Page 24 of Broken Love

“Not exactly,” he answers.

“Then, what’s up? What’s wrong with Caleb?”

“There’s nothing wrong with Caleb. She’s great, but…” His head shakes again.

“But…?” I gesture with my fingers to lure more words out of him. “But she’s… what? A werewolf? A replicant? What?”

“She’s great…” Fox repeats, still grinning, “but I’m really hung up on another girl back home in Los Angeles.”

My brow twitches. “Why haven’t I heard about her before?”

“Because I don’t talk about her much.”

“Why not?”

A shadow slides over his shoulder, instantly drawing my eyes away from him. “Don’t talk about who?”

Her voice whistles through my ears, sending a jolt of warmth throughout my entire body. Caleb stands at the head of the table, staring down at the two of us with loose arms dangling at her sides. Her t-shirt is tight and tucked into her belt, creating the most perfect curve from her belly to her impressive breasts.

I swallow. “Do you know about some girl in LA?”

Caleb smirks. “Is he talking about Roxie again?”

“Roxie?” I repeat, shooting a look across the table at Fox. “Sounds made up.”

“Because it’s not her real name,” Fox says, glaring up at Caleb’s amused face. “It’s her stage name.”

“Hold on.” I close my laptop again. “I can think of only one girl named Roxie and it ain’t the blonde from Chicago.”

“I love that movie,” Caleb says.

I pause, once again completely magnetized by the sound of her voice, and thoroughly enthralled that she took the bait. “Me, too…”

She scoffs. “You like musicals?”

“I like corsets and dangerous women.” I shift my focus back to Fox, “I can think of only one girl named Roxie and she’s…”

“Exactly who you’re thinking,” Caleb says, her perfect mouth curling even more.

I stare at Fox, waiting for him to refute it but he stays silent. My jaw drops. “You know Roxie Roberts?”

Caleb crosses her arms. “Oh, he knows her all right.”

Fox takes a quick breath. “She’s my stepsister.”

“No way!”

Excitement builds in my chest — even more when I realize that Caleb has taken the seat beside me. I clear my throat, coming back down as I put Fox’s tale together.

“Wait, you’re in love with your stepsister?” I ask. “No wonder you’re all tortured and shit.”

“I am not tortured,” he says, laughing it off.

“You are a little bit,” Caleb says.

“Does she know?” I ask.

He nods. “She did when I left home.”

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