RICH BOY BRIT (A Bad Boy Stepbrother Romance)(56)

Claire fumed at her mother. She remembered what she had said to Chance last night about being selfish, but after seeing her mother, she hadn’t been able to stop the words that had escaped her mouth. She paced the floor for a few minutes, wearing out the carpet, trying to decide if she should really go to breakfast with them. She wondered if Chance was going to be there as well. If he was, she didn’t want to leave him all by himself with their parents. She pondered her other options. Maybe she should just go home and pretend none of this happened, but she knew deep down her heart would never allow it.

Her mind drifted to the way she felt when she was with Chance, the way he made her feel wanted, and she knew then how difficult it would be to forget him—to walk away and give him up. She couldn’t just up and leave. It was crazy how she had just been jilted by Trent, and now her mother was making her give up the one man who could have helped her heart heal. Her mother was oblivious of it, too!

Claire looked at the clock and saw that breakfast wasn’t a long way off. She needed to go meet her extended family and figure out how to be a good stepsister.

She was dressing when she heard a knock at the door. She swung it wide open, ready to battle her mother once more. “Oh, it’s you,” she said and walked back inside.

“Who did you think it was?” he asked and followed her into the room.

“My mother. She was just here, inviting us to breakfast,” Claire said and rolled her eyes.

“My dad asked, too,” Chance said. “I told him I’m not going.”

Claire walked over to him and traced the outline of his face with her forefinger. “I think we should, though. We can’t accomplish much if we keep them at bay.”

“We can’t?” he said, relaxed to her touch.

She tilted his head to hers and lightly kissed him. “You see, I’ve been thinking about what you said, and I don’t believe we have to end this because of them. If we play nice, they will ignore us, which means we will have more time to…you know.”

“I like how you think,” he said as he pulled her closer to him. “Maybe we’ll find a way.”

“Maybe. Let’s go eat, shall we?” she said and tucked her arm in his.

***

Bryan and Willow seemed surprised when they saw their children enter the dining area with bright smiles.

“Well, I must admit I am a little shocked,” Bryan said, standing for Claire. She waited until he pulled out the chair for her.

“Claire talked some sense into me,” Chance said. “If we are a family now, we may as well get along.”

Willow looked proudly at her daughter and gripped her hand across the table. “Thank you, Claire,” she said.

“So, Bryan, we haven’t formally met,” Claire said across the table, trying desperately to ignore Chance, who was rubbing his leg against hers; she tensed as she imagined the things he had done to her before.

“That’s right. We sort of just bumped into each other on the island. But I didn’t know at the time you were Willow’s daughter. Now I see the resemblance,” he said, smiling. “You’re as pretty as your mother.”

“Thank you,” Claire said with a smile.

“Well, I don’t know you at all,” Chance said to Willow, a fake smile on his face. “And now you’re my stepmother.”

“Chance, was that really necessary?” Bryan asked. “Be nice.”

“Sorry,” he sighed. “It’s just strange.”

“That’s understandable,” Willow reassured. “I’m sure we’ll all be fine with time.”

“That’s right,” Bryan said. “We’re a family now.”

“Okay, enough of the heavy stuff. When can we eat? I’m starving,” Claire said, desperate to change the subject.

Bryan signaled the waiter, and the man took their orders before leaving with a smile. The family had breakfast amidst talks of how Bryan and Willow came together and other meaningless banter about the children’s childhoods. Meanwhile, Claire and Chance exchanged secret glances and leg rubs under the table, anticipating the next time they would be together.

“So, where are you going to live?” Chance burst out. “I assume you won’t be hopping from place to place with Willow now that you’ll be more settled.”

Bryan looked at Willow and then at the children. “We have been talking about that. I understand that you live in Miami now, and if it isn’t too much of an inconvenience, Claire, maybe we can move to my house in Los Angeles. Willow told me how much she would appreciate you being there with her.” Chance cocked his head to the side and smiled at Claire in an ‘I told you so’ manner. “I have a lot of connections, so if you want to change jobs, I can help you with that.”

“Wow! My entire life is being rearranged,” Claire said, sarcasm dripping from her lips. “You’re asking me to leave all I have in Miami at the drop of a hat?”

“I know it’s a lot, Claire, but I really need your blessing on this,” Willow pleaded with her eyes. “I know I cannot force you to go with me, but I’d really like it if you did.”

“Sure. Fine,” Claire said and threw her hands in the air in defeat. She did deserve some time off from work, and what better way than to live in the comforts of a mansion, all expenses paid, under the same roof as Chance, if she could convince him not to move to an apartment of his own. And even if he did, she could move in discreetly with him. She didn’t know how the logistics would work, but she knew they’d figure it out.