PERSONAL: A Stepbrother Sports Romance by Stephanie Brother Page B
Authors: Stephanie Brother
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one expected me to be funny, or to say something witty. Home reminded me of my restrictions and filled me with temptations. And then with my mom marrying your Dad… I wasn’t ready for a new dad. I couldn’t process it, even though he was a nice man.”
I honestly regretted not attending the funeral. I felt awful that I couldn’t be there for my mom and him. My mom understood. She just wanted me to get better and take care of myself.
I cleared my throat, readying myself for confidence to apologize. I needed to make my own amends.
“I’m sorry I haven’t said anything about your father.”
“It’s okay.”
“I’m so sorry he passed, and that you didn’t know about him being sick.”
“I appreciate that, Cat. I’m thankful he found love in your Mom. She made him very happy, you know? Even when I didn’t know he was sick, every time I’d FaceTime home, the two of them would just beam together.”
“Yeah, he brought out good in my mom, too. She sort of found a more balanced approach to life and quit working as much.”
“They were good for each other.”
I nodded, lost in thought, thinking of my own Dad and what he did. Work. Money. Loss of balance. I never told anyone my secret.
“It’s just…funerals….”
He held up his hand. “Cat, you don’t have to explain it to me. I know your dad is gone.”
I shook my head. “I… I never told you everything.”
“Everything?”
“About his death.”
“You don’t have to.”
“But I want to. I want to talk about it. To someone.”
“To me? Are you sure?”
“He… staged his own murder so he didn’t have to do it himself. So my mother and I would have insurance money.”
“It?”
“Suicide. When you do that, your family doesn’t get the insurance money.”
I don’t know why, but sharing my secret made me feel light.
He reached for my hand and comforted me gently. A fresh tear fell down my face and I dabbed my eyes with a napkin.
“Hey… Don’t cry. It’s okay. He was just thinking about his family. Stress gets to people sometimes.”
“I know. I just miss him is all. I didn’t care about all that money. Or all that stuff. I just wanted him.”
“I’m sorry, Cat.”
I cleared my throat. Wow, I just unloaded on him. “I’m sorry, I don’t know why I’m telling you this.” I released a big sigh.
“No, I’m glad you did because I care about you.”
“You care about me?”
“I cared about you then, too. I brought you to my property remember? Never brought anyone there before.” He leaned in closer across the table.
That happy memory of us on that couch felt like a pleasant spring day.
“That was a nice night.” I admitted, feeling a smile form across my face.
“It was.”
He really looked at me. Like really looked at me. He full on stared.
“What, do I have something in my teeth?”
“Cat, you look absolutely amazing. I’m serious.” He shook his head. “I mean, when I saw you on that TV screen while walking out on that runway, my jaw dropped to the floor. I was so proud of you. You should be proud of all your hard work.”
My heart rate doubled. I still had the hots for Ramon Nicholas, and for him to say he liked what he saw made high school Cat, who still existed deep inside, melt.
I mean look at him.
That jawline, had it always been so pronounced? His boyish charm had evolved to full-grown heartthrob. I could totally see him gracing the GQ magazine soon, rocking a suit when he made it to the NFL.
The white t-shirt over his massive biceps made my panties dampen. Its V-neck cut gave the perfect tease of his packed chest. The crisp white color made his tan skin pop. He was always training. While most guys didn’t even own a tan in winter, he did.
Suddenly, the house lights lifted, indicating that it was time for us late night customers to get the heck out! I suddenly wished it wasn’t 2 am.
“Looks like they’re kicking us out of here. The lights have lifted.”
RAMON
The
I honestly regretted not attending the funeral. I felt awful that I couldn’t be there for my mom and him. My mom understood. She just wanted me to get better and take care of myself.
I cleared my throat, readying myself for confidence to apologize. I needed to make my own amends.
“I’m sorry I haven’t said anything about your father.”
“It’s okay.”
“I’m so sorry he passed, and that you didn’t know about him being sick.”
“I appreciate that, Cat. I’m thankful he found love in your Mom. She made him very happy, you know? Even when I didn’t know he was sick, every time I’d FaceTime home, the two of them would just beam together.”
“Yeah, he brought out good in my mom, too. She sort of found a more balanced approach to life and quit working as much.”
“They were good for each other.”
I nodded, lost in thought, thinking of my own Dad and what he did. Work. Money. Loss of balance. I never told anyone my secret.
“It’s just…funerals….”
He held up his hand. “Cat, you don’t have to explain it to me. I know your dad is gone.”
I shook my head. “I… I never told you everything.”
“Everything?”
“About his death.”
“You don’t have to.”
“But I want to. I want to talk about it. To someone.”
“To me? Are you sure?”
“He… staged his own murder so he didn’t have to do it himself. So my mother and I would have insurance money.”
“It?”
“Suicide. When you do that, your family doesn’t get the insurance money.”
I don’t know why, but sharing my secret made me feel light.
He reached for my hand and comforted me gently. A fresh tear fell down my face and I dabbed my eyes with a napkin.
“Hey… Don’t cry. It’s okay. He was just thinking about his family. Stress gets to people sometimes.”
“I know. I just miss him is all. I didn’t care about all that money. Or all that stuff. I just wanted him.”
“I’m sorry, Cat.”
I cleared my throat. Wow, I just unloaded on him. “I’m sorry, I don’t know why I’m telling you this.” I released a big sigh.
“No, I’m glad you did because I care about you.”
“You care about me?”
“I cared about you then, too. I brought you to my property remember? Never brought anyone there before.” He leaned in closer across the table.
That happy memory of us on that couch felt like a pleasant spring day.
“That was a nice night.” I admitted, feeling a smile form across my face.
“It was.”
He really looked at me. Like really looked at me. He full on stared.
“What, do I have something in my teeth?”
“Cat, you look absolutely amazing. I’m serious.” He shook his head. “I mean, when I saw you on that TV screen while walking out on that runway, my jaw dropped to the floor. I was so proud of you. You should be proud of all your hard work.”
My heart rate doubled. I still had the hots for Ramon Nicholas, and for him to say he liked what he saw made high school Cat, who still existed deep inside, melt.
I mean look at him.
That jawline, had it always been so pronounced? His boyish charm had evolved to full-grown heartthrob. I could totally see him gracing the GQ magazine soon, rocking a suit when he made it to the NFL.
The white t-shirt over his massive biceps made my panties dampen. Its V-neck cut gave the perfect tease of his packed chest. The crisp white color made his tan skin pop. He was always training. While most guys didn’t even own a tan in winter, he did.
Suddenly, the house lights lifted, indicating that it was time for us late night customers to get the heck out! I suddenly wished it wasn’t 2 am.
“Looks like they’re kicking us out of here. The lights have lifted.”
RAMON
The
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