Free Mine - A Stepbrother Romance by Caitlin Daire Page A

nice. We have to go to that party tonight, remember? Let’s be friends.”
    He pretended to pout and then smirked for what seemed like the billionth time since I’d met him, and I crossed my arms. Jeez, he was immature. “I’m only going to the party with you because your Mom insisted I go and try to make friends. But believe me, if your friends are anything like you, then I’d rather jump in front of a truck,” I said.
    “Maybe you shouldn’t listen to everything that old witch tells you to do, then,” he said, his eyes darkening at the mention of his mother.
    “What is your problem with her?” I asked. “You’re lucky your Mom’s still alive. My biological mother and the woman who raised me are both dead.”
    He shrugged. “If you knew her properly, you’d know why.”
    I rolled my eyes and pushed past him before heading down to the kitchen. Layla was already in there, pouring some green, sludgy-looking concoction out of a blender and into a glass, and I felt a pang of envy as I took in her appearance. Even though she was pushing forty-five, she still had a better body than most twenty-year-olds, and her tight black yoga pants and neon pink crop top made that all too clear.
    Her long dark hair was pulled back in a tight ballerina bun, and she smiled as she noticed me entering the room.
    “Oh, Arizona! How are you? Sorry I missed dinner last night. I had an important meeting.”
    “That’s fine,” I said, returning her smile. “I’m okay, just a bit hungry. I thought I’d grab something from the fridge.”
    She waved her hands at me. “You can just get the maids to bring you something, you know. It’s their job, after all. But why don’t you try some of this?”
    She held up the glass of green sludge, and I arched an eyebrow. “Um…what is it? Wheatgrass?”
    “Oh, heavens no. Wheatgrass is so 2003. This is a kale smoothie,” she said. “Tastes incredible. Amazing for your skin and general health, and amazing for weight loss too. You should try having one every morning, sweetie. It’d do wonders for you.”
    Was she insinuating that I needed to lose weight? I couldn’t quite tell. The way she’d worded it made it sound like she was more or less concerned with my overall health, but the manner in which her green eyes were roaming over my not-so-flat stomach made me question that.
    “Okay, I guess I’ll have a taste,” I said, giving her the benefit of the doubt.
    I accepted a glass and took a swig before having to put my hand over my mouth to stop myself from violently retching. Gross. Health nuts could say whatever they wanted, but there was no way stuff like this tasted ‘incredible’. Unless they meant ‘incredibly bad’. It honestly tasted like I’d been drinking pond scum, and I handed the glass back to her.
    “Er…thanks for letting me try it, Layla.”
    “Did you like it?”
    “Um. Not really. I think I prefer a nice malted milk smoothie with chocolate syrup,” I said with a grin.
    She pursed her lips and gazed down at my thighs, and then her upper lip curled in an almost imperceptible movement. “Hm. Yes, I can tell.”
    There it was again. She was definitely commenting on my body, and not exactly in a nice way, either. I mentally shrugged it off. She’d always been so nice to me, so I doubted she really meant any offense. While she’d still been acting in Hollywood, she’d probably become accustomed to people constantly saying things about her weight, so she likely thought it was normal to blatantly comment on other people’s bodies too.
    “Well, I guess I better get back upstairs,” I said, giving her a half-hearted smile.
    “Didn’t you say you wanted something to eat?”
    “No, I’m not really hungry all of a sudden,” I replied, and that was the truth. Whether she’d meant to insult me or not, her comment had made my hunger dissipate immediately.
    “You sure? I could have Emile whip you up some of his famous chia seed pudding when he gets back,” she