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“Hi, Mom,” she said, sounding as cheery as she could.
“Hi, honey, how are you?” Her mom always sounded excited to hear her only daughter’s voice. “I’ve been leaving you messages, but I guess you’ve been too busy to call.”
There is was; the guilt that came with every call from her mother. Christina said, “I’m sorry, mom. I’ve been slammed with school and stuff. I was going to call this weekend.”
“Well, I’ve been dying to know about the internship you applied for. Your text message said you got it, but then you didn’t give me any more details. Tell me all about it! Where is it? What are you doing?”
Christina thought about lying to her mother, but then decided against it. What was the big deal? It all happened innocently enough. It wasn’t like she and Lucas planned it.
She took a deep breath and said, “It’s at Pearl Magazine.”
There was a pause on her mother’s end of the phone. “Pearl Magazine? Isn’t that where Lucas works?”
“It is,” Christina said with a laugh. “Actually, he’s my boss. Isn’t that funny? I didn’t even know that he worked there, and then there was mix up about the new interns, and he wasn’t supposed to be my boss, but then he was. It was all really strange. But he promises to keep things professional if I do!” The information was met with silence. “Mom? Are you still there?”
“I’m here sweetheart,” he mother said quietly. The humor had left her voice, replaced by caution. “I’m just processing the news. So Lucas is your boss. Well, isn’t that nice. That means you’ll learn something rather than just feeling useless.”
“Yes, I hope so.”
“Chris, why didn’t you just tell me?”
“I just told you,” she said defensively. “I’ve been busy.”
The concern returned to her mom’s voice. “Oh, honey, do you still have a crush on Lucas?”
“Mom!” Christina hated how her mom could still make her feel like a whiny teenager. “Look, it’s not like that. I did feel weird about it in the beginning, so I didn’t tell you. But it’s working out just fine. It’s not a big deal.”
“His father and I used to joke about the chemistry between you two,” her mother teased. “We thought it was cute.”
Christina’s cheeks flushed at the thought of her mother and Doug having a laugh at her expense. She said, “There’s no chemistry. I was a stupid teenager and he was an attractive man. I’m all grown up now, mother, and he’s my stepbrother.”
“Emphasis on the word step,” her mother said dryly. “Christina, it’s nothing to be embarrassed about. I was just teasing you, but I see that I’ve hit a nerve. Do you want to talk about it?”
Yes. She desperately wanted to talk to someone about it, and normally that someone would have been her mother. They were close, but for some reason, she was embarrassed to talk about her feelings for Lucas with her mother. It just made her feel… dirty.
“No. There’s nothing to talk about,” she said, hoping her mother wouldn’t press the issue further.
She heard her mom sigh on the other end of the phone. “Okay sweetheart, I’ll let you get some rest. Just keep this in mind; sometimes it doesn’t matter how you meet someone. It only matters that they entered your life for a reason. Life is strange like that. Don’t let fear stop you from doing what it takes to be happy.”
“Thank, Mom,” she said softly. She clicked off the phone and stretched across the couch. Had her mother just given her the go-ahead to pursue her stepbrother? She knew her mom was progressive, but wow, this was a bit of a shock.
“No,” she said aloud to herself. A relationship with Lucas would be amazing, but it would also be confusing for everyone involved. Talk about an awkward Christmas at grandma’s house! “Granny, you remember Lucas, my stepbrother AND my boyfriend… Granny? Granny?”
She had to find a way to get Lucas out of her head. And maybe the best way to do that was to figure out why he was always in her head. It was easy to obsess about something she couldn’t have. She did it all the time. But maybe, if she just has one night with him, she could get him out of her system. They could go back to being boss and intern… stepbrother and stepsister…
What about the repercussions of their actions? Their relationship didn’t just end with the job. And what if he turned her down? How humiliating would it be to have to see him four or five times a year for the rest of her life knowing that he had spurned her advances?
“But he wants me, too,” she whispered. She could see it in his eyes when he thought she wasn’t looking. She could feel it in the way his body tensed when she was near. She had seen the bulge in his pants on more than one occasion.
Perhaps if she timed everything just right, he wouldn’t have the power to tell her no. And maybe afterwards, they could both finally find some peace in their life.
CHAPTER NINE
She showed up at Lucas’ apartment unannounced with a large pepperoni pizza and a six pack of Sam Adams, his favorite beer, or so she recalled. She rang the bell and did her best to wait patiently.
Her heart was beating in her ears. She took a few deep breaths and by the time he came to the door, she had a smile plastered on her face.
The door opened and he stood there looking at her with his mouth hanging open. She was dressed in leather mini-skirt and heels that showed off her legs and a black button up that complimented her breasts.
