Stepbrother Broken (The Hawthorne Brothers Book 2) by Colleen Masters Page B

torsos, dripping with lake water and absolutely perfect in
shape and tone. I recognize Cash ’ s tattoos at once, averting my
attention to the other brother, whose tapered, muscular waist forms a perfect
v. His fitted swim trunks hang dangerously low, and a dark trail of hair leads
down from his navel, drawing my gaze to the impressive bulge announcing itself
beneath his bathing suit. It ’ s that tantalizing trail that snags
my attention for its striking familiarity. And when I widen my focus and take
this stranger in as a whole, that uncanniness only becomes more pronounced.
Somewhere deep within the recesses of my mind, an alarm starts to wail. But
why? As the blood red sun finally dips down below the horizon, my unblinded
eyes flick up to the man ’ s face.
    For
a split second, I convince myself that I must be hallucinating. I ’ ve had too much to drink. I ’ m crazed with cabin fever after one day in the woods.
Surely, I can ’ t actually be seeing what my
mind would have me believe. But as the stranger ’ s
eyes lock squarely with mine, blazing like the finest of emeralds, there can be
no mistaking him.
    Luke
Hawthorne stands at the end of the dock, staring at me with utter disbelief. My
entire world tilts on its axis as I scramble to understand this turn of events.
Luke is here. At the lake house. With John ’ s sons. He is John ’ s son. And if Luke is John ’ s son — John, who my mother has been
shacked up with for months doing god knows what — Then
he and I … We ’ re …
    I
bring my wine glass to my lips, taking a huge swig as time speeds back up to
the present. My heart pounds wildly in my ears, obscuring the banter that flies
in the air between the three brothers. I watch, paralyzed, as Luke gages my
reaction. His expression goes from shocked, to curious, to something
approaching happy surprise. Holy shit … is he going to tell all of our siblings
that we know each other? He can ’ t. They can ’ t know. I can practically feel the panic light up my
body like a neon sign, and it ’ s not lost on Luke either. I watch
as he realizes that I ’ m not going to acknowledge him.
Watch as disappointment, then indifference take hold of his features. He tears
his eyes away from me, playing it cool as ever. Unless he isn ’ t playing at all — maybe he couldn ’ t care less about finding me here. Me, the daughter of
the woman who ’ s been living with his Dad, and … And …
    I
watch as if from outside my own body as Luke shoots me a casual smile and
strides right past me toward the house. Clutching onto my wine glass like a life preserver, I hurry to avert my eyes,
totally at a loss. What ’ s the proper etiquette for the
moment you figure out that the guy you want to bone is related to your Mom ’ s fuck buddy?
    Dear
god. I ’ m going to need a refill before I
even begin to deal with this one.
     

 
     
    Chapter Six
     
    Well,
it ’ s official , I think to myself as I sink even
further down into my seat at the kitchen table, I can now say in all truth
that I know what hell looks like.
    I
barely hear a word of the conversation buzzing in the air as the Porter and
Hawthorne families tuck into their dinners. Unable to even think about touching
my own food, I sip my wine in shell-shocked silence. How can this be happening?
How can it be possible that Luke freaking Hawthorne is sitting across from me
at “ family dinner ” , looking calm and collected as ever? Is he not the
least bit freaked out to see me here? Does he care at all that our relationship
has just gotten ten times weirder, perhaps even impossible, given our parents ’ history? How am I the only one who ’ s freaking out about this whole goddamn side show?
    “ So nice to have everyone here at
last, ” my Mom trills, looking around at
the seven less-than-enthusiastic faces around the table. “ Have all you kids gotten to know each other by now? ”
    I
can feel Luke ’ s eyes boring into me from across
the table. He ’ s