Mine - A Stepbrother Romance by Caitlin Daire Read Free Book Online Page A

Looking into his eyes and practically seeing a mirror-image of my own made me feel way more comfortable than I would be with any other random stranger, and he really seemed like a lovely man. Obviously it was going to take a very long time for me to get close to him and see him as my actual father, but this was a good start.
    Victoria knocked on the door a while later to inform us that a maid would be coming up with coffee and cake soon, and I felt another shock to my system. I’d never even dreamed of having a maid bring me food; hell, my job at the hotel had been to take food to other people. If I was ever hungry, then it had always been up to me to make myself a snack or go out and buy something.
    “Er…Victoria seems nice,” I lied, trying to keep the conversation going.
    Roy nodded. “Mm, yes, she’s very nice. Very astute. She’s been my personal assistant for…hmm, must be going on five years now. Sometimes I joke around with her saying I may as well adopt her, seeing as she’s always around for me.”
    He chuckled, and I laughed nervously along with him.
    He paused and then looked at me. “Like I said earlier, I know that the last week has been hard and it must feel like everything is being dumped on you at once, but I have something to tell you.”
    “Yes?”
    “I remarried a few years ago. She has a son, so technically he is your stepbrother. And she’s your stepmother, of course.”
    “Oh. Wow. I…um…I’d love to meet them.”
    He grinned with relief. “I’m glad. They’ve been dying to meet you since they heard. They should actually be home very soon, if you wouldn’t mind meeting them now. If not, that’s fine. I understand if you need some time to adjust.”
    “No, no, it’s fine,” I said, returning his smile. “I guess I may as well get it all over and done with now. Like ripping a Band-Aid off.”
    “Well, they aren’t that bad,” he said with a chuckle. “But yes, I understand what you mean. Oh, that must be them now.”
    He glanced out of the window, and I craned my neck to look. A black Tesla had pulled up out the front, and I was about to see who was in it when a young maid caught my attention. She’d slipped into the room like a ghost.
    “How would you like your coffee, Miss Keller?”
    Roy visibly flinched as she said my last name, and I smiled at the maid. “Call me Arizona, please. I’d like my coffee white with no sugar, if that’s okay.”
    “Certainly. And the same as usual for you, sir?”
    Roy nodded, and she busied herself pouring out our drinks into delicate china cups before nodding at us and leaving. I took a sip of the warm liquid and groaned with delight.
    “This is amazing coffee,” I said.
    “My favorite blend,” Roy replied. “Wonderful, isn’t it? Nice and strong.”
    “Yeah. So what does your wife do?” I asked.
    “She’s an actress,” he said. “Well, she used to be, anyway. Her name is…oh, there they are at the door now. Hold on a sec.”
    He crossed the room to let them in, and something suddenly ticked over in my mind. Billionaire married to an ex-actress who had one son - I’d definitely heard of that before, and I knew I’d actually been thinking about it not that long ago.
    Oh god.
    Could his wife be Layla Wade Crest? If so, then that meant…no, it couldn’t be. There were probably heaps of billionaires married to actresses. But even as I thought it, she strolled through the door, perfect with her flawless skin, long sable hair and piercing green eyes. Eyes that I’d seen once before on the man I’d come to mentally refer to as the devil himself.
    Mason Crest.
    He followed immediately after her, and his eyes widened as he saw me standing before him and Layla. It was like he was looking right inside me with that stare, and ever-so-slowly, a cocky, self-assured grin spread across his face. A rush of blood to my head made my cheeks flush, and I tried to break eye contact but couldn’t seem to look away.
    Holy mother of god.