Page 8 of Four Stepbrothers for Christmas

I felt a strange sense of loss as we walked away. Isaac picked up the charcuterie board, leading the way. Archer and Luke followed, but I could tell they were as reluctant as I was to leave her magnetic pull. There was something about Becca's energy. Her laugh had notes that reached inside you, coaxing out a response. You wanted to stay, to listen, to be in her aura a little longer.

I tossed her one last question the way out. "Do you need a sous chef? I can slice and dice with the best of them," I asked, a half-smile playing on my lips.

She chuckled warmly, and the sound felt like sunlight cutting through fog. "Nope, I’ve got it. Now go, shoo! Enjoy your vacation, some of us have to work."

Her dismissal was softened by her humor, and I found myself grinning as I rejoined the others. Yet as I took a step away, I risked one final glance back at her. It was like seeing her for the first time. She had been right under our noses, serving meals day in and day out at the office for the whole C-suite, and now I felt like I had been blind.

She was captivating—her movements, the animated way she talked, the confident sway of her hips; they all painted a picture of a woman who was beautiful, spunky, and incredibly alluring. And for the first time, it dawned on me how unprepared I was for the emotional complexity she added to what was supposed to be a straightforward trip.

The potential of the next five days stretched out in my mind like a maze filled with dangerous curves and bewitching laughter. A maze that smelled suspiciously like the best meals I'd ever had and sounded like a symphony of flirtatious banter and clinking glasses.

A maze that, for all my skill in navigating people and situations, left me utterly disoriented.

Isaac might think we're all adults, capable of handling our emotions, our attractions. But as I sat back on the plush couch, my eyes drifting to the kitchen where she was undoubtedly weaving culinary spells, I couldn't help but think that some mazes were designed to get you lost.

And man, what a beautiful way to be lost.

Chapter 5

Luke

Perched on the deck, I held a glass of smokey scotch in my hand, its burn grounding me as I lost myself in thought. The snow-covered landscape stretched out before me, still and quiet. The solitude brought clarity. I'd always found it easier to think when I was alone.

Becca. She had been on my mind since the moment she pulled up, her smile shining brighter than the afternoon sun reflecting off the snow. But even before that, she was a constant presence—always there in the peripheral, her energy adding life to the mundane daily grind of office work.

I had noticed her from the beginning; it was hard not to. She had this innate charm, this vitality that drew you in. She was also stunning.

I also noticed something else—how my brothers and Isaac seemed blissfully ignorant of her allure. At least, that's how it appeared. The "no dating employees" rule Isaac implemented had made it easier to ignore the tug of attraction. The rule served as a convenient barrier, something to hide behind.

But as I observed the unfolding scene in the kitchen, the unspoken electricity in the air became undeniable. The way Archer offered her that glass of wine, his eyes lingering just a second too long. Vinnie, ever the charmer, looking at her as if she were the sunrise, unique and awe-inspiring. And Isaac, ever so stoic and reserved, gravitating toward her as if pulled by some invisible force.

Each gesture was small but telling, and the sum of it all pointed to a truth none of us wanted to admit: Becca was a magnetic field, and we were but iron filings, helpless in our attraction.

In my gut, I knew bringing her here might complicate things. A workplace crush was one thing; it lived and died by the strictures of professional decorum. But a vacation was a setting of intimacy, of letting your guard down. The boundaries could blur. Rules, especially unspoken ones, were more likely to break under the weight of proximity and shared moments.

I took another sip of my scotch, letting the liquid courage bolster me. Our unspoken pact of non-interference with Becca might hold within the walls of FourSquare, but there, amidst nature's beauty and isolation, all bets were off.

Isaac said we were all adults, capable of controlling our desires, but the truth was, attraction wasn’t something you could control. It was a wildfire—unpredictable, all-consuming. You might be able to contain it, manage it for a while, but under the right conditions, it would break free and roar to life, sweeping away all your carefully constructed boundaries.

I gazed at the mountains in the distance, wondering what the next few days would hold. There was an untamed beauty in their peaks and valleys, something raw and uncompromising. They stood as a testament to the unpredictability of nature. Just like the woman who had entered our lives, altering the topography in ways we had yet to fully understand.

Savoring another sip of scotch, my thoughts swirled around Becca. The way her laughter filled the kitchen earlier, light and melodic. The curve of her smile, the sparkle in her eyes. I was not blind to the energy between us, and I was also aware she was intelligent enough to pick up on it too. Yet something told me she was not one to cross lines, especially not professional ones. Her integrity appeared to be as real as her beauty, and that was saying something.

We prided ourselves on integrity as well. It was part of the foundational ethics Isaac had instilled in the business. But this—this was different. Becca posed a challenge, a test of our unspoken pact. I grinned into my glass at the thought. Things were about to get complicated, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't find that exciting.

My ears caught the sound of the sliding door opening behind me, snapping me out of my musings. I turned to see Archer stepping out onto the deck, a glass of red wine in hand. He grunted, a monosyllabic articulation that spoke volumes. The beauty of being a twin was that words were often unnecessary.

"Feeling like a love-struck teenager on your first date?" I chuckled, my words tinged with both jest and empathy.

Archer shot me a look that clearly said he didn't appreciate my attempt at humor, but his eyes couldn't hide what I already knew to be true—he was as enthralled by her as I was.

"You feel it too, huh?" Archer finally broke his silence, leaning against the railing next to me.

"It's hard not to."

"Vinnie's smitten. Even Isaac, Mr. 'No Fraternization,' can't seem to keep his eyes off her," Archer added.

"Yeah," I agreed, allowing the weight of the revelation to settle. "You remember that time in LA? The actress?"

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