PRINCE CHARMING: A Stepbrother Secret Baby Romance(90)
“He’s entirely too logical about it, as usual. It’s odd. Of all things, this makes total sense to him.”
I looked around the house, feeling as though it was finally a home. Without Ashton in my life, I had been waiting for something. With him, I had finally found it.
“You know, when Dad left, the only thing I wanted was for us both to be happy,” my mom began.
“And I’m glad we both are now. Very glad,” I finished.
(BONUS BOOK #2)
CHANCE
(A Stepbrother
Romance)
By
Mia Carson
COPYRIGHT ? 2016
All Rights Reserved
CHAPTER 1
Claire got out of the cab and looked in horror as Trent, her fiancé, held a woman in his arms and kissed her lovingly on the lips in front of his house. She wanted to run or close her eyes and pretend the man she had been dating since after high school, for three years, was not kissing another woman the day before their wedding. But even the darkness that would come if she closed her eyes was insufficient to rid her confused mind of the event unfolding in front of her.
He stroked the woman’s face and spoke soothingly to her; he was so engrossed in their conversation that he didn’t see Claire until she had seen too much. By the time he did see her, her cheeks were drenched with tears. She remained motionless as he ran towards her.
“Claire, this isn’t...”
She looked up at him, feeling like a zombie. She felt nothing, heard nothing, saw nothing except the woman who stood uncomfortably a few feet away from them.
“Look, I can explain,” he told her. But there was nothing he could say to make the situation right.
“I wanted to see you one last time before tomorrow,” she said as the tears poured down. “I’m such an idiot.”
“Claire,” he said softly, his eyes pleading with her. “I never meant for this...”
“You’re fucked up, Trent, and you know it. Just fucking leave me alone!” she said as she walked away.
“Claire!” he called after her, but she didn’t stop. “Let me at least give you a ride home.”
“Fuck off,” Claire said, just as she stumbled into an older man on the pavement, but he caught her as she did.
“You okay, ma’am?” the man asked. “Can I help you?”
“I just need a cab,” she sobbed. “Please just get me out of here.”
“This way,” he said as he led her to the yellow and black checkered cab around the corner.
She composed herself long enough to give him her address, but try as she might, she could not get the image of Trent kissing another woman in public out of her mind.
“We’re here,” the cabbie announced a few minutes later as he pulled up to her driveway.
She looked around as if scared. She rummaged in her bag in search of her wallet. “Hang on,” she said as she moved the items in her bag.
“It’s on me,” he told her. “Don’t worry about it.”
“What?” Her eyes looked dazed as if she were unaware of who she was or what she was doing there.
“The ride. No charge.” He smiled at her and reached for the lock on the door.
Her eyes were wild, almost as if she didn’t understand him. When it registered in her brain that he thought she needed the help, she said, “No, I have money...”
“I know,” he answered. “But this one is on me. And ma’am, any man who makes a woman cry isn’t worth her tears.”
Claire offered him a weak smile. “Thank you.”
“Hope your day gets better,” he said, returning the smile.
She staggered from the car towards the door of the house, dreading what her mother and best friend, Amy, would say when she announced the wedding was off. She opened the door, and as she closed it behind her and rested against it, she felt as if the weight of a thousand anchors had descended upon her. Her legs weakened and she collapsed to the floor, her back against the door.
“Claire?” she heard her mother, Willow. “Amy!”
“What is it, Mrs. Callahan?” Amy rushed from the kitchen. Amy and Claire had been best friends since middle school, and she had been helping with the final preparations for the next day. Claire had been there earlier, but she had snuck out to see Trent before the big event.
“Call Trent,” Willow said to Amy as she knelt next to Claire on the floor. “Are you okay, honey?”
“No!” Claire managed to say through tears. “Not him.”
“Why not?” Amy asked, her fingers already dialing Trent’s number.
“Don’t call him,” Claire said as she tried to move, but the weight in her mind was enough to keep her motionless.
Willow and Amy looked at Claire. “Why not? I think he should know that you’re sick,” Amy said.
“I’m not sick and there won’t be a wedding,” Claire responded. “It’s over.”
For a few seconds, no one said a word. Willow got on the floor with her daughter and tried to hug her. “It’s normal to get cold feet. We have talked about this. When I married your dad…”