Blurred Lines Read online

  She tried to dampen down her anger but the hurt that she’d felt when the glittering Prince had seemingly rejected her and her mother had built up to a burning resentment over the years.

  “I’d been so excited at the prospect of a new family and you just left. Every time I was home you’d either just visited or wasn’t arriving until after I’d left. You pretty much did everything that you could to avoid me.”

  Emma paused and took a breath, not wanting to let angry tears make her seem weak. “You never gave me a chance.”

  Jason was shocked. He’d never thought about how his leaving would affect Emma. He’d just assumed she would be satisfied playing happy families with her mom and new dad. The perfect spoilt princess. He couldn’t have added anything positive to the family dynamic. In fact, he’d been convinced he would just be in the way.

  “I’m sorry Emma. I never thought you’d notice I wasn’t there. You were so young and spirited. You wouldn’t want a grumpy teenage boy hanging around.”

  He looked at her angry face and brown eyes full of tears and felt a tugging at his heart. “I never knowingly avoided you. All those times I visited, it really was a coincidence that it was while you were away. I promise. It was just the way my leave fell.

  Not able to help himself he stepped forward and lightly brushed a tear from her cheek. Shocked by a tremble of desire that ran through him when he touched her soft skin. Uh oh, that wasn’t good. He quickly stepped away and changed the subject.

  “Look, do you want me to show you your room? Maybe we can talk afterward, catch up a bit?”

  Emma looked at her watch “I would but I need to go to practice. Maybe when I get back?” All of a sudden the elegant poise was back in place.

  “Yeah sure, later then.”

  Emma picked up her handbag and made for the door. Turning just before she left. “Thank you for the apology. It really means a lot.”

  Then she was gone leaving the scent of Chanel lingering in the air and Jason staring at the door wondering if it was a mistake letting her stay with him.

  Chapter 3

  It had been a long and arduous practice session. Bernard, whose hometown it was, was determined that the show would be the best it had ever been and so had worked them tirelessly demanding that they practice a certain difficult part of the routine over and over again.

  Emma ached all over and she really wanted a nice dinner followed by a hot bath, she didn’t hold out much hope for either, though. Whilst she no longer felt anger towards Jason she was unnerved by the state of his house and wasn’t really looking forward to spending the evening there. Maybe she could invite him out to dinner with her? She did actually want to spend some time with him and get to know him more, she would just prefer it to be in a more comfortable setting.

  Reaching his house she paused for a moment and rubbed her neck. Please let him be in a better mood. She had been surprised when he’d reacted angrily to her comments about the house but then even more so when he’d apologized and brushed away her tear. Which one was the real Jason? The angry, obviously hungover slob or the concerned, apologetic gentleman, maybe it was both? She was nervous to find out the truth but then again why should she care? It wasn’t like she’d see him again after the performance. With her busy schedule it seemed unlikely that they would meet for family dinner anytime soon.

  There was something about him, though, that made Emma want to spend more time with him. There had been something about the look in his eyes that had made Emma want to stay, she wanted to spend more time in his company, wanted to spend more time looking into those gorgeous blue eyes and admiring his strong physic. She knew that it was wrong because he was her step-brother but surely there was no harm in looking?

  Realizing that she didn’t have a key to let herself in she walked up to the house and knocked on the door. Praying that he hadn’t gone out and that she wouldn’t have to spend the evening sat on the doorstep waiting for him to get home. She was relieved to hear movement through and see his tall figure moving towards the door. Then the door opened and he was smiling down at her.

  “You came back?”

  Emma smiled in return, pleased by the look of relief in his eyes. “Yeah well your Dad would never let me hear the end of it if I didn’t.”

  Jason let out a bark of laughter and stepped aside to let her in.

  “Well welcome home. I hope that you find it slightly more pleasant than when you left.”

  Wondering what he meant Emma walked into the living room and once again found herself frozen in shock, but this time, it was because of the transformation of the place. Gone were all the bottles, old takeaway boxes, and dirty clothes. In their place was a wooden floor so clean that it sparkled and a soft inviting sofa with plump cushions and a comfy looking dark blue throw. He’d even been out and bought flowers that were now in a vase on the fireplace. Emma turned to look at Jason, her face filled with wonder.

  “I can’t believe the transformation, this looks amazing.”

  Jason grinned, obviously feeling pleased with himself. “Well I’m glad you think so, it gets even better, follow me.”

  Wondering what else to expect she followed him into the kitchen. A small dining table was set with two places and a pot stood on the stove with something delicious smelling inside of it.

  “You cooked? You have no idea how pleased I am about that. I’m absolutely starving and had visions of having to go into town for some diner meal or something equally as unappealing.”

  “I did cook, but you haven’t tried it yet, it might be as unappealing as a diner meal.”

  Emma shrugged whilst at the same time taking off her shoes and wandering over to the cooker to get a closer look at what was cooking.

  “To be honest, the fact that I don’t need to leave the house again is already a plus.” Taking the lid off the pot she bent over to take in a deep breath. The rich meaty scent of a boeuf bourguignon filled her senses. “You can cook French food?”

  “I can cook any food” Jason replied.

  Emma laughed “Modest along with it?”

  “Nah, I’m just good at following recipes. I think that if all these professional chefs have taken the time to perfect a dish then the least you can do is follow them to the letter and not mess around. That way you hopefully end up with the dish as they intended it to be.”

  Emma enjoyed watching him walk over to the fridge and bend over. He really did have a gorgeous body, how did he keep in shape like that? He pulled a couple of beers out of the fridge, took the caps of both and passed one to Emma.

  “I hope you don’t mind beer?”

  Emma took a sip and delighted in the cool refreshing taste. “Don’t mind it at all. It’s been a long day and a beer will go some way to making it all better.”

  Jason had his decency to look a little sheepish. “Well, I’m sorry for my part in that. Have to admit I’m not used to visitors and reacted like an ass. You were right, though. The place was looking like a pigsty, I’d let things slip away from me.”

  Emma was once again touched by his apology, maybe he wasn’t so awful after all and he had taken the time to tidy up the place as well as making dinner. “Honestly, don’t worry about it. I could have been a little more tactful I guess. So I’m sorry too.”

  He smiled warmly and Emma noticed how it changed his whole face and his eyes briefly lost their dark haunted look. She resolved to make him smile much more over the coming days. She had a feeling it had been a long time since he’d had much to smile about.

  ***

  Dinner was a very relaxed affair. The boeuf bourguignon had been delicious and Emma had managed to finish two bowls of it and 3 slices of bread, much to Jason’s amusement.

  “How did you manage to eat all that? Where does it all go?”

  Emma couldn’t help but notice the admiring look in his eyes as they’d roamed up and down her body. “It all gets danced away. I’ve not eaten anything apart from a banana since
yesterday and then spent hours training. I was starving.”

  “Well, I hope you’ve saved some room for dessert?”

  Emma was delighted when Jason left the table and then came back with a huge apple pie and a jug of fresh cream.

  “Don’t tell me you found the time to bake as well?”

  “Afraid I can’t take credit for this one. The pie the diner makes is pretty much unbeatable so I didn’t see the point in even trying.” He looked at her mischievously and Emma’s stomach did a little flip.

  “Oh, I forgot, you don’t like diner food. I guess you don’t have to try a slice if you don’t want to.”

  He dangled the pie dish under her nose and she caught the scent of apples and cinnamon. Laughing, Emma grabbed for the dish, which he quickly whipped out of reach.

  “No chance Princess. You need to do some serious groveling first of all. Now repeat after me. I Emma Wood.”

  Emma pretended to scowl at him. “I Emma Wood.”

  “Do solemnly swear to never again besmirch the good name of the Oakdale diner.”

  Emma repeated the words then lunged quickly for the pie, this time managing to whisk it from Jason’s grasp.

  “Haha, too slow this time old man.” Taking a slice of pie in hand she quickly bit into it before Jason had a chance to take it back off her. The delicious sweet pie with just the right hint of sharpness from the apples overwhelmed Emma’s taste buds and she groaned with pleasure.

  “Wow!” She exclaimed. “That is some pie. Ok, ok, I take it all back. You were right, when it comes to pie the Oakdale diner definitely takes some beating.”

  “You don’t realize how good it feels to hear you say you were wrong. How about I make us some coffee to go with it?”

  Emma couldn’t believe her luck. Now he was making coffee for her? This was far better than any hotel.

  “Oh yes please, I love having a coffee to finish my meal. I have to admit this is definitely up there with one of the best places I’ve stayed in.”

  She joined Jason at the coffee maker and hopped up to the counter top. “Thank you so much for this evening. You’ve really made me feel at home.”

  Jason turned and his fingers brushed against hers softly as he passed her the coffee mug. Emma blushed slightly and quickly lowered her head, hoping that he hadn’t seen. She really needed to stop behaving like this, he was her step-brother, it was wrong to be thinking such things about him, but that slight touch of his skin on hers had sent electricity pulsing down her body.

  What would it be like to feel all his skin against her?

  Realizing that Jason was still looking at her she raised her head, trying to avoid his eyes so he couldn’t see that they were full of desire for him. What would he think? Would he be disgusted or was he feeling something similar? Part of her was eager to find out, hopeful to see her need for him reflected in his eyes. Meeting his gaze she wasn’t disappointed. Jason’s ice blue eyes had darkened with desire, the pull from them was magnetic and she found herself leaning closer towards him, wondering…. no hoping that he was going to kiss her.

  The moment was broken though by the beeping of the coffee machine and Jason quickly turned to retrieve his own mug. Trying not to feel disappointment Emma took a sip of her coffee and tried to restart the conversation.

  “Can I ask you a question?”

  Jason was instantly on his guard “I suppose so”.

  “Why Oakdale?”

  From the look on his face, this definitely wasn’t what he had been expecting. “Oakdale?”

  “Yes, why did you decide to move here? Out of every town in every state of America, this seems like an odd place for you to decide to live.” It was something that had bothered Emma ever since her Mom had ringed her and said that Jason was taking leave and had bought a house here. Wouldn’t it have made more sense to be closer to his Dad?

  “I made a promise.” Jason’s voice was a lot softer now and she could sense the sadness in it. Not sure whether to push him any further she took another sip of coffee and waited for him to continue.

  “A friend of mine, well he didn’t make it and he asked me to look after his Mom. I went to visit her in the next town over and seeing her. Seeing how frail she suddenly became I knew that if I was going to keep my promise to Mattie I was going to have to stay as close as I could to his Mom.”

  Emma lightly put her hand on Jason’s shoulder, wanting to comfort him but also knowing that he wasn’t the kind of guy who would appreciate pity. She felt better though when he half smiled at her in thanks.

  “Initially, I wanted to move to the same town as her but Julia wouldn’t have any of it. Said that I was far too young to bury myself in a dying town with nobody but a grieving mother for company. I guess she was right really, although I can’t say I have much company here either. It helps, though, knowing that I’m close to her. I visit every week and she always phones if she needs some help with the house or even just to talk to somebody who knew Mattie.” He ran his fingers through his hair and closed his eyes slightly trying to hold in a wave of emotion.

  “He must have been some guy.”

  Jason looked at her quizzically “What makes you say that?”

  “For you to have made that promise to him and then keep it in such a wonderful way, he really must have meant a lot to you.”

  The pain in Jason’s eyes was clear to see now as he barely replied. “He did.”

  Realizing that it was still a sore subject for him Emma decided not to question him any further. If he felt the need to expand on his time as a SEAL then she’d listen but it certainly wasn’t her place to pester him for details. She jumped down from the kitchen counter.

  “I think it’s time for me to get ready for bed.”

  Jason looked concerned. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to chase you away.”

  “What? No, you didn’t, it’s just been a long day and I really need a bath to try and ease some of the pain in my legs.”

  Seeing that he still didn’t look convinced, she lightly took his hand.

  “I promise you, it would take a lot more than that to get rid of me.” She nudged him slightly with her shoulder. “You know that already, anyway. I came back here didn’t I?”

  Emma was pleased to see that her gentle teasing had worked and Jason relaxed slightly.

  “Well I suppose that’s true and I guess it is getting late now. Feel free to make full use of the bathroom, although I hope you’ve brought your own fancy toiletries. I’m afraid I’m a simple soap and toothpaste kind of guy.”

  “Well seeing as you already think of me as a princess it won’t surprise you to know that my favorite bubble bath comes with me wherever I travel.

  Unable to help herself Emma stood on her tiptoes and lightly kissed his cheek, his stubble feeling pleasantly rough on her lips.

  “Good night Jason.”

  Jason in reply softly kissed the top of her head. “Good night Princess.”

  Chapter 4

  Jason found that after a few days of Emma staying they had settled into something of a domestic routine. She was out most days until late practicing for the show and he carried on with his training and also found himself doing odd jobs around the house that he’d let slip. Then in the evening they’d come together for a meal and talk.

  He’d been surprised at first at just how easy she was to talk to. Most of the time people wanted to talk to him about life as a SEAL or let him know their opinions on war and fighting in general. He’d found over the years that he’d grown weary of it and after Mattie had died he hated people moralizing at him over it. Emma was different, though, she never asked him about his time away or judged him for his decisions. They just spoke about normal things like the town gossip or what was happening that day in the news. It was so refreshing. He found himself wondering what it would be like when she left tomorrow. He was going to miss her.

  Before she’d left that morning she’d invited him to the show but
he’d refused, saying that it wasn’t really his thing. He remembered the thrill that had run through him listening to her laugh as she’d joked that he obviously thought he was too much of a tough guy to enjoy the ballet. Despite her joking,however, she had seemed a little disappointed.

  Now, though, he was sat in his chair with a bottle of whiskey by his side and he found himself slipping into dark thoughts. Emma had been such a light in his life and he had to admit that he didn’t want to go back to his old ways of drinking himself to oblivion. He picked up the bottle and twisted it around, feeling the heaviness of the glass like the weight in his heart. He went to twist the cap and open the bottle but paused, what if he didn’t do this? What would happen if he put the bottle down and went to the ballet? He chuckled quietly to himself, him at the ballet? He could just imagine the teasing he would have got from Mattie had he been here. But, despite that, he still would have gone. Would have wanted to be there and support his step-sister. Especially now that they’d become tentative friends. He should really be there.