Hurricane Stepbrother by Stephanie Brother Page B

technically-”
    “Yeah, I guess you’re my ex-stepsister now.”
    While part of me wanted to chuckle, I knew better. “I’m really sorry about your father.”
    I watched with fascination as the light in his eyes disappeared, shut down and replaced by a stony look of indifference. “Which part?”
    “I’m sorry?” I asked with a frown.
    “Sorry about his death? Sorry about him pretty much disowning me to be with your mother? Sorry about the way he treated my mother throughout their entire marriage?”
    “I don’t-” I started, then abruptly cut myself off, not sure how exactly to respond to his thorny questions.
    He must have noticed my discomfort because he suddenly sighed and shook his head, dismissing the questions with a muttered, “Sorry. Force of habit.”
    “It’s- It’s fine,” I assured him, but I still felt a little shaky about his obvious disdain towards both his father and his relationship with my mother. “What are you doing here?”
    “Funeral,” he said with a shrug as he started to take off his gloves and shoved them in his helmet. “And the reading of the will.”
    “I’m sorry if I sound a bit like an asshole, but I meant what are you doing here ? At this house?”
    Knowing just how rocky the relationship was between Erik and Gerald, I hadn’t really expected his son to show up at all. But even if the thought had crossed my mind, I just assumed he would’ve gotten a hotel room or stayed with friends. If he had any. I really didn’t know.
    Erik stared at me blankly as he said, “Holly said I could stay here.”
    I reared back, the surprise evident on my face. I had no idea my mother was in contact with Erik, she’d never made any mention of him before. “Oh. I didn’t know.”
    “Is she here?” he asked, gesturing towards the door that led into the house.
    I could tell he could sense my hesitation and was trying not to overstep any boundaries by forcing his way into the house. I was a little surprised by the fact but I was smart enough to realize that judging his entire character on one moment in his life probably wasn’t fair to him.
    “No, she’s at my grandma’s house. She’ll be there until the storm clears up. But you can come in.”
    He gave me a grateful smile and followed behind me as I moved towards the door and stepped inside.
    “Thanks. I wish I would’ve thought to look at the weather before taking the bike up here. For a little while there, I didn’t think I’d make it.”
    I could hear his words trailing off as he curiously looked around the house and I turned back to him and clasped my hands together, twisting them awkwardly as I searched for something to say. He seemed content with exploring the house with his eyes so I let him do that, watching with a frown as he walked over to the family photos hanging above the mantle.
    “Do you want a tour of the house?” I blurted out, not wanting to make him uncomfortable by looking at the pictures of our family.
    The family his father had without him.
    He stopped mid-step and turned back to me, holding my gaze for a long moment and I swore he could see right through me, reading my intentions as clear as day.
    But if he could, then he apparently didn’t have a problem with it because he simply said, “Sure.”
    “Great,” I breathed out with relief, then proceeded to take him around the house and show him from room to room. When we reached the guest room, he dropped his small backpack on the bed and shed his wet leather coat, revealing a tight black t-shirt and a set of strong forearms.
    I’m not sure why my eyes were drawn immediately to his arms, nor why I felt a blush creeping onto my cheeks as I looked further up and noticed his biceps stretching out the cotton of his t-shirt.
    Okay, I was well-aware of why I was looking. Erik was a certified hottie, that was a fact. But I still felt massively uncomfortable checking the man out.
    I cleared my throat and shakily asked, “Do you want me to leave you to