Hard: A Step-Brother Romance Read Online Free PDF Page A

celebration to bring everyone together.”
    “Aren’t
they all?”
    William’s
eyebrows furrowed. “It wasn’t the official ceremony. Shay, your father married Ms.
Brewer over a month ago. Completely spontaneous and romantic. He flew her to
Aruba—”
    “They
got married ?”
    “And
his will was updated to reflect it. You see…Ms. Brewer has a son…”
    He
didn’t tell me.
    Why
didn’t even tell me? Not an e-mail. Not a call. Not even a damn postcard from
his wedding! I paced, clutching my stomach.
    “Are
you kidding me?” I slammed a hand on the window. “My father marries some woman,
dies a month later, and her kid is named in his will?”
    “Shay,
I told you, he thought of her family as his.”
    “Well,
at least he remembered them!”
    “You
were given the bulk of the inheritance, I assure you.”
    “It’s
not about the money!” I pointed to the paper in his hands. “It’s about his will! For the past seven years, my father pretended I didn’t exist, and now he’s
claiming some other kid as his own! That’s not right. He never even wanted his own biological child.”
    “I
understand this will take some…adjustments. But your step-brother—”
    “—Do not call him that—”
    “—Is
entitled to half of your father’s new home, and the same material goods I
mentioned previously.”
    “Jesus.”
    “We
might be able to work something out—especially if you wish to live at the
estate. But first we should meet with him and work out an arrangement.”
    “ Meet with him?”
    William
motioned for me to sit. He buzzed on an intercom for a secretary nearly as old
as the crackling electronics.
    “Sandy,
could you send Zachary in?”
    Zachary ?
    “You
brought her son here? Now?” I groaned. “William, I can’t have a freakout in
front of a kid . Please tell me he’s not some ten year old grieving
orphan.”
    “No,
no. He’s not a child. He’s older than you, actually.”
    Well,
that didn’t make me feel better. Not at all. Instead of a kid who might have
needed help, I’d be dealing with some adult ready to bolt from their day job
and spend all my father’s money on a Caribbean beach house.
    William
stood as the door opened and an elderly secretary hobbled within the room. She gestured
the man through.
    My
stomach dropped.
    So
did everything else.
    My
pride. My dignity. My rage .
    Zach
Harden gave me a cocky grin and shrugged.
    “Hey,
sis.”

 
     
     
     
     

     
     
     
     
    “Oh.
Hell. No.”
    Her
finger went up. Fortunately, it was her index and not the middle.
    “Oh. Hell . No.”
    Now
the finger wagged. A starting gun shot somewhere, and we were off .
    And
I deserved it. That’s why I hadn’t asked for her number after she writhed in my
sheets. We were going to meet up sooner rather than later. I only hoped I’d
have enough time to grab some of my old gear. A Kevlar vest maybe. A pair a
handcuffs if she lunged…or if she forgave me.
    “This
isn’t happening.” Shay didn’t let me speak. “You aren’t serious.”
    The
attorney panicked, knotting his fingers together.
    “Uh,
son, do you know each other?”
    In
every way imaginable. I dodged the question.
    “Yes,
sir. We ran into each other a few nights ago.”
    And I
hadn’t been able to get it out of my head since. At least it was something good
to remember when Shay inevitably jumped me and succeeded where eight ISIS
agents failed. I took a seat across from the attorney and hoped some form of
the legal system would protect me from bleeding all over the office.
    To
her credit, Shay was just as beautiful angry as she was naked, trembling, and
completely exposed to me. And that was a hard look to beat.
    She
acted tough, but she was a quart of trouble squeezed into a pint-sized carton.
The skirt, the glasses, the low barrette in her hair pinning back the luxurious
ebony locks. I didn’t know if I wanted the vixen or the princess, but damn if
they didn’t mesh into the perfect woman.
    …A
very pissed off woman, as