Page 25 of Puck My Stepbrother (Pucked and Possessed #2)

QUINN

“ W hy do you keep looking over your shoulder?” Jeff asked.

“No reason.”

He glanced at me, smiling, like he knew I was full of crap.

Of course I had a reason. Levi Dunn seemed to show up wherever we went, so I always had to stay guarded.

This time, we were walking down Elmwood Avenue, which would’ve made it harder for Levi to interrupt us. You could say we were a moving target. If we kept moving, then maybe Levi wouldn’t crash our date. On the other hand, he could decide to walk with us and make it a trio.

I wouldn’t put anything past him.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you,” he said. “What’s the deal with you and your stepbrother?”

I paused. The guy had practically read my mind, but there was more. Something in his tone sounded irritated, like he’d planned to ask me about it, but already had an idea of what was going on. On the other hand, Levi had made me paranoid enough that I could be imagining the whole thing.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Well, it looks like you really don’t like the guy.”

“I don’t.”

“And it also seems like he has this weird way of showing up in the places we go to.”

“Trust me, I know.”

I didn’t groan when I said it, and I wondered if I should’ve played it up.

“You don’t like him,” Jeff said, “but he sure loves being around you.”

“I know, and it’s driving me bugfuck crazy.”

“Then what’s the deal?”

“Look, I really don’t know what the deal is. He’s been a pain in the ass for a long time, and he’s never gotten any better. I just want to get away from him.”

“I can understand that. You don’t want to talk about him, huh?”

“Fuck no.”

You know it’s more than that, my inner voice said.

Deep down, you know you want the guy. Badly.

And he knows you want him. That’s a pretty dangerous game you’re playing, don’t you think?

And the longer you two live in the same house, the closer you’ll come to giving in to him again.

His wish will be your command. Then what are you going to do?

I sighed, realizing how true that really was. I couldn’t turn my feelings for Levi on and off like a switch. Those feelings and urges would keep coming up. That meant I needed to squash this conversation right away.

“I don’t want to talk about Levi,” I said.

“Why not?”

“I just don’t.”

“Living with him is that bad, huh?”

“It’s a nightmare.”

Jeff paused, like maybe he thought I was embellishing. I couldn’t tell him the real reason living with Levi was so horrible, so I changed the subject.

“I’d rather talk about us, actually.”

He smiled, showing his dimples again, which made me feel like a million bucks. It reminded me of why he was a far better choice than Levi. I needed to get on the Jeff train as quickly as possible to turn things around.

Are you sure you can manage that, Quinn? Because the moment Levi gets you in his arms, it’s going to be game over, Jeff or no Jeff .

“You know my dad’s getting married, right?” I asked.

“Of course. It’s kept you pretty busy lately, hasn’t it?”

“Uh, yeah, it has. I’ll be glad when it’s all over.”

“I’ll bet.”

“Anyway, I need a date for this thing. If you’re not busy…”

“You want me to be your date, is that it?”

“I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather go with.”

“Really, you mean that?”

“Of course I do.”

He smiled widely again, and it reminded me of what I liked about Jeff in the first place.

Then I stopped and thought about it. Did I think I liked Jeff?

By now, I should’ve said I loved him. It should’ve felt natural.

After all, I’d been crazy about him from the start.

Sure, our first time naked in front of each other couldn’t have gone worse, but sex wasn’t everything. You know, unless you’re Levi Dunn.

I should love Jeff. He was right for me.

You know why you don’t love him, my inner voice told me. It’s because you’re in love with Levi Dunn .

I nearly tripped thinking about it. Love? Levi Dunn? That couldn’t be right. I could barely stand the guy. Yes, he was as gorgeous as ever. Yes, he was a sex god. And yes, we’d had a few nice moments together fully clothed, but that could hardly be considered love.

“So do I have to get all dressed up for the wedding?” Jeff asked.

“Probably. You’ll be sitting at the head table with me.”

“Seriously?”

“Uh-huh. My dad asked me to be the best man.”

“Wow, that’s really an honor.”

“It is, but it’s hard. You know, because of my mom.”

He bowed his head in acknowledgement.

“You know,” he said, “there’s one thing we’ve still never really talked about.”

“What’s that?”

“Whether or not we’re going to become an official couple.”

I stopped so suddenly in the middle of the sidewalk that the couple behind us slammed right into me.

“Woops, sorry,” I said.

They flashed me an ugly look before heading on their way.

I stared down at the sidewalk, not answering the question.

“So,” Jeff said, “what do you say?”

“Say about what?”

“About us? You know, becoming official?”

“Oooooooh, now I know what you’re talking about.”

But I stopped myself again, not knowing what to say to him…or just not wanting to say anything.

“We’ve been dating a while,” he said, “and I’m fine with taking things slower. It’s just that I was wondering…”

“If I’m going to shit or get off the pot?”

A laugh sputtered from his mouth.

“Sure, if you want to put it that way,” he said.

I looked straight ahead, still not answering. I wasn’t worrying about Levi showing up to ruin this, but I still had my stepbrother-to-be on my mind.

“Aren’t you going to answer my question?”

“Oh, um, yeah. Well, I guess we could do that.”

Jeff looked stunned. Not like someone had slapped him across the face, though. More like someone had said something peculiar and he didn’t understand.

“I thought things have been going pretty well between us,” he said. “I thought you felt the same way.”

“And I do.”

“You do, but…”

Oh yes, there was always a but.

Are you surprised? My inner voice returned. You shouldn’t be. You’ve been lying to yourself all this time. You say you want to be with Jeff and only Jeff, but you know better. Every time you think of riding off into the sunset with him, Levi’s face pops into your brain .

“Is there a problem?” Jeff asked.

“No, there’s no problem, it’s just that…”

I couldn’t deny that technically there was a problem. I’d been unable to make love to Jeff. He’d been a good sport about that, but he would have limits. If we became a committed couple, he absolutely would expect sex, and then what would I do?

“I think we should give it a little more time, okay?” I said. “I just need to sort some things out.”

And then I turned away from Jeff, shutting him out. When I closed my eyes, all I saw was Levi Dunn.