Romance: Stepbrother Passion by West Lara

Author:West, Lara [West, Lara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Run Free Publishing
Published: 2015-04-20T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

Dylan is half an hour late.

I am sitting in The Lion, one of the swankest restaurants in New York, and marveling at how Dylan managed to get a table at such late notice. Above me artwork hangs like a showcase, eccentric images at their finest and all dripping with price tags that I know are well beyond the thousands.

An antique fireplace also sits poised at the edge of the room, a beautiful piece of heritage marked with long glass windows on either side, the gold shimmering lights of the city blinking beyond. Even the wooden candelabras fixed with naked bulbs are intimidating.

“Another cosmopolitan madam?” the perfectly tailored waiter asks.

“Yes, thank you,” I say stiffly, glancing down at my second empty glass.

I heard a dating expert say on Good Morning America once that you should only have one drink on a first date. One is enough to get the blood flowing and help you relax.

But two or more causes you to flush, making you look at your absolute worst. I am terribly underdressed in generic skinny black jeans and an emerald blouse, with two well-known celebrities canoodling on one side of me, and another movie star on the other.

Flushing is the least of my concerns.

“Ella, my apologies for being so late,” Dylan unexpectedly says, coming up behind me.

I turn too quickly and catch his lips that were meant for my cheek.

“Oh gosh. I didn’t mean to do that,” I gasp, turning brighter than even ten cosmopolitans would cause.

“That’s perfectly all right. It’s not like we’ve never kissed before,” he replies with a wink.

I laugh feebly.

What am I even doing here?

“Well I see you’ve already started on drinks. Ah Maurice, your timing is excellent,” Dylan says as the waiter returns with my third cosmopolitan. “Gin. Bombay Sapphire. And the selection of oysters to start.”

“Right away, sir.”

I watch Maurice carefully rush off to fill the order.

“You come here often then?”

“Yes, I’ve entertained a few clients here.”

“Of course you have,” I chide. “Of the female variety too no doubt.”

I feel the cosmos taking effect.

Dylan looks at me oddly.

“If I didn’t know any better I would think you’re already drunk, Ella.”

The comment offends me instantly.

“Well, if you had been on time I wouldn’t be drinking. Why were you so late anyway?”

He pauses in the same way he did at the bookstore.

“I… was still with a client. The meeting ran overtime. Once again I apologize. But as for the you being drunk part, there’s sparkling water on the table.”

“Yes, there is. But I’m sitting in a room with A-list celebrities and wearing the wrong attire because you said to dress ‘comfortably’. And you’re wearing a suit that clearly looks Valentino. So I think you’d be drinking too.”

It comes out louder than intended. Even the celebrities stop kissing to stare at us.

“Touché,” Dylan laughs, taking my hand. “It really is nice to see you again, Ella. You haven’t changed one bit.”

Is he serious?

I am nothing like I was ten years ago!

“I’ll have you know that your observations are completely inaccurate.

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