PRINCE CHARMING: A Stepbrother Secret Baby Romance(128)

“Well, it’s a little bit more complicated than that. I didn’t tell you, but Chance and I didn’t quite end it in St. Lucia even after our parents got married.”

“I knew it!” she screeched, and Claire could almost see her smiling into the phone. “You whore!”

“I know, I know,” Claire responded. “But how could we just turn it off because they got married? We tried, and then we decided what the heck.”

“I understand,” Amy sympathized. “I’d do the same too.”

“Well, that was our plan, but Chance has decided it doesn’t make sense anymore. I see him with these girls all the time, and he says it’s nothing, but even before that, he had been distant. I finally got tired of the whole charade and we’ve decided to call it off.”

“I’m sorry, Claire,” Amy said. “I know none of this can be easy for you, but I don’t think running away is the solution.”

“I’m not running away,” Claire defended. “I just need a break. Plus, I thought you were a fan of running away. You got me to St. Lucia.”

“That was different,” Amy defended. “As bad as you may feel now, I am sure it’s nothing like what Trent did to you.”

“Still, I don’t want to be around him all the time. He doesn’t have to be here, yet he lingers and…” she paused when she saw Chance standing at the door. She whispered, “Amy, I’ll call you back; he’s here.”

“Go away with me,” he said to her as soon as she had hung up the phone.

“What?” she asked.

“The two of us - let’s just go away,” he said again.

“Are you serious?” Claire asked. “I thought we just agreed to call it off.”

“I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want to lose you, Claire, but it’s hard being here and pretending to be siblings when I can’t touch you in public. I know the way I feel about you is wrong, but I can’t help what goes on in my head when I see you. Please, just say you will go.”

Claire stared at him in horror. He was saying all the things she wanted to hear, but she was afraid to believe it. With her luck, he would return from their trip and things would go back to normal. “I don’t know.”

“I DO know, Claire,” he said. “I do know we’re destined to be together.”

“And how do you know this?”

“The way I feel about you,” he told her and cupped her face in his hands. “I think I’ve fallen for you, Claire, and I don’t want to think about you with anyone else. And I don’t know how we are going to make this work, but I am willing to see what happens, where it goes.”

Claire remained silent for some time; Chance waited for her to respond. “Your proposition does sound exciting. I love travelling but…”

“Just say yes, Claire. Don’t overthink it.”

“I have work,” Claire said.

“I can take care of that, Claire. Just say yes.”

“But what do we tell our parents? If we both disappeared at the same time?”

“With the way I feel, I will tell them we went away together, but I know you’re not quite ready for that, so maybe you can tell your mom you’re going to hang out with Amy like you said.”

Claire grimaced. “You heard that, huh?”

He nodded and gripped her hands in his. “It doesn’t matter; I don’t blame you. I can be erratic sometimes, but with you, I’ve been stable. And you know what, I don’t want to hide anymore. We’re adults, and honestly, I don’t see why we can’t be together if that’s what we both really want.”

“Your dad might disagree,” Claire said. “Any my mom won’t like it.”

“Claire, fuck what everyone wants. What do you want? What do we want?”

Claire thought about what he was saying to her, and she could hardly deny the appeal. After all, they weren’t related by blood, so nothing was stopping their being together. She just didn’t want to hurt her mother. “I want to be with you, Chance. I’m just not sure about going public with our relationship.”

“I don’t care about anyone else…just you. Do you want me the way I want you?” he asked, looking into her eyes.

“Yes,” she whispered, “you know I do want you so much.”

“Then it’s settled. Let’s not sneak around anymore. Let’s go tell them.”

Claire was nervous when Chance took her hand and led her outside. She protested all the way to the study. Before they got there, they ran into Willow, and her expression turned to shock when she saw them holding hands. Claire tried to disentangle herself, but Chance wouldn’t let her. He gripped her hand firmly and smiled at Willow.

“We were just coming down to see you and Dad,” he said to her.

“What is it?” Willow asked, eyeing their joined hands.

“Please.” He indicated the study. “We need to tell you both something.”

Willow nodded, but she didn’t speak again. Bryan looked at them over his glasses when they entered, then he removed them.

“Well, hello everyone,” he smiled. Willow walked over to stand next to him.

“Dad, Willow,” Chance began. “Claire and I are still together.”