Biker Stepbrother Read Online Free PDF Page A

today.”
    Funny he noticed for once. Holden usually had his nose buried in his phone, and when it wasn’t there, it was buried far up Sterling’s pale, wrinkled ass.
    “I’m fine,” I lied. “I have a job interview next week, just thinking about that.”
    Sterling offered me a job at his company right after graduation, but I refused it. I’d studied graphic design, and had my eye on a few large design houses. I wanted to get ahead on my own merit. I never wanted to feel like I owed him my livelihood when I already felt as if I owed him so much.
    “You’ll be fine, dear,” he said.
    I inwardly cringed. I hated when he called me dear. We weren’t some fifty-year-old married couple. We were just a couple of fresh-out-of-college kids living in the lap of luxury in the year 2015.
    “Remember, don’t make any plans for tomorrow night,” he said with a twinkle in his blue eye as he tried to stifle an excited smile. “I’m throwing a small party at Café Su for our friends and family.”
    My heart sunk. He’d been talking about this party for months, saying it was just a small gathering just for fun. No reason behind it. I wasn’t stupid. I knew exactly what he was planning. I’d accidentally stumbled upon the red Cartier box in his dresser drawer when I was searching for a pair of cashmere socks to borrow one night when my feet were cold.
    I’d cocked the box open, greeted with the biggest, most fiery cushion-cut diamond I’d ever seen. It was even bigger than my mom’s. Sterling had to have paid for it. Holden made bank, but he couldn’t afford a ring of that caliber, and if he could, he’d have spent the money on himself anyway.
    “Aren’t you excited?” Holden asked, slightly bouncing in his seat like a child on Christmas Eve. He raked a manicured hand through his sandy blond hair, gently brushing it into place.
    “It’s just a party,” I said with a shrug, pretending like I didn’t know a damn thing.
    ***
    “You look stunning!” my mom showed herself into my room and shut the door the next night as I prepped for Holden’s party.
    I stood in front of a full-length mirror in a pale pink chiffon dress that hugged my curves and hit just above my knees.
    Chanel perfume filled the space between us as my mom stood in a custom Armani pantsuit. She placed her hands on my bare shoulders and stood behind me. Our eyes met in our mirrored reflections. “Are you excited for tonight?”
    She was going. Sterling was going. Holden’s parents were going and his siblings too. Even Skylar was going.
    I never did get a chance to talk to Skylar about anything the other night, but even if I had, I’m sure she would’ve told me I was just scared. She loved Holden. Then again, she never saw the side of him I saw. He was a professional at manipulating everyone else’s perception of him, which was how he got me to fall so hard for him in the first place. It was also the reason Sterling was borderline obsessed with him.
    Holden was wonderful to me once upon a time. He made me feel safe and loved. He promised me the world as long as I stayed by his side. Though his words sometimes felt hollow against his shallow gestures. Lavish gifts and vacations didn’t fill the deep, gaping void inside me the way my mom assured me they would.
    “I don’t love him, Mom.”
    My mother’s face fell and then tightened. “Sure you do.”
    I shook my head. “I can’t marry him.”
    Her lips pursed as her hands gripped my shoulders tight. “You can and you will .”
    My eyes burned with hot tears, and it took all the strength I had not to break down any further. I lifted a tissue to my eyes in an attempt not to ruin the makeup job I’d spent an hour perfecting.
    “Don’t ruin this for us, Eve,” she said, squeezing my shoulders so tight I thought for sure I’d have bruises the next day.
    “I don’t understand how me marrying Holden has anything to do with you and Sterling.”
    “It has everything to do with me and