Haru

"You know, the he's mine vibe sort of thing."

"Is that what you get from her?" I asked, suddenly amused. "Maybe it's because you're too hot for her taste and she's seeing you as her potential competitor."

Jess frowned at me. "Competitor my ass," she said, as she reached her hands out and pinched my cheeks. "I'm no one's competitor, you hear? And when the hell are you going to fess up to your beloved, like I constantly tell you to? I freakin' want to see some lovey-dovey scenes between you and Aiden already. It's been two freakin' years and the suspense is killing me. Now here is competition showing up in the form of that sexy devil and you're making fun of me. How dare you, Haru?"

"Ouch! Ouch!" I groaned loudly as I chuckled at the same time. "Please stop, it hurts." I laughed.

"Oi, Jess, what has Haru done now?" Terrence Ito, the head chef, asked from the kitchen, chuckling. "You're pinching his cheeks again."

Jess finally released me from her unmerciful hands, thank God. And damn, I could feel the gaze of the customers on us. Moreover, I could feel Aiden's gaze on me. Shit! I could see him watching me via my peripheral vision.

Jess said in defense, "He was making fun of me."

Nursing my sore cheeks, I said, "I was not."

"Yes, you were," she retorted.

"I was not," I retorted back.

Jess was about to pinch my cheeks again when Terence interrupted. "Oi. Oi. We still have customers to serve. Leave your little lovers' quarrel for when you're on break."

Jess frowned. "It wasn't—"

Warren, another chef, appeared and said, "Table twenty is ready."

To Terrence I said, "Sorry." Then I rushed over to get the newly cooked food where I said to Warren, "Thanks."

Beside me, Jess expertly took up four plates, two on each hand. I did the same, and a moment later, we headed out to serve the customers.

It was quarter to ten and I was busy clearing a table when Aiden suddenly appeared in front of me out of the blue, which nearly sent me, and the plates, crashing to the floor. He caught me in time, my face landing against his chest and his arms wrapping around me, which didn't help because having him in the restaurant was hard enough for me to concentrate on my work.

Once I regained my composure, I swiftly moved out of his arms, my face hot with the familiar emotions. Then something nagged at me. Perfume? I suddenly felt a little sick again.

"Why did you just appear like that?" I asked. "You nearly gave me a heart attack."

He chuckled, his eyes on me, which made me self-conscious. He said, "I was trying to get your attention but you were too busy."

"Yeah, it's a Saturday, so it's busy," I said. "I'm pretty much on my feet since five."

"When's your break?" he asked.

"It was supposed to be at nine, but it got too busy. I'll probably be taking it soon."

"Good. Come and sit with me when you're on your break," he said, turning on his heel.

"Huh?" I frowned. "But what about your client friend?"

"You mean Camille?" he said. "She's fine with it. She wants to meet you."

I wanted to tell him that no, it wasn't all right and I personally didn't want to meet with this Camille. But he was already heading away, and I had to get these dirty dishes into the kitchen.

After clearing the dishes and cleaning the tables, I got myself a bottle of soft drink, which was free for the staff, and found myself obediently heading toward Aiden's table.

Damn! I wondered why I was doing this. I should just ignore him and take my break in the staff room like I usually did.

Before I could change direction, however, I found myself already at the table, staring at Aiden.

Aiden moved over along the booth, allowing me space to sit next to him, which was also in front of Camille, who said. "You're Aiden's brother?"

I wasn't the least bit surprised by her astonished tone. Aiden was all American and very Caucasian, with blond hair and hazel-green eyes while I was pure Japanese with dark hair and eyes. Of course, most, like her, would be astounded if we mentioned that we were brothers.

"I'm Haru, his stepbrother," I said, twisting the lid of the soft drink bottle open. Then I drank to my heart's content, so thirsty I was.

Camille said, "Stepbrothers, I see." She chuckled prettily. "So you're the youngest, right?"

I nodded, suddenly very aware of the strong perfume smell lingering in the air around us, which I now knew belonged to Camille.

"Hmm," I responded, trying not to show how much I disliked the intense scent.

"High school freshman?"

I felt my face heat up immediately while Aiden beside me was chuckling away with amusement. I turned to glare at him as I tightened the lid of the drink bottle. I then jabbed my elbow against his side to show him my annoyance. He reacted by grabbing me into his arms and tousling my hair fondly.

I blushed at the intimate contact. But fuck, I liked being in his arms.

I heard Camille clearing her throat, and I flicked my gaze to her. The moment I saw her face, I knew she didn't like seeing us acting so brotherly. Her gaze was sharp and harsh when directed at me.

I said, struggling my way out of Aiden's arms, who wouldn't let go of me, "University. Freshman."

She frowned. I wasn't sure if it was because I told her that I was a university student or because she saw Aiden wrapping his arms around my middle and pulling me against him. Damn, but I was almost sitting in his lap.

Why was he acting so brotherly? And here in front of this woman and a whole lot of other people in the restaurant at that?

"Shocking, eh?" Aiden said, his breath fanning against the skin of my neck, which made me groan deliciously inside. Fuck! I could feel my whole body warming up and melting against him. This was not good at all. This situation was dangerous.