Stepbrother Broken (The Hawthorne Brothers Book 2) (20 page)

He
stares at me for a long moment, his gaze boring into mine. It
’
s like he
’
s scoping out the perimeter of my
soul, making absolutely sure that no part of me is hidden from him. And despite
Danny
’
s warning to keep a little piece of
myself tucked away where Luke can
’
t reach it, I let him see all of
me. It may be reckless
—
no, downright insane
—
but I want to put my whole self in his hands. Even if
that means I
’
ll be left in a million pieces
should something go wrong between us.

Without
a word, Luke raises my hand to his mouth, kissing my palm. His eyes close as he
holds me there, caressing his square jaw as he presses his lips to my skin. And
then, just as quickly, he breaks away from me, turning toward the door.

“
Aren
’
t
you gonna say it back?
”
I ask, clutching my towel
close to my chest.

“
And ruin the drama, Ms. Acting
School? I
’
d never do that to you,
”
he says, grinning at me over his broad shoulder.

“
Ugh. You suck,
”
I laugh, chucking a hand towel at his towering,
retreating form.

“
You love every minute of it,
”
he replies, cracking open the door to make sure no one
’
s coming. Easing his frame through the doorway, he
turns back to me and goes on,
“
My dad
’
s having me, Cash, and Finn work a job with him today.
We
’
ll be gone until late. But
…
can I take you into town or something tonight? Since
we
’
re giving this not-hiding thing a
try?
”

“
What, you mean like
…
on a date?
”
I ask, raising an eyebrow.

“
Sure,
”
Luke
says,
“
A real live date, if you can
believe it.
”

It
hits me that Luke and I have never
been
on an official date before. Not
once. And somehow, his asking now feels like a bigger step than any we
’
ve taken together so far. And we
’
ve taken
quite
a few, by this point.

“
Well
…
OK,
”
I grin, feeling for the world like I
’
m fourteen years old again,
“
I
’
d be happy to go on a date with
you, Luke.
”

“
Great,
”
he grins back, closing the door behind him,
“
I even promise not to beat anyone up this time
…
Unless they deserve it, of course.
”

“
Of course,
”
I say, rolling my eyes,
“
Now
get out of here. You
’
re letting all the warm air out.
”

The
door closes with a click, and I brace myself against the sink with both hands.
It
’
s not just the prospect of a date
with Luke that has me all giddy, of course. It
’
s
the idea that maybe, just maybe, we won
’
t need to sneak around for that
much longer. We might actually have a chance at being a normal couple, here.

Who
ever knew that just getting to
“
normal
”
could be such a damn miracle?

Chapter Ten

While
the boys are away working, Mom decides it
’
s her moment to pounce. The second
we Porter women are alone in the lake house, she declares tonight
“
girl
’
s night
”
, an occasion that none of us has any chance of
wiggling out of.
Great
.

“
Come on, it
’
ll be fun!
”
Mom gushes as she herds me
out onto the porch.
“
The four of us haven
’
t had a proper chat in ages. Humor your poor old
mother, will you?
”

I
see that Anna has already been penned in when I step out onto the verandah. She
sits before a giant spread of wine, cheese, chocolate, and fruit. Mom
definitely pulled out all the stops tonight, that
’
s
for sure. But while I certainly don
’
t ever mind the sight of a few good
bottles of red, I can hear that old alarm bell winding up in the back of my
mind. Why the special treatment all of a sudden?

“
Now let me just get your sister,
and we
’
ll be all set,
”
Mom beams, twirling away in a cloud of golden curls
and flowing layers.

Anna
and I sit quietly on the porch, the night sounds of insects and other creatures
rising up around us like a symphony. We still haven
’
t had a second to talk since the other day on the
dock. In all honesty, I don
’
t even know where she
’
s been, for the last couple of days.

“
You want first dibs?
”
I offer, nodding at the impressive spread.

“
Yeah. Sure,
”
she says disinterestedly, plucking a single strawberry
from the fruit plate and popping it into her mouth. I reach for the wine key
and set to work uncorking a bottle of Malbec. I know what my priorities are.

“
What have you been up to, these
past few days?
”
I ask her point blank,
pouring two generous glasses of wine.
“
I haven
’
t seen hide or hair of you.
”

“
I told you,
”
she says flatly,
“
I
’
ve
been hanging out with Finn and his band. Taking some pictures for them.
”

“
For
days
?
”
I press

“
It
’
s
not like there
’
s anyone to hang out with here,
”
she replies, flicking her eyes over to me,
“
What with you and Maddie making yourselves scarce, and
all.
”

There
it is. The same accusatory tone my little sister leveled at me the other day by
the water. I don
’
t mind confrontation with her or
anyone. But I have my suspicions about why she
’
s
angry. And if I let her air her grievances, she may very well make me account
for my history with Luke. Not to mention my present with him. The two of us
have been trying to avoid this very thing from happening since we got here. But
now, after our conversation this morning, everything has changed. I can stop
lying to my sister. All I have to do is let her ask her questions. The rest
will take care of itself
…
I hope.

“
Anna,
”
I
begin, taking a deep steadying breath,
“
I
’
m
sorry.
”

“
For what?
”
she asks, peering at me over the rim of her wineglass.

“
For making you feel like I don
’
t trust you,
”
I go on, lowering my gaze,
“
For not checking in with you to make sure you were OK.
”

“
Are we talking about
now
, or
these whole past few years?
”
she asks coolly.

“
Both? I guess?
”
I tell her, floundering.
“
I just want you to know that I do trust you. More than
anyone in the world. I want you to be a bigger part of my life, Anna. And I
’
m sorry if I haven
’
t
let you be before. If there
’
s
…
If
there
’
s anything I can do. If there
’
s anything you want to know, or ask me
…
Well, I
’
m all ears. And no lip, for once in
my damn life.
”

“
Really?
”
she asks, eyebrows raised.

“
Really,
”
I assure her, leaning forward in my Adirondack chair.
“
Go on, Anna. Ask me.
”

My
little sister chews on her lip, looking away from me as she weighs her next
words carefully. I can see her mulling over the options, wondering whether or
not she even wants the truth from me now. But when she next looks up at me, I
know she
’
s made her choice. This is it. The
moment of truth.

“
Sophie,
”
she begins quietly,
“
Are
you
—
?
”

“
Got her!
”
Mom
’
s singsong voice bursts from the
doorway, making Anna and I jump out of our skins,
“
Maddie will be down in just a second.
”

I
fall back against my chair, frustrated and disappointed. We were
so
close. I can sense Anna
’
s dismay as well, and lift my blue eyes to her
matching ones.

We
’
ll talk soon
, I try to assure her with my eyes
alone.

And
if I had to guess, I
’
d say that her look translates to,
You
bet your ass we will
.

Maddie
finally graces us with her presence, stepping out to take the last seat at our
impromptu feast. I watch the same pang of suspicion shoot through her body as
she takes in the spread. Mom only goes above and beyond like this when
something is wrong.

I
sit up like a shot as a sudden, beautiful thought occurs to me. What if she
’
s gathered us all out here to let us know that she and
John are finally breaking up? What if this is our last night at the lake house,
and John
’
s giving her some space to break
the news while he gets the boys up to speed? To Mom and John, parting ways
might seem like another disappointment for their kids. If only they knew what a
blessing such a parting would be. Buoyed by my theory, I settle back in my
seat, happily nursing my wine. I even go so far as to humor my mom
’
s small talk
—
that
’
s
how good of a mood I
’
m
in.

“
I think it
’
s very smart of you, getting some extra credits over
the summer,
”
my Mom says, as the conversation
babbles happily along.

“
I just want the option of
graduating early, if anything good comes up,
”
I
tell her,
“
Acting apprenticeships are pretty
competitive. If I snag a good one in the middle of senior year, I want to be
able to grab it.
”

“
Campus must be pretty quiet in the
summer,
”
Mom continues, heaping a plate with
cheese and crackers,
“
I
’
m sure it
’
ll be relaxing to get some alone
time.
”

“
Not that you
’
ll be entirely without company,
”
Anna speaks up pointedly. I glance over at her
quickly. Does she know that Luke is going to working on campus this summer?

“
Oh! Will some of your friends be
doing the summer session too?
”
Mom chirps,
“
How fun.
”

“
Uh. Kind of,
”
I mutter. May as well give this truth-telling thing a
shot.
“
It, uh, turns out that Luke is
going to be TA-ing some more classes this session
…
And
he
’
s going to be an RA, too.
”

“
RA? What
’
s that?
”
Mom asks me.

“
A resident assistant,
”
I clarify,
“
It means he
’
ll be living in the dorms, too. Making sure us kiddos
don
’
t get into any trouble.
”

“
Get out,
”
Mom gasps, grabbing for my hand,
“
That is so, so wonderful. And here I thought all you
kids were going to go your separate ways after this week. I
’
m so glad you two will get to keep
on being friends.
”

“
Uh-huh,
”
I reply, trying to keep my cool.

Holy
crap
…
I was right. With all this talk
about
“
going our separate ways
”
and
“
staying friends
”
, Mom must be working up to telling us that she and
John are splitsville! I can
’
t believe how good this timing is.
Just when Luke and I are getting ready to come clean about our status, it turns
out there
’
s nothing dirty about what we
’
re doing. Not anymore.

“
I guess Sophie and Luke will have
to be the ones keeping in touch for us all us, huh?
”
Anna says, dragging my attention back to the
conversation,
“
Since the rest of us will be going
home after this?
”

“
Seems that way,
”
Maddie adds, her voice a bit stilted.

I
look around at my mom and sisters, excitement flooding me from head to toe. It
will be such a relief to tell them about how I really feel for Luke. Sure, it
might be a little awkward for Mom down the line, Luke being her ex
’
s
—
or rather, double-ex
’
s
—
son and all. But I
’
m sure she
’
ll be onto the next guy by then,
anyway.

“
Well, actually
…”
my Mom says, a small smile creeping across her face,
“
I wanted to talk to you girls about
just that.
”

Oh
my god. This is it. The moment that will change everything for me and Luke.

“
What
’
s up, Mom?
”
I ask, trying to keep the excitement out of my voice.

“
Well,
”
Mom sighs, sipping her wine with no small bit of
drama,
“
I know I told you that my plan for
this summer was to spend a little time getting grounded in my hometown before
going back to Vermont. Really, I just wanted a couple of weeks away from it
all. At first.
”

I
watch my sisters
’
faces become uneasy, and feel
my own expression reflecting theirs
’
. I wish she would just spit out
the good news already, before I have a conniption.

“
Are you staying for longer, then?
”
Anna asks her, brow furrowed,
“
Did you find another place to rent in town or
something?
”