Mine at Last (Stepbrother Love)

By Samantha Francisco

MINE AT LAST is a standalone romance with no cliffhanger and a HEA.

Lying, arrogant a**hole!

Jessica Myer hated Dylan Divers. He always thought he was so much better and smarter than everybody else in high school, but when his mom married her dad, she thought she'd give him a second chance. Maybe he was just misunderstood?

Dylan only proved her right. The day his college startup took off and he became a billionaire, he ditched his family behind in DC and never looked back. Jessica never thought she'd see him again...

That is until he walked into her confectionery one day to order a wedding cake. Yep, that's right. He was getting married. But then he kissed her on Christmas Eve and told her he loved her.

Can Jessica really trust Dylan to keep his word and stick around this time?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Road Less Unraveled Press
• Release date: Nov 19, 2016
• ISBN: 9780463185858

Samantha Francisco

**Do you like sexy stories and great deals?** Check out Sam's newsletter! http://www.samfrancisco.me Be the first to get an email alert whenever there's a new story available. About Sam: Once upon a time and in a land far far away, Sam spent her days elbows deep in mathematical research. At almost 30 years old, Sam decided to take a chance at being a full time writer. These days Sam lives in a tiny town in the mountain foothills. She spends her days writing stories that make you swoon and tending to her garden. Thank you to all my fans for supporting an indie author. You have made all my creative dreams come true and more! If you liked any of my stories and want to show your support, please leave a review or spread the word about my stories. Thanks!

Book preview

Chapter 1

Today was an important day.

Every day was a busy day for Jessica Myer, who launched her own boutique confectionery, Sucre, last year on her 26th birthday. Today, however, was especially important.

She scrolled through the calendar app on her phone and sipped at her first steaming cup of black coffee for the day. Her schedule was packed from nine o’clock until seven-thirty in the evening.

It was almost Christmas and she had a last rush of meetings and consults before she closed up shop for the holidays. The sight of her full calendar energized her and renewed her belief that she made the right choice in quitting her dull, but secure office job and cashing out her entire life savings to pursue her lifelong dream of being a confectioner.

The wedding cake was a vital part of the wedding day. As the last item on the reception menu, it represented the couple and ended the reception on a high note.

Jessica’s cakes and sugar sculptures provided the extra flourishes of romance, passion, elegance that tied everything together. In her mind, she made couples’ wedding day dreams come true, helping to create an unforgettable magical moment that launched their new lives together as husband and wife.

Her first client of the day was a big one, or as Freddie, her business partner, would say, a whale. She gathered her files on the client from the stack of folders on her desk and sat down to read through her notes. She took pride in custom tailoring each creation based upon the personality of the client.

So far, Jessica had only consulted with the bride-to-be about the design of the cake and the taste tests, but the groom would be coming in this time to finalize the plans. If all went according to her estimates, then the projected earnings from this one wedding would cover more than 25% of her annual profits. Jessica had to land this deal, no matter what it took.

She took another sip of coffee and leaned back in her chair. Her notes on the fiancée, Addison Atterbury, were sparse, but they painted a clear picture of what the upcoming bride’s demands. She glanced at the file from under her lashes. The phrase classy, not trashy out of the page jumped at her.

Jessica didn’t like to make hasty judgments based on first impressions, but her previous meetings with Addison and her mother had left Jessica with a sour taste in her mouth. The bride to be was as class conscious and snobby as one would have expected of someone with such a pretentious name.

Ever the professional, Jessica ignored the way the two women looked down at her over their noses when they spoke. Standing at a smidge over five feet three inches, Jessica knew she was at a physical disadvantage when it came to commanding respect. She found strength in the knowledge that her suit was custom tailored to highlight her hourglass figure and her sleek chin-length bob of red hair was the work of the best colorist in Georgetown. They all knew that Jessica was in no way inferior to them in those respects.

So they questioned her professional capabilities. Jessica ignored their holier than thou attitude and the subtle jabs at the designs they deemed too trashy for an Atterbury wedding. Instead, she had pictured the large paycheck at the end of the project and bit back the scathing remark at the tip of her tongue. Jessica nodded and smiled. She politely agreed with their statements and suggested traditional, conservative choices appropriate for such an esteemed family as theirs.

Flustered by her failed attempts to anger Jessica, the bride then insisted on another round of changes to the cake design which would be reviewed in today’s meeting.

Addison had only mentioned Dylan, the groom, once in their meetings. Jessica felt sorry for the guy. The way the Atterburys spoke of Dylan made him sound like a walking bank account. Though anybody who was crazy enough to marry Addison probably deserved what he got.

Thoughts of Addison’s Dylan drifted to another Dylan in Jessica’s life, the one who got away. Or more accurately, the one who left her without a second look over his shoulder. She sighed and clenched her eyes. Jessica was lost in her painful memories when Freddie strolled in through the back door with a tray of sugared violets.

You’re late, Jessica said.

Sorry, sorry. It’s a big day, blah blah blah. You know, Jess, you really need to get laid. teased Freddie.

Jessica stuck her tongue out at her partner’s back as she placed the tray onto their sheet pan rack.

Freddie was right though. When was the last time she had wild, crazy, swinging from the chandeliers sex with a man? But finding a man who could give her mind blowing orgasms required going on dates. A workaholic like Jessica who spent twelve hours a day at the office did not have time for dating.

She and Freddie had been friends since they were both in diapers. And when Jessica announced that she was quitting law to become a confectioner, Frederica Banks jumped at the chance to work with her best friend.

Freddie poured a cup of coffee from the warm half-full pot and flopped down on a high-back chair next to Jessica.

What about that guy you went out with last time, Freddie paused for a moment, that accountant? Nick or Nate or whatever?

Jessica scrunched up her nose and groaned, Oh god, Nyle. I almost fell asleep face first into my soup. Thank you for calling and coming to my rescue, by the way. There was no way I could’ve made it past the second course.

Freddie laughed. Oh come on, it couldn’t have been that bad! He was cute, in a clueless teddy bear kinda way. Besides, it’s not like you were going to marry the guy. You should have had a bit of fun with him. Work of some of that stress with a quick roll under the covers and get your head back on straight.

Jessica shook her head and grinned. No thank you, men are more trouble than they’re worth. And anyways, I’m not like you. I need to feel something for the guy if I want to get any pleasure out of it.

Whatever. You’re just picky.

Jessica rolled her eyes. I am not—

Hey! Are those the plans for our whale? Freddie asked. She reached for the files and pulled up the estimated invoice.

She scanned the costs line by line and let out a long whistle. Wow, big day. If we land this client, we’ll be set for the quarter.

Exactly, which is why I got in early.

Weren’t you here until midnight last night?

Jessica sighed. Yeah.

Freddie swung an arm over her shoulders. Seriously, Jess. You’ve gotta slow down. After this wedding is over, you are going to go on vacation. Spend a week on an island with a scorching hot beach and find yourself a hunk who’ll rub suntan lotion all over you. As your business partner, I insist on it.

Okay, okay! You’re worse than my mother! Jessica held her hands up in defeat. I promise. After we close this deal and pull off the wedding, I’ll take some time off.

Freddie jumped triumphantly. That’s all I ask! I promise to hold down the fort and to not burn the place down while you’re gone. Now back to business. When are the clients coming in?

Jessica lifted the sleeve of her blouse and glanced at her watch. Oh, they should be here in another fifteen minutes or so.

Freddie leaned in conspiratorially, as if she were afraid of being overhead even though they were the only people in the room.

So…is the bride as whiny as everybody says? I heard they hired Hannah as their florist and poor Hannah actually quit after the bride insulted her proposed arrangement and insisted on a fifth round of changes after approving the previous designs.

She’s every bit as bad. You’ll see.

The doorbell chimed.

Jessica took in a deep breath and stood up. She smoothed her hands over the imaginary wrinkles in her blouse.

Here we go.

Chapter 2

Jessica carried her notes on the client and walked out to the front of the shop. Good morning and welcome to Sucre. I’m— She lifted her gaze from the documents to see who it was and paused.

It wasn’t possible. She had to be hallucinating. Her mouth hung open like a gaping fish and she stared in awe at the man by the door. The sunlight streamed in through the glass of the front door, giving him a golden halo.

Her eyes watered at the bright vision. It was like staring directly at heaven’s gates.

He had a head of lush dark hair, artfully styled so that it looked like he had just rolled out of bed and yet, not a single strand of hair was out of place. On any other man, his prominent profile would have been awkward, but it suited his square jaw and full lips perfectly. His crystal clear green eyed gaze pierced her straight to the core.

He was an angel.

He was her angel.

Jessica’s heart pounded in her chest. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t believe it. It was Dylan Divers. The billionaire tech entrepreneur. He was also her estranged stepbrother, the asshole extraordinaire. What was he doing here in her store after all these years?

She swallowed past the lump of hurt and repressed emotions in her throat and ran a hand through her hair. Why did she let him affect her like this?

Hello. How can I help you? Jessica kept her voice calm and her tone professional. While she spoke, he broke out of his daze and tore his gaze away from her eyes. It seemed that Dylan was as shocked as she was to be in the same room together.

His gaze slid slowly down over the curves of her figure and Jessica could have sworn that his eyes darkened with heated desire. All too soon the look of lust vanished from his face, replaced with calculated coolness.

I believe my fiancée and I have an appointment with you.

She took a deep breath and moistened her lips. Her thoughts raced as she tried to gather her composure. There was no way he was checking her out. It was probably all in her head.

Jessica berated herself mentally. Oh god, stop mooning at him like a love-struck teenager, Jess. She could do this. She was a confident, accomplished woman.

Yes, of course. Please have a seat. Jessica gestured towards the seating area.

And then she walked in. Jessica felt all her bravado leak out of her and she deflated like a punctured balloon.

Addison Atterbury was everything that Jessica was not.

Like the other times Jessica saw her, Dylan’s fiancée was immaculately groomed, painted, and sculpted. Not a single golden strand of hair was out of place. The woman looked like she walked out of a shampoo commercial. Her makeup was airbrush smooth and her eyebrows were perfectly arched. Addison Atterbury was one of those women who was too perfect to be real. It was an aesthetic created by wealth and skilled artists.

Jessica had to admit that Addison fit naturally at Dylan’s side. Two powerful, beautiful people who complemented each other.

Jessica ran her hands down the front of her slacks. She grimaced at the sight of her chipped manicure, her nails damaged beyond repair by all the hours she spent manipulating molten hot sugar and mixing