Seduced By A Steele (Forged of Steele #12) - Brenda Jackson Page 0,53
at the thought of Gannon visiting Sloan.
“Any reason you want to know, Mercury?”
“Don’t play games with me, Gannon. Why were you at Sloan’s apartment?”
Gannon smiled a little more. “Hey. No need to get all jealous. I bought her a housewarming gift that I wanted to take her before I left town.”
“I wasn’t getting jealous.”
Gannon laughed. “You could have fooled me. On the other hand, no, honestly, you can’t. You like her and you know it.”
Refusing to get baited by his brother, Mercury asked, “How is she?”
“Not telling. If you want to know, then go see her for yourself. But I will tell you this. Although she tried to hide it, I could see the disappointment in her face when she saw it was me and not you.”
“You’re imagining things.”
The smile was off Gannon’s face again. “No, I’m not. I suggest you make some decisions, Mercury.”
“About what?”
“Not what but who. Sloan. You like her and she likes you. Get to know her or you could lose the best thing to ever happen to you.”
Mercury didn’t say anything for a long moment. “You know about Cherae.”
Gannon rolled his eyes. “Hell, everybody knew about Cherae but you. Stop finding excuses since we all know that Sloan is nothing like her. Cherae was running toward money and Sloan seems determined to run away from it. All she wants is to live as normal a life as possible. On a budget,” he said, grinning.
Gannon paused and then added, “And she thinks that car is in her name and that she got the apartment on her own. She’s proud of those accomplishments. I think you need to set the record straight before someone else does. The last thing you want is for her to think you played her and cared nothing about her need for independence.”
“I wasn’t trying to play her, only help her.”
“Let her know that. After you tell her, then all she’s going to do is add it to the budget to pay you back. I’ve never known a woman so excited about being on a budget.”
Mercury chuckled. “Yes, I know.”
“Well, something else you might not know is that she got that job with the Miss Universe pageant. They notified her today and she was extremely happy about it.”
“And I’m happy for her.”
“Then tell her, Mercury. I believe she would appreciate hearing that from you.” Gannon stood. “I’ll see you when I get back.”
Gannon had made it to the door when he turned back to Mercury. “And just so you know, the thought of me being the lone Bad News Steele doesn’t bother me. With you out of the way here, that clears the field for me to have all the women.”
“Does it?”
“Sure does. And whenever I visit North Carolina with no more single Steeles there to worry about, and with those Bachelors in Demand finally all married off, I’ll be king of the road...if you know what I mean.”
Unfortunately, Mercury knew. “Don’t rush things with me and Sloan. I might like her, but that doesn’t mean I want things to go any further.”
Gannon chuckled. “If you honestly think that, then you’re only fooling yourself. You were the first of the pack to break away and fall in love with Cherae. That means you’re capable of loving a woman, Mercury. All you have to do is let some of that ice thaw from around your heart and you’ll be okay.”
Mercury couldn’t believe his baby brother was actually trying to give him advice or that he was even listening. “For Pete’s sake, I’ve barely known her a week.”
“And? If you recall, Galen was trying to convince Brittany to move in with him the same day they met.”
Mercury remembered, and he also recalled how the five of them had nearly flipped their lids not only when they heard about it, but also when they’d found out Galen had talked Brittany into agreeing. In the end, Brittany and Galen had fallen in love. “I’m not Galen.”