Free Forbidden Prescription: A Stepbrother Romance by Stephanie Brother Page A

because she was the best, but also because he was trying to impress her on their date.
    After they ate, despite her protestations, he ordered the restaurant’s signature chocolate lava cake. He was really going all out for the date.
    “Do you always eat like this?” she asked, licking chocolate sauce from her lips.
    “Never,” he said, taking a bite. “I eat a lot of cafeteria food, so this is a special treat. Did you like it?”
    She nodded. “You’re going to have to roll me out the door,” she joked.
    When the bill came, he looked at it, purposefully emotionless. He quickly pulled out his credit card and returned it to the waiter.
    “How much was it?” Isabella asked, finishing off the wine.
    “Oh, I don’t remember.” He feigned ignorance.
    “I don’t want you thinking that I owe you sex after that major expense,” she said half-jokingly.
    He looked her in the eye. “You don’t owe me anything,” he said earnestly. “I haven’t had this much fun in a long time.”
    “I had fun, too,” she said.
    They walked out to the car, and to his total surprise, she slipped her hand into his.
    Before he started the car, he turned to face Isabella in her seat.
    “I had a really nice time with you tonight.”
    “Me too.”
    He paused, trying to carefully choose his words. “I don’t want to put any pressure on you, but if you want, you can come back to my place. But I completely understand if you’d like me to take you home instead,” he added quickly. “You can have a drink at my place, and then I can take you back home.”
    She grinned. It was funny seeing him all serious. “I’d like to see your place. I’ve always wondered how you live when you’re not at work.”
    He started the car. “Then let’s find out.”

Chapter Ten
    J ames’s house wasn’t as big as Isabella imagined it to be, but the inside was more decked out than she could even imagine. He had a massive big screen TV mounted on the wall in his living room, and a plush sectional couch that hardly looked used but probably cost a fortune. His kitchen had state-of-the-art appliances and cookware. The office was wall-to-wall bookshelves with a seating area with leather furniture by the fireplace. Isabella imagined that he smoked expensive cigars here with his old college roommates. It was a bachelor pad through and through.
    He took her back to the kitchen and made her a cocktail. She sipped it as he cracked open a craft beer.
    “Do you want to go outside?” he asked.
    “Sure.” She giggled, already feeling tipsy.
    He started a fire in the center of the stone table and put on some soft music. The wind blew Isabella’s soft curls and sent a shiver down her spine.
    “Are you cold?” he asked.
    “No, it’s perfect.”
    She curled up next to him on the wicker loveseat, her drink in hand. They sat in silence for a moment, enjoying each other’s presence.
    “It’s nice to finally have someone here to enjoy my home with.”
    “It’s beautiful,” she gushed.
    “Yeah,” he said wistfully, “But it gets lonely.”
    Feeling the result of half of a bottle of wine and a cocktail, Isabella excused herself to go inside and use his restroom. Having a moment to herself, she did a little light snooping and took a minute to look at the pictures on his walls. He had several frames filled with a woman who could have been his mother at his college and medical school graduations. A man, who was probably his father, was featured in others, on a fishing trip, and one where he was beaming with pride after a soccer game. His parents were never in the same picture.
    “Are those pictures of your parents in there?” she asked, returning to her seat outside.
    “Yep, that’s them. They’re good people and have always been very supportive of my dreams.”
    “For some reason, your dad looks really familiar.”
    “I’m not sure why.” He laughed. “I guess he is a pretty generic looking middle aged man.”
    “Are they still