Page 127 of Heartless Stepbrother

Riley’s brows lifted just slightly, his smirk twitching like he hadn’t expected me to recover that fast.

Good.

Let him be the one caught off guard for once.

Because I wasn’t going to be his entertainment anymore.

Not his flustered little toy.

Not his easy reaction.

Not the girl who blushed because he said something wicked in front of his friends.

No.

From now on, I was going to be a problem for him too.

A big one.

Starting now.

CHAPTER TWENTY

LUNA

Islippedaway.

Not dramatically. No storming off, no stomped footsteps, just a quiet, subtle drift out of Riley’s orbit the moment he turned to talk to someone else.

I needed space.

I needed air.

And I needed water before I dehydrated from the heat of my own secondhand embarrassment.

A folding table sat near the dunes, piled with cans, bottles, red cups, and a big cooler half-buried in the sand. I weaved through the crowd, ignoring the curious glances, the whispers, the people still trying to figure out who I was and why Riley had brought me.

The ocean hissed softly behind everything, constant and calming. The scent of ocean and smoke helped me breathe again.

I pulled open the cooler lid and grabbed a bottle of water, the cold condensation instantly numbing my fingers.

“Hey,” a voice said from beside me. “You’re new.”

I turned.

A girl stood there, short, maybe five-foot-two, with thick black hair braided down her back and pretty, soft features. Her shorts were frayed at the edges, her sweatshirt oversized, and she looked… normal. Not dangerous. Not flirty. Not sizing me up like competition.

Just… friendly.

“Yeah,” I said. “New.”

She smiled, and it reached her eyes, which was rare in this crowd. “I’m Malia.”

“Luna.”

“Cute name.” She cracked open her own water. “So… let me guess. Riley dragged you here?”

I froze, almost choking on air.