Unexpected Romance
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Authors: Asrai Devin
By Asrai Devin
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Table of Contents
Tony
Foster stared at her half brother’s opulent house. She shielded
her eyes from the sun as she gawked. Even after living here for
almost two years, she was still surprised by it. Just because you
could buy a seven bedroom, four bath, house, didn’t mean you
should.
On
the other hand, her brother had retired from professional hockey a
few years ago, so he was super rich. Super damn rich.
Growing
up it was just her and her mom. Her dad had fucked off to who knew
were when she was a kid. She grew up with nothing, until her formerly
estranged half brother, Corey Porter, swooped into their lives. He
moved them to a better house, helped with bills, and promised to pay
for her college education. Which left her at twenty with a world full
of options available. She couldn’t decide what to study. So
instead of college, she became a nanny for Corey’s friends, Kip
and Mandy Turner.
After
an exhausting day, she wanted to get inside and eat something. Then
she planned to vegetate on the sofa until everyone else wandered into
the house.
Her
step-niece and nephew would be home soon, but they were close to her
age and they had strict rules to do their homework.
She
used her key and let herself in the front door. She kicked her shoes
off and stared at them laying on the floor of the entryway, one was
upside down two feet from it’s mate. With a sigh, she picked
them up and put them in the closet. She wished for a moment to live
alone and leave her shoes laying wherever she happened to take them
off.
She
headed to the kitchen and opened the fridge. Thanks to the radio, she
had Justin Timberlake stuck in her head. She started humming the song
then deciding she was alone, she started singing aloud as she made
her sandwich.
She
tossed her knife into the sink with a clatter. Then she grabbed her
snack and whirled around to head for the living room. She nearly
dropped the plate as she was shocked by the presence of a stranger
with black hair and ice blue eyes.
“
Holy
crap,” she screamed. “Warn a person.” She threw her
sandwich plate on the table.
“
I
didn’t want to interrupt your song.”
“
Who
the fuck are you?” she demanded.
“
You
must be Tonya.” It wasn’t a question and she didn’t
like the way his eyes moved over her. Assessing her.
“
How
do you know my name?”
“
I
guess Corey didn’t talk with you today. He said he would text
you.”
“
I
forgot to charge my phone and I left my charger here. In my room. Now
stop changing the subject and answer my questions.” She
wrinkled her nose and pursed her lips, frustration clouded her
thoughts. Also the way he invaded her space. Not only her physical
space, but her thoughts. He was in her house, interrupting her quiet
time.
And
his eyes were far too blue. His hair had fallen over his forehead,
making him look young and charming, instead of merely damn hot.
"I'm
Chris. I got called up from the minors, out in B.C., for a game or
ten. Chet Morris hurt his hip. They don't know how long he'll be out.
Or if I'm even good enough to be out here."
Tony
felt her eyes rolling back in her head. She picked up her sandwich
and took a bite.
“
And
you don’t care…”
“
Not
at all. I am not a fan of hockey.”
“
So…
I’m staying here for a bit until they know what they are doing
with me.”
“
Great.
I’ve had a long day, I’m going to watch TV for a half
hour then start supper. Are you eating here?”
“
Corey
said it would be okay. If it’s a problem I can–”
“
Nope,
no problem.” She grabbed her plate and glass of milk and edged
past him.
The
front door opened and closed. "Tony, we're home," Tanner
called. "Colton came with me."
That
was the norm. Colton was Tanner's best friend and the teenage son of
Mandy Turner. "Does Mandy know?"
"Of
course," Colton said.
Jessa
stared at the floor. The poor girl had a painful, but secret crush on
Colton. It had surprised Tony when the younger girl confided in her.
"I'm
starved," Tanner said. "You want something to eat?"
"It's
spaghetti night tonight," Tony said.
"Kip
is picking me up before supper," Colton informed her over his
shoulder as he followed his buddy to the kitchen to raid the
refrigerator.
"Are
you hungry, Jessa?" Tony asked quietly. "I can bring you
something up."
Jessa
shook her head. "I'll come back down when it's quieter and grab
something."
"If
there's anything left," Tony said. "Get your homework done.
It's my turn to drive you tonight. Oh, Corey has a new house guest.
Chris Boyd. Only temporary."
Jessa
waved and Tony realized that he was behind her. The girl headed
upstairs without another word.
"So
she's got a thing for the blond kid, hey?"
Tony
whirled. "How'd you know that?"
"She
can't stop staring when she thinks he's not looking. Lucky for her,
when the brother isn't looking, the kid stares back."
"It's
a secret, so don't point it out. She confided in a me a few weeks
ago."
The
boys trampled back through the living room to get their backpacks.
"Hey, bring all your plates back down. This is Chris Boyd."
"Hey,
I'm Tanner. This is my buddy, Colton. If you're into it, we'll
probably play some Call of Duty."
Chris
waved at them. "Nice to meet you. I'd probably be up for CoD."
The
boys disappeared and Tony shook her head.
Tony
closed her eyes and finally sat. Chris sat on Corey's recliner. She
was tempted to ask him if he could go watch TV in his room, she knew
there was set in there. She had one too, but eating in bed was gross.
She
turned on the TV and picked a talk show. She hoped that would bore
him and he'd leave.
After
five minutes, she couldn't take anymore. She grabbed the remote and
looked for something else, anything else. She hazarded a glance
toward Chris. His gaze was firmly on the television.
She
shouldn't even be laying here pretending to relax. She should be
looking at homework, or at least, looking at class descriptions and
schedules. It was barely spring now; if she got her shit together,
she could be in school for the fall.
Then
she would be wholly reliant on Corey for financial support. Right
now, she really wasn't making a significant contribution to his
bottom line, but she felt as if she was providing for herself.
Her
mother always believed a man would save her. That a man would support
her. Of course, they'd never stuck around for long. Only a few were
abusive.
Tony
had learned early to trust no one. Especially her mother. She slept
with a locked door, even now that she was far away.
When
Corey showed up on their doorstep, claiming to be her brother, she
hadn't believed a word that came out of his mouth. Until he sent
money. Her mother had been over the Moon. Tony told her not to hold
her breath. He returned and bought them a house.
When
Tonya graduated from high school, he made the offer for college.
She
refused. It was too much.
A
year later, he called again. His friends were looking for a full-time
nanny. She agreed to fly out and meet them.
She
instantly fell in love with Kip and Mandy Turner and their four
children, Colton, Lucy, Ethan, and Bethany.
She'd
also fallen in love with Corey's family. Nicole, eight months
pregnant with Paige, and her children, Tanner and Jessa.
She
loved the city. She even didn't mind the idea of living in Corey's
house. It was difficult to leave her mom's, to stop contributing to
that household.
She
slammed her feet to the floor and poured the remaining milk into her
mouth. Chris looked at her. "You okay?"
"Fine."
She gathered her dishes and headed for the kitchen.
In
the kitchen, she folded her arms on the countertop and rested her
head atop them. How was she supposed to figure out what she wanted to
do with the rest of her life?
As
a teenager, she only hoped to have little more than a crappy dead-end
job, like her mother's constant string of employment. Dreaming of
something more would only end in disappointment. She was a poor kid
from the wrong side of the tracks who had no special skills, no
interests. And little hope of anything better.
How
did you take a leap of faith into a world you never dreamed of?
After
Tonya left the living room, Chris stared after her. He scratched the
stubble on his chin for a moment, while trying to decide if he should
follow her.
He
knew he should respect her obvious desire for him to leave. He should
go to his room and watch something other than this hellish talk show,
in privacy and comfort.
Then
again, he was new in the city and bored to death. He'd only talked
with Corey briefly when he'd arrived. Long enough to show him around
the house before Corey left.
He
watched Tonya out of the corner of his eye. She'd probably be the
type he was usually attracted to. If she didn't have her chin length
bob dyed midnight black with a streak of white running down either
side.
It
wasn't the dye itself, it was the obviously dyed look. Her eyes were
a stunning shade of light brown, a shade away from green, set in
perfectly almond shaped eyes. Her nose was cute and slightly
freckled, although the weather remained more winter than spring. All
surrounding a full pair of lips, that would look beautiful wrapped
around his dick.
Not
that he would ever find out. There were people he would piss off to
get laid. Corey Porter, his landlord and boss of sorts, was not one
of those people. Tonya wasn't that hot.
Something
more than his presence was bothering her. Talking about her problems
would distract him from his boredom, at least. He followed her to the
kitchen and stopped to admire her ass while she leaned on the
cupboard.
He
took a casual stance, leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over
his chest, before he spoke. He needed to ambush her before she caught
him checking her out. "Do you want to talk about it?"
She
whirled on him and pinned him with her glare. "No!" Her
cheeks flushed. She stomped across the room and flung the fridge
open. She closed the door quickly and opened the other side.
He
felt the corners of his mouth twitch. He pressed them tightly to keep
from laughing.
She
peered at him around the door of the fridge. She didn’t
appreciate his amusement at her flustered state. Did she growl?
Surely, he’d imagined that.