I was surprised he was being so honest with me. Surprised, and impressed. Preston was inspiring a lot of that in me lately. Maybe I’d finally found a family member who gave a shit about someone other than themselves.

“If you’re not happy, it’s better to cut things off now. Cold turkey,” I assured him, dispensing my first piece of possibly-unsolicited sisterly advice. “The longer you drag things out, the worse it will be in the end. If she’s as bad at reading your intentions as you say, then giving her any hope might seem like some kind of promise. And next thing you know, you’re screwed.”

Preston nodded slowly. I could tell by the way the muscle twitched in his jaw that he was mulling over everything I’d just said. “You know, I was thinking the exact same thing. Still, it’s hard to let someone down like that, especially when you think they might go off the deep end the moment you do.”

“It’s better either way,” I said. “Trust me. I’ve lived through it. I know.”

It was true. My last relationship had ended badly. We’d been together two years, and they were the most hellish of my life. Sometimes I couldn’t figure out which was more abusive: Tyler—my ex—or my job.

Former job, I reminded myself as my apartment building came into view. The trip hadn’t lasted very long. It really put into perspective what a roundabout way the bus took. All this family bonding has been great and everything, but don’t forget: you’re still screwed.

As soon as Preston put the Tesla into park, I could feel a panic attack swelling in my chest. I sat still for a moment, trying not to think about how bad things were, how this might be the last month I’d spend living in my upstairs apartment. I felt sick to my stomach suddenly, like I was going to throw up, but then Preston put his hand over mine and I gasped out loud.

“Are you okay?” he asked me.

I turned. His face was so close to mine that I could smell his cologne. There was something luxurious and silken about it, maybe Givenchy or Clive Christian. The latter wouldn’t surprise me. It was the most expensive cologne in the world, but someone like Preston Harvey could certainly afford it.

Right now, I wasn’t thinking about his money. I was thinking about the flash of his eyes, the sharp cut of his jaw, the soft strength of his hand holding mine. On some strange instinct, I lifted my thumb out from beneath his palm and caressed the backs of his fingers, brushing the pad down from his knuckles to the tips of his nails.

He didn’t move his hand away, nor did he tear his eyes from mine. There was comfort in his embrace, but the longer our hands remained entwined, the more I felt that solace shift to something more.

Something darker. Something more heated. Something that I wasn’t sure if it terrified me, or if it gave me the greatest thrill I’d ever known.

Whatever it was, it couldn’t have been appropriate. I removed my hand from his grasp and used it to brush my hair out of my face. “I’m fine,” I lied, sighing as the offending strand fell back into my eyes only a moment later.

Preston lifted his hand then, the same one he’d used to hold mine, and swept my hair back into place for me this time. His fingertips trailed down the side of my neck when he did so and I felt him leave goosebumps in his wake.

“I’ll walk you up,” he said. It wasn’t a question.

I stepped out of the car, sucking in a breath of reality. Everything that had happened inside of it seemed laughably strange now, and I was reminded of my situation all-too-clearly once we began to mount the stairs. Obviously, I’d just been desperate for some kindness, which Preston had provided. I was in a low place, and I’d let my emotional needs get the better of me. He was my stepbrother, or he soon would be, and there was no way anything romantic was happening between us. The poor guy was probably wondering what the hell kind of damaged goods he was letting into his family with the way I’d just behaved.

When we stopped on my stoop, Preston turned to me. The sunlight filtering in past the awning was enough to make his eyes look green. “Got your keys?”

I held up my cheap ten-dollar clutch, the only bag I owned, and smiled faintly. “Got ‘em. Thank you again for lunch. And for driving me. And… well, for listening to me bitch for an hour.” I forced a laugh.

Preston smiled. “I hope it won’t be for the last time. In fact, I was hoping that we could do this again. Maybe after the weekend’s over?”

I wasn’t sure what to say. It was true that I’d had a nice time with him, but I had so much to worry about now that I wasn’t sure I could commit to another rendezvous, if that was the word for it.

“Look, Preston… I know for you, this isn’t a big deal, but I don’t have any options or money. I’ll be lucky to find a job before the month’s over. That’s what I have to focus on now. Keeping this place, as much of a shit hole as it is, and putting food on my table. Those have to be my priorities. You understand, don’t you?”

He nodded slowly. “Of course I do. But I do want to see you again, and Monday would be best.”

I put my key in the door to open it. “I’ll try to find a way.” It was the best I could offer him.

As I stepped inside, Preston put his hand on the door to keep me from closing it. Then he presented me with an offer of his own.

“That’s the thing, though, Maddy. I want to see you Monday in my office. I want you to be my new PA.”

I turned around and stared at him. I was sure my jaw was dangling open, but the shock of it had left me so numb that I could have been on fire and would have missed it. “You’re… serious?”

He nodded, leaning against the doorframe with another wolfish grin. “Absolutely. You’ve got the qualifications. You have a great work history, I’m sure. And I’m in need of a new girl anyway. You can start first thing on Monday after you’ve taken some time to relax over the weekend. In fact…” He reached into his pocket and took out a checkbook. “I’m happy to offer you a signing bonus for accepting the job on such short notice. What do you say, Maddy—how does a bit of good, old-fashioned nepotism sound to you?”

I could hardly believe what he was saying. My entire life, family had been a distant notion for me. It was something I barely entertained as worthwhile, something I’d grown to consider as simply the framework for one’s genetic identity. My mother hadn’t so much raised me as reared and resented me, and my father had barely known me when he took off with some other woman, leaving me in the dust of his memories. I’d never seen so much as a birthday card from him in all the years he’d been gone. I had no idea if he was even still alive.

Everything I’d ever wanted, I’d had to get myself or go without. There were no exceptions. When all the other kids were having birthday parties, I was sitting at home thankful that my mother had bothered to prepare my favorite dinner. Presents were few and far between and came mainly from aunts and uncles, which my mother always derided as “spoiling” me. The only gift I remembered her giving me was a dragonfly broach when I was nine, and I’d treasured it fiercely right up until the moment I’d found out she’d regifted it to me after receiving it from a friend. I was only worth her trash, her leavings, and after that, the broach had sparkled a little less for me.

But now Preston, a man I hardly knew, a brother in name only—and that wasn’t even official yet—was writing me a check on my stoop and ready to give me so much more than that. He was offering me peace of mind, prosperity, and a way out of the dismal hell hole I’d spent so much of my life in. For the first time, a family member wanted to take care of me, and I had no earthly idea what to do.

Preston must have seen my confusion, because he handed me the check with his business card attached and waved his hand. “Don’t answer now. Just come in Monday. If you’re not interested, at least we can have another lunch together. If you are, we’ll get started right away.”