Page 34 of Step Brother Bear

“I didn’t tell Darrell what happened. I’m pretending I’m at risk of getting in trouble, and I need to hide out. He couldn’t give two shits about me, but he’ll let me stay if it means saving his reputation.” He leans down, puncturing the thin plastic of a case of chicken breast tenderloins. He pulls a piece out and takes a bite.

“Derek!”

“What?” he questions between chews.

“You can’t eat uncooked meat in public!”

“I promise you, Isabella. No one is going to assume I’m eating it because I’m a bear. They’ll just stay far away from me, which is how I prefer it.”

One good story usually leads to another.

Find your next book at Lokepub.

I shake my head. There’s no point in arguing.

Derek turns the cart down the chip aisle, shoveling bags into the wagon. “What about you?” he asks.

“What do you mean?”

“Why didn’t you stay with friends when you got laid off from your job?”

I shrug. “Guess I never really had friends, because once Lewis broke up with me, they were nowhere to be found. They were his friends first, after all.”

“Figures.”

“What?”

“Figures, he’d have shit friends since he is the human embodiment of shit.”

“Derek, he’s not…”

“Isabella?”

I flip toward the source. “Chrishell?”

She eyes me up and down, clearly taking in my t-shirt dress, the wet outline of my bikini imprinted. Her smile fades slightly. “So funny seeing you here.” She steps closer as if to hug me, but then decides against it at the last minute. I don’t blame her. I look crazy, while she looks fantastic. She wears a light pink dress, photoshoot-ready makeup, and her hair is wavy perfection—my mother’s dream daughter personified.

“Yeah, what a small world.”

“I was just thinking about texting you to see if you want to join us for…”

Derek steps out from behind me, waving at Chrishell with a grimace.

“Derek?” she yells.

“Hey, Chrishell,” he waves meekly.

She pops her hand on her cinched waist. “Well, I’ll be damned. I never thought I would see you two out and about in public.” She eyes him up and down, stopping at his semi-revealed pecs. “Nice shirt, Derek.” She winks.

He chuckles.

I see red.

I’ve never been a jealous type, but now I’m completely rabid. I can’t get the image of them hooking up out of my head. “Yeah, well, we just fucked, so we wanted to get some snacks to regain our energy.”

Her eyes widen. “Are you fucking with me?”

“Nope, you were right. I am fucking my stepbrother.” I cross my arms over my chest, trying to display a confident persona when in reality I’m shitting bricks.