“Good,” he says quickly. “I need to go or the kids will be late. Promise me you’ll text if you need something.”
“Promise.”
This time, his warm smile is back. “Good girl.”
He strides out of the bedroom without another word. I’m left reeling at his last spoken words. Good girl. It’s such an innocent thing to say, but his praise embeds itself into my soul. For someone who’s ached for attention, love, hell, even acknowledgment, this small phrase does things to me.
Bad things.
Twisted, wrong things.
Awareness trickles over me like a cold, jarring rain shower. I’m attracted to my stepfather. Really, really into him. I’ve been hanging on his every word and devouring him with my gaze. And that’s after hardly twelve hours of knowing him.
What is wrong with me?
Furthermore, how do I get it to stop?
Chapter 5
Owen
This morning was uncomfortable. What a way to welcome my new stepdaughter. She saw me at my most vulnerable and was kind enough to get me back to bed. Of course, once I fully woke, I couldn’t get the humiliation off that clung to me like a second skin.
So fucking embarrassing.
Not to mention, I’m completely out of it during my episodes. I hate not knowing what I said or did during those moments. In the past, or so I’ve been told, if I speak, it’s mumbling or a name. Nothing of substance. Still, it’s stressful.
And Mei got a front row seat at my shit show.
To say things were awkward this morning was an understatement. I’ve been worried about it all day.
“How many?” a familiar voice asks, jerking me from my obsessive thoughts.
I clear my throat and give Savvy a friendly smile. “Six and a high chair tonight.”
My gaze falls to Savvy’s stomach since she’s absently rubbing it and drawing my attention to it. A small bump indicates she’s pregnant. Rhett mentioned it, but it’s a whole other thing to see it in person.
“I hear congratulations are in order,” I say, gesturing at her belly.
Savvy was a good kid. I’d always liked having her around. Leah was jealous. Naturally. There were plenty of times my ex-wife would ridicule or purposefully leave Savvy out of family events. The second Savvy turned eighteen, she left to go live with her dad’s best friends.
“Thanks,” Savvy says and motions for me to follow her. “I have a table to fit your group.”
She’s not one for small talk, and considering how she feels about our family, I don’t blame her. Rhett used to crush on the girl, and I had a few episodes where I woke up in her room, no doubt scaring the hell out of her. Since she’s not making any effort to maintain a relationship with us, I figure it’s best to let it go.
I’m still happy for her.
Once she seats me and sets off to grab some water for the table, I pull out my phone to text my crew. Since Jin can’t be trusted to pass along information to Mei, I create a group text chain with everyone in it, calling it Mona-Lau Fam Jam.
Hey. I’ve got us a table at Smoke & Sugar. See you all soon.
My youngest son responds first since he’s always glued to his phone.
Cason: i’m cringing so hard right now dude
Nothing I do is ever cool in the eyes of Cason. Shocker.
Addison: Me and Cason will be there shortly if Rhett doesn’t kill us first. He’s running all the yellow lights. We’ve been honked at three times. Now you know why I don’t want to drive.
