Page 22 of Forbidden Stepbrother

She turned to the driver, whose eyes were rolling. “You know what? You can go. Just charge the credit card on file and add a generous tip.”

The driver shook his head and waved her off. “Tourists.”

“What’s going on?” she asked Santiago when the driver strode out of sight. Louise sat next to her, licking her paws like she, too, needed some answers. “I thought leaving would be better, given the circumstances. Plus, you were doing business on the phone so it’s not like you were crying in a dark room in the fetal position.” Like I would.

He resumed unbuckling his belt. “I called your father.”

She shifted her weight from foot to foot, and made a conscious effort to keep her attention on his gorgeous dark eyes, and all the sparks around his brown irises. “What?”

A smile she had never seen before formed on his lips. A tad shy, as his cheeks reddened a little. Maybe, from the cold. Then, the look he gave her… nope. Not from the cold. “I asked his permission to date you.”

“Date me?” she asked. Her heart sang, and she imagined her father receiving that rather odd phone call. Oh shit. She’d have tons of explaining to do, but she’d save it for later.

He closed the gap between them, with a slight hop. A quick glance at him assured her he only had his boxers on. The man was crazy. “Yes. Date you. Kiss you. And one day if I’m lucky… marry you.”

“Wow… why would you call Dad?” And why are you risking common sense by stripping down to your bare skin in the cold? She bit back a smile, and the answer made more and more sense.

He cupped her head. “Because that’s the right thing to do. And I’ve done all the wrong things already. I let pride get in the way. I could have given you a chance when you reached out to me, but I chose not to. It’s time for a change.”

“You’re not mad at me for hiding Patricia’s secret?”

“No. I was mad at myself… for so many things, and tried to blame it on you. See, I love you. I’ve felt this way ever since you were sixteen, and I was twenty-two”

She could feel her eyebrows shooting up. He’d… loved her? For all that time? “Wait, what?”

“Yes. Which is why I kept away from you. I just scolded you inside for not saying the truth… when I’ve been the biggest liar of all. I’m done with lying, Tiffany. Truth was, when I saw the smoke… losing you and not Patricia was the first thing that came to mind. And I tortured myself for those thoughts,” he said, and embraced her in a warm, tight hug. She wrapped her arms around him. A long, awaited hug that demolished all the walls keeping them apart.

“Oh Santiago. I love you too.”

He kissed the top of her head. “Tiffany.”

She peered at him. Happy tears bordered her eyes.

“During my childhood, my late father always told me to be a better man than he was. To aim higher, even if he accomplished quite a lot. You know what, my sweet Tiffany? He had a point. I want to be a better man… a better man for you.”

She gave him a long, passionate kiss. The first of many. “You don’t have to strip down out here. Inside though, it’s a different matter,” she said playfully.

He smacked her ass, and she squealed. A bubble of happiness burst inside of her.

“Good. Because you deserve a spanking for making me care for you so much I almost got naked in front of a cab driver.”

She winked at him. “And I know just the man for the job…”

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