AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yeah. To be honest, I was hoping you’d go up there anyway. Launching the club has been stressful as fuck, but the hard part is over. You need a break. You’ve been working too hard, stretching yourself too thin. Go up there, spend some time with your family, maybe fuck your stepsister if you want. You could probably use a good lay anyway.”
My face stiffens in a tight-lipped expression. “I’m not sleeping with her.”
He laughs, and I grimace in return.
“First of all, we don’t get along at all. Second of all, I get laid plenty, thank you." It’s a lie, but he doesn’t need to know that. “I don’t need to go chasing twenty-three-year-old pussy, least of all my stepsister’s.” I stand up, giving him a pointed glare. “And I have absolutely no intention of getting caught up in some romantic hostage situation like you’ve gotten yourself entangled in at the mercy of a woman who refuses to let you go.”
Leaning back in his office chair, a slow, lazy grin stretches across his face. “Oh yeah…it’s terrible,” he replies sarcastically.
Damn, the assholeiswearing a grin like he just got his dick sucked, and for all I know, maybe he did. Charlie is probably hiding under his desk at this very minute, and he’s making this whole relationship thing look pretty damn enticing.
Oh well, it will never last. They’ll have their little fling, have lots of sex, and then it will crash and burn like all relationships do eventually. No thanks. Definitely not something I want or need.
“Okay, seriously, I’ll have good cell service up there. Keep me updated on everything down here. I’ll be back before the end of the quarter. And I’ll brainstorm some incentives—"
“Garrett,” Emerson barks. When I force my shoulders down away from my ears, he continues, “Go relax for a week. The club will be fine. Like I said, you need a break.”
I know he’s right. I do need some time off, but that little voice inside my head keeps nagging me, telling me I can’t stop, can’t rest. That I must keep working and pray the club doesn’t fall apart while I’m gone.
But then if itdoesn’tfall apart without me, it means I was never really needed in the first place, right?
“All right. Thanks, Emerson. Seriously, though. If you need me, just call.”
“Have a good time.”
And with that, I leave his office, walk through the empty hallway toward the front of the club, and wonder how the hell I’m supposed to function for the next week without this place.
* * *
As I pull up to the lake house, I wave to my mom and stepdad, who are sitting on the front porch. It’s been almost six months since I’ve seen them, which is a disgrace, considering they only live twenty minutes from me.
“Hey, stranger!” my mother says, standing from her rocking chair and jogging down the steps. When she wraps her arms around me, I’m immediately wrapped in comfort. And assaulted by guilt. “I missed you,” she whispers against my cheek before kissing it.
“I missed you too, Mom. Sorry I haven’t been around much.”
When she releases me, I turn toward Paul, who hauls me into an equally strong hug. As he pulls away, I notice his face is a little more gaunt than I remember, and he’s probably about twenty pounds lighter, but all things considered, it’s not as bad as I feared. He’s still wearing that wide smile and sporting the same deep dimples that Mia inherited.
My mom and Paul got married when I was twenty-one, and since my dad has always been more of asend a check on my birthdayandforget my middle namekind of dad, I’ve seen Paul as a father figure for most of my adult life. His first wife died of a heart condition when Mia was a baby.
“Hey, bud,” he says with that hearty laugh of his. “Glad you could make it this year.”
“Yeah…thanks for having me.”
“Oh, stop. You’re family.” His giant hand lands on my shoulder with a thud, making my knees wobble. I glance around the yard toward the lake, my eyes scanning for that familiar mop of silvery blonde hair.
“Where’s Mia?”
When I hear the screen door slam, I spin around and stare up at the girlstanding on the porch, leaning against the banister in a string bikini and denim shorts so small, I can make out the curve of her ass hanging out of the bottom.
Something about seeing her in person after last night has me unsettled. Is this the first time I’m seeing Mia as a real woman and not the little girl I’ve always seen her as? Last night I sure didn’t see her as a little girl, not at all.
She’s looking at me with a mirrored expression of uncertainty—or is that disgust. “What are you doing here?” she asks, and not in anI’m so excited to see youway.
“Mia,” her dad replies in a scolding tone.
“Lovely as usual,” I say in response.
“Be nice,” my mother mutters under her breath.
