He's So Fine (A BBW Stepbrother Romance) Read Online Free PDF Page B

his when my mother walked in, looking over her shoulder and laughing at something Horace had said.
    “Hi, Mom. Hi, Horace.” I smiled tightly at both of them.
    I sensed rather than saw Cage’s body stiffen behind me. And despite his bad boy persona and the way he’d been trying to bait me all evening, my heart went out to him. His body language projected insolence and cockiness. I realized right then that there was more to him than met the eye and that his tough exterior hid his softer side brilliantly.
    “Cage. I can’t believe you’re here.” My new stepdad walked crossed the room with his hand out. Cage straightened as he neared and shook his hand.
    “Horace.”
    I wanted to roll my eyes as he greeted his father. Again, with the insolence. I didn’t pretend to know anything about what had transpired in Cage’s life that had led to his father never knowing about him. I did, however, know what it felt like to have a loving parent in your life. I hoped that Cage could open himself up enough to enjoy the experience.
    I wasn’t really surprised to see the moisture in Horace’s eyes. I sensed his sadness and regret at Cage’s behavior. Just from the little time I’d spent with the man, I knew him to be a caring individual. I didn’t think my mother would have married anyone who wasn’t.
    “Cage, this is my mother Julie.” I introduced the two and was happy to see Cage’s demeanor change. Maybe. Was it just natural for him to flirt with anything that carried the Y chromosome?
    “I can see where Abby got her good looks.”
    My eyes were going to be permanently rolled back in my head if Cage didn’t stop his cheesy and predictable behavior. For the second time in her life, my mother fell victim to the Montgomery charm. I, on the other hand, was far from falling.
    I thought.
    “Are you two still hungry? I could order pizza.” For such a big man, Horace had a low, modulated voice. One would expect him to be loud and boisterous from his size. So, okay, maybe I had already fallen a little for the Montgomery charm. My new stepdad was a very attractive man.
    Like his son.
    “Pizza is not the end all, be all, darling.” My mother laughed and laid her hand on her new husband’s arm. Immediately his hand cupped hers. I loved the way they constantly touched each other as if they couldn’t help themselves. I sighed deeply. That’s what I wanted, I reminded myself.
    Not the sex-on-the-stick standing in front of me.
    Silence again. A little less awkward this time.
    Cage looked at me and winked. “If it’s all the same to you, I’d like to turn in now. That bus ride was long and bumpy. Sis here was about to show me where I’d be sleeping tonight.”
    “Right, right.” Horace quickly agreed, but I could tell he was disappointed not to spend more than five minutes with his newly discovered son. “Do you mind showing him, Abby?”
    “No, not at all.” I slipped from the bar stool where I’d retreated right before my mother had entered. I was surprised when Cage put out a steadying hand when I wobbled on my feet. The stools were too high for me to make a graceful dismount. “I’ll put everything away when I come back down, Mom.” Cage had washed the dishes, but the food hadn’t been returned to the refrigerator.
    “Nonsense. Why don’t you turn in, too? You’ve had a busy day I’m sure.”
    My mother was wrong. I hadn’t had a busy day and I wasn’t tired at all. I’d done nothing more strenuous than make myself a sandwich for lunch. Did I mention that summer in the Hamptons was boring? “Your room’s upstairs.” I walked into the hallway, assuming Cage would follow.
    The layout of the house—or the cottage as Horace liked to call it—was simple. Of course, who called a three-thousand square foot house a cottage? Rich dudes like Horace. If I admitted it to myself, I was still in a state of shock how my mother’s life, and by association, mine, had changed since she’d remarried.
    Mother and