“Right …” Her father raises his brow at me. “And you got in here how exactly?”

“Ah … through the window,” I say, a little embarrassed.

Her father cocks his head. “You were that desperate to study?”

“Our test is tomorrow morning, Dad. He studied all day and night, but it still wasn’t enough. I knew you wouldn’t let him into the house this late, so we had to think of something else. I’m sorry,” Emily says.

I look at her and send her a mental thank you, but I think she got it.

“Of course, you did …” Her father sighs and rubs his forehead with his fingers. “You’re that dedicated, huh?”

Oh boy, this doesn’t look good.

Then a few more thuds are audible. Someone’s coming up the stairs.

“Who’s that?” Emily asks.

Her dad clears his throat. “Well, I wanted to come and tell you something, which is why I came to your room in the first place. Except I didn’t think I’d find him here.”

“Tell me what?” She sits up straight.

Her father coughs. It’s then that I notice someone appearing in the door with him. Someone who almost makes my eyeballs pop from their sockets.

“Mom?” I say.

Emily looks at me, confused, her eyes switching back and forth between her father and me.

“Wait, what?” her father says. “He’s your son?”

“Hold on. How are you even here?” I ask my mom.

“I could ask you the same thing,” she says. “This is certainly a surprise. I didn’t expect to see you here as well. Gosh, this does make it confusing, doesn’t it?” She gazes up at Emily’s father as if they’re having some sort of moment together. She licks her lips and focuses her attention back to Emily and me again. “I meant to tell you this, but I didn’t expect it to be so soon. Oh well, I guess there’s no point in denying it now.”

That’s when she grabs Emily’s father’s hand. On her finger is a sparkling new ring.

Oh, fuck no.

Shock makes me lose my balance, and I tip over the edge of the bed, landing on the floor with a huge thud. Emily sucks in a breath and leans over the edge. “Are you okay?”

I couldn’t be further from okay.

My mom wasn’t just leaving my dad for another man.

The man she’s been dating all this time is none other than Emily’s father.

“Oh, Christopher. I know this might come as a shock to you, but I assure you it’s as hard on me as it is for you.”

“I doubt that,” I mumble, gazing at Emily with a concerned look on my face.

My mother clears her throat. “Well, with all that studying you kids did together these past few weeks; you must’ve really gotten to know each other well.”

That we have.

My mother’s perky voice doesn’t make her words any less painful. “I’m so glad you already got to spend some time with your future stepsister.”

Chapter 14

Chris

Present

“You still think about that?” she says.

As I throw my coat over the back of my chair, I glance at her. “You don’t?”

She shrugs with a confusing look. “I don’t know … I guess I don’t really linger on the past.”

“Or you’re trying to forget something you can’t forget.” I flash a cocky smile, which makes her blush. Good. I hated that comment. She’s making me feel like I shouldn’t think about her and maybe she’s right, because we’re family and all, but it still makes me feel like shit.

“Or I’m trying to forget because it’s really wrong.”

There we go. I knew it. She just had to go there.

I sigh and lean forward. “You know it would really do you good if you could stop being so judgmental toward your own choices.”

Her eyebrow rises as if she’s insulted. “Who? Me?”

“Yeah, who else?” I shrug, gazing straight into her eyes.

“My choices are fine.”

“Why does it sound like you just lied?”

She looks up at me with a twitch of her nose, which makes me smile like a devilish kid. I can’t help it; I just want to get under her skin. Better yet, under her clothes would do just fine.

“Whatever,” she says, shaking her head. “Your mom made the decision for us.”

“No, your dad had to go and tear my mom away from her family.”

She rolls her eyes. “No matter whose fault it is, it won’t change the fact that we’re stuck together now.”

I lean back in my chair and cross my arms. “Fine. If you wanna play that game, then I’m going back to my old habits.”

“What do you mean?”

The barista arrives to take our order, and I ask her for two strong chocolate Frappuccinos. I’ll need it with Emily eyeing me from top to bottom. As the cherry on top, I wink at the barista. When she walks off, I make sure to check out her ass. Might as well score now that Emily has made it clear she’s off-limits, and I’m about to burst here.

Hanging out with Em has made it impossible for me to look elsewhere, and my cock keeps growing thicker and thicker around her. It’s so fucking wrong—especially when she’s being so fucking serious about not getting together—even though both of us knows she wants to. I can tell from the way that she looks at me, as she’s doing now, squinting, like she’s jealous or something.

“What?” I say, when she won’t stop staring.

“Really? You had to do that?”

“Do what?” My smirk ticks her off even more.

She growls a little. “Never mind.”

When the barista comes back with our chocolate Frappuccinos, I lick my lips and thank her, which seems to piss Emily off even more. God, I love that look on her face. I’m a son of a bitch for doing this, but honestly, I don’t care right now. I want to know how she really feels, and this is the only way to find out.

“I’d love to know what I did to make you so angry,” I muse.

“You mean now or all those times before?”

I chuckle. “Oh, Em, your claws are so sharp today.”

“I file them especially for you,” she says, blowing on her fingernails as if they’re a smoking gun.

It makes me laugh. “Tell me then. Why am I such a bastard?”

“You know exactly why,” she mumbles, taking a sip.

I pick up my coffee. “Because you wish I was staring at your ass instead?”

Her coffee almost comes spurting out of her mouth, but she barely manages to contain herself and swallows it down with trouble.

“Of course, who says I don’t do that already?”

“Chris!” she admonishes, patting herself on the chest to stop her cough.

“You want me to stop?”

“Yes.” She takes another gulp, this time bigger than before.

“Okay. I get it. I won’t go after you.” I clear my throat. “Besides, I already have a new target.”

“What?” She makes a face.

I get up from my seat after taking another sip from my coffee. “Be right back.”

“Where are you going?”

I don’t answer. Instead, I walk to the bar and have a small chat with the barista. Sometimes, I glance over my shoulder and spot Emily trying to hide her concern. I don’t mind, but I don’t like being constrained. Either she takes what I have to offer, or she lets me do whatever the fuck I want. There’s no having her pie and eating it, too. The only one who’s going to eat anything around here is me, and I swear to fucking god, it’ll be her pie I’m eating soon.

I’ll make it fucking happen, whether she’s ready for it or not.

I talk with her for a minute, after which I saunter back to my seat. Meanwhile, Emily is giving me the stink eye.

“I’m not thirsty anymore,” she says, picking up her coffee and throwing it into the trash. “I have to get back to work.”

“All right. Catch you later,” I say, taking the last sip of my coffee.

I struggle to keep a straight face as she walks out the door and leaves me here. She’s mad, and we both know why, but she won’t admit it. Soon, baby … soon.

Chapter 15

Emily

Back in the office, I immediately log on to my email, trying to get my head off Chris and back to my work. I have to do something to take my mind off him, but the moment I open my email, all hell breaks loose. The media company we have ties with sends me the pictures they take of my clients so I can approve them for publication, but this one makes my jaw drop. It’s Chris, and he’s having a drink with that same barista who served us only an hour ago.