Home For The Holidays, Falling For Her Stepbrother

Convinced

Hunter POV

She looks so vulnerable as she stares between me and Lionel, as though in a state of disbelief. She doesn’t know whether to trust us, and it’s blatantly obvious, even as she slowly enters the room and sits down on the couch, her legs trembling as she looks between the two of us.

I spoke first “I’m sorry about your injury, I didn’t get there in time to catch you.”

My voice is truly remorseful. I can’t get rid of the image of her being flung to the ground or the sound of her hitting the floor out of my mind. I should have tackled the bastard quicker and gotten to her sooner. She blinks at me, looking surprised by my admission.

“If anything, I’m grateful that you came when you did, and I’m embarrassed that you had to help me.”

She bites her lip and lowers her eyes, and I inwardly groan. Damn. She’s so hot. I can sense Lionel’s eyes on me and studiously look elsewhere, trying to keep my emotions and my attraction to my own stepsister to myself.

Lionel interrupts “Dana, there’s a lot we need to speak about.”

“How can you be my father?” her tone is filled with wonder and also pain. “I always thought you were dead.”

Lionel looked pained. “Your mother took you when you were young as punishment for having an affair” he admitted as Dana sucked in a breath, “She was later in a car accident, and you were put in the foster system. I never knew what happened to you until now. I’m sorry”, he took her hand again. “Believe me, if I could turn back time and do it over again, I would.”

His tone is sincere. He’s truly devastated by what has happened, his eyes bleak as he looks at his daughter who was forced to grow up without his presence by her side. There was a void in his heart that only she could fill.

“But wouldn’t they have investigated my family? Found blood relatives?” Dana sounded unconvinced.

Lionel shifts awkwardly on the chair that he’s now sitting on. “You were kept a secret for your own safety. A man of my status, with my wealth, would have made somebody like you a kidnapping target. As such, you were kept out of the public eye, and you were barely a few months old when your mother took off with you. You never stood a chance.”

Dana exhales. “Show me,” she says, and Lionel looks confused, but I know exactly what she’s talking about.

If I were in her position, I would want to do the same and make sure I wasn’t being misled or lied to. She wanted to see the file. Lionel glances at me and subtly nods, realization dawning on his face. I grab it and hand it to her, watching the myriad of expressions crossing her face as she looks through the various paperwork, all that led to her life and her identity now. For a moment she was silent, her expression contemplative. It's impossible to tell what she is thinking, let alone what she is feeling.

“I know this is a lot to take in”, Lionel begins and is taken aback as Dana snorts.

“A lot to take in?” her tone was suddenly angry. “A few hours ago, I thought my family was dead and that the only person I had in the whole world that was on my side was my friend Nova. Now I’m supposed to believe that I’ve had a father all this time, looking for me and that I’m supposed to what?” she demanded, looking slightly panicked “Just accept it? What exactly is it that you want?” her voice rises as she begins to sound overwhelmed.

I clear my throat as Lionel looks dumbstruck. “A relationship.”

It sounded so simple, and I knew it was anything but. Dana turned to me; bewilderment written all over that pretty face of hers.

“A relationship?” she repeated, her hand trembling, several photographs sliding out of the file and onto the floor, Dana oblivious “What kind of relationship?” she eyed me suspiciously.

“I just want to get to know my daughter” Lionel’s voice cracks as he speaks to her, causing Dana’s eyes to soften slightly, “The little girl I should have been able to raise. I want to make up for everything that I’ve missed and the horrible life you had to endure.”

“My life wasn’t terrible, it forced me to be independent” Dana’s voice was sharp as she eyed the old man with consideration.

“It was not what was intended for you”, Lionel’s voice was hoarse as he stared at his daughter.

“You were meant to be raised as a wealthy heiress in society. Technically, part of Lionel’s wealth should be legally yours”, I told her.

She immediately shook her head. “I don’t care about any of that” she refused, “but what is it that you’re after? I would rather you were just honest with me. I mean, it’s hard to go from being an orphan to having a family, I don’t know…” her voice trailed off, but it was much softer now, less angry.

She almost looks wistful. I could see the fear in Lionel’s eyes. He was afraid that she would leave and that Dana would never want the type of relationship the old man was desperate to have with her. He’d been desperate to find her and now that he had, the old man was struggling with the concept that she might not be open to forging a bond with him. While we had a close relationship, I knew that it could never take the place or compare to that of what he would have had with his daughter if his conniving wife hadn’t taken her away.

“Stay for the holidays,” I proposed spontaneously, as inspiration struck, and Lionel looked at me gratefully, “a few weeks. Live with us” I said as she looked at us both open-mouthed, “the house is big enough that you’ll have privacy, you’ll have whatever you want at your fingertips, and you’ll get to attend several important charity events”, I coaxed.

“I have work” she countered, looking up at me and sighing, “and I also need to find somewhere to stay” she admitted, “because I can’t go back to that house with Jackson staying there.”

“You don’t need to work” Lionel jumped in, his voice eager now. “I’ll properly compensate you for staying here. If it makes you feel any better, you can help with the company or something. It means you’d have plenty of time to search for an apartment or something, wouldn’t it?”

“Well yes, but…” she stammered, looking overwhelmed.

“Then what’s the problem?” I gave her a winning smile. “Wouldn’t it be nice to spend Christmas as a family? Just once? I mean, the holidays can get pretty lonely” I added, twisting her arm as I saw a nostalgic look on her face, “and we could do all the ordinary things families do, putting up a Christmas tree, making cookies, wearing silly pajamas on Christmas Eve”, I continued watching as her eyes began to brighten with excitement at the picture I was creating inside of her mind.

I knew I had her. It was a little cruel of me to play on her emotions like that, but if it got her to stay, then I would do it again a hundred times over. I owed Lionel a lot and as I looked at her, I had to admit that I wanted her to stay as well, although I couldn’t say that my motives were pure like my stepfathers were. I saw her glance down at the file again, a crease in her brows, and then back at her father, who had such hope on his face that it would be heartbreaking to see that erased. Her eyes softened, and the beginnings of a tentative smile appeared on those plush lips of hers.

“Okay, I’ll stay” she whispered as I inwardly rejoiced, and Lionel began to brighten right up, “but if things start to go bad” she warned, “or get weird or whatever, then I’m leaving.”

I winked. “Trust me, you won’t regret it.”

The thought that she was going to be close by for the next few weeks filled me with a sense of anticipation and a crooked grin came over my face. She might be off limits, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t look, did it? Although I had a sense that part of me was not going to be satisfied with just looking. This was going to be the ultimate test of my self-restraint, but all I had to do was remind myself that she was my stepsister and everything would be fine. Right?