My lips tilt up of their own accord as I nod, ‘yeah, you should hear what they call me.’
Grinning widely, Tessa pushes open the door, stepping into our main office where Tricia glances up, a smile painted on to her face.
‘Hi, welcome to Hawthorne Security, how can I . .’ she starts until I step in behind Tessa, crowding her. ‘Oh! H, Mr Hawthorne, I didn’t realise the lady was with you, uhh . . ‘ Savannah looks uncertain, her eyes moving between us, like she’s unsure what she’s supposed to do.
‘Princess!’ My brother’s voice booms through the room before Tessa is swept up in a hug, Gage spinning her around as she laughs loudly.
‘Do you greet all visitors like this?’ our stepsister demands as he places her on her feet and ruffles her hair.
‘Only the gorgeous ones’ Gage replies with a wink as I growl, my hands clenching.
‘What is going on out here . .’ Callan asks, stepping out of his own office and stopping, his eyes trailing up and down Tessa with appreciation. ‘What do we have here?’ he asks, his voice deepening as he throws his most seductive smile toward the woman.
‘Don’t even think about it’ I snap angrily, walking over to Gage and dragging Tessa back until she’s partially hidden by my large body.
Callan’s eyebrow raises as he studies me, ‘sorry dude, didn’t realise she was spoken for, I don’t fish in my best friends’ ponds, you know that.’
I’m about to argue that Tessa isn’t mine but shut my mouth again when Gage frowns, ‘why are you back?’ he questions, ‘something happen?’
I shake my head, ‘forgot the file I was working on, I need to put some time into it tonight.’
Nodding, he waves me toward my office, grinning impishly as I stalk over to my closed door, and snags Tessa’s wrist, tugging her toward his office.
‘Come on Princess’ he chuckles, ‘let’s leave Grumpy to find his file, I want to show you my awesome ficus plant.’
Tessa laughs but much to my annoyance, allows my brother to pull her into his office.
Slamming into my own, I snarl angrily, as I snatch up the file off my desk, turning around I find Zoe fidgeting in my doorway.
‘What?’ I demand, why can’t this woman stand still?
‘Umm I just wanted to ask if you needed anything else Mr Hawthorne, umm, I’m going to be heading home in half an hour, so I just wanted to make sure that you have everything you need.’
I nod curtly, ‘It’s fine’ I retort, ‘you can head home for the day, those two assholes can look after themselves for a change.’
India’s face warms as she nods, ‘OK, thank you MR Hawthorne’ she murmurs before hurrying back to her desk and grabbing her purse.
Giving me a small wave, she bustles out of the office, disappearing from view.
Tessa’s POV
We’ve been home for a few hours, as soon as we pulled up to the house, Caleb hurried inside and hid himself in his room. Huffing in frustration, I dragged my own sorry butt up the stairs and into my bedroom, shutting the door and deciding to get started on some of the papers we’d been assigned.
I try to get my mind into work mode, but it keeps returning to the broody man in the room next to me. After our drive into college this morning, with his almost desperate request to let him fasten my seatbelt, Caleb had been plaguing my thoughts. I wanted to know him better, but I couldn’t help it and I really believed that under that tough, untouchable exterior, there might be a man who was worth being around.
I’d made the decision to stop rising to his bait and start trying to draw him out of his shell instead, so when I jumped into the SUV, I had made a point of asking about his day. I was a little bit victorious over the fact that my conversation seemed to throw the impenetrable man off his game, and he had actually replied to my question.
Now I’m sitting here, twiddling my thumbs, wondering how else I can crack the hard shell around my stepbrother.
A soft knock on the door startles me, and I call out to come in automatically.
The door inches open before Caleb pokes his head inside the door. His hair is damp from the shower and the citrusy scent that I now associate with him permeates my room. Damn, he’s handsome, can I get some glasses or something that tones him down a bit? It’s so damn hard to think when he’s near me.
‘I was thinking of ordering pizza’ he mutters, ‘wondered if you wanted some?’
My mouth falls open, in the few nights that we’ve been alone in this house, I have cooked and eaten my dinner alone, only hearing the moody man in front of me head down to eat after I shut my bedroom door.
‘Uhh, yeah, that sounds great’ I manage to stammer out.
Caleb nods, flicking his gaze around my room that now holds aspects of my personality. I’ve hung up my pictures on the walls, and my bookshelf is overflowing with my favourite authors, some best sellers, others barely known that I stumbled across in the bookstore near my old house.
‘What do you want me to order? ‘he asks gruffly.
I shrug, I’m pretty easygoing where food is concerned, growing up in a single parent household, you sometimes were just grateful for something hot on a plate.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.