REVENGE KISS: FALLING FOR MY BAD BOY STEP BROTHER

Chapter 015: Mother Knows Best

~SAFFRON~

Back inside after calling Kate to make sure she’s doing fine, the speeches are finally over. Guests mingle around the auction tables with champagne flutes in hand, bidding paddles waving like victory flags in a stadium. Elixir leads me to a quieter corner near one of the glass cases, his hand lightly on my elbow, that half-hearted smile still somehow charming. We’re laughing about his ridiculous underdog hockey stories—like the time he scored a goal with a broken stick. When I catch Jason across the room, his eyes are locked on us. He looks away fast before I can read his face. Elixir doesn’t notice, too busy snagging a drink from a passing tray.

“Elixir, I’m nineteen,” I chuckle when he hands me the drink.

“Come on, Saffron, it’s a drink to seal our new friendship. I’m twenty-one, legal and all, but I promise I won’t let you take more than a sip.” No pressure in his voice, just that easy coaxing tone.

I hesitate, scanning for Mom and Fred. They’re nowhere. Jason too. Gone. f**k it. I take the sip. The first sip burns—sweet and sharp—and I choke as fire races down my throat. He snatches the glass back instantly.

“You alright?” He leans in, studying me like I’d just swallowed poison.

“Yeah,” I clear my throat. “I’m fine.”

“How was it?”

“It burns,” I admit, and he laughs, taking a long gulp from the same glass. That somehow heats me way more than the alcohol ever could. My eyes lock on the way his lips press to the rim—it looks unfairly hot.

“So…” I blurt, desperate to stop staring at how attractive he makes everything look. “I finally get to meet your twin.”

“Ellie. Yeah.” His voice comes out flat, no smile attached.

“Is that her full name?” I ask, genuinely curious now.

He shakes his head. “Eliana. Ellie for short.”

“Oh. Okay.”

Then who is she to Jason? The thought nags at me harder than it should. Why does it even matter?

“What?” Elixir asks, tilting his head like he caught the exact second my brain wandered.

“Nothing,” I say, forcing my brightest smile.

He doesn’t buy it. His shoulders drop a fraction. “It’s not nothing. What is it, Saffron?” The concern in his eyes is real—soft, almost careful.

I chew the inside of my lip. “It’s just… I’m curious if she’s friends with Jason or something.”

His jaw tightens for half a second. “You’ve seen them together?” He shifts his weight, suddenly restless.

“No,” I answer fast. “No,” I repeat, softer. “It’s just… the way she looks at him.”

“Ellie.” The name leaves him on a heavy exhale, like it weighs more than it should. He drags a hand through his hair, shoulders slumping. “She doesn’t even try to hide it, does she?”

He meets my eyes again and lets out another long breath, giving me a second to brace. “She’s not friends with Jason.” A tiny pause. “She’s his ex-girlfriend.”

“Wow.”

I literally wrote that possibility on my mental list and it still hits like a truck. Jason dated Ellie—Elixir’s gorgeous auburn-haired twin. Why did they break up?

“Saffron,” Elixir takes my hand, and I almost lean into his touch. “My meeting you was coincidental.” His eyes are so soft now, his voice sounding broken. He thinks I’m judging him. “If you’re thinking—”

I don’t let him finish. “I’m thinking nothing.” I say, squeezing his hand. “You don’t have to keep explaining yourself. I’m not judging your intentions.”

He gives me a half-hearted smile, like he doesn’t quite believe me. “Okay.”

I steal the glass from his hand the second he looks away and finish it in one burning swallow. It scorches my throat again.

“I said I won’t let you take more than a sip,” he snatches the empty glass back, frowning at me.

“I make my own choices,” I shrug, suddenly buzzing with this rebellious little spark—tipsy just once, before college starts, why not?

Just then a waiter walks toward us with a tray of shots.

“Please hold my phone,” I say to Elixir. He doesn’t ask questions. Just takes it. “Thank you”

I grab two shots from the tray.

“She’s nineteen,” Elixir tells the waiter quickly. The waiter turns to me.

“He’s lying. I just turned twenty-one,” I wink. The waiter looks exhausted by life and walks away, glancing back once like he can’t believe he just enabled this.

“Saff—”

Elixir tries to stop me, but I’m faster. I knock back the first shot and wince as the fire races down. Warmth explodes through me instantly. I’m still holding the second, swaying to the soft jazz in the background. I feel electric, like the whole room just turned up the volume and everything looks wild.

“I feel good,” I chuckle, dancing.

“You think this is a joke,” he says, half-laughing, half-panicked, biting his lip and shaking his head. I go for the second shot and he lunges for my arm. “Please stop.”

Too late. I gulp it down too. “Oh my God,” he squeezes his forehead like he’s in actual trouble. “I can’t explain this to your parents or Jason.”

“Jason doesn’t care. I’m fine—”

The room tilts. Laughter bubbles up from somewhere deep in my chest. Elixir’s face begins to blur… or maybe it’s been spinning longer than I realized. The jazz sounds like it’s underwater now.

“Saffron,” the next thing I know, my body is tipping straight into him. “Woah—” He catches me, plucking the empty glasses from my hand.

“I’m okayyy,” I say, trying to plant my feet. He steadies me. “I swear I’m okay. I just feel light… like a tissue.” The words hit me and I start giggling. “Light like a tissue.” It’s the funniest thing I’ve ever heard.

“You’re drunk,” I hear him mutter while I’m still laughing.

“Where’s my fairy godmother?” I haven’t seen her anywhere.

“Your what?” He leans in closer.

I clear my throat, eyelids suddenly heavy. “My fairy godmother,” I repeat.

He looks adorably confused, and that makes it even funnier. I giggle harder.

“She’s um…” He gently turns me to the left and points. “She’s over there.”

She’s a little blurry, but I spot her. My fairy godmother.

“Thank you.” I throw my arms around him, burying my face in his chest and inhaling. For some reason he freezes. “You’re so big and strong,” I mumble, running my hands over his biceps. “What’s your workout routine?”

“Um—”

“Saffron!” It’s my fairy godmother. She looks horrified.

My new favorite person gently pries me off him like I’m a clingy koala. Rude. My hands miss his arms instantly.

“Saffron,” she calls again, marching closer. “I have been looking everywhere for you, and you’re in the arms of a boy.”

“He’s not just any boy. He’s my new friend.”

Her hand flies to her mouth. “Why—how are you drunk? Oh my God.”

I roll my eyes. Why does everyone keep saying that? It’s annoying.

“I’m fine. I’m just a bit tipsy,” I say, hiccupping.

“Aren’t you Cavendish’s son?” my fairy godmother asks him.

He nods, looking genuinely scared of her. “Yes, ma’am. I’m so sorry—I couldn’t stop her.”

“It’s not your fault. My daughter can be so stubborn.” She shoots me a look. I frown back. “I’ll take her with me now.” She grabs my hands and starts pulling me away. I almost face-plant. “Take off your shoes,” she orders.

“No.”

“Sweetie, you can’t walk in them. I’m not watching you get your ankles twisted.”

“Fine.” I kick them off. She bends down and scoops them up.

“Saffron,” his voice calls after me. I twist around. “Your phone.” He jogs over and hands it to me. My fairy godmother snatches it before I can.

“Thank you.” I lunge in for another hug.

“Saffron, come here.” She yanks me back and I whimper. Why is she ruining this? Can’t a girl just appreciate a boy’s arms for two seconds? He didn’t even look mad about it. “I’m so sorry.” She says to him and we start walking.

I wave wildly over my shoulder. “Bye, my friend!”

He waves back.

“I can’t believe you did this to me,” she mutters, stressing over nothing. “Getting drunk at the gala.”

“Gala.” I giggle. Everything is hilarious lately.

“You think this is funny?”

“Yes. We’re not at the Met Gala. We’re at a… Where are we?”

“Jesus Christ.” She pinches the bridge of her nose and keeps towing me along.

“Jason.”

Goosebumps explode across my skin the second she says the name. It sounds weirdly familiar.

“Jason,” she calls again, and my face scrunches when I spot him. I recognize him… I think. The arrogant pretty boy. My… brother? Wait, is that right? Jason stares at me like he’s never seen a girl before while my fairy godmother whispers something in his ear. And then he nods.

“Jason will take you home,” she tells me, turning to face me.