Page 17 of Wicked Love

“Daaaad,” Joe slurred, unable to hide how wasted he really was. “I was just telling my new sister that—"

“Philip, I can explain,” I said, cutting him short, hoping he would hear me out.

He raised a hand in a commanding gesture I wasn’t used to. My mother had never been good with discipline. Unless it concerned my physical appearance, she didn’t really care about my actions. “Both of you, silence.” Joe and I clamped our mouths shut. “Clarissa and I were excited to share the good news with you two. You are our children, and soon we’ll all be one family. The last thing I thought would happen tonight was finding my son drunk off his ass and the two of you arguing on the day you met for the first time.”

Joe lifted a hand. “Technically, it’s not really the first—"

I blinked, afraid he would come clean with his father and mess up everything. Was he suicidal or something? Did he really think our parents would be fine with us having sex?

In what world was he living in? Did he have any idea how batshit my mother would be if she learned the truth?

Philip continued as if he didn’t hear him, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

“You two go back home. Go to bed and sleep it off. We’ll have a talk in the morning. For now, just get out of here. I’ll call a cab for you.”

Joe dangled the car keys. “I’ll drive us home. No worries. I’ll take care of my baby sis while I’m at it. Don’t worry. I know exactly what she likes and how she likes it.” He winked at me, and I fought within me the urge to slap his handsome face.

His dad removed the keys from his grip, and after opening an app on his phone to book us a car, he followed us toward the entrance. “I’m disappointed in you, son. This was supposed to be our night. Clarissa’s and mine. You should be ashamed. I know this whole wedding thing may look rushed for you guys, but Clarissa and I are happy, and you gotta respect that.” He shook his head, his shoulders sagging forward in defeat. “I really wish you two could be friends. You don’t have to like each other, but please act civilized.”

“I’m sorry,” I murmured.

Joe pushed past me and exited the restaurant. Through the window, I could see him pacing the sidewalk, shaking his head, and cursing.

Philip’s hand rested on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “He’ll be all right. He didn’t mean what he said earlier. I don’t know what’s got into him. He’s been different for the last couple of months. Alone and sad. He won’t confide in me, but I sense a change in him. That’s why I wanted him to spend the weekend here. To decompress. He’s working too much. Soon he’ll burn out if he doesn’t take care of himself. I wish he would talk to me. Don’t let him intimidate you with words. Inside, he’s a softie. He just puts on a brave face to hide his pain. His mother’s death affected him more than he’ll ever admit. He started acting out after that day.” A chime on his phone had Philip unlocking the device. “Your car will be here in a minute. I should go back to your mother. Just make sure you both get home safe, okay? I’ll see you two in the morning.”

With one last glance at his son, Philip retreated to the dining room, waving at my mother as he neared her.

I forced myself to look away and joined my future stepbrother outside.

For the entire ride home, Joe and I sat on opposite ends of the backseat, not engaging with each other.

When we entered the house, he turned to face me. His words sounded like venom and spread under my skin, poisoning all my vital organs.

“What happened between us was a mistake. I was drunk; otherwise, I would have never fallen for a girl like you. You’re pathetic. A manipulator and a liar. I’m sorry we gotta see each other again in the foreseeable future. I wish we’d never met. Stay the fuck away from me. Don’t talk to me, don’t reach out, don’t look at me. Did I make myself clear?”

I nodded as hot tears rolled down my cheeks. Joe’s words hurt more than any of the mean things my mother ever spoke to me. They infiltrated my heart and blanketed it with darkness.

I knew the night we shared was a mistake, yet the time we spent together still topped every other night of my life. It meant something to me. It felt real.

I swallowed the lump clogging my airways.

Joe stood there, glaring at me. I felt small under the intensity of his murderous gaze.

“I didn’t just fuck the underaged daughter of my dad’s girlfriend last night. I fucked my new little sister. And I liked it so much that all day, before I bumped into you and learned the truth, I had hoped for a repeat. You’re toxic, and you mean nothing to me. I’m done with you.”

He turned and climbed the stairs toward his bedroom two at a time, leaving me behind.

I rubbed my arms, trying to inject myself with warmth. Because Joe only left iciness in his wake.

5

JOE

“I can’t believe your dad is getting married,” Anderson said, adjusting his bowtie in the mirror of my en-suite bathroom. I got back to my dad’s house early this morning. It had been five weeks since the weekend I would rather erase from my memory when I ran away in the morning after Grace and I got into a fight. A stupid fight, but I had to blow off steam and get the angst out in any possible way. Even after all this time, I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact I had slept with her a few hours before learning we were related.

This time around, I begged Andy to act like a buffer between me and the rest of my new family. My dad loved him, so it shouldn’t be hard. When we were in college, my father hired him every year to play at his company’s Christmas party. Back when he wasn’t on the way to becoming an international superstar. Sure, his life had been hard in the last month since Abby returned to his life. He had his own shit to deal with, but I was thankful he took a day off to help me out. And anyway, I was pretty sure my father asked him to play today as a favor too.

“Yeah, well, if he’s happy, who am I to interfere, right?”