First impression

CHAPTER ONE

FIRST IMPRESSION

LAURA’S POV

"I am so sorry; I did not see you there."

The masculine voice of the person who had bumped into me as soon as I got out of the room I was given by my mum's new lover said, and I looked down at the hem of my long gown which was beneath his dark polished shoes.

"Do you mind?" I asked as I looked up. Instead of the anger I had felt when he bumped into me, I was captivated by the good-looking man who stood before me. A small glint in his eyes lightened up his beautiful face. He looked down at the place where he was stepping on the hem of my dress and immediately stepped away. "I am so sorry about that."

"I... I..." I opened my mouth to say another word, but nothing was coming out as I was lost in his beautiful gaze. Perhaps he did not notice this because he seemed like he was in a hurry to get away.

"I am so sorry."

"It's fine," I finally managed to say, and he nodded with a cute smile as he excused himself.

I watched him until he turned the corner, which seemed to be where I was heading as well, so I hurriedly rushed into the restroom to touch up my makeup and change into something better.

I was to have dinner with my mum and her new lover's family. I did not expect much, so I had only thrown on a long gown, but seeing as that hot piece of cake was heading in my direction, he was probably a guest who would be joining the dinner.

I put on a short gown that had a low back and a pair of slippers. I would have opted for heels if we were not eating in, but I guess this looked okay, so I headed out. I could hear the distant voices of my mum and some other people, and I was now certain that my prince charming was there.

I walked into the dining room to see three people at the table: my mum, Anselm (her lover), and my prince charming. I tried not to look at him.

"Look who finally showed up! God knows why you take so long to prepare for anything," my mum said, and the men laughed. I gave her a look that asked what she was doing. She was ruining things for me without even knowing it.

I sat in the seat opposite Prince Charming and looked at him as if I was just seeing him.

"Hey, it's you again!"

"Huh, Laura, meet Chris, my eldest son," Anselm said.

"Oh, shit!"

I said and hurriedly covered my mouth as my mum narrowed her eyes at me.

"Hi, Laura. It's so good to finally meet you, and I am so sorry about earlier."

Now, he even apologized again! He's so cute. Wait, what the hell are you thinking? He's your stepbrother, you moron! I mentally chided myself, but that did not help matters at all as I smiled at him.

“It is nice to meet you, Char... Chris.”

I am in so much trouble. My mind has even refused to listen to me now. What the hell am I to do with my life now?

“Are you okay, dear?” Mum asked, and I nodded.

“Yes, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?”

“I do not think we will wait for that bastard to arrive here. He always sets his own time for any meeting or dinner or whatever. I won't be surprised if he shows up when this whole dinner is over,” Anselm said.

“Come on, dad. Cut him some slack. He might be busy at work.”

“Yeah, it can't be easy working two jobs at the same time, even when he is the boss. He is quite an interesting young man compared to how you make him sound,” Mum jumped in, in defense of him, I assumed to be Anselm’s youngest son.

“Why are you making me out to be the bad egg here?”

The man asked with a laugh. He did not take any of that to heart. He is just like my dad. I wonder why Mum would pick another version of my dramatic and extra dad, but she promised me that I would see the reason she was with him, and I hope I do. I have to talk to my dad tonight. He has been complaining about why I have chosen not to complete my internship application for the session break, which would allow me to come stay a month or two at his place and work in his office.

My dad and I are pretty close, so is my relationship with my mum, and I find a way to balance it, which is why I understood when they wanted to separate. I couldn't push them when I saw that they both desperately needed a break from each other.

“Sorry, I'm late, traffic.”

A deep, muscular voice said from the entrance, bringing me out of my thoughts, I was tempted to look back to see whose voice it was, but the way Chris rolled his eyes made me sigh deeply as I felt the chair beside me pulled out. I looked at the man who sat in it, and I could hardly compare the two men at the table, aside from their father. They were both extremely good-looking, but I must say the new arrival had a kind of boyish charm and devilish mischievous look that anyone should run as far away from as possible.

“Seb? Traffic?” Anselm said with a raised eyebrow.

“Fine, Dad. I did not think you would start without me anyway. My apologies; I got tied up at the last meeting I attended. It is nice to see you again, Arya.”

“As sweet as my name sounds in your mouth, I cannot wait for the day when you would call me mum.”

The guy smiled bitterly and turned to me, “And who do we have here?”

“Sebastian, meet my daughter….”

“Laura La Desi.” He cut in.

“How do you know my name?”

“Come on, Tinkerbell, who doesn't know the greatest stoner of our time?”

My heart skipped a beat. Does he know anyone from school, or how else would he know about that deepest secret of my life thatmy mum must never find out?

“What did you just call me?”