Page 35 of Scottish Seducer
Chapter 14
Charlie
I checked my phone.The email confirmed the apartment. I needed to ensure Stephanie cared for me like I was starting to care about her.
I might even be falling in love, but right now it was all a lie. And I needed to weed past the lies to get to the truth.
We finished walking the garden as her blonde hair captured the afternoon sun.
Neither of us said much on the drive back, but as we entered the hotel, I recognized the grey Mercedes and half wanted to get Stephanie out of there, fast.
My heart hammered. This wasnothow I’d planned to find out if Stephanie truly cared for me...or not. Hopefully, my brother didn’t say anything before I had a chance to tell her myself.
I stiffened as we headed inside, and as soon as we crossed into the lobby, I met my brother’s dark brown eyes. I rested my hand on Stephanie’s back and said, “Logan, what are you and Caroline doing here?”
Logan kept his hands behind his back until we joined them. He shook Stephanie’s hand and said, “Caroline told me all about Stephanie, and I didn’t want to wait till the games to meet her.”
Stephanie smiled like she was happy and asked, “Are you Logan Grannd?”
I let out a small laugh. If she was this much fun for the rest of our lives, I’d never let her go.
My brother crossed his arms and for one second it seemed he was angry until he said, “Aye.It’s nice to not be addressed by the bloody English titles down here.”
Stephanie’s face reddened like she understood his undertones and said, “Charlie reminds me that I’m American, which is nice.”
We walked farther into the lobby, as Logan asked Stephanie, “Did you forget who you were?”
Stephanie squeezed my hand and said, “I might have, but it’s nice to live in the present these days.”
Hopefully forever , since the past didn’t need her, no matter the passion she had for it.
Logan blinked and stared at me for a moment as he said, “Because my brother makes you happy?”
Stephanie flipped her flower pendant and said, “Yeah. He does.”
I stepped in front of her to break the moment between my brother and her. The last thing I needed was for anyone else to interfere. I held his gaze and said, “Don’t do this, Logan.”
Stephanie stepped around me and asked, “Don’t do what?”
This was on me. She needed the truth. We both did.
Logan said, “I’m deciding if you love my brother, and I think you do.”
She covered her mouth, then curled her arms around her waist as she asked, “Is it that obvious?”
“It’s true?” Caroline asked, clearly the stoniest of us all right now.
Stephanie blinked and stared blankly at me. “What’s going on?”
I patted my brother on his shoulder.
This wasn’t how I planned to talk to Stephanie, but it seemed this was our moment of truth. For now, I said, “We’ll talk about the bank later.”
“Very well,” Logan said.
I ignored my speeding heart as I said, “Stephanie needs to know about the bet.”
Her face paled. “What bet?”
