My Stepbrother's Dirty Little Secret novel Chapter 501

Chapter 501

Gianna

Claire stood at the end of the hallway like somebody had physically stopped her mid-step.

My hand was still wrapped around Raphael’s arm. Raphael was still standing far too close. And Claire was staring at us with the kind of expression people usually had when they found buried treasure.

My stomach dropped.

Oh no.

I immediately let go of Raphael and took a quick step backward, “Claire.”

Her eyes narrowed.

“Claire,” I repeated, “It’s not what it looked like.”

The second the words left my mouth, Claire’s expression changed completely, “Oh my God,” Claire pointed directly at both of us, “Oh my God.”

“Claire-”

“You two were about to kiss.”

“What?” I squeaked.

“You were.”

I shook my head, “We weren’t.”

“You were.”

“We weren’t!”

Claire looked at Raphael and Raphael looked back at her and he didn’t even deny it.

Then Claire pointed at him, “You… tell me the truth. You were about to kiss her.”

For a moment, Raphael simply stared at her, then he blinked once, “I was standing near her. We were having a conversation.”

Claire stared.

I stared.

Raphael stared back.

“You were two inches from her face,” Claire informed him.

Raphael considered that, “Approximately.”

Claire threw both hands into the air, “See! You just admitted it.”

“I admitted proximity.”

“You admitted almost kissing her.”

“I did not.”

Claire pointed accusingly, “You leaned down.”

“I am taller than her.”

Claire looked at me. I looked at Claire. Then we both looked at Raphael.

Raphael looked mildly concerned now, like he had somehow ended up in an argument without understanding haw

Then a huge grin appeared on her face, “Oh, this is incredible.”

I stared at her, “Incredible?”

Then at me.

Then back at Raphael.

“I was literally brought into this house unconscious.”

Raphael considered that, “That was a unique circumstance.”

Claire waved a dismissive hand, “The point is, nobody in this family has ever met a woman they liked and responded normally. So, it makes perfect sense that Raphael would choose the one woman in this house everyone assumes is off-limits.”

I shook my head, “No, nothing like that happened. We’re not… together like that. We’re friends.”

Claire immediately looked at Raphael. I looked at Raphael too. For some reason, he didn’t answer. Raphael’s jaw tightened. His fingers shifted slightly around the tablet tucked beneath his arm.

I frowned.

Why was he taking so long?

This wasn’t a difficult question.

Claire noticed it too. Her eyebrows slowly climbed higher, “Oh.”

Raphael looked at her.

Claire pointed dramatically, “Oh, that’s interesting.”

“What is?” I asked.

Claire didn’t answer me. She kept staring directly at Raphael. The corner of her mouth twitched, “Raphael.”

His expression became completely blank, “Claire.”

The man could explain advanced software systems in under thirty seconds but apparently couldn’t answer one simple question.