Smash_ A Stepbrother MMA Romance(4)

“What? Oh, yeah, totally fine,” I stuttered as I got to my feet.

I was so fucking embarrassed. When was the last time I had actually tripped on something? It was like out of some horrible romance novel where the girl was just a dumb, empty klutz and was obsessed with her shiny boyfriend. It took me a second before I really got a good look at him, but when I did, he took my breath away.

“Careful out here,” he said softly. “Those rocks are vicious.”

“Uh, yeah. Sorry.” Why was I apologizing?

Probably because he made me feel like I couldn’t speak in complete sentences. His cut jaw and laughing blue eyes were enough to send me into spasms, but his tall, muscular frame and tattoos just made him all the more delicious.

It was completely unreal.

“What are you doing out here alone?” he asked.

“Friend ditched me, so I’m going for a walk.”

“Mind if I join you?”

“Yes.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Okay then.”

“I mean,” I said quickly, “yes, please join me.”

He laughed and offered me his arm. “For protection from large rocks.”

I smiled and slipped my hand around his ripped bicep. Holy shit, is it the ocean or am I already soaked? I thought.

“I’m Cole,” he said as we started to walk.

“Alexa.”

“Do you make it a habit to walk alone on strange beaches?”

“Ah, it’s not a strange beach. We’re in a resort.”

“True. Still, you managed to land face-first.”

I could feel myself blushing. “I’m really not a klutz.”

“I bet.”

“It’s just this place,” I said quickly. “It’s really beautiful.”

I could feel his eyes staring into me. “Yes. It really is.”

I couldn’t remember anymore what we talked about after that, but we did talk for a while. Eventually we ended up in this little outcropping of trees on a hammock, our bodies shoved together.

I didn’t think I’d ever felt more tension in my body before or since. And of course it was right around the moment when I was about to throw myself at him that Lacey found us and dragged me off.

But after that first night, I kept seeing him around. It seemed like everyone was his friend, everyone knew Cole.

And then after everything that had happened between us, he disappeared into thin air. My husband, the stranger.

I sighed, stretching, when suddenly I heard the front door open.

“Great. Show time,” I muttered to myself.”

“Honey?” Dad’s voice called out. “Are you home?”

I opened my door and headed downstairs. “Hey, Dad!” I called out.

“Alexa.” He smiled hugely and hugged me as soon as I found him in the kitchen. “Glad you’re home.”

“Me, too, Dad.”

Once he let me go, I saw her standing over by the table, smiling. I recognized her from the pictures, but she was even more stunning in person. Cindy had long blond hair, bright blue eyes, and was dressed expensively but conservatively.

She didn’t look like Dad’s usual type. She was age appropriate, for one, and she wasn’t showing more skin than she was covering. Instead, she exuded grace and poise, even from the very first second we met.

“Alexa,” Dad said, “this is Cindy.”

“My new stepmom,” I said.

Cindy laughed. “Just Cindy, please. It’s really good to meet you. I’ve heard lots of good things.”

We shook hands and I instantly forgot about all the negative things I had read about her in the press. Maybe she was the Ice Queen, the dominating woman warrior, but I didn’t care. In my kitchen, she seemed like just a regular person.

“I’m so happy you two could finally meet,” Dad said.

“Me too,” she added, nodding.

“Well, it’s about time I meet my dad’s new wife.”

She laughed, a little embarrassed. “We are sorry about that, Alexa. We could have invited you.”

“I know,” I said. “I’m just giving Dad here a hard time.”

He frowned. “We really are sorry, honey. It’s just, after Cindy’s company bought mine, things happened fast. And the press hasn’t exactly been kind to our relationship.”

I caught a dark look cross Cindy’s face, but it quickly vanished. I knew what Dad was talking about, though. I’d read some rumors about the two of them, rumors that he was kept around only because he was Cindy’s new “boy toy” or something like that. Apparently, them getting married was a pretty huge deal and had the potential to screw the whole merger up.

Fortunately, so far things had worked out. But I could tell that Dad was stressed, even from seeing him for just a few minutes. Not as stressed as he usually was, but still. There were lines around his eyes, and he looked like he hadn’t been sleeping enough.