Lex Rothwell.
****
The wedding venue is too bright.
Too polished.
Too… Rothwell.
Crystal chandeliers, white roses dripping off every surface, and a view of the lake so clear it almost feels arrogant. Graham Rothwell doesn’t do anything half-measure – not houses, not business, not weddings.
And apparently not stepfamilies either.
I adjust the collar of my suit – forest green, my mom’s favorite color – and try not to claw out of my own skin. I look decent. Presentable. Good son material. But all of that dissolves the moment I step into the courtyard and seehim.
My almost official stepbrother. Yew, fuck, even thinking about it makes me want to puke my guts out.
But yeah, Lex and I are almost officially stepbrothers.
He’s standing under the arch like he owns the air around him.
Black suit, no tie, top buttons undone, giving you a pick at tattoos on his chest, and fully shows his neck tattoos, hair pushed back in a way that says “I woke up lookingan actual God, because everything is bends to my fucking will.”
His jaw sharp enough to cut glass, his smirk sharp enough to cut me.
His eyes find me instantly, and his mouth curves into that cruel little half-smile he saves only for me.
“Look who showed up,” he says, hands slipping into his pockets.
“I was wondering when the bridesmaids were arriving, but aren’t they supposed to wear dresses?”
The guests around us don’t notice – or they pretend not to. Lex’s insults are practically background noise at this point.
I laugh.
Slow.
Low.
The kind of laugh that makes his eyes narrow a fraction.
I take a step closer. Then another. Close enough that his cologne – dark, expensive, masculine – wraps itself around my lungs like a fucking chokehold.
I lean in.
Just enough for only him to hear.
“Well,stepbro” I whisper, “I’m glad to know one of the things you’re dying to see is me in a dress.”
His jaw tightens.
“But even you don’t have that kind of cash to make your fantasies happen.”
I tap his chest tightly.
“Good to know, though.”
His nostrils flare. His eyes drop to my mouth for a split second – a glitch, a flicker – but it’s enough to send heat down myspine. He masks it a second later, pushing past me with a scoff.
