Hard Fought (A Stepbrother Warriors Novel)(27)

With a surprising amount of energy, I bound out of bed. I let myself get sidetracked, but now I know what I have to do. I head for the shower and after a quick rinse, I pick out a pair of jeans and a blouse and head over to the main house for breakfast.

Just as I take the last bite of my cereal and walk over to the sink to rinse out my bowl, I hear movement at the door to the hallway. I turn to see Carter staring at me. He looks uncomfortable, nervous even.

"I wanted to—"

"You don't have to," I cut him off, raising my hand. "It's good that you left. I fell right back into old patterns, and now I'm snapped out of it. I mean, I couldn't even abide by my own no men rule for a couple weeks. Pathetic, really. But when I drink I always make bad choices, which is why I promised myself I'd cut that out, too. Sorry, I'm rambling," I say with a shake of my head, and put my bowl into the dishwasher. "Maybe we could be friends? It would make our security guard and protectee relationship a little easier."

"Yeah, friends," he says with a nod, a ripple going across his face that changes his expression into one of blank indifference.

"Good. Because I need to go somewhere, and I'm guessing you're going to insist on driving me."

"You guess right."

I smile and after a stop at the boat house, we walk next to each other toward the garage. I can't deny that I still feel a shiver go down my spine when I'm close to him, but I'm sure that will go away eventually. The important part is not to act so impulsively on my feelings. Maybe my will power is a muscle, and it will get stronger with time.

"Where to?" he asks as he pulls the Audi out of the garage.

"University of South Florida," I say, pulling out my phone to look up directions. Even with my eyes down, I can see him glance at me in surprise. "Don't make a big thing of it, OK? I don't know how long it would take me to graduate, or even what I'd want to study."

"Really?" he asks, and I narrow my eyes at him. "I thought it was pretty obvious."

"Feeling a little smug, are we?" I tease him. "Well?"

"Well...it seems like you should do the thing you were pretending you were doing."

"English, please."

"In Paris, when you were working at the bakery, you told your family you were working at a startup, helping displaced women or something, right?"

"Right..."

"So I think that wasn't just for them. I think that's what you really want to be doing."

"Business? I don't know."

"You chose that story pretty specifically. You could have made up anything, why'd you choose that one?"

I chew my lip while I think for a moment. "I like the idea of helping people, especially women who haven't had opportunities like I have. And I just thought I could see myself doing that—oh, I see what you mean."

"Right?"

"My father is a businessman," I say with a frown.

"There are lots of different kinds of people in business. You don't have to be anything like him," he says softly.

"If I end up doing this, are you going to rub my face in the fact that it was your idea?"

He laughs. "No. Only when I need something."





Chapter Eighteen



"Am I interrupting something?"

I glance toward the door of the gym to see Jack standing by the shoulder press machine, arms folded across his chest, a smirk on his lips. I roll my eyes at him, but I feel a blush spread across my cheeks.

"Ten more seconds," I say to Carter, ignoring Jack, as I press down further on top of him as I stretch his hamstring. He nods, and after one more deep breath, I slowly lower his leg back to the mat. "Did you need something?" I ask my older brother sarcastically.

"Jack? Where'd you—" I hear Bree's voice and then her footsteps along the hallway. "Oh, hi," she says, looking between me and her brother. "Am I interrupting something?"

I burst out laughing. "Sorry, but Jack just said the exact same thing. Maybe you two have been spending too much time together."

"Gross," Bree mumbles.

"Are you guys going to this gala on Saturday?" Jack asks, sitting on one of the benches. Bree hops onto the mat and crosses her legs.

"I guess. You?"

"I have a bye week, so I don't really have any excuse. If we all go, it'll be less boring."

"The Driscoll kids and the Stratton kids, a united front," I say with a smile.

"Carter, you have to get a tux," Bree says, poking her older brother with her foot.

"Yeah, as soon as you get a gown," Carter replies sarcastically.

"I already have one," Bree retorts with a smile. "And this isn't my first gala."