PRINCE CHARMING: A Stepbrother Secret Baby Romance(81)

The bed and breakfast was dressed up, too. Ash and I had spent hours decorating it with pink ribbons and lace. Well, it only took hours because we spent so much time having sex in between. We didn’t only volunteer to do it because we cared; we knew it would be one of the few times we could be alone together.

I tried not to think about anything but the wedding. Ash and I were living moment to moment, and we tried to ignore the impossible.

Gary looked gallant and handsome. He waited nervously for my mother, who walked slowly to the altar. A kindly looking and slightly bald priest began muttering. I couldn’t hear him because I was too busy noticing Ash. He sat not far away from Gary, and he looked so hot. He wore a black suit with a red bow tie for some pizazz. His hair was shaved now, and it made his sharp bone structure stick out even more.

My heart raced. For a moment, I pictured standing at that altar with Ash, looking deeply into his eyes. My heart sank. That would never happen. I looked back at our parents, who were finishing their vows. The room erupted with clapping and cheers. I smiled brightly, enjoying how happy my mom was. I hadn’t seen her quite this happy since she was with Dad, and I was glad I felt more comfortable about everything. I was also glad she had the wedding to distract her from Ash and me. I was so paranoid that she suspected something weird was going on.

Everyone moved into the backyard, where we were having a huge wedding barbecue. People began crowding underneath the tents, and the smell of hot dogs and hamburgers filled the air. A DJ played rock music, and waitresses in crisp white uniforms handed out cups of soda and wine.

“I can’t believe you have to leave tonight, Sarah.”

“You know how crazy Coach is. I’m lucky I could get the time off to come here at all during training season,” she said.

“I know,” I replied, smiling. “I just wish we had more time to talk…about everything.”

Sarah looked over at Ash, who was talking with some of his guy friends. “Fuck. He is gorgeous, though, I have to admit,” she said with a grim smile.

“I know! He’s so much trouble.” I sighed heavily.

“Would you like some wine, miss?” asked one of the waitresses.

I looked around before accepting to make sure my mom didn’t see me drinking underage. Sarah took some wine too.

“Since when do you drink?” she asked.

“Since this summer.”

“I can see he’s had an impact on you. Sex. Drinking,” she teased.

“I guess some guys just make being bad so much fun,” I responded. I took a sip of my wine. My mother rushed over to me. I gave Sarah my drink, hoping my mom didn’t notice it. I embraced her tightly.

“Congrats, Mom!”

“Thank you! This has been one of the best days of my life. And Sarah! It’s so nice to see you,” she said, giving Sarah a hug.

My heart sank. I watched my mother and Sarah talk. Mom looked so damn happy. I could never take part in risking her happiness. The realization of this hit me hard.

“I’ll be right back,” I said to Sarah.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, fine. I’ll see you both in a minute.” I made my way to the house. I saw Ash out of the corner of my eye. He followed me. Shit.

The first floor was full of people, so I escaped to the third floor. I went up the secret staircase and was comforted by the sight of the third floor suite. I remembered that Ash and I had had sex here, and my heart sank again. Tears streamed down my face. This was just too fucked up to bear. The stairwell door opened, and Ash walked through, obviously concerned.

“Amy? Are you okay?” he asked.

I shook my head and turned away from him. I didn’t want to see how gorgeous he looked. I didn’t want to know what would never be mine.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, his voice lowering. He took a seat beside me on the bed, and I scooted as far away as possible.

“We can’t be together,” I said. He was silent, the reality of our situation seeping in. “Sarah’s parents love me and are always inviting me to stay. She would love it if I were back in San Fran, and I miss my dad.”

“What are you saying?” Ash asked, his voice sounding low and sad.

“I’m leaving with Sarah tonight, and I’ll be gone for the rest of the summer…And forever,” I said, tears streaming down my face.

Ash stood up. He began pacing. I had never seen him look so sad before.

“I have no other choice. I can’t be around you. We can’t escape the reality of our situation—that we just can’t do this,” I said.

Ash sighed and kneeled in front of me. I stared into his gorgeous honey eyes and wanted to lose myself in them. “I know…I know.” He grabbed me gently by the shoulders. I felt comforted by his touch but disturbed by how much I wanted more of it.

“They’re so happy together. This would ruin everything.”

He sighed. “It would. There’s no doubt. Maybe it is what’s best, but…” He stopped, a look of rage coming over him. He got up and growled, slamming his fist into the wall. “Fuck it. I want to make this work. I do all kinds of things in secret. Why not continue to do you in secret?”

He stormed over to me and began kissing me. I kissed him back, but something strong came over me—my protective side. I needed to protect my mother’s happiness at all costs, even if it was a huge cost to me.