Free Stepbrother Wow! (Bad Boy Frat #1) by Claire Adams Page A

home
with my mom—probably nicer by far than the one I had in our place. There was a
fireplace instead of just central heat; there was a huge kitchen with lots of
food. It would be a nice rest.
    I started to get more and more tired as the sun went
down around me, as I hit the last thirty minutes of the drive. I turned on my
headlights and squinted into the growing darkness, looking out for the house
number even as the turn-by-turn directions counted down the distance left to
the destination. I recognized the outside of the mansion by one of the pictures
my mom had sent me, and I pulled into the driveway—the gate was open—and
yawned, grateful at least to have made it in good time. I wouldn’t have to
really go anywhere at all for the next several days.
    I got out of my car and hurried to the front door,
shivering against the cold; the temperature was dropping second by second, or
so it felt like, getting colder as the night closed in around me. Everything
was brightly lit, and I had to admit that while my mom’s views on the house
might be pretentious, it looked comfortable and luxurious enough to deserve the
title of mansion. I knocked at the door as loudly as I could; when I’d turned
onto the street leading up to the house, I’d texted her to let her know I was
nearly there.
    My mom threw open the door and pulled me into the
house, hugging me tightly and kissing me on the cheek. “Oh, baby, you’re so
cold! Come on, come into the living room, and get warm.” I was smiling, glad to be back together with my mom, glad of a few
days of relaxation before I had to finish the semester out strong. “Oh! I
almost forgot—your surprise!” I shook my head as my mom led me to a big,
comfortable couch, a few yards away from a roaring fire, pushing me down to
sit.
    “Mom, I can wait for it, I promise,” I said, smiling
and laughing at her infectious enthusiasm.
    “Well I can’t wait,” my mom said, sitting down next
to me. “Are you warming up dear?” I nodded and all of her concern about me flew
out of the window. “Okay, here it goes: I’m married!” she held up her hand and
showed me the ring on her ring finger. My jaw dropped.
    “You’re married ?”
I shook my head. “You’ve only been with him for five months!” I tried not to
sound like I was judging her but I was shocked—and
more than a little worried about her sanity.
    “Oh, baby, I’m not a kid anymore; I’m in love with
Bob and there was no reason to wait any longer.” I shook my head again.
    “Mom, five months is not long enough to know if you
can live with someone! This is crazy!” My mom hugged me.
    “Well it’s done, baby. And now I can introduce you
to your new step-father and step-brother.” I took a deep breath; it wouldn’t be
fair to them to keep up the fight with my mom that I knew would erupt when she
continued to insist that her getting married was a great idea—she’d get mad at
me for being mad after a while, and if my new step-family was waiting to meet
me, I should at least put on a polite face. My mom went to a door on the side
and opened it. “Mia, meet Bob, your new step-father,” she said, grinning
broadly. A man stepped through the door; he looked vaguely familiar and I tried
to remember whether or not I’d seen a picture of him in the five months that my
mom had been dating him. He had light brown hair and bright eyes; he was slim,
not skinny but with subtle muscling on his arms and chest.
    “Pleased to meet you finally, Bob,” I said, keeping
my voice as level as possible. My mom beamed at both of us and Bob came in to
sit down in one of the wingback chairs; he said something about being happy for
the chance to get to know me better, but I barely heard him.
    “Okay, baby, and now—here is your new step-brother!”
I steeled myself—maybe the guy would be just as upset about his dad marrying
practically a stranger as I was. But when my new step-brother walked through
the door, my stomach dropped down to