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I don’t realize the tears have actually tracked over my cheeks until Wyatt pulls me to him. He presses my head against his shirt, and I just know I’m leaving splotchy wet marks over his t-shirt. His breaths flutter the hair at the top of my head, and I close my eyes, oddly comfortable in his arms.
He must feel it too because after a moment, he loosens his hold, and it’s then that he’s really hugging me, arms falling before pulling me closer.
We stay that way for too long.
26
Icome back out a few minutes after making Wyatt leave the room so I can change back into my regular clothes. I’ve put myself together now, but when I glance over at the cart, it’s full of clothes. I frown at it, but Stone of all people gives me a threatening look that makes me keep my mouth shut. At first, I don’t think they’re all for me but when we look for other items we need, I notice the sizes they’re pulling off the racks and realize they’ve literally stocked up on brand new clothes for me. Not just hiking and treasure hunting clothes either. Normal clothes.
I hate to admit Wyatt was right though. The clothes I’m wearing feel cheap. They’re not quite my size. They’re hanging off me, and there are dull parts or stains I’ve never been able to get out despite the fact that I do my own laundry and am very diligent about making sure every item of clothing I have is clean. If I couldn’t have new, at least I could be tidy.
When they check out, I feel like their doll. After Wyatt and Stone fight over who’s going to pay for the sneakers, the cashier ends up ringing everything up on one bill, and even though I have a minor heart attack at the price, the guys don’t even balk.
We head out of the parking lot with a trunk full of new shit. Nervous butterflies flutter in my stomach as Stone picks the perfect restaurant to go to, and the day keeps filling with new firsts. I’ve never been to a restaurant before. It’s kind of like going to the school cafeteria but better. The waitress is super nice, which probably has everything to do with the fact that she’s serving three hot guys and well, me, but that doesn’t count. She even has the audacity to ask if I’m their sister. The guys laugh, and Wyatt points out I actuallyamStone’s stepsister.
I cringe. I think very un-stepsister like things about him a lot. Other times, I hate him so much I can totally see how we could be stepsiblings.
I accidentally on purpose read a romance book about stepsiblings before. Woo-ee. It was so raunchy. My blood was boiling by the end. It’s the idea that the whole relationship is on the border of being wrong that makes it so damn sexy. When Stone turned out to be my stepbrother, I put the brakes on that fantasy because he’s Stone Jacobs, and despite how good looking he is, being an asshole brings the hot points down.
Honestly, I wish that was the case. Sometimes I wonder if it makes him that much hotter.
When we’re back home, the guys help bring my bags to my room, including a small one that holds my new phone that I have no idea how to use. They drop my things and leave, Lucas the only one lingering for a little while until he senses I want to be alone. When he leaves me to myself, I dump the new purchases out on the bed and lie down in the pile, a huge smile on my face. I thought that I would be embarrassed that Stone paid for these clothes, but somehow, I’m not. I don’t want to think about it too much in case my brain decides to change its mind, so instead, I spend the next hour trying on all the clothes. However, they did it, the guys knew my perfect sizes, and I’m sitting on an awesome new wardrobe.
I keep on a pair of shorts and a tank top and head out of my room. I wander, first checking Lucas’s room and finding it empty. When I walk toward the other part of the house, I find Stone outside, sitting on the half-moon bed with a plastic container at his side. He brings out a handful of paperwork and sifts through it, his brows pulling down. He must be looking at my dad’s stuff.
The sun is going down when I slip through the glass doors, my bare feet hitting the stone walkway. The heat from the sun still lingers in the warm stone, but now that the sun is disappearing behind the mountains, it’s bearable to hang out outside. I head toward Stone, and he glances up as I approach. His gaze travels down my new clothes, but he doesn’t remark on them. “Is that my dad’s?” I ask, pointing to the wad of crumpled up papers in his hand.
He nods. “You were right. There’s so much.”
I gaze at all the papers he’s holding in front of him. He’s sitting upright on the half-moon bed, his legs outstretched and crossed at the ankles. He moves the paperwork that’s strewn around him, and I take the opportunity to sit on the edge to look it over with him.
I’ve been through all this paperwork at least once. Some of the stuff I haven’t seen in years, though, and some of this stuff isn’t nearly as relevant as we wished it would be.
“How did he even find anything in all this?” Stone asks, sighing. “They brought over ten plastic containers. This is just the first one.”
I sense his frustration, and it reminds me of listening to my dad over the years. He always felt like he had all the pieces to find the exact location of the treasure, but he just hadn’t put them together in the right places yet. I smile. “My dad used to say that searching for treasure was seventy-five percent research, twenty-five percent actually hiking the Superstitions.”
Stone crinkles his nose. His family doesn’t agree with that sentiment because they’ve gone all over the Superstitions with their technology. Mapping everything. Searching. Everyone knows what they do because it’s broadcasted on the news and podcasts. My father just loved to hear about the new thing they were trying so he could laugh at it, and I have to bite my tongue before I do the same thing.
He sighs. “I just don’t know how we’re going to find it.”
I turn my gaze toward Stone. It’s the first time I’ve heard him sound anything less than uber confident. It’s disconcerting, actually. I reach over, placing my hand on his. “We’ll find it,” I tell him, speaking to the boy who looks lost and scared over what’s going to happen to his family. I know about those same feelings where family is concerned. I’m sure we’ll find the treasure because we need to. I keep holding out hope that the note I was given is true. The guys are less convinced, but I’m not going to let go of that. Just like Stone won’t let go of finding his mother.
Stone stares at my hand on him, and my cheeks heat. I slip it off him, not knowing why the hell I even did that, but he stops me. He drops the papers in his hand and covers my hand with his, holding me there. Our gazes connect, transferring a pulse of electricity between us. It’s like a homing beacon calling to me.
He sits back, relaxing into a reclining position as he eyes me. Without thinking, I move forward, crawling up the crescent bed close to him. It’s like I’m caught in his orbit again. When he moves, I do. His gaze trails down my body, hitting all the places where this outfit hugs me instead of swallows me. His stomach rises with a breath, his shirt riding up to show off that peak of taut abs he’s sporting underneath. Maybe it’s the thought of that sexy stepbrother romance I’d just been thinking about, but I’m suddenly so taken by him. Enough that I have to look away. “Thank you for the clothes,” I say.
His jaw locks. “I was brought up to take care of people I—” he cuts off. “They suit you.”
I cock my head at him, wondering what he was going to say. The thought lingers between us still, making me bolder. I like thinking I can get through his defenses. I like thinking that even though Stone is an asshole, I can help him not to be, too. Maybe I’m just pushing it, seeing how far I can take him. It’s like playing with the devil and people do that every day just for fun.
“What are you doing?” Stone asks as I swing my legs over his hips, straddling him. Instead of forcing me off, he clutches my hips with a bruising grip. His eyes show that he’s grappling with a decision. He simultaneously wants to throw me off and bring me close. I know it because I feel the same way too.
I shrug. It comes out coyly, but I only did it because I couldn’t think of anything to say. I don’t know why I’m doing this. He calls to my body, and for once, I’m letting it act on its own volition.
He moves his hands up my arms, grazing my bare skin. A muscle jumps underneath his touch, like every part of my body is ready to get closer to him.
“Can I ask you a question?” Stone asks, fixing his gaze on me. Like usual, he doesn’t wait for me to say yes. “What was it like growing up the way you did?”