Sweet Billionaire Stepbrother(59)

“Geez, when did you get so smart? I thought you weren’t into dating?”

“I’m not. But I listen when my friends talk. You know my brain soaks up information like a sponge . . . even useless shit.”

“Sounds useful to me. I’m going to try it on S—” she clamped a hand over her mouth, realising that she’d said too much.

This time I narrowed my eyes at her. “Sssss . . . . Seth? Seth Matthews? That’s the guy?”

She didn’t need to say a damn word. The way her cheeks flushed and she cast her eyes down told me everything I needed to know.

“Oh God, Taylor, he’s way too old for you and he’s a player. Why in the world would you want him?”

She shrugged, keeping her eyes on the floor. “I . . . um, I don’t know to be honest. It’s just one of those things I can’t explain. He makes my stomach go woozy when I see him.” Placing a hand on my arm, she met my gaze with a worried expression. “You . . . um, he’s not the guy you’re crying about, is he?”

I laughed. “Oh God, no. After the ball, we decided to stay friends just so things wouldn’t be awkward if we ever bumped into one another. But that doesn’t mean he’s right for you. In fact, I know he isn’t. And Grayson . . . he’d freak out if he thought his little sister wanted to date a Matthews.”

“I know, right? What is it with Grayson and the Matthews brothers? I understand about Hawke . . . but Seth’s done nothing to offend him, except to be Hawke’s brother. I honestly don’t get it.”

“Testosterone. Male rivalry. It’s as old as the jungle. Ever watch any episode on Discovery? Male animals have been fighting since forever to show their superiority—it’s built into their genetic code. Nothing we can do to change that any time soon.”

We both chuckled before Taylor’s expression grew more serious.

“Anyway, I came to get you to go down to the party. Grayson’s gone to pick Sloane up and Mum sent me to get you. She knows you hate these things, so she wanted me to check on you.”

My eyes grew wide. Sometimes my mother could be so damn annoying. Or was it the guilt of knowing that I was planning to escape soon that ate at me? She’d ranted for a few minutes when I’d returned earlier, complaining that she’d been worried I wasn’t going to be home in time to get ready for the party.

“You’re kidding, right? Of course I’m coming down to celebrate Milton’s birthday. It’s a big deal to him, so I even dressed up—”

“And you look stunning. That dress looks like it was made for you. Every guy tonight is going have his eyes on you.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, nobody will notice me. As for the dress, actually, I bought it in London.” As soon as the words slipped out of my mouth, I regretted them.

London.

Grayson.

Just the two of us.

My heart ached from the memory.

I swear I wasn’t wearing the dress to remind Grayson of the night he took me to dinner. It was just that I couldn’t face shopping these last few days and I owed it to Mum and Milton to at least make some effort.

The dress was a little tighter than when I wore it in London, especially around my ass and boobs, but I knew I had eaten and drunk too much in London. The three course meals that Grayson ordered and were delivered to our hotel room were from some of the best eateries in London. And the restaurants he took me to on the last few days were to die for. I was never one to shy away from good food—especially dessert. I loved the sweet stuff even though it was loaded with sugar and dollops of clotted cream the English were so fond of.

“You never talk much about that trip. I’m still waiting to see pictures you know. Grayson promised to take me to the city of my choice when I graduate as well. Isn’t he just an awesome big brother . . . well sometimes.”

I swallowed hard. Yes, he’s the best a girl could ever want.

“Um . . . I actually forgot to take photos. But it definitely was the best week of my life . . . I don’t need pictures to remind me how amazing it was.” I hesitated for a few moments as I fought the lump in my throat. “I’ll never forget it,” I added wistfully, meaning every damn word.

Thank f*ck Taylor had already turned toward the door. “Time to party. Let’s forget about guys for a while and just have fun,” she said as she reached to the stairway outside my room.

Blinking back a few stubborn tears, I followed her blindly. Dammit, I didn’t want to spoil my carefully applied eye liner and mascara it had taken me forever to get it just right. I was aiming for sophisticated and smudged make-up would ruin it all.

Sloane would no doubt be a knock-out and had gone all out to look her best. She’d babbled on and on about it for weeks, making my damn head hurt with her obsession about Grayson. She couldn’t string two sentences together without using his name. She had it bad—almost as bad as me.

Guilt ate at me. I’d listened with growing dread of how she was fantasising about having sex with Grayson. Every nerve in my body wanted to scream out and tell her that he was mine.

Only he wasn’t. Our stolen times together were just that.

Stolen.

Illicit.

Dangerous.

But I was too far gone to want it any other way. I’d take every crumb, every second he’d given me. I could feast for nights to come on those memories. When I was all alone in my bed, my body ached for his, my soul longing for him.