her eyes fluttered open; she looked around the living room and finally settled her gaze on his. “You’re back.”

  “Yeah, I’m back. Listen about last night ...”

  “Please don’t. If you’re going to say it was a mistake and that you’re sorry, I’d know you’d be lying; besides it wasn’t like I ran for the hills.” She stood, stretching like a cat in the process, and Gabe chastened himself as his eyes drifted over her body again.

  Her curves were evident enough to be attractive and yet they weren’t too prominent. Gabe couldn’t help but think back to the brief touch of the previous evening.

  As Ali straightened, she looked at him with a smile. “So, big brother, are you skipping out on me again this evening?”

  Gabe laughed; she didn’t beat around the bush. “No, I’m sorry I did last night. I guess it was just a lot to take in.”

  She headed to the kitchen, her scent drifting past him. Something floral with a hint of spice, and before he realized it he had followed her.

  “Speak for yourself. I found out I had a father and lost him in a matter of minutes and gained a stepbrother.” Ali filled a glass with water and drank deep before turning back to him. “So are you cooking tonight, or am I?”

  Trying to control his reaction to her, Gabe shifted away from her towards the fridge and pulled out a beer. “It’s Friday night ...” He took a large gulp and wiped his mouth. “That means its pizza night. At least it has been ever since I can remember.”

  Sadness crossed over Ali’s face. “Did Abe like pizza?”

  “Thin base, extra cheese, pepperoni, and garlic. If he felt like being wild he’d even add some olives.”

  Ali laughed an easy sound that lit up her whole face. “Then pizza it is, you can even keep the order the same.”

  Gabe smiled as he pulled out his phone to place the order.

  An uncomfortable silence then settled over them and Gabe pulled out a chair at the kitchen table and sat down. “I wish I could say he told me about you, but he didn’t. He did mention a wild summer fling with a beautiful woman once when I was a teenager. I think the whole speech was about trying to teach the difference between love and lust.” Gabe remembered the man that had meant so much to him. “He was the closest thing to a father I ever had.”

  “I needed a father,” Ali said softly and brushed at a tear that had escaped.

  At least she wasn’t angry anymore, Gabe thought. This was the other female emotion he didn’t know how to deal with - sadness.

  “Can I pour you a glass of wine?” he asked off-kilter.

  “Please,” Ali said as she wiped the tears from her eyes. Her eyes were a chocolate brown, enhanced by wild honey curls that barely brushed her shoulders. She wasn’t what you would call beautiful, but definitely unique. The more Gabe looked at her the more he wanted to look at her.

  He poured her a glass of red wine and set it down in front of her. “I hope you like red. I’m not sure if it’s good, but it’s the only wine I have in the house.”

  Ali laughed. “You sure know how to make a girl feel special, Gabe. One minute I’m crying about my father and the next moment you’re offering me wine, telling me it’s bad wine.”

  Gabe smiled crookedly; was he really that out of practice? Wait! This was Abe’s little girl, he couldn’t practice or do anything else with her. “I just made an awkward situation more awkward last night.”

  Ali heaved a sigh and gulped down the glass of wine. “Well, if it was that awkward why don’t I just get out of your way?”

  As she pushed past him, Gabe didn’t realize what he was doing until he did it. He grabbed her arm and pulled her onto his lap. He barely registered the surprised look in her eyes before he took her mouth. She tasted of wine and anger, and Gabe couldn’t get enough of it.

  A soft sigh escaped her throat as she tilted her head and kissed him back.

  When his groin stirred Gabe was slapped with reality. He pushed her off his lap and stood up. “That is not going to happen again,” he said as he briskly moved towards the back door.

  Ali sighed. “So you keep saying.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  Ali pulled the little black dress over her head, sashaying a little until it settled around her body like a glove.

  “Too tight.” She shook her head at the reflection in the mirror before she tugged it over her head again and placed it in the discarded pile of clothes on the bed.

  She slipped a bright red dress from a coat hanger and climbed into it. After zipping it up under her arm she surveyed the results in the mirror. “Too slutty.”

  She repeated the whole process of undressing only to turn to her cupboard with her hands on her hips.

  “I’ve got to have something that says ‘please hire me, I’m trustworthy and loyal and you won’t regret it’.”

  “Heading out,” came Gabe’s voice right before she heard the front door slam.

  It had been a week since Gabe kissed her the second time, a long tense week filled with awkward silences and even more awkward conversations.

  Ali shook her head to rid herself of all thoughts of Gabe and turned her attention back to the closet. Her eye fell on a dress her mother had given her the summer before she died. It was light blue with small red flowers quilted onto the hem. In New York, it had always seemed out of place, but in Wilmington ...

  It was perfect.

  After slipping it on Ali stood back and gazed at herself in the mirror. The dress fell gently over her hips and stopped just above her knees. It would go wonderfully with the white heels she bought just before she left New York.

  Noticing the time, she briskly applied her make-up hoping today would go well. A few days ago she had decided to find a job in Wilmington. She hadn’t told Gabe about the decision, it wasn’t any of his business, but she had to admit at least to herself she was excited.

  Even though she and Gabe hadn’t spoken about who was going to buy out or sell out their part of the house, Ali wanted to stay. The town appealed to her as much as the memory of her father did. The Gabe-dilemma she would focus on as soon as she got a job and her hormones under control.

  Every time Gabe showered he would head straight for the kitchen for a cold drink, his hair slightly damp and his woodsy aftershave leaving Ali all hot and bothered.

  Ali all but bounced into the house when her phone rang. Placing her tote on the counter she pulled it out and answered happily.

  “Hello!”

  “Hello, dear, how are things in Wilmington?” Aunt Viv’s voice was just the one Ali wanted to hear.

  “Fantastic! I just got a job as events coordinator at a country club.”

  “A country-club? Isn’t that a little country-bumpkin for you? Are you staying there?” Aunt Viv’s rapid fire questions made Ali laugh.

  “I wasn’t sure, but I haven’t decided what to do about the house and I can’t just sit around all day staring at the walls. Besides I need a new job anyway.” />
  “Ali, what on earth is going on? Why do you need a new job and why are you staring at the walls?” Aunt Viv’s voice held a slight edge of hysteria.

  “Calm down, Aunt Viv. I got a job because I can’t stare at the walls, I’m bored. And I need a new job because I was relieved of my duties after a colleague claimed credit for my event.”

  “Oh, honey, shouldn’t you come visit me for a while, it sounds like you’ve had a rough couple of weeks.”

  Ali laughed. “I’m fine, besides didn’t mama always say a change is as good as a holiday?”

  “I suppose. But you call me if you need anything, Ali. Promise me?”

  “I promise, I love you,” Ali said, ending the call just as Gabe walked in the back door.

  “Boyfriend back in New York?” Gabe asked as he moved to the fridge.

  Feeling bubbly Ali couldn’t help but toy with Gabe. “Yes, he’s very concerned that I’m sharing a house with my step-brother. Luckily I explained to him you don’t even like me,” she said easily as she poured her glass of celebratory wine.

  Gabe turned around beer in hand, those blue eyes looking right through her. “There is no boyfriend, is there, Ali.”

  “Nope, dumped him before I came to Wilmington.”

  “You what?” Gabe nearly choked on his beer. “Why did you dump him?”

  Ali felt the blush creep up on her. “Let’s just say I realized we weren’t compatible.”

  “Compatible?” Gabe’s brow furrowed.

  “I caught him in bed with another man.”

  It was Gabe’s turn to laugh. “And you had no idea?”

  “No, well, Todd was always conscious about what he wore and the condition of his skin, but you get quite a few metro-men in New York.”

  “You must’ve picked up something,” Gabe smirked, turning his attention back to his beer.

  “Honestly, there wasn’t anything one could pinpoint. I mean when we were together it wasn’t any different from kissing you the other night.”

  Gabe’s eyes darkened as he moved towards her. Ali felt her heart crawling into her throat even as that fierce attraction turned the air between them heavy.