I expected to come home to the same old apartment, the same tired furniture, and Mom waiting to complain about tuition bills. What I didn’t expect was a half-naked stranger on our couch, broad shoulders bare, sweatpants hanging low on his hips like he’d just rolled out of bed.
He looked up when I dropped my bag, and for a second I forgot how to breathe.
“Guess you’re the daughter,” he said, voice low and cocky, eyes dragging slowly over me like he was undressing me right there in the doorway.
“And you are…?” I managed, trying not to stare at the outline straining against those gray sweats.
“Cole.” His mouth curled into a grin that told me he knew exactly where my eyes had just been. “Your stepbrother.”
The word hit me like a slap. Stepbrother. As in, Mom went and got married again wit
