Step Brother: Off Limits (6 page)

Reed. I’d been pushing him out of my thoughts, or trying to, and sitting next to Stanford made me crave the sexy, tattooed man with a past who I simply couldn’t banish from my head.

“Dammit,” I said, pawing through my purse. “I think I left my phone at home.”

“You’ll be with me and your dad. Who else could you need to talk to?”

I laughed until I looked over at Stanford’s face and realized he wasn’t kidding. “Seriously, Stanford. I need my phone.”

“It’ll have to wait, I’m afraid. We’d be late if we turned around now. Donald needs me there on time.”

I felt like I was being kidnapped, even though I only had myself to blame. I should have known better than to let Stanford drive. I should have insisted on meeting him at the event, but it was too late. I knew it was unlikely I’d get any work calls or pressing work emails, but I felt half dressed without my phone, and I couldn’t wait to hear from Reed about his return home. I had every intention of being at the airport—sans underwear, of course—and enjoying our reunion.

“So,” I said, resigning myself to catching up on emails when I got home. “Remind me never to ride with you again. If I’d known you were gonna be such a prick, I’d have driven separately.”

He just smiled, as if nothing were wrong. “It’ll be fine, Tatum. You’re about to be so busy you won’t have time for your phone, anyway. Donald needs you.”

I stonewalled him for the rest of the drive, and when we pulled into the parking lot of the gun club, Stanford put his hand on my knee, squeezing it in a way that made me feel like I needed a shower.

“Sit tight,” he said, jogging around his car to open my door. “You deserve to be treated like royalty.”

He seriously had no idea how smarmy he was. I crossed my arms over my chest to keep him from taking my hand, and I led the way toward the entrance.

We weren’t even inside the door before the reporters started to swarm.

“Tatum, have you been in contact with your stepbrother lately?”

“Tatum, do you have a comment about the latest pictures of Reed and the mystery woman in France?”

“Tatum, do you foresee any legal complication should you choose to marry your stepbrother?”

The voices were deafening, and the questions were ridiculous. My instinct was to cover my face with my hands and run for the door, but Stanford put his hand on my arm and steered me inside at a dignified pace.

“Fucking vultures,” I muttered as the door closed behind us.

“Don’t let them hear you say that,” my preppy companion warned.

“I’m not an idiot,” I answered, turning on my heel and heading for the ladies’ room.

I pushed open the door and saw Tina, pursing her lips in the mirror and adding another coat of mascara.

“Well, don’t you look the part?” I said, frustrated by every aspect of my day so far and unwilling to hide it.

Tina was decked out like a gun-toting Republican’s wet dream. She wore skin-tight jeans, a fitted camouflage shirt in shades of pink, fancy, embellished boots, and her long, red hair was pulled up into a bouncy ponytail.

“I do love to dress for an occasion,” she said cheerfully. “You look perfect, Tatum. I knew we could count on Stanford to ensure you were properly attired. He’s such a gem. Any girl who could snag him would be making quite a catch, don’t you think?”

I knew I shouldn’t, but I couldn’t help poking at her. “He’s not really my type. I like my men dark and tattooed. Haven’t you figured that out?”

I thought her eyes were going to pop out of her head. She reached past me and locked the bathroom door, put her hands on my shoulders, and pushed me back against the door.

“Listen up, you little twat,” she hissed, clearly past the point of being able to control herself. “I’ve had about enough of you and your bullshit. Donald wants you here, and even though I think you’re a prissy little bitch, he’s insisting on including you in his campaign. I think he’s makin’ a big fuckin’ mistake, but it’s his call. The least you can do is not be an asshole while you’re here.”

“Look, Tina,” I said, realizing I may have pushed her too far. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I’ll be on my best behavior.”

She didn’t back off, poking me in the chest with a finger. “You better be, ’cause I’m gonna have my eye on you. One more thing—if and when Reed comes home, you’re gonna stay as far away from him as you can. Understand? I don’t want my boy dragged into your trashy lifestyle.”

“Really? My trashy lifestyle?” I was beyond pissed. “Honey, you sound like you’re one step out of the trailer park. You might wanna look in the mirror before you start going on about being trashy.” I leaned forward, forcing her to step back. “And just so you know, my relationship with Reed is absolutely none of your business.”

I unlocked the door, but before I could open it, Tina slapped her palm flat on its wooden surface.

“Bullshit. Tatum, you do not want to fuck with me, little girl. When it comes to my husband or my kid, I will do whatever I need to to protect them. I’m not afraid to get dirty. I will come out on top.”

I was just done. “Whatever.” I opened the door and leaned toward her, making sure nobody else could hear what I whispered. “Hey, Tina, your crazy is showing. You might want to tuck that back in.” Out the door I went without looking back, into a sea of reporters and local politicians who suddenly looked far more appealing than my stepmother.

“Tatum, there you are. I wondered where you’d dashed off to.” Stanford put his hand on my arm.

I stepped away, out of easy reach. “I’m fine. Just needed to powder my nose.” It occurred to me that I was far better equipped to handle the press and the bizarre dynamics of my new little family simply because I’d settled things with Reed the night before. Even though I didn’t expect Tina and I would ever be buddies, just knowing Reed and I were going to be together soon made me feel stronger and more capable.

“I’m going to find Dad,” I said, turning and walking away, not even trying to avoid the crush of photographers with my dad.

Since Tina had thrown down her gauntlet, so to speak, I felt free to ignore her for the rest of the day, and I was surprised to discover that I actually enjoyed the event. Dad gave me a shooting lesson, and I even smiled for the cameras as he instructed me on how to hold the handgun and reload it after I’d emptied the clip. I saw Tina at the other end of the row of targets, smiling and preening for the camera, and I realized—as much as I didn’t like her—she was probably good for Dad’s campaign.

All in all, the day was a big success, and after I’d managed to finally hit the bull’s-eye on the target and eaten way more barbecue than I should have, I walked back toward Stanford’s car with a smile on my face.

“Did you notice toward the end of the day that I had fewer cameras in my face?” I asked as he opened the car door for me.

“I did, but I was expecting it. My research shows that if you comply with a few photograph requests, you’re far more likely to be left alone afterwards. It’s like the photographers can’t help chasing someone who doesn’t want their picture taken. If you can learn to work with the press just a little, you’ll discover you actually have far more privacy.”

“That’s really true? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Would you have believed me?” Stanford walked around and got in the driver’s seat.

“Probably not,” I admitted. I was lost in my thoughts as we headed home, and what really hit me was how making up with Reed—at least by phone—had improved my outlook in general. Even Stanford didn’t seem quite so repellent. I was surprised at how quickly we arrived home, and I put my hand on the car door.

“Tatum, wait,” Stanford said, putting his hand on my knee again. “Are you going to invite me in?”

“Um, I hadn’t planned on it.” I remembered my phone, and my heart leapt at the thought of heading inside to find out Reed’s travel arrangements. “I’m sure I’ll have some work emails to catch up on. Thanks for the ride, though.”

“You know, I’d like to spend more time with you, Tatum. Your dad and Tina support the idea as well. What do you say to dinner one night this week?”

I shook my head. “Stanford, it’s just not going to happen between us. First of all, you’re not really my type. And second, I’ve talked to Reed, and he’s coming home. We’re going to work things out between us, so I won’t be seeing anyone else.”

Stanford’s eyes narrowed. “Does Tina know about this?”

“Not as far as I know. I didn’t tell her.”

“As closely as I’ve been working with Tina and Donald, I can tell you they’re not going to be happy to hear this news.”

“I’m aware of that. I’m a grown woman, though, and I can make my own decisions.”

“Why would you even consider seeing Reed again? After what happened in Tahoe? I’m surprised you didn’t have fallout at your job.”

“That was really no more Reed’s fault than mine,” I answered. “It’s time I started taking responsibility for my choices, rather than blaming all my troubles on someone else.”

“Tatum, I just don’t see you with him. You know he has a criminal record, right? My research shows that …”

I cut him off. “I don’t care about your research, to be frank. He may have a checkered past, but he’s a successful business person now, and besides that, he’s a good man.” I opened the car door. “Thanks for the ride. I’ll see you around.”

“Yes, you will.”

I decided to ignore the positively creepy tone of Stanford’s voice, and I slammed the door. I headed inside to see if Reed had called while I was out.

“Hey, sexy,” I said, thrilled to see Tatum’s name on my phone.

“Hey, yourself. I got your texts and your voicemail. It sounded like something was wrong. Everything okay?”

I knew she wasn’t going to be happy about me delaying my return to the States to go on tour with my father, but the opportunity was just too good to pass up. “Well, something’s kinda come up that’s going to keep me in Europe for a little longer.”

Silence.

“You there?” I asked.

“Yes. What’s going on? I was hoping you’d be on your way already.”

I took a deep breath. “So, here’s the deal. My father is going on tour—a quick one that’s only three weeks long, and he’s asked me to go with him.”

“What?”

“It’s actually for business. The tour’s going to promote Inked, and they’re going to set me up with a mobile studio so I can work during the festivals. Not only will I be bringing in top dollar for walk-in tattoos, but I’ll be getting priceless publicity.”

Tatum waited a few seconds before she said anything. “I guess that’s too good a deal to pass up, huh?”

“It’s huge. I’ll be getting international coverage. One of the promoters is even talking about developing a line of Inked T-shirts and splitting the proceeds.”

“Wow.”

I could hear the disappointment in her voice. “I’ll be home in a month. We leave a week from tomorrow for Rome.”

“Sounds like you’ve made up your mind.”

“I have. I would have talked to you about it before I gave Gordon my answer, but you didn’t answer your phone.”

“I was at a thing for my dad. I left my phone at home.”

“I’m sorry it’s going to take me a while to get home to you, but this really is the best thing I can do for my business. This could be huge. It’ll mean I can work less and earn more, which will give me more time to spend with you and with my dad, too.”

“I get it. You’ve convinced me it’s a good business decision for you.”

“You still sound pissed, though.”

“Yeah, I am pissed. You don’t know what it’s been like here. Tina’s been horrible. The people I work with look at me like they know what I look like naked, and all the while, you’re having fun at the beach in France. And now you’re going to be gone for another month.”

“Tatum, I have to do this.”

“I understand your business interests. I really do. But you have to understand what I’m dealing with.”

“Is there anything I can do to help you with Mom?”

“You can come home, Reed. You can come back to real life, rather than some rockstar fantasy.”

“I can’t help it that Gordon Gentry is my father. I didn’t ask for this, you know.”

Tatum sighed, and when she spoke again, the anger had drained out of her voice. “I know. I just miss you, Reed. What we started before Tahoe was something special, and I want more of it. I want to be able to sleep with you for real, rather than having phone sex.”

I wanted her so badly I could taste it. “I want the same thing. Tatum, you’re all I’ve been able to think about, and when you called me, you have no idea how good it felt to know we’re going to work things out and that I’ll get to see you again.” I thought there was a chance that changing the subject might work. “You know, I never got to give you your Christmas present.”

“I don’t care about Christmas presents. I’m trying to be a grown-up here. I’m trying to learn how to deal with the press without just running away all the time. I’m trying to help my dad out with his campaign. I’m trying to be a good attorney, but it’s just all too much for me to handle on my own.”

“It’s only a month.”

“I’m sure it’ll fly by for you. Not so much for the rest of us.”

“Want to talk about how I’ll make it up to you when I get home?” I asked, hoping to have another round of sexy talk.

“I’m not in the mood to have phone sex with you, Reed. Call me when you can.”

“I will,” I answered, but I knew she didn’t hear me. She’d already hung up.

“Well, shit,” I said. “That didn’t go like I’d hoped.”

I checked the time and decided I should call it a night. I had an early conference call with the agent Gordon had hooked me up with and the promoters of the concert, and I needed to talk to Marla beforehand. It was going to take a lot of work to pull everything off, but I was determined to do it. I was going to promote the business, make a shit ton of money, and then get home and convince Tatum that the two of us belonged together.

By the time we stepped off the little private Learjet a week later, I was ready for a vacation. I’d had no idea it was so much work to set up a tattoo tour. We’d had to make sure we understood the laws about who I could legally work on—the age of consent for tattoos varies from country to country—and which inks were permitted in the countries that regulate ink. In all, I’d been working nonstop, and I was ready to have a little fun.