Something Between Us (Six Degrees of Separation) / Six Degrees of Separation (ePub)

Jules

After a rocky start, my former step-brother and I were best friends. Our friendship helped us survive the many breakdowns of our parents' unstable marriage and even after the marriage disintegrated, we still had each other.

We wrote our first computer game together in high school and sold it for half a million dollars. We put that into starting our own game development company and sold that for ten times more. Then, mobile gaming apps became a thing and we started another company, and for me, you'd probably say the lucky streak continued. But for Tucker, it didn't. I ended up buying him out of the company and we've never spoken since.

You see, Tucker and I had a secret. When we sold the company we celebrated in Vegas with a truckload of alcohol and we ended up having sex. It really weirded me out given we were once step-siblings after all. I left Vegas and Tucker decided to stay on.

Tucker found someone else in Vegas and erased the memory of me by marrying them. I buried my head in my work and arranged to buy Tucker out of the company. Then I discovered I was pregnant.

My mobile gaming empire was floated on the stock market and made me worth over half a billion dollars. I hired people to run the company, retired to a Chateau in Italy and I'd been preoccupied with the baby trouble Tucker had left me with, and knew nothing about, ever since. Telling myself I regretted nothing. Yet, wishing I could change everything.

Tucker

Jules was the best thing to happen to me in a long time. My parents' marriage wasn't amicable. Their divorce was even worse because Dad had an affair, fell in love, and then left mom for his mistress. Jules just happened to be the mistress's daughter. And honestly, she was the only good thing about Dad's second marriage, and our friendship was the only part that lasted.

I loved Jules. I mean, sure she was my stepsister and I'd loved her then. And then we were just friends and I loved her in a different way. But as an adult, I was head over heels in love with her. I spent most nights finding some other girl to distract me from what I really wanted. Her. I couldn't have her, I knew that. Every time I woke up in her bed, it was just too weird.

After we slept together, she said it couldn't happen again and so, naturally, I rushed into marriage with the first woman I met. I wasn't Dad, I'd never cheat on my wife. But then Jules, beautiful amazing Jules, she told me how she saw it and I wanted to kiss her. No alcohol required. And I knew after a glass or two, cheating would be easy. So, I cut ties the only way I knew how. I made her hate me.

Six months later, Jules was gone. The company I'd taken a paltry sum to get out of hit the big time. She'd retired to a chateau in Italy and my wife had run off with a richer guy.

I'd always worried about what people thought, how they'd react to knowing that I'd fallen in love with my former step sister, but losing her was my biggest regret. A regret I was no longer prepared to live with.

It took me a while to find Jules. I intended on declaring my love for her the moment I saw her. Only, I wasn't expecting the baby that she dropped on me first. Nor was I sure I'd ever forgive her for keeping that secret from me.