Shackled: A Stepbrother Romance Novel by Arabella Abbing Page B

that option wasn’t on the table anymore. Now I needed a new plan.
    A better plan, because my first one was obviously shit.
    I plopped down on the couch as I started mulling through my options, trying to figure out the best way to proceed. Regardless of how badly I wanted to rectify my mistake, I knew it likely wasn’t going to happen here at the cabin. We only had one more day and night together before Dad and Leslie came out to take us back to the house.
    The only option I really had at this point was to go along with however she wanted to play this. If she wanted nothing to do with me, I’d leave her alone. If she wanted to pretend like it had never happened, I’d go with it.
    But I needed to make some sort of grand gesture before she went back to college. Otherwise, I’d be stuck back home at the shop, constantly wondering whether I could have fixed things if I had tried just a little harder.
    I would have preferred to fix things at the cabin where we had some privacy, but if she needed the space, I’d just have to find some way to show her what she meant to me with our parents lurking around. It’d be tricky, but I would find a way. I was fucking determined.
    Regrets weren’t something I was fond of having. So I promised myself not to let her slip away again without a fight.

Chapter Twenty

Fiona
    T he next day passed easily enough thanks to Jonathan allowing me to remain unchained and alone. The only time he bothered me was to ask if I was hungry, and he let me be without argument every time I shook my head while steadfastly refusing to look at him.
    I should have been relieved to be left alone and called Brenda to come pick me up. After all, it’s not like I was doing anything productive with my time here by avoiding Jonathan.
    But I couldn’t bring myself to dial her number. I was too caught up in everything that had happened since we arrived. Jonathan had not only said he was sorry—words I’d never heard him say to anyone—but also confessed to loving me.
    Why couldn’t he have figured that out months ago? Before everything between us had been so completely shattered.
    After hours of thinking back on everything that we’d gone through since arriving at the cabin, along with our history together—both the good and the bad—I was still no closer to figuring out whether or not I honestly believed I could ever forgive him for so thoroughly breaking my heart.
    When the sun started to set and it was time for dinner, he came into the room to ask if I wanted to eat. I could sense his frustration from being avoided for the entire day and a small part of me took a bit of pleasure from his sour mood.
    “Hungry yet?”
    “Nope.”
    But my stomach called my bluff, choosing that moment to let out an embarrassingly loud rumble. I glanced over at his face just in time to catch the annoyed eye roll.
    “Just eat with me, Fiona. One meal in my presence won’t fucking kill you.”
    I begged to differ, but my hunger won out over my pride. I reluctantly followed him into the kitchen and sat down at the table, digging into the stack of pancakes he placed in front of me a moment later.
    Even though I didn’t want to talk to him, the politeness my mother instilled in me demanded that I at least thank him for making dinner.
    “I didn’t know you could make pancakes,” I said between bites, wincing a little as my attempt at thanking him came out a whole lot harsher than intended.
    Jonathan laughed it off though, uncaring about the sarcastic tone lacing my words. “The box just said to add water. It was easy enough.”
    “Oh. Well, I’m surprised you didn’t burn any.”
    I sensed him lean forward over the table and looked up out of habit, gulping when I saw the playful grin on his face. The movement of his hands drew my attention down to his plate, where he was lifting a pancake up to show me the nearly blackened one beneath it.
    “Took me a few tries to get it right. Don’t worry though, I let you have the