Page 7 of An Unexpected Encounter

She quickly orders her bird food and Abel orders the same as me, minus the cheese on the fries. Then she does exactly what I expect. She talks about herself for the rest of the lunch. I have to admit it’s her favorite topic, but it sounds like the wedding will be absolutely beautiful, and apparently, I’m gaining three stepbrothers out of the deal. I’ll probably only see them on holidays when all the family gets together and then not again until the next family event.

I don’t know how many times I yawn during the meal, but as I take my last bite, I know I can’t sit here any longer. My mom is still talking, so I have to butt in.

“Mom, I’m exhausted. I'm going to head to my room and take a nap. I’ll meet you in the lobby at nine tomorrow morning. We can get breakfast, go to the dress shop, and then get our nails done. Have a mother-daughter day.”

“That sounds wonderful. Just make sure to wear something a little less wrinkled.” Her eyes cross and her lips purse.

Seriously! I was on a plane for hours. And well, I also had some amazing sex, but she doesn’t need to know that.

“Yes, Mother, I will ensure I look appropriate. Abel, it was lovely finally meeting you. And I look forward to meeting my future brothers. Please excuse me.” With that, I stand and leave the restaurant, heading toward the elevator. Ready to take off these clothes and take a nice, long, hot bath.

As I step inside it and turn around, I swear I see a familiar face. The one I left in bed when I snuck out of his room this morning. It’s not possible. What would he be doing here? Did my one-night stand come back to haunt me? He chooses that moment to look in my direction. His eyes lock onto mine and we’re stuck staring at each other until the doors slide shut.

Great, if he’s here, then I either have to work to avoid him or have another round of amazing sex.

Pressing the button for the sixth floor, the elevator jerks in motion as I step back, resting against the wall. It halts to a stop on my floor, dinging as the doors fly open.

Dragging my ass out, I head straight to my room, locking the door behind me. The luxurious king-size bed is calling my name, but I need a shower first. I haven’t had one since yesterday evening before going out, and in that time I’ve had sex twice.

I head straight for the bathroom, finding the largest tub I’ve ever seen. It’s big enough for two people and my mind immediately shifts to me soaking in the hot water, relaxing.

Putting the plug in place and turning the water on, I adjust the temperature, making sure it’s hot before pouring in some bubble bath I found on the sink. There’s no way in hell I’m letting this tub go to waste.

Undressing and dropping my clothes to the floor, I climb in, letting my body sink into the warmth of the bubbly liquid, and lay my head back. It feels so good to wash away the stress of the day—more specifically, my mother.

Now if I could just get out of tomorrow.

Chapter 4

Elijah

Ican’t believe Dad is getting married to a fucking woman we’ve never even met. Hell, he’s barely even mentioned her. If she’s trying to get to him for his money, she’s in for a rude awakening. My brothers and I will shut that shit down fast.

Stepping into the resort, I look around and sigh. Eli was supposed to meet me in the lobby, but he isn’t here yet. I wasn’t supposed to be in until later tonight, but was able to get everything handled in Chicago and left early. I head to the receptionist to check in, but as I look out across the lobby, my jaw drops.

The most beautiful woman turns around and our eyes lock. She’s gorgeous, with curves in all the right places and long wavy hair. I’m stunned by her beauty, but she’s looking back at me like she’s seen a ghost. The elevator doors close, breaking the spell she had me under. I wonder what that look was about?

Shaking it off, I hope like hell I run into her before I leave and step up to the counter to check in. The flight here was long and I’m eager to get up to my room to rest. I still have to fly back and finish packing the last of our shit for the movers. We had a last-minute change in our duty station and got lucky. We were reassigned to station 29 in Jefferson, Georgia.

Zeke went a week before us and found a house since he was just coming off leave from an accident. So he’s already there in Jefferson. The plan is for him to fly to our home in Chicago from the wedding with us, pack, and then we’ll ship our cars except for one and head to our new home in Georgia.

I’ve just barely stepped away from the desk, key card in one hand and my luggage rolling behind me in the other, when I see my dad exit from the restaurant. He has a stick thin brunette with him. Guess this is the stepmother.

“Son,” he calls out from across the room, not calling me by name. I bet it’s because, at this distance, he doesn’t know which one I am. It's mine and Zeke’s running joke to see how long it takes him to figure it out.

We had fun growing up as identical twins. The only difference is a slight scar above my right eyebrow from a drunken fight one night during our senior year of high school. We both liked the same girl and were dating her when some douche she dumped the prior year tried to slut-shame her. Yeah, that didn’t fly with either of us. He got one good swing in before I fucked him up.

“Hey, Dad, is this the new wife?” I ask, trying to keep it civil until I fully vet her, and believe me, I will.

“Yes, this is Julia Middleton, soon to be Carter,” he says playfully as he pulls her closer and she places her hand on his chest, flashing a rock that could pay the yearly mortgage on our new house. Yep, gold digger!

“Nice to meet you, Julia,” I say sweetly, even though I have to bite down on the inside of my cheek.

“You as well. And which one are you?” she asks, in a nasally voice.

“I don’t know, Dad, why don’t you tell her,” I say, eager to see if he gets it wrong or right so I can tell my brothers the new tally. Since we’ve been kids, it’s been our running joke that he can’t tell us apart.

I see him, staring intently at my face, knowing it's the one surefire way he can get it right. “Of course, this is Elijah. Elias headed straight to the tailor when he got here. We weren’t expecting you and Ezekiel until tomorrow at the earliest.”

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