I stood in the living room, staring at my phone for the tenth time. Mom and Dad had left for their anniversary trip two days ago, and the house felt too quiet. I liked it that way. No one asking where I was going or when I’d be back. Just me, a big empty fridge, and the freedom to walk around in my old tank top and shorts without anyone side-eyeing me.
The front door slammed open so hard the pictures on the wall rattled. I jumped, heart pounding, and grabbed the nearest thing, a stupid decorative vase.
“Who the hell—” I started, but the words died in my throat.
There he was. Jake. My stepbrother. Tall, broad-shouldered, with that same messy dark hair and the scar on his jaw from some fight back in high school. He dropped his duffel bag on the floor and looked at me like I was the one wh
