Page 20 of My Pucking Valentine

“Are you upset because it’s Clara, or is it something else?”

“She’s your stepsister,” my mom hisses. “It looks bad.”

It’s my turn to sigh heavily. I’m sick of hearing that word. If I never hear it again, it will be too soon.

“I don’t care how it looks. There is nothing wrong with our relationship. Nothing. And there is nothing wrong with Clara. You’ll see, and you’ll like her.”

Without another word, I end the call. I have never been angry at my mother before, and I’ve certainly never hung up on her. My mother has always had my utmost respect, but she’s never pissed me off this much before. She may know Clara’s mom and my dad, but she doesn’t know Clara.

Shifting my car intoDrive, I head toward my next destination. I am going to make this work. Clara is my woman, and I’m done pussyfooting around. I’m done pretending she doesn’t exist.

I’m done hiding her.

She is mine, and I’m going to shout it from the rooftops—or podcasts. Whatever the case may be.

EIGHTEEN

CLARA

Waking up alone,again, should not surprise me. I’m used to it by now. Falling asleep in Luke’s arms only to wake up alone. It’s just part of our relationship dynamic. Although I had hoped things would change after the conversation we had yesterday.

Sitting up, I look around the room and let out a heavy sigh when my gaze lands on my bedside clock. It’s three in the morning. I fell asleep too early. I was exhausted but not tired enough to sleep the whole night through.

I grab my phone, and the first thing I do is check my email, and there it is. A meeting request with the principal, the district human resources officer, and the head of the school board for tomorrow—first thing in the morning.

So, I’m definitely getting fired over this. And with a whole audience, too. Shit. Pressing my lips together, I respond to the email, but only enough to confirm that I will be at the requested place and time for the meeting.

There is no way I’ll be able to sleep at all now. So I don’t even bother trying. Instead, I do something insanely stupid, I search for my name on the Internet. Curiosity killed the cat, and at this moment, I see that I am, without a doubt, the cat.

Because there aren’t just gossip rags talking about my relationship with Luke. No, there are everyday people who decided to make videos about it as well.Ohmigod, why? And once I start watching them, I can’t stop.

Almost every single person thinks we’re incestuous, that we’re perverted, although most of the hate is pointed directly at me. I’m thebitch who can’t get a man. The sad girl who has seduced her brother.

And then I come across a video of someone I know. A girl I went to high school with. She was horrible to me. Treated me like garbage and teased me relentlessly. And she has decided to come out and talk about how odd I was. That she’s not surprised. I had to seduce my own brother under the guise of us not being related.

I don’t understand how I’m the bad person here. I’m not the only one in this situationship. I’m not the only one who fell in love. Luke loves me just as much as I do him. At least, that’s what he tells me.

“What are you doing sitting in the living room in the dark on your phone?” Barbara asks.

With a jump, I look up to meet her gaze. “Why aren’t you with Neil?” I ask, referring to her boyfriend.

She didn’t even go to his place on Valentine’s Day after he got off work. There is something happening with them. She shakes her head a couple of times, crossing her arms over her chest as she narrows her gaze at me.

“This isn’t about me. This is about you.”

I snort. That’s Barbara. She holds everything close to the vest. Every. Thing. If I had to guess, she and Neil are in a fight. They fight often. I’m sure he’ll be knocking on the door soon to make up.

So, instead of interrogating her further, I decide to just answer her question, because she won’t stop. I know she won’t. She will needle me until I’ve given her every single detail imaginable. The only reason I never told her that Luke was my stepbrother is because she didn’t know to ask.

“So, what are you doing?” she demands.

“Being stupid,” I state with a shrug of my shoulder. “I googled my name.”

She winces. “Thatwasstupid,” she mutters. “So, what is the plan?”

My attention slides from her to the empty hallway behind her. I don’t want to tell her that I don’t know. That Luke has some idea that we can just pretend everything is okay and go on a bunch of podcasts to state our case and that everything will be forgotten entirely.

When I explain the plan to Barbara, she frowns but then gives me a smirk. “It’s crazy enough to work,” she states.

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