Stranded with My Stepbrother Chapter 141

Will

Cold champagne soaked through my shirt.

Lisa stared at me, openmouthed, holding the empty flute in her hand. “Will….”

“Are you finished?” I asked, taking the napkin Leopold passed to me and dabbing my suit.

“I didn’t mean to—”

“Get me? Oh, I know you didn’t. You meant to get my fiancée. I have to tell you, that was completely uncalled for and unacceptable. Now, if you’re finished making a scene, I’d appreciate it if you’d go somewhere else. Anywhere else. And never bother me or my fiancée again,” I said tightly.

She opened and closed her mouth a few times then blessedly wandered off.

I sighed. “I’m sorry, McKenzie. I wasn’t expecting that.”

“That’s okay. Thanks for getting in the way,” she replied, taking the napkin from me and doing some dabbing herself. She gave me an impish grin. “You must be hard to get over.”

“I guess so.” I put my hand over hers. “I didn’t expect that she’d feel so free to disrespect you. That was… bizarre.”

She shrugged. “I mean, the whole scene was bizarre, but I’m not really surprised by the disrespect thing. Gwendolyn and I are the youngest not-upper-crust women here. We’re bound to catch a little flak.”

“That doesn’t make it okay,” I insisted, feeling indignant. Even on Gwendolyn’s behalf.

“No, it doesn’t,” McKenzie agreed. “But I think I’m going to like people like Lisa better than the ones who use their smiles to hide their contempt and then gossip about me behind my back later.”

She had a point. “Still, you’re my fiancée. Whether we’ve had the official party or not doesn’t matter. People should be showing you the same respect they show me.”

“Maybe they only show respect to your face, too,” she suggested with a grin.

I laughed. “The thought has occurred to me on more than one occasion.” I decided I was dry enough and took the napkin from her, setting it aside.

The people around us were still pointing and whispering. Lisa was nowhere to be seen.

“Leopold, did you see where Lisa went?” I asked the man who was still trying to get a handjob under the table while we waited for the programming to begin.

He barely looked up. “Security saw her out,” he said in a strained grunt.

Gwendolyn must have given in, then. I tried not to be disgusted. Leopold had always been this way.

“That’s good, then. No more champagne incidents tonight.” I forced a laugh.

“No—ngh—none of those,” he responded, beginning to sweat.

McKenzie started frowning, and I squeezed her hand.

“Let’s make the rounds for a bit, shall we?” I suggested, taking her hand and pulling her out of her chair.

Once I had her tucked firmly into my arm, and we were a few yards away from the table, she whispered to me, “He’s making her do it right there at the table!”

“Yes,” I acknowledged, equally put off. “But we’re not going to draw attention to it, and I didn’t think you wanted to be there for the whole show.”

“God no.” She shuddered. “It’s just… gross. And really mean to Gwendolyn.”

“Leopold doesn’t care about anyone but Leopold.” I sighed. “Don’t worry too much about it. Gwendolyn knows that about him by now.”

Then she was scowling at me. “So, just because she knows he’s a creep means she deserves to be treated this way?”

Shit. I walked right into that one. “Well, honeybee….”

“Don’t try to soften me up with ‘honeybee.’ I want to know what you’re trying to tell me,” she snapped.

“It’s just that… Gwendolyn is one of those kinds of girls… who….” I could tell from her expression I was digging my grave deeper with every word. How to explain?

“One of those kinds of girls who deserve to have an old creeper make her jerk him off at a big charity event like he was paying her to do it in a back alley somewhere?” she asked.

I was not quite stupid enough to dive into that trap. Or so I thought. “It’s not exactly like that. But he is kind of paying her, yes.”

McKenzie’s neck reeled back like she was going to coil up and bite me. “You did not just say that out loud!”

“Honeybee,” I tried again, “some girls are in it for the money. Cars. Furs. Jewels. Fancy apartments. It’s a whole lifestyle. Gwendolyn knows the deal, I promise.”

She gave me a shove, tearing away from my arm. She only made it three unfortunate steps until I had to catch her, however.

“Let go of me,” she hissed.

“Do you want to fall flat on your face?” I asked.

McKenzie paused then sighed in defeat. “No.”

“Trouble in paradise?” a familiar voice asked.

Fuck me sideways. I secured McKenzie on my arm again then turned with my best smile plastered on my face. “Bran Lockwood! I was hoping I’d see you tonight.”

At a champagne only event, Bran had somehow managed to get himself a tumbler of scotch. This did not surprise me in the slightest.

“Will Masterson. As I live and breathe. And this must be McKenzie?” he asked, smiling at her in a way that made me want to smack it right off his face.

“Y-Yes.” She recovered herself and beamed back at him, extending her hand for him to shake. “I’m McKenzie Kent.”

“A pleasure.” The asshole kissed her hand.

I gritted my teeth but kept my composure. “McKenzie and I were just—”

“It’s so silly. I have a terrible time with these heels, you see.” She jumped in, still smiling at that snake. “But I insisted on Will letting me walk around on my own and, well, you saw what happened.”

“Yes, I don’t know how you women do it,” Bran oozed back, still holding her hand.

With a little laugh, she subtly snatched her hand back. “I don’t either. I guess I’m just a country girl at heart.”

“That’s sweet.” His eyes raked over her body, and I had to resist the urge to punch him when he lingered a little too long on certain assets. “My, my, they do grow them nicely out in dairyland.”

Her cheeks flushed. “Um… thank you?”

“Oh, that was definitely a compliment. Now that I’ve seen you, I can see why Will decided he needed to snap you up. If I’d met you first….” He let the speculation hang in the air.

“It’s been great seeing you, Bran. All the best to the family,” I said sweetly, starting to tug her away.

He gripped my other arm. “What’s your hurry? Afraid I’ll steal her away from you?”

McKenzie looked up at me with concern, but I just smiled down at her—my fake smile, which I knew she was beginning to understand—and patted her hand. “It seems Bran wants to spend a little more time getting to know you, my darling.”

“Don’t you mean ‘honeybee’?” he asked smugly.

Her face lost all color, and my heart slammed hard against my chest. “What did you say?” I asked.

“It’s just that you were calling her that a minute ago when you were fighting about Gwendolyn,” he smirked.

This motherfucker! “I didn’t realize you were close enough to hear that.” I tried not to seethe.

McKenzie’s cheeks flushed. “It was a stupid argument.”

“I agree,” Bran said sympathetically. “Leopold Cross is a ‘creeper’ and Gwendolyn does deserve better. But she’s young and relatively new to the circuit. It takes a while to work your way up.” He chuckled. “Unless you’re a cute little college farm girl, I guess.”

She blinked, and I made a fist at my side. “Do you have something you’re trying to say, Bran?” I asked, seething for real now.

“I’m just surprised, that’s all. I’m not trying to be insulting. I’m really impressed. A girl with no discernable smidgen of breeding has completely swept you off your feet—so much so that you’re struggling not to punch me right now. Yet, she’s not your usual type at all. You like them your age or even a bit older. Refined. Jaded, even. Women who know the deal, such as Gwendolyn. Well, maybe not Gwendolyn. She’s far too young for you.” He sized up McKenzie once more. “She’s beautiful, granted. And smart. And sassy. I’d definitely keep her around for at least a year if she were mine. But marry her? Honestly, your grandfather must be spitting tacks!”

“He can spit whole steel rods for all I care. Now that you’ve had your say and been truly insulting, would it be all right if we found someone more pleasant to speak to?” I asked icily.

Bran, being Bran, just burst out laughing. “Now, now, don’t get all prickly. I was simply pointing out the obvious. You know everybody’s talking about it—and I do mean everybody. How did she do it?”

I opened my mouth to say something regrettable, which was exactly what he was hoping for—to get a rise out of me.

McKenzie beat me to the punch. “Actually, it’s because I suck dick better than anyone on this planet, old or young,” she said sweetly.

I choked.

He paused, then howled with laughter. “Well, I wasn’t expecting that!” He doubled over and held his knee with the hand that wasn’t holding his drink. “Oh, I like her. Come by the house on Saturday. I’m having a pool party. I’ll even invite Gwendolyn.”

“We… might not be free,” I managed, still trying to wrap my head around what she had just said.

“I’m sure your assistant can move some things around.” He said it in a tone that brooked no argument. “After all, wouldn’t your grandfather be pleased as punch at you for keeping good relations with Bran Lockwood… the Fifth?”

“So… you’re a fifth and that makes you better than a third?” McKenzie asked, sounding unimpressed.

I wanted to kiss her. And warn her not to say the sucking dick thing again while we were here. But mostly kiss her.

“It does, as a matter of fact,” he chuckled. “But I appreciate the loyalty. You really do have something special there, Will. I hope you manage to keep her.”

“He won’t have any problems there.” She smiled up at me—a genuine, loving smile—even though we were technically still fighting.

“Aw. That’s sweet. I’ll let you get back to fighting about Gwendolyn. See you Saturday.” Bran grinned. He raised his glass to us, took a sip, then wandered off to find a new victim.

I smiled down at McKenzie and kissed her nose. “I don’t want to make a mess of your make-up.”

She sniffed. “I’m still mad at you.”

“I know.”

“You should apologize to Gwendolyn for ever thinking that way about her,” she continued.

I sighed. “I don’t think any way about her, honeybee. I’m just telling you how the game is played. Hopefully, she’ll be able to trade up soon.”

“You make it all sound so… transactional,” she muttered.

“It… sort of is,” I said.

Her shoulders drooped. “I don’t like it.”

There were a few things I knew I could say. But mostly, I wanted to be as honest as I could be. “McKenzie, as someone who has benefitted from the system, I have to say that I, personally, always treated—treat—women with respect. What you need to realize, however, is that a lot of the power rests with them. They can choose to leave, or trade up, or whatever they want to do whenever they want. Bran’s taken more than a few of my companions. Mostly because he’s an asshole. I’ve… never wanted anything serious, so I’ve only had two serious partners, and those only because Grandfather insisted. I’ve never thought about being anything but a bachelor before, and I found the way things work to be… convenient. But everything changed for me when I met you.” I carefully stroked her hair, not wanting to muss it. “So, yes, I’m one of those assholes. And I’m hoping you love me anyway.”

She bit her lip. “Of course, I love you anyway. What do they say? ‘Don’t hate the player, hate the game’?”

I laughed and pulled her into a hug. “Thanks.”

“Thank you for being honest,” she replied.

“Always.” I kissed her hair.

“And for helping me find something or someone better for Gwendolyn,” she said.

I groaned. “I knew it was going to cost me.”

“But you will?”

“I will,” I agreed. “You’re right. She deserves better.”

“Good.” She leaned up and kissed my cheek.

I was sure she’d left a lipstick mark, but I didn’t care.

I was hers, after all.