Sweet Billionaire Stepbrother(5)

I laughed. At least both my stepsiblings liked my company. I didn’t really have that many friends and I’d only had a few crushes and one boyfriend to date.

Taylor’s eyes lit up as she addressed her brother. “Hey, help me out here. I was just trying to convince Layla to change her hair style and color since she won’t let me even ask Mum for the style I want.”

He gave her a strange look. “Why would Layla want to change her hair? It's perfect as it is. As for you, just live with what you were given. You probably want to go all red or something silly.”

Taylor and I exchanged glances before she burst out laughing. “I think we’ll spare you the details ‘cause I don’t think you’d approve. You'd probably be worse than Mum.”

Typical male, Grayson had already lost interest in the conversation about hair. I followed his gaze to the poster behind my headboard. He had a perplexed frown between his brows as he studied the picture.

“Still crushing on Superman? Haven’t you outgrown him yet?”

“It's not Superman she’s crushing on, silly, it's the fine specimen of Henry Cavil that makes her panties melt.”

“Taylor!” I shrieked, my face warming up at an alarming rate. Grayson’s eyebrow lifted as his curious gaze rested on my face.

“Is that right? Henry does it for you, huh?”

“Um, he does have superpowers, you know.”

Oh God, that’s the best line I can come up with? Heat from my cheeks radiated off me. Damn that poster. I’d been meaning to take it off the wall for months.

Taylor tilted her head and appraised the life-sized poster. “Actually, now that I’m really looking at the man’s face, I have to say he is gorgeous. Those eyes . . .” She drew in a breath and went quiet for a moment. Crossing her arms, she said, “Nah, I could never crush on him.”

“Why not?” I mean who in their right mind would not get their panties in a knot over H.C.

“Yeah, tell us.” Grayson encouraged.

She looked over at her brother and then back to the poster. “He . . . um . . . well you kind of look like Henry—just an uglier version of course. Anyway it would be just plain weird if I crushed on a man who looks so much like my own flesh and blood.” She turned to me, grinning. “Of course it's totally cool for you, you aren’t biologically related.”

I laughed, trying to hide my mortification. Where the hell did Taylor get her crazy ideas from? I narrowed my eyes and scrutinized the poster on the wall, then my gaze went back to Grayson.

Same eyes.

Same strong jaw.

The Cupid’s bow shaped mouth.

Oh. My. Fucking. God.

How had I never connected the dots before? They even had the same boyish smile. This was just plain weird.

My back stiffened. “Any resemblance is pure coincidence and Sloane gave it to me for my birthday two years ago, so of course I put it on the wall. She paid a lot of money for it,” I justified as I walked over to the print and pointed to the bottom right hand corner, tapping my index finger lightly just below a black scribble. “It's a limited edition poster. That’s his real signature.”

I raised my chin while I folded my arms, waiting for someone to challenge me further.

“So one day when you marry Henry you can ask him to personalize it with your name. How cool would that be?” Taylor held up her hand for a hi-five. I just shook my head and laughed.

Grayson’s gaze swung from the poster to Taylor. “Marry him? What are you talking about?”

“Oh, I've heard Layla and Sloane talk about their dream men. I think our dearest sister wants to be Mrs. Henry Cavil.”

I shot her a warning glance but Taylor wasn’t letting go. She scratched her chin and looked back at me. “Um . . . come to think of it, since I think you look like Emma Stone, Henry is not the man for you.” She tapped her index finger on her lips for a few seconds, her eyes glistening with mischief. “Actuuuually,” she said drawing the word out, “Laura’s brother just arrived back home from military service and Oh. My. God. He looks like Ryan Gosling. He’s the perfect match for you!”

This conversation was getting ridiculous. “That talk about our dream man was hypothetically speaking. And you shouldn’t be telling your brother everything you overhear or I might not let you in when Sloane comes over again.”

She made a gesture as if she was zipping her mouth closed, turning a key and throwing it over her shoulders. I laughed, glad she was getting the hint to shut up.

“About that drink. Want to come downstairs with me and have a coffee?” Grayson smiled, causing small crinkles to form in the corners of his eyes.

I shrugged. “Sure, why not. The caffeine kick will help me to finish my assignment. It's due in six days.”

I needed to get away from Taylor for a while. She was running her mouth more than usual and it made me uncomfortable in front of Grayson. All that talk about Grayson, Henry and Ryan had made my mouth go dry and my panties just a little damp. It was time to get out of my room before I completely embarrassed myself.

As if guys who looked like movie stars would even look in my direction.

“On the day of the graduation ball? Wow that sucks.” Taylor shrieked.

She was right, it did suck—not that I really was all that fussed about the ball or needed much time to dress up, but I wanted the work done before it was due so I could tick it off my list. I had several job offers and I wanted to take my time to choose which of the three would be the best for me to kick-start my career. Since each had their pros and cons, I hadn’t been able to decide yet.