Her Sweetest Mistake (Amelia) novel Chapter 26

Step–Taboo

I’d spent years perfecting the art of control, keeping my emotions in check, staying focused on what mattered. And yet, one kiss from her, one look from her, and I felt like I was in love.

She was Alexander’s stepdaughter. Hell, she was practically family. This shouldn’t even be a question in my mind.

But it was.

Because no matter how hard I tried to push her out of my head, she kept coming back, her lips, her voice, her everything haunting me.

“Get a grip,” I muttered to myself, downing the rest of my tequila in one gulp.

But even as I tried to shake her out of my mind, I knew it was no use. Amanda wasn’t going anywhere.

AMANDA’S POV:

Evening came faster than I expected, and once again, I found myself sitting at the dining table with my mom, Alexander, and, surprisingly, Xavier. Lately, he’d been around more often, and honestly? I wasn’t mad about it. Like, at all. In fact, I loved it. Not that I’d ever admit that out loud or anything.

Dinner was pretty uneventful, mostly my mom and Alexander talking about their honeymoon plans. I was half- listening, pushing my food around my plate while sneaking glances at Xavier.

He was sitting across from me, his head down, totally focused on his food. It almost felt like he was avoiding looking at me. Was it because of the kiss? Was I a bad kisser? That was impossible.

I rolled my eyes and tried to shake off the thought. I wasn’t going to overthink it. If he wanted to act weird, fine. I wasn’t about to let it bother me.

At some point, my mom turned to me, smiling that overly sweet smile she always used when she was about to say something I didn’t care about. “Amanda, we’ll be leaving early tomorrow morning,” she said, her voice practically singing. “Xavier will take you to his house after he drops us off at the airport.”

I nodded, barely paying attention. “Sure.”

She looked almost offended at how little I seemed to care, but whatever. I wasn’t about to throw a party over the fact that they were leaving.

My eyes flicked back to Xavier, but he was still busy with his food, not even glancing in my direction. I bit the inside of my cheek, feeling a little irritated for no reason. Why was he being like this?

Dinner dragged on for a while longer, but eventually, the night came to an end. I excused myself and headed to my room, shutting the door behind me with a heavy sigh.

I changed into a tank top and shorts, ready to crash, but my head had other plans. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop thinking about Xavier.

Everything about him, his stupidly perfect face, the way he smelled, the way his voice sounded when he said my name, was stuck on repeat in my head.

I groaned loudly, tossing to one side. Then the other. Then back again.

What was wrong with me?

1/3

Step Taboo

+25 Bonus

I wondered for the hundredth time if I should just go for it, push things with him, make it clear what I wanted. But then the thought of him rejecting me, of him not feeling the same way, made me pause.

I sighed, flipping onto my back and staring up at the ceiling. “You’re an idiot, Amanda,” I muttered to myself.

Eventually, sleep won, and I managed to fall asleep, though my dreams were anything but peaceful. It was mostly filled with Xavier.

Morning came way too fast, and the light entering the room forced me out of bed. By the time I made it downstairs, everyone was already awake and hurrying around.

A

My mom and Alexander were rushing around, double–checking their luggage and making sure they had everything they needed.

I helped carry some of their bags to the car, though I wasn’t exactly putting in maximum effort. Xavier was there too, loading things into the trunk like it was no big deal. He didn’t say much, just nodded when Alexander gave him instructions about the airport.

Finally, they were ready to leaye. I stood by the driveway, waving half–heartedly as the car pulled out and disappeared down the road.

The second they were gone, I bolted upstairs to get ready.

I didn’t want to look like I was trying too hard, but I also wanted to make an impression. Something simple, but… noticeable.

After bathing and rummaging through my closet, I settled on a short floral dress. No bra. I couldn’t wait to see the look on Xavier’s face when he saw me in it.

I checked myself in the mirror one last time, adjusting the straps and giving my hair a quick fluff. Perfect.

Grabbing my luggage, I dragged it downstairs and plopped onto the couch to wait.

It wasn’t long before I heard the sound of Xavier’s car pulling into the driveway. My heart did this weird little flip as he walked through the door, his eyes immediately landing on me.

He froze for a second, his gaze sweeping over me before quickly snapping back up to my face.

“Need help with that?” he asked, his voice a little lower than usual.

I nodded, biting back a smile. “Yeah, thanks.”

He grabbed my luggage without another word, carrying it out to the car while I followed behind. I couldn’t help but notice how his shirt stretched across his shoulders as he lifted the bags.

I slid into the passenger seat, feeling his eyes on me for just a second too long before he shut the trunk and got into the driver’s seat.

The drive to his house wasn’t bad, only about an hour. It wasn’t too far from my college, which was a relief. I stared out the window for most of the ride, sneaking glances at Xavier every now and then.

When we finally pulled up to his house, I couldn’t help but gape a little. It was gorgeous, big, spacious, and definitely screaming “rich guy.”

Xavier got out and opened the trunk, grabbing my luggage while I stood there, still taking it all in.

“Come on,” he said, nodding toward the house.

2/3

Step Tabon

+25 Bonus

I followed him inside, looking around. The place was spotless, like something out of a magazine. It was perfect.

He led me upstairs, stopping in front of a door near the end of the hallway. “This’ll be your room,” he said, pushing the door open.

I stepped inside, my eyes widening. The room was huge, easily twice the size of my bedroom at home. The bed looked ridiculously comfortable, and the windows let in the perfect amount of sunlight.

“Wow,” I said, turning back to him. “This is… amazing.”

His lips twitched, like he was fighting a smile. “My room’s right across the hall,” he said, gesturing behind him.

I nodded, flashing him a quick smile. “Thanks for the help.”

I started to walk further into the room when, out of nowhere, my foot slipped.

“Shit!” I yelped, flailing as I tried to catch myself.

Xavier was there in an instant, reaching out to steady me. But instead of stopping my fall, he ended up getting dragged down with me.

We hit the floor hard, and for a second, I couldn’t even process what had happened.

COIN BUNDLE: get more free bonus

P

Comments

Support

Share

X

GET IT