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He turns around and strides away to take his phone call. Charlie and I wait until his back is turned before passing each other a secret smile.
“Finally got his attention,” murmurs my sister.
“It only took a little breaking and entering.”
Charlie bites her lip to sedate her smile. “He’s really mad this time.”
“This lecture could go forhours.”
“Hours,” she sighs happily, hip bumping me.
We’ve never really talked about our fascination with our stepfather, Joe, out loud. We’ve never needed to. The day my mother brought him home for dinner, me and Charlie communicated everything with a single breathless glance. Our mother had introduced us to a handful of men since her divorce from our father, but there was something special about Joe. Something real and flawed and honest.
We did everything in our power to make sure Joe stuck around, including being on our best behavior during his courtship with our mother. We planned date nights, cooked for them, pretended to be perfect angels—and we snagged ourselves the best stepfather two girls could ever hope for. He’s the big, strong, silent type. Protective. Honest.
Hot. As. Sin.
Might as well admit it. I’ve always had a little crush. But as we’ve gotten closer over the last difficult year, I’vereallystarted tonotice everything about Joe. His looks, his strength, his confidence and character.
Do I have an older man fetish? Doubt it. None of the other forty-somethings walking around Portsmith make my mouth water like Joe does. He towers over me, and his body is thick inall the places. His face is grizzled and gruff, hands scarred and calloused. And he does this loose-hipped walk paired with a head tilt when he sees me coming down the hallway of our house. Almost like he’s coming down to my level to check in and see if I’m okay. Lately it has meclimbing the walls.
Boys my age are weak, emotionless husks compared to him.
I’ve kissed three boys and they all made me want to brush my teeth.
Joe wouldn’t. He’d know what he was doing.
“Why are you looking at Joe like that?” Charlie asks me.
“What?” Wendy is trying to knot my damp towel tighter around my body, but I shake her off. At roughly the same time, I realize I’m staring hard at Joe’s ass in his snug uniform pants.Stop. “How am I looking at him?”
Charlie narrows her eyes at me. Blue ones, so similar to mine, even though we’re not related by blood. “I don’t know. I’ve never seen you look at anyone that way before. I’m not sure what it means.”
I scoff. “You’re imagining it.”
“No, I’m not. I have Bella sense.” She steps closer, studying my face with a touch more scrutiny than before. Sometimes Idothink Charlie can read my mind, despite not being natural sisters. She was adopted by my mother and father before I could even walk, because they wanted me to grow up with a support system, but they also wanted to help a friend who couldn’t raise her baby. Whatever the circumstances, I consider her my sisterand best friend. “Tell me why you’re looking at Joe funny,” Charlie says now. “I’m going to find out anyway.”
I tilt my head in Wendy’s direction. “Can you wait until we’re alone?”
“Good timing,” Wendy says brightly. “I was just about to load you into the back of the police car.”
“Oh, goodie,” Charlie responds. “Is there a phone charger I can use?”
“No,” Wendy answers with a smile, circling around behind me and Charlie, ushering us toward the back of the police car. She puts her hand on my head and ducks me into the opening. Charlie follows me into the backseat, silence prevailing for a whole three seconds before she fills it.
“You were checking out our stepdad.”
No use in denying it. “Fine. I’ve been noticing him in a…different way, lately, I guess.”
Charlie stares at me in horror for a few beats, before whispering, “Me too.”
I jolt forward in my seat, the awkward position causing my towel to unknot, revealing one of my breasts and half of the other. I’ve just gone skinny-dipping in broad daylight, however, so obviously nudity isn’t high on my list of concerns. “You think Joe is kind of…sexy, too?”
“No,” Charlie says slowly. “I think he’sextremelysexy. A certified smoke show.”
“Oh. Okay. Youwanthim.”
“Yes.”
