Page 46 of Jealous Stepbrother
Two seconds later, her hand lands in the small of my naked back. I tense, not because I don’t want to answer. I do. I will. But I didn’t want our time polluted by the noise of anyone else’s expectations, or ruined by the kind of bullshit that always seems to find us before I’ve had my fill of her. Not yet.
But of course it comes anyway.
The phone buzzes in my hand, Dad’s name flashing across the screen like a spray of bullets. Fuck. My fingers clench, but I know I can’t ignore it.
I swipe to answer, my jaw flexing hard enough to ache.
“Asher.” His voice is granite, cold and deliberate. “What’s going on? And before you tell me nothing, we saw the pictures.”
Of course they did. The whole goddamn city probably has by now. “I don’t explain myself to tabloids,” I bite back.
“I don’t give a damn about tabloids. You owe us an explanation. You’ll bring her to Montauk this weekend. We’ll discuss it in person.”
Before I can answer, another line breaks in. Annette’s clipped, worried tone layering over my father’s command.
“Is Scarlett with you, Asher?”
I glance at her, eyes raised. One sign and I’ll cut this short.
She shakes her head.
“Hang on, I’ll get her.” I stab the mute button. “You don’t have to talk to them?—”
“What are they talking about? What pictures?” she interrupts me, fear filling her eyes.
I grit my teeth and show her the screen. A layer recedes but far too much remains.
“Hey, you don’t need to worry about some bullshit pics, okay?”
She nods, then her eyes drop to the phone. “Put her on, I have to talk to her.”
Every bone in my body rejects that, but I unmute the phone.
“Mom?”
“Scarlett, sweetheart, are you okay?”
She frowns. “Of course, why wouldn’t I be?”
A brief hesitation. “Well, we saw the pictures and?—”
“And Asher was defending me from unwanted attention. That’s all it was.”
“I disagree,” Dad cuts in. “Clearly we’re in the dark about a few more things than just altercations in public parks.”
“It’s handled, Dad,” I cut in, sharp. “There’s nothing to worry about.”
“Good, then we’ll see you both in Montauk this evening. As previously arranged,” he slides in pointedly. No room for refusal or negotiation. “I’ll send the car.”
Scarlett’s eyes are wide on me.
Now our parents know she’s working in my fashion house as my intern, she can’t plead workload issues without them coming down on me like a ton of bricks. And while I can more than withstand Dad’s guilt trips, Annette is a different issue.
Time with her daughter is precious to her. And any suspicion that I’m manipulating Scarlett’s time will land us both in trickywaters I can’t risk Scarlett navigating on her own. Not when this thing is so new and fragile.
And I’d rather walk straight into the lion’s den than let them circle her alone.
“Fine,” I say, voice low and absolute. “We’ll be there. And there’s no need to send the car. I’ll drive us down.”
