Page 5 of All for Love

3

KODY

Mercedes really did look like trouble in that shimmery silk bridesmaid dress. I’d thought I’d shaken this line of thought earlier, but as soon as I turned to see her standing on the darkened sidewalk with me, all bets were off.

Shadows played across her features, but in the glow of the lights on the quiet street the venue was on, her curves were thrown into much sharper focus, her body seemingly elongated and the pale fabric bright against the dark.

For just a minute, I stared at her—the same as she was doing to me. I’d felt her gaze burning a hole in my back before I’d even turned, and now, she seemed to know she’d been caught staring but she wasn’t looking away. Instead, she was now just pretending to be simply looking at me instead of checking me out.

Which she could be doing. She could just be looking at me. No way she was checking me out.

I knew I didn’t have a shot in hell with her, and even if I did, it would be crossing so many lines. She was my stepsister now. My family.

Whatever attraction I felt to her on a physical level would fade with time. If we gave into it, we’d be leaving ourselves—at most—with an incredibly awkward memory of that one time we saw each other naked. I couldn’t fuck her and never see her again, and that was the only thing I did.

But even if, miraculously, we both ended up wanting more, we couldn’t have that either because our parents already did. All things considered, there was no good way for it to end if I ever touched her—which she wouldn’t let me do anyway.

Forcing myself to think with the head containing the brain, I nodded toward the taillights of the cab as they disappeared. “That was the last one of the night.”

“Seriously?” she grumbled, but more to herself than to me. “Seriously? I guess I’ll just have to get an Uber or something. I knew I should’ve scheduled a ride beforehand.”

She averted her gaze, huffed out a breath, and started digging in her clutch for her phone. Under any other circumstances, I’d have told her good luck and left her to order a ride, but our parents had gotten hitched today.

I couldn’t very well leave my new stepsister on the sidewalk. My dad would never forgive me and Kaden would make me rue the day I left a family member stranded. I was pretty sure Mercedes could handle it, but I just didn’t want the backlash when it came out that I hadn’t at least waited with her.

“Let me drive you home,” I offered. “My car is right over there.”

I motioned toward the small parking lot adjacent to the venue, but Mercedes hesitated. Which was when I remembered that the last time she’d seen me, I’d been at the bar. “I haven’t had a drink since just after dinner and I was taking it slow before that. I knew I was driving. I wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t stone cold sober.”

Her teeth sank into her lower lip and I thought for sure I was about to get turned down—again. It was a thing tonight—but then she nodded. “You don’t mind dropping me off?”

“Nah. Your place is basically on my way. C’mon. Never let it be said I haven’t done anything for you.”

She pushed back a laugh as I walked her to my car. Then her eyebrows jerked up and her head spun to look at me. “Is that a Maserati Gran Turismo?”

Surprise smacked into me. I hadn’t known she had a clue about cars, but clearly, she had to know something. Then again, this one was something special.

I gave her a slight, close-lipped smile, tucking my chin in closer to my chest. “Nice, huh?”

“Nice?” Disbelief made her voice sound a little breathier than usual. “I keep forgetting just how rich you people are.”

I tipped my head back, chuckling as I opened the door for her and shrugged. “Well, I guess you’re part of you people now, so it’s us people. Welcome to the family.”

She scoffed, shaking her head at me as she climbed in. “I don’t think my Welcome to the family is going to include a perk like this. This is a two hundred thousand dollar car, Kody. It might not sound like a lot to you, but I’m not part of your people in this sense. I’m part of the family, not the bank accounts. That’s fine by me.”

“You know what car it is and how much it costs?” I shut the driver’s door behind me before turning over the engine and glancing at her. “How? I thought you were only into post-it notes and paperclips.”

“Post-it notes and paperclips?”

“Well, yeah. Isn’t that what you do for work? Organize stuff?”

She snorted, giving her head a small shake as she turned to face the window. “It’s a bit more complicated than that, but sure. I do have interests outside of work though, you know.”

“Yeah?” I teased. “Like cars? And what else?”

Mercedes froze, fidgeting with her clutch and staring out the window like she was considering diving through it. “You don’t want to know what my interests are. Let’s not pretend to be friends. The wedding went well, don’t you think?”

“Aren’t you sick of wedding talk? It’s all we’ve talked about for months.”