Page 39 of Charming Cruel Boys

“It’s just, like, flat? Boring. I could chop it to your chin and give you a cute bob? Anything but the same shit you’ve been rocking since elementary school. You’ve gotta catch a guy’s eye somehow, and change is always a good thing.”

I bite my lip as a sting lashes against my skin from her words. She sure seems to be brutally honest today. Not that she’s ever held an opinion back, but she used to be a bit nicer about things. “I wear it natural,” I say quietly, tucking a loose lock behind my ear. “And I don’t need to be getting attention from any guys, trust me.”

“Ooh, does that mean Sawyer finally locked you down?” Sara asks, her brown eyes lighting up.There’s nothing this girl loves more than gossiping about boys.

I almost tell her about Duke, but then think better of it. I’m not ready to get into that conversation with her. “No, he and I are just— orwerefriends. Now he’s hardly talking to me because I shot him down. But, um, enough about boys. I’ll think about letting you at my hair, but for now, how about you help me brainstorm what to wear to the dreaded wedding?“ I say with a groan.

“Oh, yes! When is it?” Sara claps and grins, bouncing a little on my mattress.

“It’s in December, over winter break so my dad can have extra time off for the honeymoon.”

“Okay, that gives us a couple more months then. I can work with that. Any preferences?”

I give her a flat look. “Nothing sexy or revealing or anything like that. It’s a wedding, not a high school party, so I want to be—“

“Boring?” she deadpans.

“I was going to say elegant.”

Sara rolls her eyes and flits her hand through the air. “Alright, fine. Be a prude all you want. I’m just saying—“

“Hey, Remi?” Duke’s voice calls from the other side of my door seconds before it swings open. “Oh, sorry, never mind,” he says once he realizes I’m not alone. He gives Sara a second of his attention and then shoots me wide eyes. They totally say,what the actual hell is going on?I give him a tight smile. He turns and starts to shut the door behind him.

“Wait,” Sara calls. She stands and walks over to him as he looks past her to me. I shrug. I don’t know what she’s doing either.

“Hi, Sara,” Duke says with a straight face.There’s not even a flicker of desire or longing in his blue eyes and it puts me at ease a little. Maybe that night with her was a one-off and she’s not actually his type at all.

“Um, look, Remi and I have made amends, and I wouldn’t feel right unless we did the same.” She shifts from foot to foot, tugging on the hem of her shirt.Does she realize she’s showingmorecleavage now or is it just a nervous tick to yank on her clothes like that?

“It’s all good,” Duke says, hardly even looking at Sara.

“Well, for what it’s worth, I’m sorry. I caused a huge, embarrassing scene over a meaningless drunken night with you. Friends?” she asks, holding her hand out for Duke to shake.

“Sure, yeah,” Duke says cautiously, shaking her hand with tense movements. I arch my brow as I wait for them to release it, the damn handshake lasting way longer than necessary.

Standing, I bite my cheek as I move over to Sara, and they finally let go of each other. Duke shoots me a weird look, shakes out his hand with a slight wince, and then walks down the hall into his bedroom.

Sara turns with a grin. “How weird is it to call your ex your stepbrother?”

“Um, weird, I guess. But it’s not official until the wedding, so I haven’t thought about it really.”It’s on the tip of my tongue to rip the bandaid off and tell her the truth, but things are still weird between Sara and I. Our friendship needs to mend before I throw any drama into the mix.

Knight steps out of the bathroom across from my room, a maroon towel wrapped loosely around his hips, water dripping from his long hair down his chiseled chest and abs. He stops in the doorway, staring at me before swallowing thickly.

Heat pools in my stomach, and I almost say something — what, I have no clue — until Sara lets out a little breathy noise next to me. Knight and I both look at her. She’s biting her lip, giving himcome fuck meeyes.I clear my throat to get her attention, but she ignores me, stepping closer to Knight. Grinding my teeth, I ball my fists by my sides and look at the floor.

“Hi, Knight,” Sara purrs.

“Hey, beautiful,” Knight replies easily, making me glare up at him.

“Alright, Sara, let’s not make this mistake again. My new stepbrothers arebothoff-limits,“ I say a little harshly, stepping between her and Knight, my back to him as I stare her down.I have no right to feel possessive or jealous over Knight after he’s made it clear how he really feels, but I do. Knight can do what he wants, but not in my house and not with my friend. A friend who’s already tried this shit with the other brother. Ridiculous.

“Both of them?” Sara pouts, putting a hand on her hip and effortlessly doing a hair flip. “It’s not like you’re going to bang Knight after being with his twin.”

Heat scorches my back as Knight leans in behind me, my body blocking Sara’s view of the fact that he’s slowly trailing his fingers down my spine. “Yeah, Remi. It’s not like you’re gonna bang me. Even if you wanted to, I’d turn you down,” he says in a low voice. His breath skates across my neck and cheek and I have to suppress a shudder.Damn this stupid asshole.He shouldn’t have this effect on my body after the way he’s treated me.

A heavy exhale escapes my lips as I fight not to react when his finger drops down and traces the curve of my ass. Clearing my throat, I smile at Sara. “Could you give us a minute? I need to talk to Knight.”

“Actually, I should get going. But this was fun. Call me when you want to go shopping,” Sara says, hugging me quickly before trotting down the stairs and leaving.

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