Dare: A Stepbrother Romance by Caitlin Daire Page A

weeks, but it was hard sometimes, especially when I was surrounded by model lookalikes.
    “Back in a sec,” he said. “Need to use the bathroom.”
    As I waited for him to return, I saw a familiar face out of the corner of my eye. Drew. What the hell was he doing here? I turned to get a better look and noticed that he was strutting in with a girl beside him. She was a slim brunette with elfin features that made her look like a modern-day Audrey Hepburn, and I felt an odd pang of jealousy in my stomach as I looked at her.
    Drew spotted us and headed over. “Isn’t this a coincidence?” he said, smirk affixed to his face.
    I gritted my teeth before replying. “No, not really. I told you I was coming here tonight.”
    “Did you? Hm, I must’ve forgotten.”
    Bullshit. I’d only told him forty-five minutes ago. I had no idea how he’d even got a reservation on such short notice, but I guess being a hot billboard model had something to do with it. What I did know was that he’d come here to get on my nerves. Why else would he have so conveniently picked this restaurant? What the hell was he playing at?
    The girl smiled warmly and stuck her hand out. “You must be Drew’s stepsister,” she said. “I’m Ana.”
    I accepted her hand and tried my best to smile back at her even though I was mad at Drew for purposely intruding on my date. “Nice to meet you.”
    “You too. I’ve heard a lot about you. Drew and I are old friends,” she explained.
    My shoulders sagged with relief as I realized they were just friends, but I couldn’t figure out why. He could go on dates if he wanted. It was none of my business. Why should I care?
    Drew clapped his hand on her back. “Yep, Ana used to date my best friend from high school.”
    “And then he cheated on me, so Drew decided he’d rather be friends with me instead of him,” Ana chimed in.
    “No shit,” Drew said. “Fuck cheaters.”
    He gave me a pointed look as he said that last part, but I had no idea why. Was he making a dig at me for kissing him back the other night, even though I’d been seeing Dan?
    “Yeah, fuck ‘em,” Ana said before putting her hand over her mouth. “Oops. Probably shouldn’t talk like that in a place like this.”
    I smiled at her, and as Dan returned, she and Drew turned to face him. Dan’s face suddenly lost some of its color, and Ana’s eyes hazel widened.
    “Dan! What are you doing here?” she asked.
    “Just here with my friend Sophie. How about you?” he replied in a nonchalant tone.
    My heart sank a little as he described me as his ‘friend’. We’d only been dating for a couple of weeks, but it still stung considering how on our last few dates he’d gone out of his way to tell me I was special and really meant something to him.
    “Does Zoe know you take your friends to such nice restaurants?” Ana said, a teasing tone in her voice.
    Dan’s face was completely white now, and I had a terrible feeling I knew where this was going.
    “Who’s Zoe?” I asked in a small voice, and the smile vanished from Ana’s face.
    “Wait, I thought you guys were friends,” she said, throwing an accusatory stare at Dan. “If you’re friends, then how the hell has she never heard of Zoe? Zoe as in my best friend and your girlfriend? ”
    She looked back at me as Dan didn’t respond. “Oh my god. You had no idea, did you?”
    I shook my head, unable to say a word. I was afraid I’d burst into tears if I did. Dan the seemingly wonderful guy had a girlfriend. Apparently I’d just been some sort of side-piece. I’d been feeling guilty about kissing Drew back for all of five seconds at the camp, yet Dan had been seeing someone else the whole time behind my back.
    Dan stood up. “Look, I can explain…”
    Ana cut him off. “Save it, asshole. I’m calling Zoe right now.”
    She whipped out her cell phone, and Dan immediately smacked it right out of her hand, causing every other diner in the restaurant to look over at us with