Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 23745 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 119(@200wpm)___ 95(@250wpm)___ 79(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23745 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 119(@200wpm)___ 95(@250wpm)___ 79(@300wpm)
I’m a whole new man when I’m around her. I’m no longer hollow. I’m no longer empty inside. I want her more than anything I’ve ever wanted before. But there’s just one problem…
Her mom is marrying my father…
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1
Blake
The female species can take a rocket to the moon for all I care. Seriously. I’ve deleted all my dating apps, haven’t let any of my guy friends or co-workers set me up with any “totally hot babes,” and on the rare occasion that I do see a girl that tickles my fancy or gets my pants tight all of a sudden, I’m not even approaching her.
You know why? Because all women do is leave you.
My mom, she bailed on me when I was twelve, leaving me with nothing but the parade of women that my dad brought in and out of my life for the next ten years. And my last girlfriend, Emily, who I dated for the majority of my college experience, figured her job offer in Miami was more important than our relationship.
She wanted to stay friends, though. Of course she wanted to stay friends. They always want to stay friends after they’ve broken your heart, don’t they?
But anyway.
Now I’m back home, and I have other problems to deal with. Problems like my dad wanting me to come and be a part of his real estate firm. See, most people wouldn’t see that as a problem. Most people would consider it a blessing, a privilege even. But most people wouldn’t understand that I’ve been basically expected to join my father’s firm since I was old enough to understand what joining his firm meant.
And don’t get me wrong; I appreciate the fact that I even have the option. I appreciate what my father has built, but I want to do the same thing for myself. I don’t want my life’s work handed to me on a platter. I want to forge something on my own and not just walk into the office every day with everything already laid out for me.
But somehow my dad just can’t seem to understand that.
I don’t mind an honest day’s work. That’s why I volunteered to put this fresh coat of paint on Luna’s bedroom today. Luna, my step-sister who I’ve never even met, who is moving in with us today, along with my step-mom, Susan. They should be arriving any minute, and I’m honestly kind of ready to get the whole meeting out of the way so I can go off and do my own thing.
Some of the guys from work were talking about heading to the bar to grab some drinks, and that sounds a whole lot better than milling about the house chatting with a couple of chicks I’ve got no interest in getting to know or really having anything to do with in the future.
I spend about ten minutes putting the next few coats of paint on the wall when I hear the door downstairs. My dad comes up behind me. “They’re here, buddy.”
“Okay,” I reply. “I’ll be right down.”
He glances at the walls and gives me a thumbs up. “Nice work, by the way.”
“That’ll be five hundred bucks.” I grin.
He chuckles and heads downstairs. I set the roller aside, put the lid on the paint can, clean myself up, and follow him down. I can already hear the sound of women’s voices and take a deep sigh to prepare myself as I reach the bottom of the stairs.
Hopefully this won’t take too long so I can get the hell out of here.
It seems everyone has congregated in the kitchen, so I make my way in there and find my father, a tall blonde woman with her back to me who must be Susan, and another girl who must be Luna.
When I see her, something flickers in my chest, and I stop dead in my tracks. My stomach does a cartwheel, and I have to stop myself from gasping.
This can’t be her…can it? My actual step-sister?
She’s looking right at me with an expression I can’t quite make out. Is it boredom? Or is she trying to figure me out? Does she not want to be here? Or is she trying to figure me out too?
She sure doesn’t look like she belongs here. She looks like she belongs on a runway, or front row at a fashion show, or in front of a camera filming a movie. She’s absolutely gorgeous. The look on her face says she either knows it and is tired of being told or has genuinely no idea.
“There he is!” my dad says boisterously. “Blake, I’d like you to meet Susan, your new step-mom, and Luna, your step-sister.”
Yep, it’s her. The beauty standing in front of me is my step-sister.
If I had that rocket going to the moon – the one with all the women on it – I’d have to keep this girl down here on Earth for me. There’s something about her that’s just got me going, and it’s not simply her beauty either. She’s like a mystery standing in front of me – a mystery I’m dying to crack.