TEASE ( A Stepbrother Romance ) By Caitlin Daire

19

Chapter Nineteen

Charlotte

Click click.

"Hey, I think he's coming out!" an unfamiliar male voice called out.

Click click click.

Groaning, I slid out of bed and stomped over to the window before cautiously peering out of the forest-green curtains. Just beyond the main driveway, I could see at least seven photographers snapping pictures of the house, and I rolled my eyes and let the curtains drop back in place before opening my door and hollering down the hall.

"They're back!"

After the wedding incident, the press had been hounding us like mad, showing up at the house at all hours and trying to get photos and interviews. They'd even showed up outside one of my college lectures two days ago, and they'd also tried to hijack the media spots reserved for sports journalists after Cade's game last week. They were like vultures, and the issue had only gotten worse now that Keith had announced his bid to run for president.

He'd made the official announcement three days ago, and ever since then, the press had gone wild. Everyone loved him right now, given his heroic actions at the wedding, and he was poised to do very well if things continued the way they were.

Maybe he'd even win.

I was a bit blindsided by it all, as I'd never been the subject of so much attention before, but I supposed I just had to buck up and get used to it, because if he was elected, then this would be my life for the next few years.

I was due for an interview with Keith's campaign advisors sometime this week, and I'd been told they would go through every aspect of my life with a fine-toothed comb to see if there was any dirt that future opponents might dig up, which could affect Keith's run. There was a silver lining to this-if letting a bunch of strangers dig into my life wasn't the best crash course in learning how to live with this level of attention, then I didn't know what was.

Evan was out of the hospital now, and he arrived at my bedroom door a few seconds after I called out. "Did you say something?"

"Yeah, the press are back."

He rolled his eyes. "The one downside of having a famous father who's running for president. Zero privacy. I woke up and saw them mobbing Cade earlier when he left for training."

I gave him a rueful smile. "They don't give up, do they? Anyway, let's get some breakfast," I said. "By the way, my telescope is set up. Provided the journalists aren't still hanging around later tonight, we can take it out."

"Awesome!"

We padded downstairs, chatting about stars and planets, and as we headed towards the kitchen to grab some coffee and toaster waffles, I was so caught up talking to Evan that I didn't even notice the fact that we weren't alone.

"Just let us know when we're good to start, Charlotte."

I jumped despite myself, cursing under my breath, and I spun around to see an unfamiliar man sitting over at the dining table.

"Sorry, who are you?" I asked, annoyed that I had allowed myself to be so easily spooked. I'd been quite jumpy ever since what happened at the wedding, and even though that had been a month ago now, that hadn't changed. The only time I felt truly safe was when I was with Cade, and the time I got with him nowadays was short and infrequent thanks to all the public scrutiny of our family.

"Greg Sanders. Your stepfather's chief campaign advisor." He stood up, holding the palms of his hands outward in surrender. "We were meant to have an interview this morning, remember?"