BIG: (A Bad Boy Stepbrother Romance) Read Online Free PDF

in his face. It was hard to get used to. The change was remarkable. “I had to put everything behind me. I was a fat kid and I had a pretty hard fucking time of it. I had to... I worked really hard to focus on shedding a lot of bitterness and resentment. It was just a journey I needed to take alone.”
     
    Annalesa’s fingers trembled around her glass, knowing she’d been part of his hard fucking time—even if it hadn’t been intentional.
     
    “You always did hide when you were hurt,” she said softly. “I remember the time you banged your thumb with the hammer when you and Brad were building the treehouse. No one even knew you’d done it. You just said you needed to go to the shed to get something—Mum and I came out with lemonade, and I found you.”
     
    “You remember that?” His brow arched in surprise.
     
    “You were just sitting there in pain.” Her voice trembled at the memory. “Holding your thumb, and it was all black and blue and swollen. When Mum saw it, she wanted to take you to the emergency room.”
     
    “I was fine.”
     
    “Uh-huh.” She met his eyes, seeing hurt there now, although she didn’t know if he knew she could tell. “You always said that. But you weren’t fine. Ric, I’m glad you lost the weight and got healthy—hell, I could take a primer from you on that. But... I’m just wondering if a friend along on your journey might have eased the pain a little.”
     
    Ric swigged his drink, making a face, but he didn’t look at her.
     
    “You let me kiss it,” she reminded him softly.
     
    “What?” His gaze skipped back to her.
     
    “Your thumb. You let me kiss it to make it better. Remember? You said it worked.”
     
    “You were always too good at reading me, Leesa.” There was something painful in his eyes
     
    “Was I?” She liked that he admitted it.
     
    “Spot on. Isn’t that what you Brits say?” he snorted. “Like your mother...”
     
    “Oh, hey, you know my mum loves you like a son, always has.”
     
    “Oh I know.” He lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “It’s not her fault. But that’s part of the reason I had to go it alone. People always have good intentions, but they end up saying the worst things. If you’ve never been fat... skinny people just don’t get it. They think saying, ‘Wow, you look so fucking great now!’ is a compliment. But all it does is remind you of how bad you felt when you didn’t look so great. That’s not the kind of encouragement I need.”
     
    “All right.” She felt horrible now, for having exclaimed over his transformation. “I didn’t mean to make you feel bad.”
     
    “I know. I’m not mad—and I know seeing me now is a shock for most people—if they actually recognize me in the first place.” More Akavit disappeared down his throat. “I’m not blaming you, Leese. I spent most of my life with a superpower I didn’t even know I had. I was invisible. Now, suddenly, everyone is watching everything I do. I’ve lost the ability to disappear. That isn’t easy for a man who spent most of his childhood as a ghost.”
     
    “I saw you.” It was hard to hear him say those things, so hard it was almost too painful to respond. “I was the one who opened the shed and found you’d hurt yourself.”
     
    “Right.” He winced. “But Leesa, sometimes when a man walks away, he doesn’t want to be followed. Sometimes... there are things he has to do... alone.”
     
    “And this was one of those times?” She bit her lip as his barbs hit her and dug in hard.
     
    “Yes.” He gave a short nod. “When you’re a ghost, and someone sees you—I think it’s more terrifying for you than it is for them. You wonder why they can see you, when no one else can. And... then you wonder what they want from you. Because the only time anyone looked at me or paid attention to me—they always wanted something.”
     
    She knew exactly what he was talking about. He didn’t have to say it.
     
    That night when they