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He scoffs, eyes brightening as he takes my bait, making me grin. “Of course not.”
I shrug, raising a brow at him. “You should be.”
My teasing works because he pushes off the counter and comes to join me on the sofas as I set out the board on the coffee table.
I select my piece and he picks one at random and then shuffles the cards. Once the game is ready, I look up to find Trey staring at me with such intensity that I’m caught off guard.
Does he have to be so damn handsome?
If he thinks his good looks are gonna convince me to take it easy on him, he’s sorely mistaken. I meet his eyes and set my piece down on the start square.
“I’m going to grow a goddamn empire,” I announce and roll the dice. Neither of us stops looking at the other to check the numbers, though. I smirk at him, my voice coming out huskier than I intended it to when I challenge, “Accept defeat now, Trey Taggart. You don’t stand a chance against me.”
3
TREY
Talia grins and holds out her hand for my stack of cash, flexing her fingers and curling her palm in agive-megesture.
And fuck if I won’t give her anything she asks for if she keeps smiling and teasing me like this. I’d buy her half the properties on this stupid board game for real if she’ll keep saying my name in that sweet, sparkly voice of hers.
I’m pretty sure I’m halfway to bankruptcy because I haven’t paid a single lick of attention to the game or my strategy. Somehow, Talia’s already got two hotels built, and I don’t even have a full set of colors yet. I don’t even care. Normally, I’m competitive. I’ve won our squad’s card game night every time for the past year for fuck’s sake, and I never make a bet I can’t win.
But Talia … God, how could I possibly pay attention to anything else when she’s in the room?
“Ah, shit.” She tucks her cash away and looks at her dice roll that will put her directly on one of the only decent properties I’ve got. “How much do I owe you?”
As much as you can take, I think before shutting that thought down. The idea of seeing how much I could give her, how much she could take of me, is a rabbit hole I can’t afford to go down.
Stepsister. This is my damn stepsister.
But…
Well, I don’t care about that either. Shit, the second I set eyes on her in that shower, she claimed my fucking soul. I don’t understand it. I’ve never felt anything like this … this draw to her. Because she’s stunning, obviously, and I want her in every conceivable way possible. But also because, despite the fact that I’ve known her for barely an evening, I’ve never met someone who shines so brightly. The sun has nothing on Talia.
I can’t remember the last time I played an actual board game. I must’ve been a kid. There’s hardly enough time in my life now to make frivolous activities like this a priority, but Talia could ask me to sit on this sofa playing this game every day for the rest of my life and I’d probably say yes.
I can’t even imagine ever saying no to her.
The bell rings before I can figure out how much fake money Talia owes me for the fake rent, and I stride over to grab our food from the delivery guy. I’ve only just placed the bags down on the kitchen counter when the doorbell rings again. I frown. Maybe the delivery guy forgot something?
Instead of the delivery man, I open the door to a face that I swear looks familiar to me.
“Hey, is—oh, shit. Trey? Is that you?” the dude asks, dark eyes going wide, a smile breaking out on his face.
“Wait. Daniel, right?” I reply, suddenly remembering why I know him. We went to high school together. He was on the football team and in my math class. His hair is shorter now, and there are laugh lines on his face, but he clearly still works out. His shoulders are nearly as wide as mine, and he really hasn’t changed all that much since the last time I saw him at graduation.
“The one and only.” He laughs, reaching out with his free hand to shake mine in an overly enthusiastic greeting. He’s holding some sort of Tupperware container in his other hand, one that’s empty as far as I can tell. “How have you been, Trey? Did you go into the military like you said you were going to?”
I nod, leaning against the doorway. “Navy,” I answer. Then, because it would definitely be seen as rude if I don’t at least pretend to care about this conversation even when every cell in my body is demanding I shut the door in this guy’s face and get back to focusing on my step-sister, I ask, “Still playing football?”
Daniel grins. “I played in college, but now I’m a personal trainer down at the gym. Means I get to stay fit without nearly as many injuries as I got playing.” He laughs again.
“What’s taking so long? Stalling’s not going to save you from bankruptcy—” Talia calls out, her voice cutting off as she pads over and peers around my shoulder to see for herself what the hold up is. “Oh! Daniel, hey!”
Every muscle in my body tenses at the friendly, familiar way she says his name. I grit my teeth so hard I’m half surprised that I don’t crack a molar. My head snaps in Talia’s direction, dismissing Daniel entirely.
“How do you know him?” I ask, watching her eyes widen a little at the darkness in my voice.
