“Is she hot?” Caleb asked. “I bet she’s hot for you to have lost all sense.”
A heavy breath escaped our father as he took a deep sip of his whiskey. “I tolerate the nonsense you get up to at your school. Don’t think you can behave the same way under my roof. You’ll respect both Eva and her daughter.”
A sliver of surprise mingled with my annoyance. I’d never seen Dad being so protective over anyone. Something told me he’d been purposely hiding his relationship with this woman.
Was she that important to him? Suddenly, I had to know who she was.
“At least, tell us her whole name,” I said, trying to keep a nonchalant façade.
“Eva Brown.”
A sickly feeling stirred up inside me. Caleb and Corey were staring at me with frozen expressions.
Milla’s surname was Brown. It was only a few days ago that she told my brothers about her mom getting engaged to a guy called ‘Brian’. It wasn’t an uncommon name, so we never thought our dad would be the same guy as her mother’s fiancé.
“You can keep the bottle if you prefer,” said Dad, rising to his feet and straightening his jacket. “Take it as an early present from your old man. In return, be ready to meet Eva and your new stepsister around eleven tomorrow. We’ll have brunch together.”
Dad was completely oblivious about the shock overcoming us. He drained the last of his whiskey and walked out of the room.
10
Camilla
The party happening outside was still rocking when I left the kitchen. Wyatt and Julie weren’t in the backyard, so I started walking toward the front lawn of the massive frat house.
My phone vibrated against my thigh. Taking it out of my jeans pocket, I glanced at it and found Mom was calling me. Shifting to a quieter corner of the vast backyard, I picked up the call.
“Hey, Mom,” I said while my gaze searched for my friends among a crowded beer pong table.
“Where were you? I’ve been calling you for the last half an hour,” said Mom, sounding worried.
I was still half-dazed from my kiss with Noah. Before that, I’d been sandwiched between Corey and Caleb, trying to battle the conflicting feelings rising inside me while I enjoyed their kisses and touches on my body.
“I was distracted,” I said, trying to be as honest as possible with my mom. “I’m at a party.”
“Oh? Really?”
“Yeah. Wyatt and Julie are here too.”
“That’s great, sweetheart,” Mom gushed in an overly excited voice that made me roll my eyes. “I’m glad you’re enjoying the last semester of school. You need to take the time to enjoy college. It’s not all about assignments and work.”
“Why’d you call, Mom?” I asked before she could lament over my pathetically boring life.
“Here’s the thing, honey...” She went silent, clearly hesitating on what to say next.
“Mom?” I urged.
“Brian and I got married at the courthouse today,” she blurted in one single breath.
“What?” I gasped.
“We didn’t want to wait anymore,” she said quickly. “I don’t care for a big wedding and all, especially at my age.”
“That’s not fair, Mom! You deserve something special on your wedding day. And you’re not that old! I can’t believe Brian agreed to this at all!”
“It was his idea,” she confessed with a giggle.
My fingers raked through the long strands of my hair. I was torn between surprise and anger. She sounded so happy though and I couldn’t bring myself to throw a tantrum about their secret wedding at a lousy courthouse.