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  “Hi, Jackson.”

  “Hey, Cherry.” Confusion, then surprise, followed by wry entertainment flash across his face in quick succession. “Or is it Grape today?” Our butler is the only reason he spares her the rest of his verbal reaction.

  “Mom’s probably in the kitchen,” I announce, because I know Jackson’s just getting warmed up. Only the presence of an adult will help him pump the brakes on making fun of her. “Come on in.”

  She shyly slips past a grinning Jackson, hot on my heels as I take her down the hall and around several corridors on the way to the kitchen to find Mom. I’m sure my mother will get through to Cherry, and help the kid with whatever is happening with Kiki.

  Except, I’m not prepared when Cherry steps in front of me, tugs at my leather jacket, and kisses me square on the mouth.

  I grab her shoulders and push her away from me with a sharp jerk.

  “What the fuck, Cherry?” I ask, keeping her at arm’s length.

  She bites down on her bottom lip, looking up at me with her eyes lit up like it’s Christmas. “I’ve always wanted to do that.”

  “Jesus, you’re just a kid. What are you? Ten? Eleven?”

  “I’m twelve and a half,” she announces with a sly grin. “That’s old enough.”

  “Old enough to get my ass in jail if I were six months older. Do you even realize I’m almost eighteen, kid? That makes you jailbait. Matter of fact, you’re not even old enough to be jailbait. It makes this all sorts of fucked up. And wipe that grin off your face. It ain’t fucking funny.”

  She cocks her head to one side and flashes me a glance that’s way too seductive for her young age.

  “You liked it, didn’t you?”

  I release her shoulders and push past her. “Not another word, or I’ll have your driver come over here to take you home in no time.”

  “Admit it, Jace.”

  My entire body whips around to look her in the eye. “What the ever-loving fuck is wrong with you?”

  “Language, Jace!” shouts my mother from inside the nearby family room. “You’re not too old to wash your mouth out with soap.”

  “Sorry, Mom,” I shout.

  Still glaring at this little she-devil in a twelve-and-a-half-year-old body, I mouth words to the effect that ‘if Cherry ever tells a soul that she got away with stealing that kiss from me, I’ll kill her lilac-headed ass.’ Her eyebrows raise as though I’ve given her the best idea ever. Jesus. I need to get the hell away from this kid. Gripping her by one shoulder, I shove her into the family room.

  “You have a visitor.”

  Mom looks over at us. Her face brightens.

  “Hi, Mrs. Knight,” Cherry beams, slathering on the innocence that I thought was the real deal when I picked her up outside our school. See, this is why private schools need to keep the kiddie division far from high schoolers. I never saw that coming.

  “Cherry? No way. Oh my goodness, look at you!” Mom rushes over from her favorite armchair and takes Cherry into her arms, then pulls back to look at her more closely. “Oh my gosh, you’ve gotten so tall since the last time I saw you. And all this gorgeous hair! Did your daddy really let you color your hair, honey?”

  “He hasn’t seen it yet, but he won’t care.”

  “Of course he will, sweetheart.”

  Mom pulls her into her arms again, and I take the opportunity to Back. The. Fuck. Away. Slowly.

  “I’ve got homework to finish,” I say loud enough for them to hear as I move off. “Lots of it. Probably a good idea to have one of the drivers take her home.”

  No way am I sticking around. Hurrying up to my room, I turn the lock with a loud click and do my best to erase the last ten minutes from inside my skull.

  Maybe that trophy wife vixen Kiki rubbed off on Cherry after all.

  2

  Cherry

  I kissed Jace.

  And I liked it.

  There’s no regret, either. I’ve had a crush on Jace Knight since the third grade. Daydreaming about what it would be like to kiss him was my favorite pastime. I just never had the nerve. People can think what they want, but I know it’s not puppy love. I’ve never been interested in any boy my age. Actually, there’s no one else I’ve ever wanted. What I feel for him is more real than anything I’ve ever felt, and one day, he’ll know that too.

  I’m in love with Jace Knight.

  He’s also the only person who doesn’t look at me as though I’m damaged.

  To everyone else, I’m the kid whose mother died bringing her into this world. The girl who stole their daughter, sister, best friend, or wife. Even my father can’t bring himself to be around me much. I’m the constant reminder of what he lost, and it doesn’t help that I look exactly like her. To my friends, I’m the kid with no mother. The girl with a second stepmother, and a womanizing father who’s probably working on his fourth trophy wife while he’s still married to his third.

  The girl no one loves.

  I am literally the neglected, redheaded stepchild of Peggy Reid, then Kiki Fredericks, after my dad remarried.

  Again.

  At least I took care of the red-headed part today.

  Maybe changing my hair color gave me the courage to kiss him. I brush the pad of my thumb across my lips as Mrs. Knight chatters on about how much she missed having me around. All I can think about is that Jace’s lips were just pressed up against mine.

  Or mine against his, as I’m the one who initiated the kiss.

  But whatever.

  We kissed.

  And there were butterflies. A fluttering heart pounded double-time inside my chest before it skipped a beat for an instant while our lips touched.

  Jace can deny it all he wants, but I know he felt something. It was the way his eyes shut, and the split second that it felt like he kissed me back, and that breath of air he let out in a faint sigh as he pushed me away. He doesn’t know, but I heard it. Jace is five years older than me. At our ages right now, he may as well be twenty-five years older. Everyone will think it’s wrong. I don’t care about any of that. I’ll wait if I have to, but one day, he’ll see that I’m old enough.

  He’s everything I can ever want.

  Masculine. Athletic. Messy. Kind.

  As their driver takes me home after dinner, I smile.

  Jace owns me. He just doesn’t know it yet.

  Even with his rejection earlier, it was still the best night of my almost teenage life.

  Six Years Ago

  3

  Cherry

  It takes five and a half years and a heaping dose of dishonesty for me to get myself here. But I’m exactly where I want to be. The truth isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, anyway. Like four hours ago, when I was an idiot and let it slip to my driver that I was going to Boston. First of all, my father’s away with Peggy, who he remarried again after divorcing Kiki. That man is complicated, marrying Peggy twice. In any case, neither of them has any idea about my plans. Not that they’d care. It’s late August, and it’s my birthday. I’m eighteen. Not even that fact is enough for them to take precious time out of their schedules to be with me. Sure, the flowers were a nice touch, as was the brand new cherry red Porsche 911 Carrera 4S Cabriolet convertible that Dad bought me, and was waiting outside in the driveway. But my father and his new yet not so new wife still have no clue about what I need.

  I would have settled for time.

  Time with the man who helped bring me into this world and kept me at arm’s length ever since.

  At least they’re out of the way for my real plans. Which brings me back to what I told my driver. Telling him was a rookie move. Who drives to Boston from Manhattan just to celebrate finally making it to adulthood? They go to Vegas, maybe. Or Atlantic City. And in either case, they’re armed with fake ID to be sure they get more than their fair share of sinful, forbidden memories.

  But Boston?

  No.

  So after I realized how insane it was to say anything at all to my driver, I l
aughed it off as a joke, told him I was spending the night at Vanessa’s, and hopped in my new car. This is one mission I have to go solo. Ever since that day I stole that first kiss from Jace Knight, he kept me at a safe distance. He still looked out for me, but it wasn’t the same. At school, he’d give me a nod as he drove by after classes or practice, but he never came within twenty feet from me. I can’t count his mother’s funeral. Even I wouldn’t stoop so low as to hit on the guy I love during such a tragedy.

  So that kiss was the last time he let me get close enough to do anything remotely fun. Then he graduated from high school and attended Columbia, making our age difference seem even greater. I tried everything to get to him, but Jace made it impossible for me to squeeze my way into his life.

  Until now.

  He already graduated from Columbia, but is completing a special eighteen-month onsite MBA at Harvard. And now I’m here in Boston, doing exactly what I promised myself I’d do since our first and only kiss.

  Jace doesn’t know it yet, but he’s going to be my first.

  I’m old enough now, so he can’t say no. He can’t avoid me either. Not out here in a city that’s strange to me. Not at the time that I’ll show up at his door. I have it all planned out in my head. And now, I’m bringing my dream to fruition.

  Finding a parking spot outside his on-campus apartment, I remain in the driver’s seat as I turn on the call block setting on my phone, find his number in my contacts, and phone him.

  “Hello?” he answers.

  “Hi Jace,” I say. “Are you at home?”

  “Who the heck wants to know?”

  “Are you there or not?”

  “Listen, honey,” he says, sounding more irritated, given I’m avoiding his question. “I don’t know who put you up to this, but this ain’t the time to play games. I’ve got five days’ worth of readings that have to be done in two. But you know what? Because you sound so sexy on the phone, call me back in a few days, and I’ll give you my full attention.”

  “So you’re at home? At your apartment on campus?”

  “Yes, but I don’t see the point of—”

  Jace just gave me the information I wanted, so I click the end call button. It’s rude, but the longer I stay on the phone, the more likely it is that he’ll figure out that it’s me. I want that discovery to happen face-to-face. Otherwise, he may not come to answer his front door at all.

  Jumping out of the driver seat, I grab my travel bag that’s been packed for close to a week, pull out my compact from my purse, and give my face a once-over in the mirror.

  It’s time.

  With my car locked using the remote, I walk to his townhouse apartment, quickly climbing the steps and pressing his doorbell because I’m so fucking scared, I may end up losing my nerve.

  Jace answers the door less than a minute later. It’s mildly entertaining to see his mouth drop open as he takes a second to connect my face to this location, but I try not to react. I don’t want him to turn me away. Not tonight.

  “Cherry? What the hell are you doing here?”

  “Can I come in?” I ask.

  He looks over my shoulder onto the street, searching. “Where’s your driver?”

  “I drove here myself.”

  “What? Why did you do that?”

  He still hasn’t invited me in, so I push past him and drop my bags beside the door. “I’ll explain inside.”

  I’ve hardly made it ten feet in his foyer when he pushes the front door closed and grabs my arm. “Not another step, Cherry. Talk.” The menacing look on his face causes me to hesitate for a split second. Should I have done this? “I’m serious,” Jace says, gripping my arm more tightly to reiterate his demand. “Why are you here?”

  I take a deep breath. It’s the moment of truth.

  “I’ve saved myself for you, Jace. I want you to be my first.”

  I’ve never seen a man’s eyes widen as big as Jace’s are right now. It’s an unusual combination of shock and something else. Fascination, perhaps. He lets go of my arm and takes a few giant steps backward, almost stumbling on the last couple.

  “You want me to… aww, hell no. You know, you’re kinda cute when you’re determined,” he laughs out, but can’t mask his hesitation. Not from me, anyway. “But that’s not enough to bait me, kid.”

  “I’m not a child anymore.”

  “Look, Cherry. I’m sorry, but if you came all this way for that, well…no. Just no.”

  “Why not?”

  He seems to scramble for words. “It’s not gonna happen. You’re too young.”

  “I’m old enough now,” I say with resolve. “Today’s my birthday. I’m eighteen.”

  “Happy Birthday,” Jace mumbles on instinct, then shakes his head to snap out of the trance of that polite custom. “But your turning eighteen doesn’t change a thing. You’re a kid. You need to leave.”

  “You know what I wish? I wish you’d open your eyes and see that I’m not a child anymore. I’ve always cared about you. But more than anything, I wish you’d stop lying to yourself.”

  His eyebrows raise high up on his head, and he grasps the mahogany staircase railing beside him. “I’m lying to myself? And what the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

  “I’m being honest.”

  “Do you have a problem with the English language? I said no, Cherry.”

  “I don’t care about our age difference,” I persist. “Five years is nothing. Besides, you can’t fool yourself forever. You want me, Jace. You think I haven’t noticed every single time you’ve looked at me since that kiss?”

  “You do realize that was over five years ago, don’t you? But anyway, whatever you think you saw, forget it. Maybe it was all in your head. I’m not interested in you, Cherry. Not the way you think. You’re a kid. Like family.”

  “I’m not a kid. I’m not your family. You’re attracted to me, and I want to be with you. It’s that simple.”

  “You’re wrong.”

  I step up to him and press my hands on his chest, staring up into his eyes. “No. I’m not. Look me in the eye and tell me that you don’t want me. That you don’t see something in me that appeals to you.”

  “I don’t,” he says, but there’s no conviction in his voice.

  “You’ve always wanted more. You just convinced yourself that it wasn’t true.”

  “Stop right there. You need to leave. Now.”

  A part of me is all broken up about his blatant rejection. Being with the man I’ve always wanted shouldn’t be this hard. Or maybe it has to be, so that it’s worth it for us both. Either way, I can’t give up. I won’t, because there’s a part of me that knows one thing for sure. If he forces me to leave, it’ll be the end of any chance between us forever. Plus, I don’t want anyone else.

  “You don’t really want me to go,” I mutter.

  “Don’t tell me what I do and don’t want.”

  “Well,” I say, clutching the shirt he’s wearing between my fists. “I’m sorry. No. I’m not leaving.”

  He forcefully pushes me away just like he did after our first kiss, with arms on my shoulders and elbows locked. He backs me up toward his front door. “You are.”

  “I can’t go.”

  “Why not?”

  “I drove here. You can’t expect me to drive another four hours tonight to get back to Manhattan.”

  “You’ll figure something out.”

  Jace probably believes I’m out of options now. That I’ll tuck my tail between my legs and drive home all sullen and defeated. But he’s wrong, actually. Dead wrong. I have him exactly where I want him.

  I shrug out of his grasp, reaching down for my bags beside the front door. “Fine. I’ll go,” I tell him.

  “Perfect.”

  “Great. I’ll just go to Dylan’s tonight. He’ll help me figure out where I’ll sleep tonight. I’m sure he won’t turn me away.”

  “What?”

  “He’s over at MIT. Vanessa said I can stay with him if
I’m ever in Boston. So…guess that’s what I’ll have to do.”

  “No,” he shouts a little too loudly and way too quickly.

  Probably because he knows that his best friend, Dylan, would let me stay, even if it is at his frat house. And although Dylan definitely won’t lay a hand on me, there are enough of his frat buddies who’d line up for the privilege of ending my virgin status. It would stroke their egos to be my first. Not that I want them. I don’t want anyone but Jace. But as I’ve learned through the course of my father’s rocky relationships, flings and marriages, sometimes you only get what you want with a little manipulation. And sometimes, a man has to be reminded of what he really desires by dangling that very thing in front of him, with the imminent threat of losing it.

  “No?” I repeat in a question.

  He wrenches my bags from my hands and drops them to the floor. “You’re not going anywhere near there. No fucking way.”

  There. I’d like to tell Jace that I knew he’d come around, but now that he has, I won’t push my luck.

  He reaches into his jeans pocket, pulling his phone out. “Have a seat. I’ll get you a room at the Hyatt for tonight. You can drive home in the morning.”

  That response is something I didn’t anticipate. I shake my head to fight off a wave of vulnerability that creeps up out of nowhere. “No, Jace. I’m not going to be alone on my birthday,” I say, not at all happy that the words catch in my throat and come out sounding so weak. “Please don’t…not you too. Don’t do that to me too.”

  “I’m looking out for you.”

  “No. You’re pushing me away, yet you delude yourself into believing you’re doing it to protect me.”

  It takes the last of my resolve to blink hard and fight back the tears that threaten to fall. When I can’t fight them back anymore, leaving is the only logical choice. I refuse to let him see me cry today. Turning, I hurry over to my things and grab them up in one hand, quickly reaching for the door handle with the other.