Page 87 of Stepbrothers

It didn’t bear thinking about the possibility of him not coming home. If he’d been one of the firefighters in hospital right now, how would she cope? How would Parker and Trig cope?

She held him tighter, her breasts pressing against his warm back, and closed her eyes.

“You okay, baby?” Parker was behind her, his hand sliding to her hip as he settled under the duvet.

“Yes. I am now.” She let out a sigh. “I need to sleep.”

“We all do.” He kissed her temple.

Two days later, Clarice stepped out of an interview room at Beacon House and hugged her notebook to her chest. It had gone well. She knew it had. The interviewers had been friendly and appeared to have sensed her enthusiasm for the course. There were no awkward silences, and she hadn’t struggled over any of their questions, in part thanks to Parker’s tutoring.

She raised her eyes to the ceiling. “Please, God. I really want this.”

They’d told her she was one of the last interviewees and decisions would be made very soon. And if she was successful it would only be a few weeks until she started at a London primary school with one day a week in college. Within twelve months she’d be a bona fide primary school teacher.

The start of the academic year was close, though, and she’d have to knuckle down and get through the suggested reading list as well as hand in her notice at Grind ‘n’ Go.

Getting away from Derek couldn’t come soon enough. Right now, he’d be manning the coffee machine and no doubt spitting dust because she’d told him she had a dentist appointment for toothache—something he couldn’t dispute and couldn’t put a stop to. Not only that she had no intention of going back into the café for the rest of the day.

The sun blazed hot, and Londoners were making the most of it. They were spilling out of pubs onto the street to stand under hanging baskets resembling waterfalls of flowers. Jeans and puffy coats had been swapped for pretty dresses, shorts, and t-shirts. The air was filled with the scent of hot tarmac, flowers, and sun cream, and a summer holiday vibe had settled on the city.

So she decided to walk back to the apartment and use up some of the adrenaline she’d generated before the interview.

Chapter Eighteen

When Clarice arrived home, she hummed to herself as she rode the elevator. Stepping out, she almost bumped into yellow trainer guy.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hi.”

“You okay?” He narrowed his eyes at her. “You’re the girl who was upside down the other day, right?”

“What?” She laughed. “Oh yes, that. Misunderstanding.”

“With your brother. He seems pretty intense.”

“You know what they can be like. Brothers. Protective. Domineering. Pain in the ass at times, but he loves me really.” Her smiled widened. “You have a nice day now.”

“As long as you’re okay.”

“Never better.”

She let herself into the apartment. “Hey. Anyone home?”

“We both are.” Parker’s voice.

“Ah good.” She dumped her bag and kicked off her shoes. “That means I can tell you both how well the interview went.”

Strolling into the living area, she found Hugh and Parker sitting on the sofa side by side. The TV was on, but when he saw her, Hugh picked up the remote and hit mute.

“It went well?” he asked.

“Yes, really well.” She half skipped across the room, her dress swishing around her legs.

“That’s great news.” Parker grinned.

“Your preparation help was gold, Parker. They asked me all the things you said they would, and I did what you told me to. I took a deep breath, considered my answers, and then made it into a conversation rather than a list of words.”

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