look that makes me keep my mouth shut. At first, I don’t think they’re all for me but when we look for other items we need, I notice the sizes they’re pulling off the racks and realize they’ve literally stocked up on brand new clothes for me. Not just hiking and treasure hunting clothes either. Normal clothes.
I hate to admit Wyatt was right though. The clothes I’m wearing feel cheap. They’re not quite my size. They’re hanging off me, and there are dull parts or stains I’ve never been able to get out despite the fact that I do my own laundry and am very diligent about making sure every item of clothing I have is clean. If I couldn’t have new, at least I could be tidy.
When they check out, I feel like their doll. After Wyatt and Stone fight over who’s going to pay for the sneakers, the cashier ends up ringing everything up on one bill, and even though I have a minor heart attack at the price, the guys don’t even balk.
We head out of the parking lot with a trunk full of new shit. Nervous butterflies flutter in my stomach as Stone picks the perfect restaurant to go to, and the day keeps filling with new firsts. I’ve never been to a restaurant before. It’s kind of like going to the school cafeteria but better. The waitress is super nice, which probably has everything to do with the fact that she’s serving three hot guys and well, me, but that doesn’t count. She even has the audacity to ask if I’m their sister. The guys laugh, and Wyatt points out I actually am Stone’s stepsister.
I cringe. I think very un-stepsister like things about him a lot. Other times, I hate him so much I can totally see how we could be stepsiblings.
I accidentally on purpose read a romance book about stepsiblings before. Woo-ee. It was so raunchy. My blood was boiling by the end. It’s the idea that the whole relationship is on the border of being wrong that makes it so damn sexy. When Stone turned out to be my stepbrother, I put the brakes on that fantasy because he’s Stone Jacobs, and despite how good looking he is, being an asshole brings the hot points down.
Honestly, I wish that was the case. Sometimes I wonder if it makes him that much hotter.
When we’re back home, the guys help bring my bags to my room, including a small one that holds my new phone that I have no idea how to use. They drop my things and leave, Lucas the only one lingering for a little while until he senses I want to be alone. When he leaves me to myself, I dump the new purchases out on the bed and lie down in the pile, a huge smile on my face. I thought that I would be embarrassed that Stone paid for these clothes, but somehow, I’m not. I don’t want to think about it too much in case my brain decides to change its mind, so instead, I spend the next hour trying on all the clothes. However, they did it, the guys knew my perfect sizes, and I’m sitting on an awesome new wardrobe.
I keep on a pair of shorts and a tank top and head out of my room. I wander, first checking Lucas’s room and finding it empty. When I walk toward the other part of the house, I find Stone outside, sitting on the half-moon bed with a plastic container at his side. He brings out a handful of paperwork and sifts through it, his brows pulling down. He must be looking at my dad’s stuff.
The sun is going down when I slip through the glass doors, my bare feet hitting the stone walkway. The heat from the sun still lingers in the warm stone, but now that the sun is disappearing behind the mountains, it’s bearable to hang out outside. I head toward Stone, and he glances up as I approach. His gaze travels down my new clothes, but he doesn’t remark on them. “Is that my dad’s?” I ask, pointing to the wad of crumpled up papers in his hand.
He nods. “You were right. There’s so much.”
I gaze at all the papers he’s holding in front of him. He’s sitting upright on the half-moon bed, his legs outstretched and crossed at the ankles. He moves the paperwork that’s strewn around him, and I take the opportunity