Read Online Love All Out - Part 2 (A Stepbrother Romance) by Alice Ward - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Alice Ward
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right,” I told him. “One of the reasons… the main reason I wanted to break up Daddy and Renee was because I do have feelings for James. I want to be with him, despite what happened at the rodeo. And he wants to be with me too, Matt. He said so last night… kind of.”
Matt raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean, kind of?”
“He said that he wants me… but he’s not sure he’s ready for me. And he admitted that his feelings for me are the reason he doesn’t want Daddy and Renee to get married. I’m so confused, Matt. I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to hurt Daddy, but if he and Renee get married, it will ruin my chance to be with James. And I’m not sure I can bare that.”
Matt stared silently at the table for a minute, and I had a hard time reading his mood. Finally, he looked up and cleared his throat. “So you slept with him last night. How did he act today? Was he nice to you, or standoffish like the other times?”
My face flushed pink with happiness as I thought about our trip home. “He was amazing. We had room service in bed this morning, and I rode all the way home in the middle of the truck with his arm wrapped around me.”
“So are you together now? Are you going to tell your parents? Please tell me that you aren’t still plotting to break them up,” Matt pleaded.
I shook my head. “James and I had a long talk, and we agreed that we should take things slow. He admitted he’s not ready to settle down. If we rush into something we’re not ready for and it falls apart, we’ll still be stuck with each other because of our parents. I wouldn’t say that we’re together, and we’re certainly not going to tell anyone about it. But I don’t think either of us will be seeing anyone else…”
The truth was, James and I both wanted to see if our parents’ engagement survived the trip to Kentucky before we made any decisions about our relationship. I didn’t want Matt to know we were still trying to break them up, so I left out that small detail.
Matt narrowed his eyes. “Willow, I think you need to be careful. It sounds like James isn’t sure what he wants, and I don’t want to see you get hurt again. And I don’t want you to do anything to Cole and Renee. I know you… you’d regret it for the rest of your life.”
I looked away from him and rose from my seat. “I’ll be careful, Matt. I promise,” I said as I moved towards the door.
Matt pushed his chair away from the table, but didn’t stand to follow me. “Uhh… Willow? There’s something I wanted to talk to you about,” he shifted his weight nervously and looked at the dirt floor.
Oh shit… I’ve gone on and on about myself, and I didn’t even think to ask how Matt’s date was this weekend.
I leaned against the desk and gave Matt my full attention. “Did you have a good weekend with Lucas?” I asked.
He looked up at me and grinned. “Actually yeah, I did. That’s kind of what I wanted to talk to you about… would you hate me if I bail on the Derby?”
I was taken aback by the question. “You don’t want to go? You have to go, Matt! It wouldn’t be the same without you.”
“I doubt you’ll even notice I’m missing,” he argued. “Lucas’s sister is going to be in town next weekend, and he wants me to meet her. And we still haven’t hired anyone to look after the horses while you’re gone. It just makes sense for me to stay behind.”
I knew Matt was right, but I couldn’t imagine going to Kentucky without him. Daddy had invited Bradley and his parents to join us, and I’d been counting on Matt to help me escape their company.
I folded my arms across my chest. “I wish Renee would stay here like we planned on in the first place,” I sulked. “But I understand why you want to meet Lucas’s sister. Things must be going well between the two of you if he’s already introducing you to family. When do I get to meet him?”
Matt winked at me. “All in good time. So you’re not
Matt raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean, kind of?”
“He said that he wants me… but he’s not sure he’s ready for me. And he admitted that his feelings for me are the reason he doesn’t want Daddy and Renee to get married. I’m so confused, Matt. I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to hurt Daddy, but if he and Renee get married, it will ruin my chance to be with James. And I’m not sure I can bare that.”
Matt stared silently at the table for a minute, and I had a hard time reading his mood. Finally, he looked up and cleared his throat. “So you slept with him last night. How did he act today? Was he nice to you, or standoffish like the other times?”
My face flushed pink with happiness as I thought about our trip home. “He was amazing. We had room service in bed this morning, and I rode all the way home in the middle of the truck with his arm wrapped around me.”
“So are you together now? Are you going to tell your parents? Please tell me that you aren’t still plotting to break them up,” Matt pleaded.
I shook my head. “James and I had a long talk, and we agreed that we should take things slow. He admitted he’s not ready to settle down. If we rush into something we’re not ready for and it falls apart, we’ll still be stuck with each other because of our parents. I wouldn’t say that we’re together, and we’re certainly not going to tell anyone about it. But I don’t think either of us will be seeing anyone else…”
The truth was, James and I both wanted to see if our parents’ engagement survived the trip to Kentucky before we made any decisions about our relationship. I didn’t want Matt to know we were still trying to break them up, so I left out that small detail.
Matt narrowed his eyes. “Willow, I think you need to be careful. It sounds like James isn’t sure what he wants, and I don’t want to see you get hurt again. And I don’t want you to do anything to Cole and Renee. I know you… you’d regret it for the rest of your life.”
I looked away from him and rose from my seat. “I’ll be careful, Matt. I promise,” I said as I moved towards the door.
Matt pushed his chair away from the table, but didn’t stand to follow me. “Uhh… Willow? There’s something I wanted to talk to you about,” he shifted his weight nervously and looked at the dirt floor.
Oh shit… I’ve gone on and on about myself, and I didn’t even think to ask how Matt’s date was this weekend.
I leaned against the desk and gave Matt my full attention. “Did you have a good weekend with Lucas?” I asked.
He looked up at me and grinned. “Actually yeah, I did. That’s kind of what I wanted to talk to you about… would you hate me if I bail on the Derby?”
I was taken aback by the question. “You don’t want to go? You have to go, Matt! It wouldn’t be the same without you.”
“I doubt you’ll even notice I’m missing,” he argued. “Lucas’s sister is going to be in town next weekend, and he wants me to meet her. And we still haven’t hired anyone to look after the horses while you’re gone. It just makes sense for me to stay behind.”
I knew Matt was right, but I couldn’t imagine going to Kentucky without him. Daddy had invited Bradley and his parents to join us, and I’d been counting on Matt to help me escape their company.
I folded my arms across my chest. “I wish Renee would stay here like we planned on in the first place,” I sulked. “But I understand why you want to meet Lucas’s sister. Things must be going well between the two of you if he’s already introducing you to family. When do I get to meet him?”
Matt winked at me. “All in good time. So you’re not
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