Page 14

I breathed a sigh of relief. Definitely not this guy then, because nothing about Cockface was dorky in any sort of way. But there was a guy drinking alone across the other side of the bar who could have stepped right out of an accounting magazine. If I squinted real hard, he might have been cute. But it was a long shot. To be fair, Mom and I had never had similar taste in men. Which was probably a good thing, considering how close we were in age. It would have been very easy to steal each other’s guys if we’d had even remotely similar attractions.
“Do you see him?”
“Yeah, I see him. And now I’m leaving. We can meet tomorrow at the wedding. PS—Thanks for telling me I had a new stepbrother. Info that could have been shared well before right now.”
“Oh, don’t be mad! I just wanted to surprise you because he’s so cute. Go say hi, Bel. Please? For me?”
“I’m going to kill you for this,” I muttered, getting down off the stool. “Truly, you’re the worst.”
“You love me! And you’ll love him too, I’m sure!”
I groaned because I did love her. I ended the call and put my head in my hands.
“Family drama?” Cockface asked.
I glared at him. “Do you always eavesdrop on other people’s conversations?”
“Do you always speak so loudly that the entire bar can hear your every word? Nothing was stopping you from walking outside, you know. I mean, now whose manners are dead?”
I rolled my eyes.
He laughed. “You’re cute when you do that.”
I froze. “No, I’m not.”
I was doing it again. Drawing attention to myself. Specifically, male attention. Exactly what I was supposed to not be doing.
I got off the seat woodenly, clutching my purse and bag with one hand, and forced myself to walk around to the other side of the bar where my new stepbrother was nursing a watery cocktail. At least he wasn’t too alpha male for fruit. “Hey. I’m Rebel.”
He glanced over at me, his eyes widening. “Uh, hi. Mathew.”
He stuck his hand out, and I tried not to look at Cockface smirking at me from across the bar. I twisted so I couldn’t see him as easily and tried to focus on my new brother. I’d never had a sibling. Though I imagined this wouldn’t be slumber parties or a lifelong bond, it might be nice to at least have a friend to complain about our parents with.
I tried not to shrink away when his fingers touched mine, but it took everything in me to return his handshake.
But then he just stared awkwardly at me, and the silence drew out.
“So, uh, parents, huh?” I forced a laugh.
He cocked his head at me. “Parents?”
“Yeah.”
He nodded. “Annoying?”
“To say the least.”
I drummed my fingers on the countertop, feeling more and more anxious with every moment I sat next to him. With too much silence between us, all I could think about was how my skin itched at being this close to a man. How I wanted to dig my fingernails in and scratch until my skin bled.
I got down off my stool and picked up my things. “You know what? We don’t need to be besties. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He opened his mouth to respond, but I was already hurrying away, wishing I’d had more than just the one drink.
Cockface leaned back on his stool, fingers brushing my arm. “On the run again, Roach?”
“Just trying to be anywhere you aren’t, Cock.”
He saluted me with a grin, and as I rounded the corner, I found a tiny smile on my face too.