Page 29 of The Star

“I’ll get one just in case.” She looks me over again. “You’ll obviously need a belt, and some new shoes. I can pick some up tomorrow.” I accept that she’s not really talking to me, just speaking out loud, so I just nod along.

“Maybe a pocket square,” she hums again, running her eyes along me.

I nod, letting her do her thing.

“Okay, you can take it off.” She steps back to smile at me. “Make sure you hang it up right.”

“You got it, Mom.” I turn to head out of the room.

“Oh.” Her voice makes me stop and look back at her. “I got Levi a suit, just plain black.”

I tilt my head. “You didn’t have to do that.”

She waves me off. “It was no trouble. Hayden can get his own, though.”

I chuckle. “Thank you, Mom.”

fourteen

LOGAN

Balancing a bowl of strawberries in one hand, and a can of some fizzy water shit in the other, I settle down in bed.

I skipped dinner, unable to look my dad in the face when he came home from work. I just need time to process… Time to figure out everything I’m feeling. He doesn’t deserve the anger I’m carrying, but he also doesn’t deserve to get off scot-free, so I’m trying to figure out how to approach the situation.

I put the can on my bedside table, grabbing the remote to my TV. Popping a strawberry in my mouth, I hit the Netflix button and wait for the app to load.

God, Carson in a suit is a whole new type of sexy. Those wide shoulders, his powerful legs, his slim waist. Not to mention he had the top button undone, so I was able to admire the column of his thick throat, his Adam’s apple moving seductively every time he spoke to me.

Then getting to experience the playful side of Carson?

Stick a fork in me, I am done.

My stomach vibrates with butterflies as I remember the way he grinned at me, the way he held himself when I was openly checking him out, the way he slid his big hands into the pockets of his pants. He’s cocky, and I like it.

I bite down on my bottom lip as my eyes roll back.

He’s hot. I’m allowed to appreciate that. There’s nothing wrong with that, right?

I mean, except for the fact he’ll be my stepbrother soon. And that he’s a complete dick to me for no reason. And he’s a spoiled pretty boy who gets on my every nerve.

I could keep going.

Okay, so thereissomething wrong with it. Whatever.

A knock at my door pulls me from the insane thoughts about my housemate, and by the time my eyes are flicking to the door, my dad is poking his head in. “You busy?”

I hold my remote up, even though there still isn’t anything playing on my TV. “Yup.”

He takes a step into my room, sighing, “Logan.”

“I don’t want to talk, Dad.” I return my attention to the TV, a gesture I assume he will understand as the cold shoulder.

He closes my bedroom door, then continues to walk toward me. “We have to talk about it. You can’t keep pushing me away. I’ve barely seen you since we moved.”

“And whose fault is that?!” I snap.

Taking a seat on my bed, he sighs as he leans his head to the side to look at me. “I know I’ve been working a lot.”

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