BIG: (A Bad Boy Stepbrother Romance) (32 page)

“Burn those goddamned papers.”

“Don’t need to be told twice.” He reached down and grabbed the balled contract, flinging it into the fire. They sat down as the flame roared, and he kissed her temple. “Thank you.”

“For forgiving you?”

“For loving me.”

She laid her arms over his as he wrapped them around her front. “Anders is going to be pissed.”

“I hope not.” Ric hesitated. “I have a plan.”

She groaned. “The world could use less of your plans. I know I could.”

“This is a good plan.” He laughed. “For getting control of the board without having to worry about your shares.”

“I’m not sure I want to hear this plan.” That wasn’t entirely true. She wanted to know, but not this minute. “Tell you what—fill me in on the way home. For now, no more plans. Just me and you and this.”

Ric nuzzled his face against hers. “It’s like you read my mind.”

Ric led her out of the cave the next morning and the first thing that struck her, other than the intense cold after the heat of the cavern, was the distant sound of droning and thumping.

Ric’s fingers closed around hers and she followed his gaze up into the sky. She saw the Chinook to the south, but it was still moving towards them. It looked like it would land close to them, rather than at the base where they’d disembarked a few days ago.

She frowned up at Ric. “I’m glad we don’t have that two-day walk back to Henrik, but how did the helicopter know where to find us?”

“Not sure.” Ric was also frowning. “I’ll ask Henrik. We might be needed home early for some reason?”

Annalesa heard crunching and turned to see Henrik marching towards them up the coastal path, weighed down by huge bags. He waved as he got closer, dispelling any suspicions that he might have been trying to sneak up on them.

Ric walked towards him and they had a talk about two hundred yards away. Ric initially looked annoyed, his shoulders stiff, hands raking through his hair. But he clearly wasn’t annoyed at Henrik specifically, because he clapped him on his shoulder.

They made their way towards her together, Ric shrugging.

“Dad’s going to Maine tomorrow and needs to see us first.”

Annalesa felt restless and kept her voice low so Henrik couldn’t hear as he passed them. She had the feeling he was going out of his way to avoid eye contact. He strode over to the site where the Chinook would land.

“Brad knows I’m here with you?” she asked Ric softly.

“Sure.”

“Well... won’t he think it’s strange we spent the whole weekend alone in the caves?” She kept her gaze on Henrik who stood with his back to them, arms folded. “For that matter—didn’t Henrik think it was strange?”

“Don’t worry.” Ric winked. “They both think I brought you here for your own rite of passage so you’ll stop mocking my ancestry.”

She rolled her eyes at that.

Following behind him after he’d grabbed all their stuff, she used the cover of his broad back to move her ring from her left hand to her right.

As the chopper landed, they ran over to the door, bent low against the violent gusting from above. He threw their gear in and helped her up. He took the seat opposite her as she settled, then yanked a crumpled paperback from the depths of his bag and stared at it, although she was sure he wasn’t really reading. He was just putting on an act for Henrik, so he wouldn’t suspect anything.

They took off and neither of them spoke. When it became clear that he was fully committed to his sullen-brother act—
thanks, Henrik
, she thought bitterly—she closed her eyes and tried to get some sleep.

He was only sitting a few feet from her, but she felt suddenly very lonely.

She slept through most of the flight back to Trondheim but felt like she’d only napped for a few minutes when they landed at the helipad at the Ryker Arms site. They were picked up by a car Brad had sent and she was in the shower in Brad’s apartment a half-hour after landing, trying and failing to feel any buzz from the espresso she’d gulped down in the kitchen.

Ric’s room was on the other side of the apartment from her own, which was both a bummer and a relief at the same time. It moved him out of reach of temptation, but there was nothing she wanted to do more than sink down on a soft bed and get some decent sleep—spooned against him.

Annalesa massaged the conditioning treatment from her hair and tucked a towel around her before stepping out of the bathroom to see if she still had any decent clean clothes left in her bag. If not, she might have to pull on jeans and a coat while she ransacked Elsa’s ‘emergency supplies’ for a sweatshirt or blouse to wear.

She passed the bed, seeing a pair of Levi jeans and a top she recognized, then backed up to see a note on top of the garments.

You left these behind when you were maybe fifteen, but you’re so small now, they might fit again. -R

She screwed the note up and stuck it in her backpack. The note was innocent enough—no little kisses or affectionate tones—but the fact he’d gotten into her room while she was having a shower... a little inappropriate.

Well, from their parents’ point of view, anyway.

She heard Brad moving around downstairs. It had to be him—his tread was way heavier than Ric’s.

She pulled on the top, which was bottle green and a little faded, but serviceable. It was a wrap-over, made of soft jersey material. Ric was right, it still fit. If anything, it was a little loose around the waist. She tugged on the jeans and they fit too.

Annalesa towel-dried her hair and headed barefoot downstairs to the den, where Brad was setting out an informal dinner. It looked like soup, cheese and bread, which was exactly what she was in the mood for. Pure comfort food.

Brad opened his arms wide as she approached and walked right into his hug, gasping a little as he squeezed. No question where his son got his strength from!

He kissed the top of her head and let go. “I’m still overdoing those bear hugs, huh?”

“Just a little. But don’t stop doing them. They’re great.”

“Girl, you’ve shrunk. You’re not turning into a health nut like your brother, are you?”

She grinned as Brad’s thick eyebrow raised in concern. “I’m healthier, but not a ‘nut’ yet, I don’t think.”

“Well, thank God for that. I’m through with him looking at my plate like he’s about to hurl it out the window for my own good. Don’t need two of you doing that. Your mother’s bad enough.”

Brad nodded toward the table. “Sit down, hon. Ric should be here soon. Hope he doesn’t have one of his eternal showers. I can’t keep the soup simmering forever, and I’ve got a surprise for the two of you.”

“Oh?” She brightened. “What is it?”

“
Surprise
, Annalesa!” he admonished with a wag of his finger.

“Sorry. I’ll wait.” She laughed in embarrassment as she sat down at the dinner table, unable to help herself from nabbing a little appetizer.

After the exercise of the last few days and the lean wilderness diet, she was happy to hit the carbs and the cheese. She cut off a large slice of Jarlsberg from the wedge, peeled off the wax and slotted it into a whole-wheat roll, mumbling with happiness at how good this really basic little snack tasted.

She had her mouth full as Ric jogged down the steps from his room, and was really glad she was in no position to show the effect that his appearance had on her.

He was in new black jeans and a plain white shirt, the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, the top two buttons of his shirt undone. His hair was clean and dry, tumbling down around his shoulders.

He grunted at his dad as he approached, rolling a band off his wrist and catching his hair up in a loose half-knot at the back. The simple action showed every muscle in his shoulders and arms clenching and rising beneath his shirt. Annalesa made a show of studying the cheese selection instead of him as he rounded the table and took a seat next to her.

“Hey, Dad.” Ric raised his voice to reach the kitchenette. “You cut our return a little short. Something urgent come up?”

“Nice to see
you
too,
Ric. I thought it might be nice to make a little small talk before discussing business. Spend five minutes together as a family, maybe?”

“Sorry. Yeah.”

Annalesa pretended not to see Ric’s cheeks flush as Brad rolled his eyes before turning back to the stove to serve up the soup. He put the bowls on a tray but before he could bring them over to the table, heels clicked down the stairs and Elsa appeared in the corridor. As she approached and locked eyes with Annalesa, a smile spread across her face and she ran forwards, arms out.

“Hey,
both
our kids here!”

“The reunion’s a surprise for your mom, too. She was only expecting Ric.”

Brad looked pleased with himself as Annalesa, and then Ric, were smothered in Elsa-hugs and kisses.

Elsa took her seat at the table as Brad brought the soup over and handed out bowls. Brad poured a bottle of something red into all four of their glasses, its vintage obscured by his huge hand over the label.

He beamed around at them. “Since we’re both needed over in Maine, I invited Elsa to hang out here first while the racing season’s quieter. No point in us flying separately if I’ve got the jet ready.”

“Not a first class ticket to be seen for miles,” Elsa added. “And Berkshire’s horrid at this time of year.”

Brad grimaced. “Constant rain.”

“Not like Norway’s wintry majesty.”

Annalesa just smiled and took a sip of her soup, feeling the atmosphere in the room oddly artificial all of a sudden. It seemed odd that they felt the need to explain Elsa’s presence in Brad’s apartment, considering they were still good friends.

“It’s just nice to see you,” Annalesa said.

Brad looked around brightly. “Seems a damned age since we all sat down like this together.”

“There was graduation,” Ric muttered.

“Yeah, during which we spent a whole five minutes together at the podium for your gifts before we all scattered to the winds again. Hell, even breakfast was an individual thing. I was lucky to catch Annalesa before she headed home, and as for you, kiddo—no private jet moves fast enough.”

Elsa nudged him. “You can hardly bash him for being your clone.”

“I wasn’t ‘bashing’ him!”

“Good. Then don’t start, sweetheart. Tuck in everyone!” Elsa tilted sideways and laid a light kiss on Brad’s cheek.

Annalesa noted the slide of her mother’s body and the flush in her cheeks as she pulled back into her seat. She couldn’t miss the matching flush in Brad’s cheeks as Elsa’s hand moved to the small of Brad’s back. The attraction between them was marked. Current. Strong. Stronger than it’d been for many years.