I wake to warmth surrounding me, and I smile as I remember all the magical things Hunter did to my body. Last night was wonderful. More than I could have ever dreamed of. I roll over to look at him. He looks so peaceful in his sleep. He made such sweet love to me last night. It was full of passion and need. For the first time in my life I felt like someone really wanted me. That I meant something to someone. He made me feel things I didn’t even know were possible.
My smile widens. Even the ache all over my body can’t diminish my happiness. It’s a reminder of what we did last night and on into the morning.
Hunter reaches for me, pulling me closer to him. He hasn’t let me get far from him since I landed in his arms.
I knew the moment I saw his picture we were meant to be. I could feel it deep down and now I know it’s right. Still, a part of me wonders how everyone will take this. He’s technically my stepbrother, even though it doesn't feel like it. Last night was the first time I’d ever met him.
I reach out and touch his full lips with the tip of my finger. He kisses the end of it, still fast asleep. He’s nothing like what I’d heard in his father’s office last night. This Hunter was sweet and loving. It’s hard to believe the two men are the same. I get excited thinking about how I have almost two full months until I have to go back to school. That gives Hunter and me so much time to be together.
Doubt creeps slowly into my thoughts, and then I wonder what if last night was a one-night stand to him. No. I push away that bleak thought. Men don’t make love to a woman like that unless it means something. Right? He had to have felt what I felt last night. The things he said and did. It had to mean something to him. He couldn’t fake that.
Yet a nervous feeling takes hold. I lean in and place a kiss on Hunter’s lips. I know my mother will come looking for me soon and I don’t want her to find me naked in Hunter’s bed. She’d probably lose it. I want to tell our parents together in a calm way. Something tells me Neil isn't going to have a problem with it. In fact, I think he might like the idea. My mother won’t, but she doesn’t care for anything I do, so why does it even matter?
Slowly I try to pull myself from Hunter.
“Don’t leave me,” he mumbles.
My eyes go to his, but they’re still closed. He holds me tighter, so tight I almost can’t breathe. He doesn’t want me to go and that fills me with excitement.
“I’ll be back. I promise,” I whisper.
He relaxes his arms a little and I slowly slide out. I stand up next to the bed, looking for my sleep shirt. I see it on the floor, grab it and put it on. For a moment I stare at Hunter in the middle of the bed, wanting to crawl back in it with him.
I wonder if things will be awkward when he wakes up. We didn't talk much. In fact, I don’t even think he knows who I am. I didn't tell him I was his stepsister. I just hope that won’t bother him. And I also hope that he felt the same thing for me last night that I did the first time I saw a picture of him.
I take one last look at him before I head toward the door. I open it quietly and slip into the hallway, tiptoeing toward my bedroom. I open the door and barely make it inside before someone has a hold of me by my hair.
“You little slut,” my mother hisses next to my ear before giving me a hard push. Tears sting my eyes as I hit the floor. I stare up at her in shock. She doesn’t look like she’s gone to bed since last night. Her hair is still styled and her makeup is still on. She’s even wearing her dress from the night before. “How could you? You know he’s with Sarah.”
She shakes her head at me and I start to tremble, not because I’m scared, but because of her words. He’s with someone else? Then why would he make love to me?
“Men stray, you stupid girl. It comes with the power and money, but it doesn’t mean you have to be the whore they go to.”
I can’t stop the tears that flood my eyes. It’s breaking my heart and I can’t believe it. I have to do something, so I stumble to my feet. She keeps throwing hateful words at me in a low, harsh voice. I ignore her as I go about the room finding something to wear. I dress as quickly as I can and get my bag. Thank god I didn’t unpack it when I got here. I push past my mother, and she tries to grab me, but I dodge her and rush out into the hallway, knowing she won’t make a scene out here.
I jog down the hall trying to get away from her. I pause for a moment outside of Hunter’s room but keep moving. I need to get my head back on straight. I don’t want to burst into his room, crying my eyes out, while he’s sleeping. My mother's words rattle around in my head.
I fly down the stairs and out the front door. I take off down the long driveway, but I don’t make it far before Neil’s driver is pulling up beside me. “Get in the car, ma’am,” he tells me. He puts the car in park and opens the back door.
“I don’t want to go back home right now,” I plead with him.
“Mr. Danvers gave me instructions when you arrived home that I am to take you anywhere you wish.” He nods to the open car door and I reluctantly step toward it. The driver hands me a handkerchief and I take it.
“Thank you,” I mutter as I slide in. He shuts the door behind me, then hops in the driver's seat.
“Where to?” he asks as he pulls out of the gates.
“Is there a coffee shop nearby?” He nods and turns left. I close my eyes and let my head drop back. I’ll never understand how my mother could be so cruel to me. I can’t believe the things she said about Hunter. Or maybe it’s just that my heart won’t let me believe them because I know it will break me.
“Does this look okay, miss?” I look out the window to see a small coffee shop. I nod. He steps out to open my door, but I beat him to it.
“I won’t be long,” I tell him. I pause for a moment. “Thank you,” I add.
He nods at me before getting back into the car and pulling away. I guess he’s going to find somewhere to park while he waits for me.
I step into the shop, and I have no idea why I told him to come here. I don’t even like coffee, but I couldn't think of anywhere else to go.
“Autumn.” I turn around at the sound of my name to see an older gentleman standing behind me. My eyes meet his and I freeze.
I stare into his gray eyes—eyes that look just like mine. People always comment on my eyes because they’re an unusual gray, radiating to a light blue around the edges. I’ve never seen eyes like mine before and right now I’m staring at them.
“You look just like my mother,” he says. It takes me a moment to understand what he’s really saying. I stand there shocked. I know who he is without him having to say it. “God, I’ve been looking for you for so long. Once I found out you existed I stopped at nothing to find you.”
He steps toward me and pulls me into his arms, wrapping them around me in a hug. I don’t hug him back. Instead I stand stock still, speechless.
He pulls back and I see his eyes are watering. He shakes his head. “I’m sorry, this must be overwhelming for you. I’m Ben Crawford. Your father.”
“I don’t have a father,” I tell him. It’s the only thing I can think to say.
He lets out a deep breath. “Will you sit with me?” He holds his hand out toward a table. I nod and walk over and sit down. He sits across from me.
“Autumn, I swear I didn't learn about you until a few months ago. I was at an event and your mother's name came up and someone said she had a daughter. They mentioned your age, and I did the math in my head. I got curious and started digging after that.”
I study him for a moment, trying to gauge the truth of his words, but he looks sincere.
“My mother told me my father ran out when he found out she was pregnant.” I look down at my hands. It was something my mother threw in my face over the years. That he’d left because of me.
“I see Porsha hasn’t changed much if she’s feeding you that lie, but lying is what she’s best at.”
I look up at Ben. The anger is clear in his face. I merely shrug. She’s a good liar, but she’s also good at laying down a guilt trip, too.
The silence grows for a minute. I study his face and I can see why I don’t look like my mother or anyone on her side of the family. Well, at least from the pictures I’ve seen of them. I can already tell by looking at this man that I come from his side of the family. From our eyes to our hair color, and even our lips. They are all the same.
“I want you in my life,” he says, breaking the silence that was lingering between us. He cocks his head to the side like he’s the one studying me now. “I know you have time off from school right now.”
“How—”
“I told you. When I found out about you I wanted to know everything. I’ve been waiting days for you to leave that house so I could finally approach you. Your mother’s been stonewalling me these past few weeks.”
“Wait, she knows you’re looking for me?”
He nods and reaches out, taking my hands in his.
“Autumn, I want to get to know you. I’ve missed so much already. I’ll take any time you give me.” He gives my hands a squeeze. “I have a home in Aspen I’d love for you to come to. It’s beautiful there right now. Christmas there is perfect.” I see a hopeful glint in his eyes.
“I can’t just leave with you. I don’t even know you. Plus, I promised Neil I’d be here for Christmas.”
“Your stepfather?” he asks, but I feel like he already knows the answer to that if he knows my school schedule. I nod. “I notice you didn't mention your mother.”
I let out a humorless laugh. I watch more pain flash in his eyes.
“I wish I knew about you from the beginning. I know how she can be. It’s why I left her, but I guess she got in the final blow. I know now that she kept you from me to hurt me.”
“I’m not saying no because I won’t go to Aspen or that I don’t want to get to know you. Maybe when you get back?” I offer. I want to get to know him and I believe what he is saying. It sounds like something my mother would do.
“I’ll stay here then. I have a home here, too.”
“You’re going to stay here because I am? Cancel your trip?” This makes me melt a little. My mother would never do anything like that for me. It makes me mad that my mother kept my father from me. He clearly would have wanted to be in my life.
“My wife and I will do whatever you like. We just want some of your time and to get to know you.”
“You’re married?” That makes me uneasy. What if she’s like my mother.
“Yes, and she’s dying to meet you. I think she’s made you your own room in every house we have.” He chuckles at that. “She and I want you to feel welcome so you’ll want to spend time with us. Maybe get to know your little brother and sister.”
“I have siblings?” I almost shout. I scoot farther off my seat and more toward Ben, desperate to know about them.
“One brother and one sister. Twins, actually.” He smiles while he talks about them and I can’t help but smile, too.
“How old?”
“Four, but they have a birthday coming up right before Christmas. We’d love for you to come to their party.”
“Yes, of course,” I say instantly. How is this possible? It’s all so crazy.
“You can bring anyone you like with you. If you have someone special, that is.”
My face warms and I know he’s asking if I have a boyfriend. I don’t know how to answer him. I’m not sure what Hunter and I are or if what my mother said this morning is true about him. I just can’t believe it.
“Maybe I will.” I bite my lip and he gives me a knowing smile. “You know my mother isn't going to like this,” I tell him. She’s probably going to throw a fit.
“You’re eighteen, Autumn. You can do as you wish, and if it’s financial things she is holding over you such as school and a place to live, you don’t have to worry about that. I would never let you go without. In fact, I have years of spoiling you to make up for.”
“It’s not just that,” I admit. “She’s all I know. She might be cruel at times, but it’s really just been the two of us. I don’t have much else.” Even if she wasn't there most of the time because I was moved from school to school, but I don’t add that part. I already feel pathetic. I think I like to cling to things too fast. I already want to jump on board with Ben and go full family mode with his family. Then look at Hunter. I was stuck to him after seeing one picture of him. I lay in bed this morning dreaming of babies and a wedding.
Ben sits back in his chair, releasing a deep breath. “I don’t want to make your life harder. We just want to be a part of it. Your grandmother—”
“I have a grandmother?!”
He smiles. “You two look so much alike. I can’t wait for you to meet her.”
“How do you know I’m not like my mother? How do you—”
“Autumn. I know you’re nothing like your mother. I’ve read and reread everything I could find out about you. I know for a fact you’re nothing like her.”
“Do you think if I were more like her she would have loved me?” I still at my own words, shocked that I said them out loud, and worse, to someone I don’t even know. Or maybe I said it because I feel like he’s the only person I’ve ever met who really knows what my mother is like.
Ben’s head falls and I watch him take a few breaths. “Autumn.” He says my name almost like he’s in pain.
“I should go.” I stand and Ben follows suit.
“Take this.” He hands me a card. It has all his business information on it. “Other side,” he tells me. I flip it over and written on the back are a few phone numbers and a house address.
“You call me anytime.” I reach into my bag and find a piece of paper and pen and scribble down my cell phone number then hand it to him.
“I promise I’ll call you. This is just a lot to take in. I do want to get to know you and your family,” I tell him.
“Our family,” he corrects, making me smile. I turn to walk out, but he grabs me, pulling me into a hug. “I can't change the past, but I can make the future for us if you let me.” I nod against his chest. He lets me go and I walk out of the coffee shop. The driver pulls up and I slip inside the car before he can get out to open the door for me.
“Home?” he asks.
“Yes, please.” He pulls away from the curb and I take a deep breath. I have to face my mother…and see if Hunter is still there. I wasn't really gone that long. I need to talk to him. Ask him about last night. Ask him if what my mother said is true.
All too soon I’m standing in the entryway of our home. I don’t see or hear anything. I start to head for Hunter’s room to see if he’s still asleep but pause when I hear his voice. I follow it to Neil’s office. The door is standing open.
“Knock it off, Dad. I told you I didn't want to meet the gold digger’s mini-me. Drop it. Besides, I’m seeing someone.”
I feel all the blood drain from my face. I stand there feeling paralyzed.
“Are you still drunk?” I hear Neil ask Hunter. My stomach turns. He was drunk? Oh my god, maybe I made him cheat on his girlfriend. He’s going to hate me. My eyes water. This is all a train wreck.
I take off toward my room, then shut the door and lock it behind me. It’s then I notice I still have Ben’s card in my hand. I look down at it.
I dig through my bag and find my phone. It barely rings one time before Ben’s voice is filling my ear.
“I changed my mind. I want to come with you, but I have to be back for Christmas. I promised Neil I’d be here.”
“I’ll make sure you’re back. When do you want to leave?”
“Now.”