Page 12 of Secret Cinderella
Maybe Charlotte wanted fancy furniture? He’d only told her they were friends because he needed her to be there for the big unveiling. She’d not believe him without proof as she’d never been told about his parentage.
He was becoming a Morgan because he wanted her and if she let him, he’d get her out of that store where her life was stagnant and together they’d find joy. Right now he needed to clear the field. “I need to talk to you about Charlotte Masters.”
Antonio pointed to a bottle of wine. “Who?”
So he hadn’t texted her yet. Jack widened his stance and said, “The girl at the superstore you gave your phone to.”
Antonio snapped his fingers and then poured two glasses. “Yes, the young brunette. I was going to personally invite her to the gathering this Friday.”
Charlotte had the face of an angel and was much more innocent than any movie star. Adrenaline coursed through him as he met Antonio’s gaze and didn’t blink. “I want you to leave her alone.”
Antonio handed him a glass of red wine. “Excuse me?”
His half-brother wasn’t from the Steel City. Jack lifted his chin. “Charlotte’s been my… friend since we were little and you’re only here for a few more days. Don’t mess with her head.”
Antonio sipped his wine and cocked his eyebrow. “Are you her boyfriend?”
Friend was all he’d ever admitted to her, for now. But that was about to change. His muscles were all rigid, ready for a fight when he said, “No.”
Antonio pointed to the chairs and plopped himself into a cushioned seat. “Why not? You clearly like her.”
Maybe his half-brother wasn’t into Charlotte at all. His arms had goosebumps when he took the seat across from him. “Because I never told her.”
Antonio’s expression was one of astonishment. Jack held his head up and clasped the wine glass.
"Hmm." Antonio put his glass down and then held his hands between his knees while he stared at Jack. Finally he said, “Our father always said that family never fights with family…that’s the one lesson all of us siblings agree on. Since we are brothers, I’ll leave Charlotte alone.”
The hair on his arms still stood, but he said, “Good. Thank you.”
Jack sipped the wine and decided it was best to go, but Antonio held up one finger. “One thing though.”
Tell Charlotte? That was his next plan. “Yes?”
Antonio crossed his arms. “If Charlotte is only your friend, you have no rights to the girl. Poverty and hope to hold you in your place still cloud your thinking.”
Now that made little sense. Jack took another sip of wine while he tried to reason it out but shrugged, “I don’t understand.”
Antonio pressed back in the chair and waved his arm in front of him. “You’re missing the Morgan sense of entitlement that is yours by birth.”
Jack placed the wine glass on the table and shook his head. “I’m not like you.”
Antonio’s blink signaled his agreement. “I could take your girl’s virginity tonight. She’s waiting on my call. And all I did was give her a phone. You need to understand that as a Morgan you get whatever you want, whenever you want.”
Charlotte was better than that. He’d have to think fast if Antonio even tried, then Jack would stop him. “Virginity isn’t a prize. It’s the girl herself that is worth more than all the money in the world.”
“Which we as Morgans have.” Antonio laughed like he’d just heard a joke. “You’re clearly inexperienced with getting the girl you desire. If you want, I’ll help you. By the end of the day, tomorrow, you should have Charlotte as your own.”
If he said no, thanks, would Jack get the lesson the hard way? Or was that similar to how William had operated when trying to stop Jack from falling off the ladder…Jack hadn’t secured it as William had taught him, so his brother had watched and let him fall a few steps just to say ‘told you so.’
And the idea of Charlotte loving him back had appeal. He narrowed his gaze. “How?”
Antonio looked at Jack’s jeans and flannel shirt and said, “You’ll have to be a Morgan.”
The kind who wore expensive everything wasn’t the guy Charlotte wanted, not really. His muscles had a slight tremor when he said, “I won’t be like our father.”
Antonio shrugged. “Most of our half-brothers are happily married men now. What you do with the power is up to you.”
Even if this was all on the up and up, surely Antonio had to have an ulterior motive. Pittsburgh was the opposite of Hollywood, where he usually chased around a movie star. Jack raised his eyebrow, almost like he mocked Antonio, and asked, “What do you get for helping me?”
