Wrong: A Stepbrother Romance

But finally, Riley broke the silence.

“Sash… is this really happening?” she said. “That dress? That thing is paper white and you’re about to go to an A.J Rutkowski Thanksgiving. You’re basically guaranteed to have someone drunkenly spill shit on you tonight. Definitely do not wear that.”

I exhaled. Laughing eagerly, I said something or another in agreement, but my heart was still racing. Goddamnit, Liam, I cursed in my head as outwardly, I gathered myself to continue gabbing normally with Riley. She snorted, teased me, rolled her eyes as usual. I was grateful for that.

Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something had shifted in my sister.

Maybe I was imagining it, or losing it, but it felt as if she were suddenly paying closer attention, eyeing me intensely despite our otherwise normal conversation. A few times, I turned to see her stare already on me, studying me. She didn’t avert it when I caught her. She let it linger, at one point even raised her eyebrow, as if she expected me to say something.

When the three of us finally left for A.J’s dinner, I went straight for the passenger seat of the Uber. Grabbing my phone, I immediately texted Liam.

She suspects something. Please fucking behave tonight.

Chapter Twenty-Two

“Christ. Here we go,” Liam laughed as we got out of the car.

Upon arrival at dinner, the scene outside was predictably chaotic. The Rutkowski’s diner on Second Avenue had big, open windows up front that lent all passerby a pretty good view of the antics going on inside, and tonight, at least at this hour, the show was A.J and his new trainee, Dwyer, on the bar. They were both rocking slicked hair, suspenders and checkered shirts with the collars buttoned. Their tats peeked out from under their rolled up sleeves as they stomped around in some kind of drunken, Titanic-era-looking dance-off. The rest of the guys from the gym were there too, joined by friends, girlfriends and fiancées. They were all laughing, shouting and throwing back drinks. The dinner had started barely twenty minutes ago but clearly, it was already a party. The turkeys were out, too, and looking better than ever surrounded by about twenty sides and an array of pumpkins, squash and sunflowers that I had a feeling was Aria’s doing.

“God, it’s gonna be a stupid good night,” Riley giggled as we watched A.J and Dwyer take a break from their dance so Aria could replenish their energy with what was more likely vodka than water.

Since the door was locked, we knocked for a good few seconds before getting anyone’s attention. The drunk NYU girls that had gathered to watch outside the windows flirted with Liam as we waited to be let in. They had stumbled over from the bar next door and had Riley retching and rolling her eyes with their lines.

“Come on. We’ll pay a cover charge if you let us in,” one lilted at Liam.

The other bit her lip with cartoonish seduction. “I mean we don’t have any cash, but we’ll figure it – ”

“Stop. Oh my God, ladies, this isn’t a porno,” Riley snapped befo

re rapping with impatience on the door. “Max! A.J! Someone save us, please!”

“Is that your girlfriend?” one of the girls snorted. Liam only smirked in response before waving at Max, who finally noticed us and casually scaled a table to quickly get to the door. The other girl spoke up.

“Not her. If anything, it would be the pretty one.”

“Hey!” Riley and I both turned defensively, causing the girls to giggle and run off as Max finally opened the door for us. But the damage was already done.

“That was so fucking annoying just now,” Riley grumbled, making a beeline for a bottle of vodka. Drinking straight from it, she cut her eyes across the room at Liam, who had been promptly pulled away by the guys. “This dickhead. Why didn’t he say anything?”

“Liam? What would you want him to say?” I asked with confusion.

“He should’ve defended me in front of those little bitches.”

“We barely had time, and it wasn’t enough of a thing. They’re drunk college girls. What’s the big deal?”

“You’re not the one who just got called ugly,” Riley argued.

“They were not calling you ugly.”

“Calling you ‘the pretty one’ is calling me ugly. And considering they were saying all this just to get Liam’s attention, he should’ve spoken up and defended me, because he sure as shit would have done that for you. But whatever, if you say I’m wrong then sure, I’m wrong.”

“Riley…” Drawing in a deep breath, I tried not to audibly sigh because I had a feeling the sound alone would set her off completely. “Let’s just go have fun with our friends and not let two wasted twenty-year-olds ruin our night, okay? Come on. Come with me to go say hi to everyone. I’ll introduce you to Dwyer, alright?”

After shots with Riley, I was able to coax her toward the bar, where most everyone was. Thanks to the tag team of A.J and Dwyer, Liam had pounded two bourbons and done multiple shots in the time Riley and I were gone. My eyes fluttered. I had never seen Liam truly drunk, but right now, he was at least fairly tipsy. His hard body was slack as he leaned against the bar and his eyelids were heavier than usual. As I introduced Riley to Dwyer, I flashed Liam a warning look, because his gaze was lingering on me with a heaviness I could feel on my skin.

“That look does nothing to turn me off,” he murmured, his voice low as Riley let Dwyer talk her into more shots. I removed Liam’s hand from the small of my back. Panic jumbled my thoughts and I was low on time, so I decided to hit him with the facts.

“She thought something was off at the house, she noticed the towel thing, and she’s mad that you didn’t defend her when those girls called me the pretty one,” I muttered under my breath hastily, keeping my eyes glued to my sister. “So please don’t get so close. You’re making me nervous and it’s torturing me.”