Page 134 of Heartless Stepbrother

The reply came before I even dropped my hand back onto my lap.

Because I wanted to see if you’re still that confident when you’re playing against me.

My eyes lifted, almost on instinct.

Across the bonfire, the flames flickering against his jawline…

Riley stood slightly apart from the group, a drink in one hand, his phone in the other.

And he was looking directly at me.

Not subtle.

Not accidental.

Not even pretending.

A slow, knowing curve formed at the corner of his mouth when he saw I’d spotted him.

Something sharp and reckless unfurled inside me. The warmth of the girls at my side, the confidence Malia kept feeding into my bloodstream, the stubborn pride I’d earned tonight brick by brick.

Before I could second-guess it, I typed.

You just really want to kiss me, don’t you?

Tessa gasped when she saw the look on my face.

Jo leaned closer. “What did you do?”

Harper didn’t look up, but she smirked.

Malia nudged me knowingly. “Troublemaker.”

My phone buzzed again.

Why don’t you come over and find out?

I laughed. Actually laughed. And the girls’ heads snapped toward me like I’d dropped a bomb in the middle of the circle.

Malia grinned. “Okay. What’s going on? Spill.”

I stared at my phone, still smiling. “He’s asking for trouble.”

Malia scoffed. “Heistrouble.”

Tessa snorted. “He deserves whatever you’re about to do.”

Harper added, still sketching, “End him.”

Jo lifted her water bottle in a toast. “For the sisterhood.”

Their confidence soaked into me like fire into dry wood.

It felt good.

It felt powerful.

It felt like I was finally stepping into the version of myself I kept promising I’d become.