Free Step F*#K (A Stepbrother Series Book 1) by Scarlett Ward Page A

the two bedrooms and bathroom off to the left. To the back is the patio, where we sit sometimes and watch the sun set through the thick smog. I live here now because it’s where I grew up and it’s where my family is from, but some day, I’m going to go somewhere beautiful, somewhere that’s not all smog and heat and grit and plastic.  
    Right now, though, Megan is opening her laptop and motioning for me to sit down next to her.  
    “Emma, you’re my best friend,” she says. “We’ve known each other a long time. Of course it pissed me off the way Tom fucked you over how he did, but honestly, he’s a dick and everyone is better off now that you two aren’t together. You can do so much better than him. I know it’s a total cliché, but it’s true. It’s been six months now, though, and you haven’t shown even the slightest bit of interest in seeing anyone. A rebound, even.”
    I shrug and take a sip of wine. “I haven’t met anyone that spectacular. It’s not like I have a ton of time to be going out on dates.”
    Megan raises an eyebrow. “You could find the time.”  
    She’s right, and we both know this. I always made time for Tom, and I suppose a part of me is reluctant to go out there in fear of seeing him cavorting about with some other woman. Social butterfly that he is, it’s not that farfetched of an idea. I just don’t know if I’m ready for that yet.  
    “If you met the right person, you would find the time,” Megan continues. “And so. I have taken it upon myself to give you a friendly nudge in that direction and help you find that person.” She turns her laptop screen toward me. At first, I’m not exactly sure what I’m looking at, other than there’s a picture of me, the words beautifuldreamer , and then what looks to be a series of profile-type questions that Megan has started typing answers into.  
    “What is this?”
    “I set you up a profile on Sugar.”
    “A dating site? I don’t think so.”
    “Why not?”
    “Because I’m not going to go on a date with someone I meet online . No way in hell.”
    “Are you saying there’s something wrong with meeting people online?”
    “No. Well, not necessarily. But it’s not for me.”
    “You don’t seem to be that interested in meeting anyone in person, so I thought maybe online might be a better way. Look, this site has over a million registered people. I’m sure there’s at least a few guys you might be interested in. And this isn’t to say you’d have to marry him or anything. Besides, you need a date for your mom’s wedding, and that will be here before you know it.”
    I roll my eyes. “I don’t even want to go to the wedding, and I’m certainly not going to bring someone I met online.” My mother’s upcoming marriage to Zack Carter was not something I was looking forward to, for many reasons. Sure, it was great she was starting over, she had found true love, as she so claimed, but of course it had to be with a washed up former Hollywood star who thought he was more famous than he actually probably ever was. He’s not a bad person, but I know as well as the next that this marriage is probably not going to last the year, and if anything, it’s just another turn in the limelight for Zack. We were having a “family” dinner tomorrow night, in fact, as a prelude to a two-week “vacation” at Zack’s lake house leading up to the wedding. This was certainly not how I planned on spending the first two weeks of my summer vacation, but I’m trying to look at the bright side: I’ll get to spend a lot of time lounging by the lake working on my tan and catching up on all the chick lit novels I don’t have time to read during the school year.  
    “That might be your best revenge. Hi Mom, congratulations on your wedding day, my date is a sociopath I met online .”  
    “Okay, there! You just said it! I’m not doing this online dating thing because I don’t want to end up going out with a sociopath. No, thank